On Tue, Aug 07, 2007 at 09:51:45PM -0500, Bo Peng wrote: > I filed this bug because I would like to have a better way to reload > externally modified .lyx file. Currently, one has to close and reopen > the file, or make the buffer dirty to use File->revert. > > A long discussion about vim or emacs-like 'automatic reloading' > feature was fruitless, so I propose the following patch to enable > File->revert when the file is externally changed. This is not costly > because file checksum is only calculated when the File menu is > selected and when the file is saved/loaded, and is not intrusive > because no unwanted dialog will appear. I am happy with this solution > because it (partly) solves my problem. > Having 'revert' available is certainly useful!
But do you have to run a _checksum_ whenever the File menu is consulted? Just checking the timestamp is not enough? Remember - the file may reside on a file server that is both slow, busy and remote. Will this checksum delay the file menu if I'm simply going to open some other file? A user interface where menus sometimes comes up real slow isn't good. Especially when the network/server came down with a crash and I want to "Save As" to the local disk. But then LyX have to time out a server connection first, in a checksumming attempt? This can be especially entertaining with NFS, which simply wait forever till the server again is available. If setting the availability of the 'revert' option is too time-consuming - how about giving up and having 'revert' always available? Or at least always available when the file isn't local - but I can see how knowing that can be hard. Helge Hafting
