How do I prioritize files WITHIN a set?

[Ocean]

If I have a group of unconnected files (or unconnected sets of files), I can reorder them at any point of the download in order to choose what files are immediately being downloaded.

However, if the files are part of a set, I can't seem to figure out how to change the priority of the files. If I select some of the sub-files and try to move them up or move them to the top, nothing happens. This is very vexing - especially if I'm trying to grab all the PAR files at the beginning (since the normal behavior of NB is to only grab one at first).


How do I prioritize the files within a set?

[Quade]

You can't.

I was thinking unchecking "Pause PARS and only Download the ones needed for Repair" would help but it won't. It still unrars as soon as it gets enough blocks to repair it. Other than disabling autopar altogether. I'm not sure how to download all the PARS at the moment. I can think about making it a mode.

In the past people who wanted all the pars would disable autopar and unrar externally.

[Ocean]

Well, the issue isn't just downloading all the PARs, it's downloading them immediately (not at the end of the set).

If you can make the sub-files sortable, that would be the best and most flexible solution. Alternately, a configuration setting that would grab all PAR files at the beginning of each set would be a less flexible, but acceptable alternative.

[Quade]

Well, the issue isn't just downloading all the PARs, it's downloading them immediately (not at the end of the set).

I'm unclear what you're trying to accomplish. Are you wanting to always download all pars or is it something else?

Do you really care what the order is as long as you end up with a good file? Newsbin always downloads the first small par first. That's all it needs to check files while downloading.

[Ocean]

If there's any reason to suspect that the files may be available for only a short time, the last few files may not be available by the time they are reached in the queue.

It's preferable in such circumstances to have the full set of PAR files and be missing a few regular data files, rather than the other way around.

[Quade]

How are you downloading? Headers, Search or NZB files? If you're adding the files from a post listing, you can hit the + icon and add the pars first, then add the rest of the download. Newsbin should still use the existing PARS without re-downloading them.

You know PAR blocks and file blocks are the same right? Blocks is blocks, it doesn't matter if you're missing PAR blocks or missing Data blocks from the files. You have to have one repair block per missing data block. Meaning I'm not sure your scheme will buy you anything. If you download PAR blocks at the expense of data blocks you're still running the risk of not getting enough blocks.

[Ocean]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely give it a shot.


As to why the order matters, what I've noticed is that for data files, often there are only a few blocks missing. However, PAR files will be completely unavailable.

If the full set of PAR files are grabbed first, you have a chance of repairing the selectively missing blocks in the data files. However, if only the tiniest PAR file is grabbed first, if missing blocks have shown up by the end of the download and the remaining PAR files are completely unavailable, you are guaranteed to not be able to repair the damage.

Grabbing the full set of PAR files first is not a guarantee, of course. But given the pattern of missing blocks listed, the odds of ending up with a successfully repaired file are much better if the full set of PAR files are the first items grabbed.