LogViewPlus Support » LogViewPlus Support » Features & Suggestions » Delete Files from UI

Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Thu, 16 May 2024 17:14:28 GMT

I understand the principle that LVP is a log file viewer, not an editor, and generally it should not be writing to files.

HOWEVER, there are many times when you simply need to delete a log file, due to it being out-of-date, or you changed the format, or a million other reasons. It's inconvenient to have to manually go to the file system to perform the deletion. It would be much nicer and cleaner if you could simply right-click on the file in the LVP UI and select Delete from the context menu.Doing it this way would provide the additional benefit of having the file immediately removed from LVP, instead of deleting from the file system, then having to wait for LVP to recognize the deletion, etc...

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 16 May 2024 17:14:28 GMT

Yes - I think LogViewPlus has extensive capabilities and if we had the ability to script these capabilities to provide actions as a service that could be very powerful. I like the idea, but it would take considerable time to implement. It's not something that we are considering in the medium term.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:51:41 GMT

Taking this a step further, it would be great if LVP could automatically delete log files after X number of days. For example, any log file that hasn't been updated in 10 days would be deleted. I know this would typically be done using a server-side script, but it's a hassle to create scripts, setup CRON jobs, etc... Since we're already using LVP to monitor directories and parse log files, it would be incredibly convenient to have it remove obsolete files as well. I know we can filter old files in the UI, but they continue hanging out on the server, wasting space, etc...

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 14:20:52 GMT

Glad to hear it Brad - third times a charm. :) Thanks for the suggestion!

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 14:04:00 GMT

It works now, thanks!

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 09:05:29 GMT

Thanks Brad. We have just released a new BETA version v3.0.27, can you please try again?

This time I was able to recreate the issue. There was an problem with identification of remote log files. This could have been impacting other features, so it's a good bug to fix.

Thanks for your help with this one Brad! Apologies for the back and forth.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 19:18:50 GMT

I tried Hard Reload, but it's still not removing the deleted files from the Log Files & Filters list. The deleted files are in a subdirectory of the monitored directory, so perhaps it's not checking the directories recursively.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 18:56:55 GMT

Thanks Brad. We have just released a new BETA version v3.0.26, can you please try again?

I wasn't able to recreate the issue directly, but v3.0.25 had a bug with how files were tracked and I think this was the problem.

I also find Resynchronize / Reload a bit confusing. The reload function is if you close a file because you don't need it and later decide you do. In this case you want to reapply the directory monitor without making any other changes to any of the other files. Importantly, you don't want to remove log entries for a file which has been rolled because the target file no longer contains the log entries you may need.

Alternatively, I could close a file and Reload the monitor to mirror the file system, but only for that specific file. Other files could still show the rolled entries.

Resynchronize is more extreme. Everything gets closed and reopened such that when the operation completes all files will mirror the source files.

I think both commands serve a purpose, but I would like to make the intention more clear. Maybe "Hard Reload" / "Soft Reload" would be better? I have renamed the commands in the latest BETA.

In summary:
Soft Reload = Reopen closed files.
Hard Reload = Close and reopen everything.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 15:36:24 GMT

I deleted a bunch of files using the LVP file system utility. Then I selected Resynchronize in the directory monitor, but it did absolutely nothing. All the deleted files remain visible in the Files & Filters pane.

As an aside, I find it odd that there's both a Resynchronize option and a Reload option. I realize they perform slightly different functions, but it's confusing to me and would probably be confusing to others as well. For instance, under what circumstance would you want to reload the directory monitor but NOT resynchronize it? I think these should be consolidated into a single function.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:19:29 GMT

Hi Brad,

Just wanted to let you know that we have now released LogViewPlus v3.0.24 as a BETA release.

This release gives you a few more options for closing views. First, you can now Ctrl+Click on multiple items in the Files & Filters view. This feature is discussed in another thread, but the idea is that you can now more easily work with groups of files:

We have also added a new "Resynchronize" option to the directory monitor:

The idea behind the Resynchronize command is that we want to mirror the state of the target directory. So it will do more than just close hanging log files. It will actually close all log files which have been opened by the directory monitor and then re-apply the directory monitor. It is similar to executing the "Close All Files" command followed by the "Reload" command, but files will be refreshed where possible - which should preserve filters.

