newsbin.com

Running XP (SP3). My first look at version 6 (build 870), and I like the new UI, but have a couple of questions (apologies if this is old news, can't find any answers so far):

1) Unless I'm totally blind, no start menu shortcuts are created, only the desktop. In the upping from version 5, it appears those from the start menu were uninstalled, but nothing replaced them.

2) I generally don't use AutoPAR, unless the file size is <1 gig. In version 5, the .par2 file would be downloaded first, and I could run it manually (par files going to the par list). Guess there's no par list now in version 6 -- they stay in the download list, but are un-selected, right? But I can't move the .par2 file to the top, apparently. Is there a way to make this behave like it used to in version 5?

3) One more thing: just wondering why nbpro.exe is left in the program folder -- I'm assuming it can be deleted?

bruce73 wrote:2) I generally don't use AutoPAR, unless the file size is <1 gig. In version 5, the .par2 file would be downloaded first, and I could run it manually (par files going to the par list). Guess there's no par list now in version 6 -- they stay in the download list, but are un-selected, right? But I can't move the .par2 file to the top, apparently. Is there a way to make this behave like it used to in version 5?

You cannot split the PAR2 file out from the rest in a compact entry if that is what you are asking?

However, what are you actually trying to achieve? Within a compact entry the smallest PAR2 file is downloaded first even if it is not listed first within the set. Only after that has downloaded do the remaining none-PAR2 files start downloading.

1 - fixed in the next beta i believe

3 - its v5.59 incase you want to revert back

itimpi wrote:

bruce73 wrote:2) I generally don't use AutoPAR, unless the file size is <1 gig. In version 5, the .par2 file would be downloaded first, and I could run it manually (par files going to the par list). Guess there's no par list now in version 6 -- they stay in the download list, but are un-selected, right? But I can't move the .par2 file to the top, apparently. Is there a way to make this behave like it used to in version 5?

You cannot split the PAR2 file out from the rest in a compact entry if that is what you are asking?

However, what are you actually trying to achieve? Within a compact entry the smallest PAR2 file is downloaded first even if it is not listed first within the set. Only after that has downloaded do the remaining none-PAR2 files start downloading.

What I'm trying to do is what I was doing with 5.59 -- with AutoPAR disabled, run the .par2 file while the parts of the file are being downloaded. In 5.59, I would download the compact file and, if the par set was included in that, the .par2 file would be downloaded first and show up in the Download list. I could then run that. What I'm seeing in version 6 is: the complete par set is located unselected at the bottom of the download list of individual parts of the file, and there seems to be no way to select the .par2 file and move to the top so that I can run it immediately.

Hopefully that makes sense.

if you are adding sets that are compacted there isnt a way to move just the par2 to the top, v6 works competely differently to how 5 did

richy99 wrote:if you are adding sets that are compacted there isnt a way to move just the par2 to the top, v6 works competely differently to how 5 did

OK, thanks for confirming. I'll keep version 5 on my other machine for large downloads.

bruce73 wrote:

richy99 wrote:if you are adding sets that are compacted there isnt a way to move just the par2 to the top, v6 works competely differently to how 5 did

OK, thanks for confirming. I'll keep version 5 on my other machine for large downloads.

However, for a file that is at the top of the list, since the smallest PAR2 file is downloaded first you can right-click the compact entry and select AutoRAR-Run Quickpar before the set has finished downloading. Quite why you would want to I am not sure?

itimpi wrote:

bruce73 wrote:

richy99 wrote:if you are adding sets that are compacted there isnt a way to move just the par2 to the top, v6 works competely differently to how 5 did

OK, thanks for confirming. I'll keep version 5 on my other machine for large downloads.

However, for a file that is at the top of the list, since the smallest PAR2 file is downloaded first you can right-click the compact entry and select AutoRAR-Run Quickpar before the set has finished downloading. Quite why you would want to I am not sure?

I'll check that out. Thanks.

