Auto-refreshing preview

SilverGreen93 · 06-13-2023, 03:38 AM

Hi guys,
I am using Sigil a lot for editing my ebooks, but one feature annoys me very much.
Whenever I am editing the HTML source, the preview pane refreshes on every couple keystrokes. Refreshing takes some time and I don't need it refreshing every time. I can see that at the bottom of the preview pane there is a refresh button. How can I disable auto-refresh and instead let me use the refresh button to refresh the page whenever I need to?
I can't find an option in the settings to disable auto-refresh.
Thanks.

KevinH · 06-13-2023, 07:56 AM

Just set a shortcut to hide and unhide Preview or stack it underneath the Toc dock widget and switch tabs when you need it.

But unless you are trying to edit the book contents all in one huge long file, the delay should not be noticeable..

Trying to edit the book as one long file is a common mistake many people make because they fear it needs to be like that for links and other things to be properly updated. It does not. That is the whole point of Sigil. It handles that just fine. So split that one huge file into its natural chapters (using Sigil split markers or by splitting at cursor tools). This should make updating in Preview almost instantaneous on any modern computer.

SilverGreen93 · 06-13-2023, 09:52 AM

Thanks for reply.

My ebook has HTML files around 400 lines long, I think this is not that much, but refreshing the preview takes more about 5 sec, as they contain a lot of illustrations.

I want to have the preview panel visible when doing small edits to quickly (visually) reference the paragraphs that I need to make changes to. Hiding it is not an option in this case. After making several edits I expect to be able to click on the refresh button to see the preview.

But what is the purpose for the refresh button on the bottom of the panel if there is no option to disable auto-refresh anyway?

Vanguard3000 · 06-13-2023, 10:23 AM

I've also noticed in the last few versions that the preview doesn't always update when switching text files if I switch them quickly. For example, if Sigil opens to cover.htm, and I immediately switch to ch01.htm, the preview will continue to show the cover until I hit refresh or make a change that would trigger the refresh.

KevinH · 06-13-2023, 10:26 AM

No change in that code at all. Perhaps Qt has changed how it implements things.

KevinH · 06-13-2023, 10:33 AM

Wow, 5 seconds is a lifetime!

Just how many illustrations and what image size / resolution are you using? Are these svg vector images, jpegs, etc?

Image resources are typically cached by WebEngine and reload quickly after the first load.

Is this some type of comic book where every image should be in its own chapter?

Is your home account or temp filter using cloud/nas or some other type of remote storage?

What exact version of Sigil are you using?

I am very curious what causes such a long delay as I have never seen it without a huge all book text in one file causing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverGreen93

Thanks for reply.

My ebook has HTML files around 400 lines long, I think this is not that much, but refreshing the preview takes more about 5 sec, as they contain a lot of illustrations.

I want to have the preview panel visible when doing small edits to quickly (visually) reference the paragraphs that I need to make changes to. Hiding it is not an option in this case. After making several edits I expect to be able to click on the refresh button to see the preview.

But what is the purpose for the refresh button on the bottom of the panel if there is no option to disable auto-refresh anyway?

KevinH · 06-13-2023, 10:38 AM

There is no option to turn off auto refresh because I (and others) have never seen a need for it using any image resolutions that can actually be displayed by common epub reading devices. Wrapping an image in svg to scale it is often used over super high resolutions.

Would you please make a copy of your epub (simplified to one or two pages) that I can use to reproduce what you are seeing and figure out why.

If not directly fixable in other ways, I would consider adding that option to the next version of Sigil.

Thanks,

Kevin

DiapDealer · 06-13-2023, 11:33 AM

I'd be curious about hardware as well. I've got a tired old laptop that I test Sigil on, and even with chapters that have tons of images, I'm nowhere near 5 seconds on refresh. It's typically under a second. As far as complete Preview disconnects go, that doesn't really happen to me. I'd suspect Antivirus/Anti-Malware. That's why I always exempt Sigil's program directory and Preferences directory from active Anti-Malware scanning on any machine I use Sigil on.

KevinH · 06-13-2023, 03:12 PM

In case others are following along. The OP posted a sample epub for me to test with. The images were all png files and all quite reasonable in size although all using 24 bit color which is overkill.

Then there are special fonts that are embedded and used throughout.

And finally there were 3 or 4 chapters in each file.

Once I used Find and Replace to split the files into their natural 13 chapters, one per file, then everything (even with high images and embedded fonts) loaded almost instantly.

So no real justification to make a extra preferences to enable and disable preview updating.

I personally think leaving it as is truly encourages good epub design. But I am willing to be overruled.

