Jumping posts after edit
Completed
I just updated to the latest beta - Version 1.0.0 (2022.05.13.15.34).
I have been using BBEdit to do external edits of files. When I hit save on BBEdit and come back to nvUltra, nvUltra has jumped one or two (normally two) notes down in my list. This did not happen before. It stayed on the file that I had edited.
BTW, the edits have happened as expected. It is the file jumping which is new...and annoying.
update...I edited a file in nvUltra and as I typed a letter I was taken to a file a couple down the list.
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Same same.
Began typing an edit in selected file ... and before I knew it the File List had started jumping around and I'd ended up with part of my edit landing in a completely different file.
In case this info helps:
- OSX 10.14.6
- nvUltra Version 1.0.0 (2022.05.13.15.34)
- File List sorted by 'most recently modified'
- The file that was selected while typing (used to) have a modification date that was a couple of years old; so it was way down in my File List, but also not in some notable position such as last, first, etc.
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Can one or both of you send me a video? I can't replicate anything strange happening, and wonder if something else is going on.
You can either link to a video somewhere, or send it with a support ticket here.
Thanks!!
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Hi Fletcher,
Will send video to you via 'Submit Request' link.
Cheers.
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Before I look into creating a video, just to tell you about something else that I tried.
- I selected a file in nvUltra
- I then pressed ⇧⌘O to call BBEdit, edited the file and saved it.
- When I returned to nvUltra it jumped further down my file list
- I then edited a file outside of nvUltra, but this time using MultiMarkdown Composer 5, and all worked well.
- I then pressed ⇧⌘O to call BBEdit and all worked well.
- I then Quit nvUltra
- restarted nvUltra
- pressed ⇧⌘O to call BBEdit and all worked well.
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Where do you keep the folder in question (e.g. iCloud, dropbox, etc.)?
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For me the folder misbehaving with the latest nvUltra update is one that lives in Dropbox.
Anticipating followup questions I moved my test folder to the same directory as my problem folder, and opened its notes in a new nvUltra window. When stored at this location:
- The way the File List updates in the test folder now behaves the same as it does in the problem folder (i.e., updates almost immediately after any modification is made to a note.)
- Despite this change, I've been unable so far to reproduce the bug in the test folder.
Additional Info:
- Test folder has only 20 notes; problem folder has 650.
- Longest filename in test folder is 16 characters; in problem folder it's 100.
- Filenames in test folder contain only Word characters; in problem folder some contain Non-Word characters.
- Path length to both notes folders is 53 characters over 7 levels.
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I keep the folder in Dropbox. There are 216 notes and one folder containing 2 images.
I am running all this on the lastest OS 12.3.1
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Hi David -- I've got some info below that might be useful to you in case you feel like testing out my theory. (In your case you could just make a differently-named copy of your problematic folder right next to it in Dropbox...open it once in nvUltra...see if it's working fine...then close-and-reopen it in nvUltra and see if it's no longer working fine.)
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Hi Fletcher -- After a bunch of additional troubleshooting I'm fairly confident I've narrowed it down to a combination of Dropbox on the one hand, and nvUltra having a 'history' with the folder/files on the other hand.
To test:
- Find a folder of notes in a non-Dropbox location that you know is working just fine.
- Copy that folder to a Dropbox directory, and wait until syncing is finished with no errors (just to be safe).
- Now open it in nvUltra...play around...everything should be working fine.
- However, once the folder's been closed and then reopened in nvUltra again, the File List should start jumping around as you edit your notes.
NOTE: Have done a bunch of tests to rule out potential contributors/causes such as path lengths...number and/or type of characters in filenames...total number of notes in folder...total combined file size of notes in folder...etc. (These have included tests like using different folders of notes...changing path lengths...renaming all files in the folder to something short and safe...etc.) If you want more details let me know, but I'm fairly confident to have ruled all of these out as issues, at least in my particular case.
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Before I get to Sam's testing suggestion, an update on my experience this morning.
- I opened nvUltra and my notes folder (that I have referenced above)
- I started editing one note in nvUltra.
- A few keyboard taps in (inserting and deleting text), I suddenly found myself in another note.
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Hi Sam (and Fletcher),
I tried your suggestion, but it did not work. Here's what happened.
- I made a duplicate of my notes folder in Dropbox and waited for it to sync
- I opened it in nvUltra
- I started editing a file which appeared to go well, except that I noticed a bit of flickering in the file list.
- I moved onto another file and as soon as I started typing I found myself in yet another file.