On smaller files, AutoPAR is great. On larger ones (> 20 gigs), I like to manually do the un-RARing. Guess I have control issues. Also, on really large downloads, there are sometimes more than one par set, so I don't know how that would jibe with AutoPAR (if the first set finishes OK, would AutoPAR try to un-RAR the whole thing?). Plus, I don't always know the file format of what's RARed (folders vs. .iso); different formats are un-RARed to different drives. Not to mention, many of the downloads are passworded. So, since I like to manually un-RAR these, being able to run the .par2 in the background as the file set downloads saves time.

I'll have to experiment. All in all, though, I like version 6 so far.

bruce73 wrote:On smaller files, AutoPAR is great. On larger ones (> 20 gigs), I like to manually do the un-RARing.

Did you try leaving AutoPAR on and just disabling the automatic unrar? (Options->AutoPAR Options->Automatically UnRAR Complete Files)
That's what I do, and it works very well (almost always).

- mho

bruce73 wrote:On smaller files, AutoPAR is great. On larger ones (> 20 gigs), I like to manually do the un-RARing. Guess I have control issues.

Give it a try, it's really worth it - it saved me a lot of time.

I didn't use Auto-Par for a couple of years for the same reason but then I gave it a try and now I don't want to miss it anymore.
It's working for the Uploads with more than one Par-Set as well - NewsBin will repair if necessary, and as I know these Uploads are password
protected so it will not UnRAR.
Actually you can't change the UnRAR-Path, but I'm pretty sure Quade will add this in the near future
Imho, there's no advantage in doing these steps manually.

The only thing I'm missing is not to be able to turn off UnRAR (but not repair) for specific downloads, if I just want to re-upload them - but that's
not a big problem.

The only thing I'm missing is not to be able to turn off UnRAR (but not repair) for specific downloads, if I just want to re-upload them - but that's
not a big problem.

Well, you can turn off UnRAR per group but, not per set.

mho wrote:

bruce73 wrote:On smaller files, AutoPAR is great. On larger ones (> 20 gigs), I like to manually do the un-RARing.

Did you try leaving AutoPAR on and just disabling the automatic unrar? (Options->AutoPAR Options->Automatically UnRAR Complete Files)
That's what I do, and it works very well (almost always).

- mho

I totally forgot you could do that. Thanks, that'll work. And being able to do it per group, even better.

@quade: it appears version 6 can't combine split files in the <file name>.0xx format, like version 5 can do. Is this something that'll be implemented in a future release?

PM me an example. Works for me as long as there are par files but, I have seen many MasterSplitter files lately. Most are quickpar split.

Don't post it here.

itimpi wrote:However, for a file that is at the top of the list, since the smallest PAR2 file is downloaded first you can right-click the compact entry and select AutoRAR-Run Quickpar before the set has finished downloading. Quite why you would want to I am not sure?

I can give you one very common scenario. You are downloading a multi-GB file that is near the limit of your server's retention, and you notice that a lot of the segments are showing up in all caps in your download folder. You want to check and see if they are just missing a block or two, or are missing so many blocks that it might be best to abort the download.

Newsbin gives the same details as quickpar in the properties of the parent item. As long as the small par2 downloads. Small par2 is always the first file to download in a set.

I don't actually get this issue. The small par2 always downloads first so, during download, you can always check properties or fire up quickpar.

DaveXVI wrote:

itimpi wrote:However, for a file that is at the top of the list, since the smallest PAR2 file is downloaded first you can right-click the compact entry and select AutoRAR-Run Quickpar before the set has finished downloading. Quite why you would want to I am not sure?

I can give you one very common scenario. You are downloading a multi-GB file that is near the limit of your server's retention, and you notice that a lot of the segments are showing up in all caps in your download folder. You want to check and see if they are just missing a block or two, or are missing so many blocks that it might be best to abort the download.

you can also see how many are missing from the download list, if you have expanded the progress so you can see each part being deliverted youcan see how many chunks are missing

Quade wrote:Newsbin gives the same details as quickpar in the properties of the parent item. As long as the small par2 downloads.