If others would be interested in this feature request, please let me know and if there is enough interest I will consider adding it to my "to-do" list for future releases.

DNSB · 06-13-2023, 07:01 PM

Personally, I'm very much in favour of "One chapter = one file" in my ePubs so count my vote to not add this to your "to-do" list.

theducks · 06-13-2023, 08:57 PM

↑ ↑ ↑ ✔
Everything about Sigil and other EPUB editors eliminates the need for working on a monolithic file .
Less chance of

ing it up

SilverGreen93 · 06-14-2023, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'd be curious about hardware as well. I've got a tired old laptop that I test Sigil on, and even with chapters that have tons of images, I'm nowhere near 5 seconds on refresh. It's typically under a second. As far as complete Preview disconnects go, that doesn't really happen to me. I'd suspect Antivirus/Anti-Malware. That's why I always exempt Sigil's program directory and Preferences directory from active Anti-Malware scanning on any machine I use Sigil on.

I have an Intel i7-7700K, 16GB RAM, SSD. So there shouldn't be any issues here.
I have Kaspersky AV, turned it off, and maybe can see an improvement of about 1 sec loading time. So, after splitting chapters, preview refresh time is about 3 seconds with AV off.

KevinH · 06-14-2023, 08:19 AM

I have a similar i7 system on my old laptop but with 32 meg and see no 3 second delay. So something is interfering with Preview loading on your machine or it uses a corrupted font. Perhaps, creating two chapters with text garbled (there is a sigil plugin to do that) so that it can be posted here in public would allow other Windows users to test and report back.

Perhaps it is a Windows specific issue? I just can't see it on my old intel mac laptop.

DiapDealer · 06-14-2023, 08:38 AM

My comments about Antivirus were more for @Vanguard3000's report of Preview not refreshing at all. Though I still recommend permanently exempting Sigil's program and preferences directories from Microsoft's Defender, as well as any other additional Antivirus software installed.

I also don't recommend having multiple, competing live scanning antivirus engines (a la Defender AND Kapersky) running at the same time on Windows. I've run into nothing but problems with that scenario. I find the built-in Defender to be quite sufficient. But that's a different topic.

EDIT: and before I forget, we need to verify that Sigil is not being launched via calibre's "Open With" plugin in this scenario.

KevinH · 06-14-2023, 09:33 AM

Just to make sure we are seeing the same thing (not 3 seconds but ...),

I took the epub you sent and split it and then started hand editing the longest remaining file with the most images and fonts.

I clicked into the middle of that long file and starting adding and deleting text. And *after* my typing stopped (after a brief interval) Preview auto updated and I saw an annoying flash during reload but that was about it. I could keep editing and so on and other than the annoying flash, nothing else bad happened. I did not sit and watch Preview reload. I just kept adding and deleting text and never felt any slowdon when editing.

So if you are seeing something different, then please produce the garbled test case I asked about so we can see if other Window users are seeing what you are seeing instead of what I am seeing.

06-13-2023, 03:38 AM	#1
SilverGreen93 Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: Pocketbook InkPad Color 3	Auto-refreshing preview Hi guys, I am using Sigil a lot for editing my ebooks, but one feature annoys me very much. Whenever I am editing the HTML source, the preview pane refreshes on every couple keystrokes. Refreshing takes some time and I don't need it refreshing every time. I can see that at the bottom of the preview pane there is a refresh button. How can I disable auto-refresh and instead let me use the refresh button to refresh the page whenever I need to? I can't find an option in the settings to disable auto-refresh. Thanks.

06-14-2023, 08:38 AM	#14
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,341 Karma: 203719142 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	My comments about Antivirus were more for @Vanguard3000's report of Preview not refreshing at all. Though I still recommend permanently exempting Sigil's program and preferences directories from Microsoft's Defender, as well as any other additional Antivirus software installed. I also don't recommend having multiple, competing live scanning antivirus engines (a la Defender AND Kapersky) running at the same time on Windows. I've run into nothing but problems with that scenario. I find the built-in Defender to be quite sufficient. But that's a different topic. EDIT: and before I forget, we need to verify that Sigil is not being launched via calibre's "Open With" plugin in this scenario. Last edited by DiapDealer; 06-14-2023 at 09:00 AM.

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06-13-2023, 07:56 AM	#2
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,439 Karma: 5702578 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Just set a shortcut to hide and unhide Preview or stack it underneath the Toc dock widget and switch tabs when you need it. But unless you are trying to edit the book contents all in one huge long file, the delay should not be noticeable.. Trying to edit the book as one long file is a common mistake many people make because they fear it needs to be like that for links and other things to be properly updated. It does not. That is the whole point of Sigil. It handles that just fine. So split that one huge file into its natural chapters (using Sigil split markers or by splitting at cursor tools). This should make updating in Preview almost instantaneous on any modern computer.