Hope that helps,

Toby

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:23:21 GMT

Logs can also be renamed or moved and it would be difficult for LogViewPlus to distinguish these actions from a delete. Some of these actions may be triggered by other team members without the LVP user's knowledge. Also, a user may want to continue looking at a log file's contents even if the source data is missing. One thing we definitely do not want to do is automatically close a view when a user is in the middle of an analysis.

The 'remove deleted' setting does make sense as part of a directory monitor. However, this is a very old feature and nobody has requested this behaviour before. That leads me to believe that this is an edge case. I do not want to complicate the directory monitor configuration without being more confident in the usefulness of this feature.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:57:07 GMT

That would be an improvement, but it would require the user to manually execute the task periodically, when LVP should really handle this automatically. The more I think about it, the more I believe the directory monitor approach is the way to go. For me, this is the cleanest and most intuitive approach. The purpose of a directory monitor is to monitor the files currently in the directory. It’s able to automatically add files when they appear, so why not have the option to automatically remove them when they disappear? The setting could be called “Automatically remove deleted files”. Log file rotation is a standard use case. Different users may have different retention policies, but when a file is deleted, that’s a pretty strong indication that it’s no longer needed, so LVP should be smart enough to remove it automatically.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 09:22:46 GMT

Using a Directory Monitor is an interesting idea, but I think adding a new configuration option would further complicate usage. There are lots of edge cases with Directory Monitors. We really try to keep that feature as simple as we can.

We could maybe add an option to the close menu:

I think the biggest problem here would be naming it something intuitive. "Close All Deleted" is a little confusing. I will need to think about it.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:41:21 GMT

My system generates a new log file each day. These log files are correctly picked up by LVP, but I don't want them hanging around indefinitely. Obviously, they use up space on the server and more importantly, they clutter up the LVP file pane. Therefore, I need a way to remove these files from LVP. Ideally, this would happen automatically through some type of log file rotation system managed by LVP. I realize that would be a major project, so for now, a Sync button would be extremely helpful. I understand that deleting a file using the Delete File option will remove it from LVP, but it's not convenient to have to remove them one at a time. If LVP supported multiple file selection with a delete option, that would also be fine.

I don't understand the justification that a file could be recreated. If it's recreated, LVP would pick it up again, just like it picks up any other new file. I'm monitoring directories, not individual files, so perhaps you could make it handle directory-monitored files automatically. The simplest approach would be to always keep the directory in-sync with what's displayed in LVP. If a file is deleted, either manually through the LVP interface, or through log file rotation on the server, it should also be deleted from the LP File Transfer and Log Files & Filters panes. If the file is later recreated, then of course, the directory monitor would pick it up again.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 07:00:05 GMT

I think the issue here is that a file removed from the server could be recreated. It's not clear that LogViewPlus should stop monitoring the file just because it has been deleted.

If you delete the file from the File System menu:

LogViewPlus will remove the file from the server and close the view which will also remove the active transfer. If you work with a large number of files, it might also may make sense for you to group your files into a Category and close all files in the category.

If you remove the file any other way, LogViewPlus will assume that it should continue to monitor the file. If you right-click in the transfer pane, you should see an option to cancel the transfer:

The same effect can be achieved by selecting the transfer and pressing the Delete key. Alternatively, you can close the log file in Log Files & Filters view.

Hopefully one of those options will help. I am not sure a Sync command is really needed.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:32:26 GMT

When I delete files from Log Explorer, they remain visible in the File Transfers pane, but they have a warning symbol. They also remain visible in the Log Files & Filters pane. The only way I've found to get rid of them is to close and reopen the entire workspace. It would be great if there was a Sync button in the toolbar that would sync the files displayed in both panes with the file system. So any deleted files would be removed from both panes. It would also be nice if there was a preference setting to do this automatically. So instead of continuing to display the files with the warning symbol, it would just remove them from both panes.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 08:48:47 GMT

Hi Brad,

We have just released LogViewPlus v2.5.35 as a BETA release. This release tracks file deletions made from the Log Explorer and updates LogViewPlus accordingly.