Can you explain exactly what the figures in the download list status column mean? The docs don't mention them that I could find.

Quade wrote:I don't actually get this issue. The small par2 always downloads first so, during download, you can always check properties or fire up quickpar.

Well, we're seeing the new interface for the first time, and the help files for it are still incomplete. What may be obvious to you after working on it for six months is not obvious to someone just starting with it. After being used to having an autopar tab that shows us the progress of all our posts at a glance, it's not that intuitive that we now have to check the properties of each post, one by one.

By the way, in order to see what you were talking about, I turned autopar on, and a post in progress then downloaded 200MB of unneeded par files before I noticed what it was doing. I really really wish I could turn off that feature, on V5 as well as V6.

richy99 wrote:you can also see how many are missing from the download list, if you have expanded the progress so you can see each part being deliverted youcan see how many chunks are missing

I guess. But that is so much clumsier than the autopar tab, especially for posts with hundreds of parts. You have to scroll up and down looking for tiny little red gaps in your green progress bars, and you can only look at one post at a time, and you have to go through the same hassle if you want to check it again five minutes later.

The autopar tab was so clean and concise, and tells you about all your posts at a glance.

Since you guys keep saying you don't understand our issues, let me say I don't understand this issue. The autopar tab is already coded and working perfectly in V5, so it's not like we're asking for an exotic new feature. It won't change the efficiency of V6 a bit, and anybody who doesn't want it can just uncheck it in the view menu.

richy99 wrote:if you are adding sets that are compacted there isnt a way to move just the par2 to the top, v6 works competely differently to how 5 did

I thought somebody said earlier that this would be changed. Are you saying that V6 will never allow you to manipulate individual parts of the download list?

For example, it will be a showstopper for me if I can't delete the par files out of the download list without deleting the whole file.

Another example: with V5, often I queue up several movies that sound interesting, but I don't know what the girls look like. I want to be able to send the first couple parts of each one to the top of the list, so I can decode the first minute or two of each and then decide whether I want to continue or abort the rest of the download.

Will I be able to do that in V6?

thats why you have the option opf going into the autopar properties, it isnt a tab anymore its a right click option

v5 and v6 dont work the same so thats why there is no autopar tab like in v5, i know you are used to 5 but it isnt really like 5 anymore, there are differnces to get used to and proably different ways fo working for a few, thats why 5.59 will always be available for people who dont like 6

the status column read as : D: = Downloaded, DL: = Downloading, In: = Incomplete, P = Paused.

You'll never be able to do it exactly the way 5.99 does it. But, that doesn't mean you can't do it.

1 - Add a couple rars from an expanded item in the post list

2 - Let a couple rars download from a set, then pause the rest or move another set above it

I'll use one or the other depending on what's in my download list. If I don't like what I see, I can delete the whole set with a single delete. The new status column lets you see how many files downloaded without expanding the set.

richy99 wrote:the status column read as : D: = Downloaded, DL: = Downloading, In: = Incomplete, P = Paused.

Thank you very much for that.

richy99 wrote:v5 and v6 dont work the same so thats why there is no autopar tab like in v5[

Sorry, but this looks like a pure design decision to me. There is nothing about docking toolbars and more efficient header algorithms that would prevent V6 from collecting and presenting par stats on one panel, instead of requiring us to look at the properties of each individual post for those stats.

I frankly can't understand your reasoning. You are taking away something that was very useful and intuitive, and replacing it with a clumsy manual process.

Quade wrote:You'll never be able to do it exactly the way 5.99 does it. But, that doesn't mean you can't do it.

The preview thing won't be a show stopper, but the par thing will, assuming you don't have a switch to turn off automatic par downloading. Is it definite that we will not be able to delete the pars out of a post without deleting the whole post?