06-13-2023, 09:52 AM	#3
SilverGreen93 Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: Pocketbook InkPad Color 3	Thanks for reply. My ebook has HTML files around 400 lines long, I think this is not that much, but refreshing the preview takes more about 5 sec, as they contain a lot of illustrations. I want to have the preview panel visible when doing small edits to quickly (visually) reference the paragraphs that I need to make changes to. Hiding it is not an option in this case. After making several edits I expect to be able to click on the refresh button to see the preview. But what is the purpose for the refresh button on the bottom of the panel if there is no option to disable auto-refresh anyway?

06-13-2023, 10:23 AM	#4
Vanguard3000 Groupie Posts: 166 Karma: 474196 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2	I've also noticed in the last few versions that the preview doesn't always update when switching text files if I switch them quickly. For example, if Sigil opens to cover.htm, and I immediately switch to ch01.htm, the preview will continue to show the cover until I hit refresh or make a change that would trigger the refresh.

06-13-2023, 10:26 AM	#5
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,439 Karma: 5702578 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	No change in that code at all. Perhaps Qt has changed how it implements things.

06-13-2023, 10:38 AM	#7
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,439 Karma: 5702578 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	There is no option to turn off auto refresh because I (and others) have never seen a need for it using any image resolutions that can actually be displayed by common epub reading devices. Wrapping an image in svg to scale it is often used over super high resolutions. Would you please make a copy of your epub (simplified to one or two pages) that I can use to reproduce what you are seeing and figure out why. If not directly fixable in other ways, I would consider adding that option to the next version of Sigil. Thanks, Kevin

06-13-2023, 11:33 AM	#8
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,341 Karma: 203719142 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I'd be curious about hardware as well. I've got a tired old laptop that I test Sigil on, and even with chapters that have tons of images, I'm nowhere near 5 seconds on refresh. It's typically under a second. As far as complete Preview disconnects go, that doesn't really happen to me. I'd suspect Antivirus/Anti-Malware. That's why I always exempt Sigil's program directory and Preferences directory from active Anti-Malware scanning on any machine I use Sigil on.

06-13-2023, 03:12 PM	#9
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,439 Karma: 5702578 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	In case others are following along. The OP posted a sample epub for me to test with. The images were all png files and all quite reasonable in size although all using 24 bit color which is overkill. Then there are special fonts that are embedded and used throughout. And finally there were 3 or 4 chapters in each file. Once I used Find and Replace to split the files into their natural 13 chapters, one per file, then everything (even with high images and embedded fonts) loaded almost instantly. So no real justification to make a extra preferences to enable and disable preview updating. I personally think leaving it as is truly encourages good epub design. But I am willing to be overruled. If others would be interested in this feature request, please let me know and if there is enough interest I will consider adding it to my "to-do" list for future releases.

06-13-2023, 07:01 PM	#10
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 44,523 Karma: 167912829 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Personally, I'm very much in favour of "One chapter = one file" in my ePubs so count my vote to not add this to your "to-do" list.

06-13-2023, 08:57 PM	#11
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,883 Karma: 59840450 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	↑ ↑ ↑ ✔ Everything about Sigil and other EPUB editors eliminates the need for working on a monolithic file . Less chance of ing it up

06-14-2023, 08:19 AM	#13
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,439 Karma: 5702578 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	I have a similar i7 system on my old laptop but with 32 meg and see no 3 second delay. So something is interfering with Preview loading on your machine or it uses a corrupted font. Perhaps, creating two chapters with text garbled (there is a sigil plugin to do that) so that it can be posted here in public would allow other Windows users to test and report back. Perhaps it is a Windows specific issue? I just can't see it on my old intel mac laptop.

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06-14-2023, 09:33 AM	#15
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,439 Karma: 5702578 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Just to make sure we are seeing the same thing (not 3 seconds but ...), I took the epub you sent and split it and then started hand editing the longest remaining file with the most images and fonts. I clicked into the middle of that long file and starting adding and deleting text. And after my typing stopped (after a brief interval) Preview auto updated and I saw an annoying flash during reload but that was about it. I could keep editing and so on and other than the annoying flash, nothing else bad happened. I did not sit and watch Preview reload. I just kept adding and deleting text and never felt any slowdon when editing. So if you are seeing something different, then please produce the garbled test case I asked about so we can see if other Window users are seeing what you are seeing instead of what I am seeing.