Freeze file name during use
Type
Functional
Severity
S5 - Suggestion
Status
active
Regression
No
Workaround
No
Project
- Open any MS file;
- While it is still open in MS, go to the file folder and change the name of the file (or even just the letter-case of one letter);
- Open the "new" file;
- You can carry on this process indefinitely;
- Close and reopen MuseScore;
- Notice that there are now multiple instances of the same file in the "Open recent" list and you can open all of them.
Comments
What about this do you consider a bug? Does something about it violate the user interface standards of your particular OS?
In reply to What about this do you… by Marc Sabatella
If a file is in use, it must be locked by the software that uses it.
This prevents others from doing anything else on this file.
"File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a computer file by allowing only one user or process to access it in a specific time." source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_locking
Yes, I know what file locking is, but the point is, when not actively writing a file, it isn't actually necessary to lock it, and lots of programs (most?) don't.
Update:
Result: You now have two instances of the same file open in MuseScore.
Result: As expected, only the last saved file is shown.
Result: Same as above
Result: This time all the instances of the same file are listed and all can be opened.
Again, please explain what.the standards for your particular OS say about this and in what way the behavior of MuseScore violates this. Not locking a file unnecessarily is completely valid in, for example Windows, and you will note it is how Microsoft's own programs such as Wordpad work.
It's possible some other OS says this should not be allowed, though, and that is the info I am looking for.
The case issue is also standard Windows behavior - file names are not case sensitive. Other OS's behave differently.
I don't see multiple instances in the recent file list, but I agree that the file name should freeze during use. Actually, I don't see why it shouldn't be designed that way. If user renames a file already opened in MuseScore, attempting to save it afterwards will do Save As (triggering a explorer dialogue) instead. This can be confusing sometimes, when you don't know what you did wrong.
In reply to I don't see multiple… by Howard-C
Two strategies exist.
Notepad++ doesn't lock opened files BUT actively monitors the disk and let you know if the file has been deleted or modified by another program (that includes renaming by the shell).
Word or Excel lock opened files which is for that type of software where lot of people can open shared files the only valid strategy. If a file is locked you can still open it readonly or ask to monitor when the lock is released.
If MuseScore is serious about being used by, e.g., students working on files from a shared class folder, then the "Word & Excel" seems to be preferable isn'it?
I still say, few other programs I know lock files unnecessarily, and I suspect it violates every OS' design standards.
But regarding notification of changes - good point, worth considering from a design perspective how this could be improved.
In reply to Good point, worth… by Marc Sabatella
I have no idea of what Dorico/Finale/Sibelius do.
Anybody with access to these programs could try?
I have Sibelius First, and Finale Notepad, and both behave like virtually every other program I know: they couldn't care less if you rename, move, or delete a file whether it happens to be open or not.