DaveXVI wrote:

Quade wrote:You'll never be able to do it exactly the way 5.99 does it. But, that doesn't mean you can't do it.

The preview thing won't be a show stopper, but the par thing will, assuming you don't have a switch to turn off automatic par downloading. Is it definite that we will not be able to delete the pars out of a post without deleting the whole post?

nothing is definite in a beta thats why it is a beta, things change over the cycle

maybe you woudl be better off sticking with 5.59 currently and look at v6 further down the timeline?

Like you said, it's a beta. I thought you guys wanted feedback, and I thought the sooner I ask for stuff, the better the chance of getting it.

But some of this stuff, like the autopar tab, seems to be purely a matter of opinion. Can I suggest you take some polls for stuff like that, maybe link to a poll page in your MOTD? If it turns out I'm the only idiot who wants what I want, you can just remind me of that whenever I ask for it. If it turns out that I'm not the only one, that might be useful information for you.

There really are a lot of things I like about V6, and I really don't think I'm asking for anything that ruins it, or would take very long to implement.

The autopar tab already works in V5, and I can't see anything about V6 that would make it not work there.

I CAN see that being able to delete the par files out of the download list might not be easy to change, depending on how you've coded it, but that would be a non-issue for me if you just had a switch to prevent Newsbin from downloading them unless I manually release them, which should be relatively easy to do.

1 - Autopar tab's not coming back. It's pointless to ask.

2 - I have a note to add a mode to prevent autopar from downloading par files. Basically manual mode autopar. It's low on the list but, it's on the list.

3 - You want to give feedback on additional data in the download list, to help you with you unique download method, I'll consider it.

Quade wrote:1 - Autopar tab's not coming back. It's pointless to ask.

Not what I wanted to hear, and still inexplicable to me, but thanks for a straight answer. I will stop asking for it. To prevent other idiots like me asking about it, you should have somebody take it out of the V6 user manual.

Quade wrote:2 - I have a note to add a mode to prevent autopar from downloading par files. Basically manual mode autopar. It's low on the list but, it's on the list.

Thank you very much for that. As I said before, a line in the nbi file is fine, it doesn't have to be on the options panel.

Quade wrote:3 - You want to give feedback on additional data in the download list, to help you with you unique download method, I'll consider it.

If I can pause parts of a post without pausing the whole thing, that should take care of my preview needs.

But until you implement #2 above, V6 will be unusable for me if pars can't be deleted from the download list without deleting the whole post. That's the only showstopper I see right now in V6, and I like the other new features very much.

Not a showstopper, but very much desired since an autopar tab is out, I would request a column in the download list that says "X/Y" (meaning X of Y blocks downloaded) for the main entries. I would find that much more useful than the current info in the status column.

Thanks for considering any of the above.

If I can pause parts of a post without pausing the whole thing, that should take care of my preview needs.

Expand, select, hit the pause button. You've always been able to do that.

Par block count column is also on my todo. Probably going to add it to the status column.

Quade wrote:Expand, select, hit the pause button. You've always been able to do that.

Right. I didn't make it very clear, but I was agreeing with your earlier post describing it as a way to do what I wanted.

Par block count column is also on my todo. Probably going to add it to the status column.

Outstanding. If those are always visible, and updated in real time, it fills the hole that the autopar tab left. Thank you.

Right. I didn't make it very clear, but I was agreeing with your earlier post describing it as a way to do what I wanted.

I wasn't suggesting this. Add N downloads, when the top one gets 2 rars in, pause the whole thing, then let the next set download 2 and so on. Then sample from the files list. Delete what you don't want.

That's how I sample anyway.

Well, you work at your computer, so that makes sense for you.

It's easier for me to set up a bunch of previews at once, then go off and do something else for a couple hours, and then come back and see what I got.

What about a Menu/Shortcut for a special 'Sample-Download' that adds the compacted downloads and pause everything but the first PAR and the first 3 RARs, when finshed downloading the RARs, instantly make the samples in a 'Samples-Directory'.