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Hi David -- Apologies for sending you on a goose-chase, sir.
I'm flummoxed. I can repeat this behaviour over and over on my system.
Open 'ProblemFolder' in nvUltra ---> Get jumpy File List + instances of 'Note B' suddenly selected and edited while I'm in the middle of editing 'Note A' ---> Close 'ProblemFolder' in nvUltra ---> Copy/Paste to create 'ProblemFolder copy' in Dropbox ---> Open 'ProblemFolder copy' in nvUltra ---> Edit a half dozen notes over 5 or 10 minutes with no issues whatsoever ---> Close 'ProblemFolder copy' in nvUltra, then reopen it in nvUltra a moment later ---> And I immediately get the jumpy File List and file selection/editing issues.
Since I'm able to create 'ProblemFolder copy 2', 'ProblemFolder copy 3', ad nauseum/infinitum -- and experience the same results every time -- I figured I was ready to go public with my findings. D'Oh!
Anyhoo, again, sorry for the inconvenience. (And hopefully my findings + your 'same same but different' findings somehow help Fletcher and/or Brett solve the puzzle.) Cheers.
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I think the common denominator is Dropbox. I just need to see what's going on at a deeper level. As I figure out more, I'll let you know, or check back in with additional questions.
Thanks!
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I just made a copy of my note folder and put it on my desktop. Following some editing, I have found no problems so far.
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Hi Fletcher -- Not sure if you've tried yet to reproduce the steps + results I described earlier, but I'm curious so I hope you'll let me know if/when you do.
Cheers.
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+1 for this, and also it's exclusive to Dropbox (because I have some non-synced files in a separate folder which don't exhibit this problem).
The obvious guess would be Dropbox is doing a routine scan for changed files and is touching them in some way each time it does. My first thought was xattr, except that doesn't seem to store dates. But maybe there's an attribute that's being toggled every time…
This might be a useful site for you: https://www.dropboxforum.com/
The workaround is to temporarily turn syncing off when you're doing editing (right-click on your initials or avatar, to the right of the bell icon, within the app, to bring up a menu) as the bug is much too annoying otherwise.
I will add I've occasionally seen Nvultra (or the OS, or Dropbox, who knows) hanging / beach balling when this happens.
William
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Just a note that I've had the same problem as David Johnson mentions above — typing in a note jumps me to others, to the point that nvUltra is unusable at the moment. 😢
I am also using Dropbox with these notes, fwiw.
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theofrancis -- I would stay away from this thread... I suspect this is "your fault".... :)
In fixing your complaint about the index being slow to update, I think Dropbox causes the "opposite" problem in some way that leads to this. Digging into what's going on.
(I'm kidding of course -- sometimes fixing a bug uncovers another one, and I would rather fix this now!!!)
I'm increasingly glad of my accidental decision to migrate away from Dropbox though.... :)
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Oh no! I should have guessed. 🤦♂️ My apologies to everyone.
Can I ask what you use? iCloud or something else or nothing? Trying to figure out the best way to manage my notes. I like using multiple apps (currently: nvUltra, NotePlan, Obsidian, The Archive — in rough order of preference), but like it best when they all work pretty well with the same notes. Sync engine is the biggest roadblock to that at the moment.
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theofrancis -- again -- just teasing, and glad to find the errors (which are mine.)
I use iCloud. I was all in on Dropbox for quite a while, and worked a lot on a Dropbox sync engine for an iOS version of Composer. I was astonished when digging into the dropbox API how little they actually provide.
When iCloud actually became a more mature product that could be actually be useful, I began transitioning (since I use all Apple devices) and eventually that's where my content ended up. This is mostly smaller files in active or "semi-active" use, or files for specific apps that have strong iCloud integration (e.g. Numbers.)
I also started using Resilio Sync for larger and/or less frequently used collections of files, and folders that needed to be synchronized with other people.
I now also use git annex for long term archival of collections of files that do not change (e.g. movie collection, ebook collection, etc.) This requires a bit of command line use, but is fantastic for archiving files that I want to ensure are not corrupted over years and years of very infrequent use, or where I *might* need to quickly access them on my other computer (e.g. laptop->desktop or vice versa). It's a really interesting approach that basically did the same thing I was considering building myself, but without me having to spend the development time to build it.
To be clear -- the goal for nvUltra is that it should work with any folder of files on your disk, and should be agnostic as to what is done with those files once they are on disk. My hope is that there is something readily fixable to restore safe usage with Dropbox. I just need to get some time to dig into it.