Hope that helps,

Toby

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 05:51:41 GMT

Thanks for the feedback Brad.

Shift-selecting multiple log files is something that has been on our list for awhile as it would make tasks like merging easier. Once we get this implemented, supporting the Delete option makes sense.

For this release, I will take a look at handling the delete events generated in the Log Explorer more elegantly. It makes sense that files removed via Log Explorer are also removed from the view.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 22:15:59 GMT

The new Delete option works well. It would be nice if it supported deleting multiple files via shift-select. I had to clean out like 20 files today. I tried the Delete on one and it worked great. Then I tried shift-select and it was no-go, so I used the Open Directory option to open the file manager. I was able to shift-select and delete them using the File Manager, but of course, when I returned to the main window, the files were all still listed there, and lots of blank entries in the monitor pane.I was able to clean everything up by closing and re-opening the workspace, but it doesn't seem elegant.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 15:49:25 GMT

The 'Program Files' target has changed in this release. This is an unfortunate side effect of migrating to an admin-free installer. You will need to manually uninstall the previous version before upgrading.

Note that LogViewPlus will still run as a 64-bit program on a 64-bit OS.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 14:17:59 GMT

Thanks, Toby, the screenshot looks great!

I noticed the installer wants to install it into Program Files (x86), while the previous version installed into the x64 directory. Why is that happening? I don't want to end up with two different versions installed in different directories.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 12:59:57 GMT

Hi Brad,

I just wanted to let you know that we have now released LogViewPlus 2.5.34 as a BETA release. This release includes a new 'File System' context menu which consolidates file system actions and adds a new 'Delete' command.

I think the 'File System' context menu approach makes the user intent clear while also giving room to expand in the future. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

Hope that helps,

Toby

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 17:03:38 GMT

Thanks for the clarification. I think there are a couple of work items outstanding on this issue - including a command to delete the file and improved visual indicators. Let's get the next version out and go from there.

RE: Delete Files from UI

SoBeGuy — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 16:54:42 GMT

This is related to the delete feature we've been discussing. Currently, I'm performing the steps manually and not getting the expected outcome.

I'm not suggesting to restart monitoring. I'm suggesting that when you delete a file, remove it from the file transfer pane, and remove it from the log files list, that it should be as if it never existed in the first place. Therefore, if the file is later recreated, the directory monitor should pick it up and add it to the file transfer pane as a new file.

Honestly, this isn't a huge deal. As you mentioned, it can be refreshed manually. However, it's nicer when things just work without manual intervention. My main point is that when you physically delete a file, remove it form the file transfer pane and remove it from the log files pane, there should be no memory of the file. If it reappears, it should be treated as a new file.

RE: Delete Files from UI

LogViewPlus Support — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 14:51:34 GMT

One problem to consider is this: open a log file, terminate monitoring, write some entries to the log file, roll the log file, start monitoring. What is the state of the log file you are viewing? Do you have a complete list of log entries in the time range shown? I believe that you may end up with a corrupted view.

For this reason, it doesn't really make sense to 'restart monitoring' on a log file. It could potentially lead to a lot of confusion for the end user. Also, local files do not have file transfers and do not appear in the 'monitoring' pane.

The directory monitor is responsible for opening all matching files. An opened file may be monitored. So the relationship is Directory -> File -> Monitor. If monitoring is terminated, it can be restarted by refreshing the file with F5.

Does that make sense? It may help if you can give me an idea of the use case you are trying to achieve.

[quote]If I delete a file, I want it removed from the file transfer pane, because it makes no sense to display a file that no longer exists[/quote]
As previously discussed, the log file in the view should display all log entries since monitoring started. If a file is deleted, it can be recreated. Therefore, monitoring should not be terminated.