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Update: Still digging in, but it's starting to look like it's actually not a Dropbox problem, but rather an issue that is perhaps more likely to be triggered when working in Dropbox folders, presumably because it changes the timing of how files react to being saved? I can now reliably trigger it when working in a Dropbox folder, but not in an iCloud folder, for example.
Fundamentally the problem is persisting a selected row in a table when the underlying data backing the table changes, potentially changing the order of the rows in the table.
Working on trying to figure out a fix.
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I have the same problem of being jumped around while editing using 2022.05.13.15.34 on Monterey 12.3.1.
The folder in question is backed by Microsoft OneDrive. Quitting OneDrive alleviates the symptoms.
I can send a 2 megabyte video (or link to a video) if I could get a means to do so privately.
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At this point I don’t need any more information. Once I think the issue has been resolved I’ll need confirmation from others.
Thanks!!
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Just now catching up with this and the good info above. My sync folder is in Dropbox as well, so it appears that's at least part of the culprit for my cursor jumping to different notes. I'll have to see how its running on my iMac as well as trying an iCloud sync folder - which I've not yet done before, but should really explore for this.
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I get this trouble too. I do not use Dropbox or iCloud, rather a straight hierarchy of filesystem directories. Using 2022.05.13.15.34 on Catalina.
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Just another person chiming in - I also keep the data in Dropbox. Never had this issue before but now it is making nvUltra barely useable. Driving me nuts!
The workaround I use is when updating a note, I type extra words in the search until only one note matches the search, which prevents the 'jumping'.
Let me know if you do need more information. :)
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Regarding my recent comment: I did a macOS update today and reboot. Now i do not have this jumping problem.
ProductVersion: 10.15.7 Catalina
BuildVersion: 19H1922
nvultra: 2022.05.13.15.340 -
I wish my 10.15.7 did the same.
Its still showing the jump problem.
Sync through DropBox.
Happens on both...
MacBook Pro: 10.15.7 (19H1922)
iMac: 10.15.7 (19H1615)0 -
FWIW (and my apologies to Fletcher; I did see your month-old note about not needing more information... but my experience of the problem described only manifested recently, and then disappeared, but I thought some additional data, not yet mentioned, might (or might not) be useful).
I began experiencing the phenomenon of cursor jumping from one note to another in nvU (v. 05.13.15) under Mac OS 12.4 spontaneously during what for me is ordinary use. There had been no other changes in the array of apps (including Dropbox, where I store the folder for nvUß, and always have) or the version in active use of MacOS, not initiated by me. If Dropbox is implicated, it can only be a result of changes (like an update) initiated and executed by Dropbox "automatically."
The only thing I can think of that I noticed in association with this phenomenon, was the warning window from within nvU, that the tags (the only notes that seemed affected were those that had tags, usually formatted in nvU using the protocol of a tag statement as the first text in the form "tags: nnnnn...", warning that Mac OS tags and file tags were out of sync, and asking which I wanted "updated." Without suggesting that there is any causative factor in the original behavior (jumping cursor from note to earlier note—always to an earlier note) as correlation is not causation, I wanted to offer this up.
The only solution I tried, which worked, was to quit nvU, quit all other apps from the desktop (except those that boot using a Kext helper at startup of the device), and log out, then restart the device from the login screen. This solved the problem, at least until the next time I amended an existing note, and used tags. The "jumping" behavior usually manifested on opening a new note or trying to edit another existing note.
I hope this is useful. If not, sorry for taking up more time.0 -
I am encountering the same issue frequently as well with the current beta (2022.06.20.19.30) and the previous one.
I haven't yet found a good way to reliably reproduce it as it seem to happen at random times. Sometimes right while typing, it'll jump to a different file and append there; but just now it switched to a different file while I wasn't touching my laptop at all.
My Notes folder is stored in iCloud Drive. Does the syncing possible have something to do with it? Otherwise I can't explain what would cause it even when I'm not interacting with my Mac at all.
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FWIW, I am still on the 3.30 version (on MacOS Big Sur 11.6.2 and Dropbox) and happily have no jumping issues. Well, not exactly. There is an intermittent problem where typing a SPACE causes the text in the nvU window to do a jump or a hiccup. The cursor does not move to a different place or a different file, but the screen sort of blinks. But just when the space bar is pressed, no other keys.
I do not plan to update this version until the jumping to other file issue is figured out, as this sounds too disruptive.
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