SmugLoader - manage your SmugMug photos and videos

udy

BeachBill wrote:

I would suggest making this a user selectable option, something like:
[ ] Overwrite or [ ] Rename files with same name in gallery when downloading

I don't know if that is the appropriate solution. Think about 2 different photos landed in the same album, but having the same name. The user uploaded those 2 knowing that SmugMug wouldn't overwrite. The application should at least try to detect if the files are really duplicates (same MD5Sum?), before overwriting.

How would you decide which file is to be kept from n files with the same name?

I have chosen to play on the safe side. But I'll think about it.

If you have any other ideas, please put them here.

Thanks

SamirD

udy wrote:

You can find below the relevant page for Java version 6:
http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/install/system-configurations.html

As you can see, the supported Windows versions are 7/XP/Vista/2000/2003/2008.

If I would have a Win 98, I would give it a try, but I think I wouldn't go back to Win95.

I hope it helps.

Thank you very much for the feedback. The hotel I'm at doesn't have high speed Internet (it's only about 800k), so I'm just going to take a second system for backup only. I'll probably actually use the built-in SM uploader since it should max out the bandwidth no problem.

udy

I replaced the beta-2 archive again, with some bug fixes, mainly about UI scenarios. Some of them could give the user some trouble , like unexpectedly stopping actions.

udy

Home page changed
The home page of SmugLoader has moved to http://sl.bulcu.ro

udy

Beta-3 announcement
I've just uploaded the 3rd beta of SmugLoader-0.5.

Here are the changes:

• I decided to modify the upload procedure, in order to avoid scanning for files twice. Now the user can't set the albums privacy until a scan of the files will have been done. Here are the steps:
  1. Add root directories (collections) to be scanned. The new entries in the list of directories will be displayed in red, indicating that they have to be scanned.
  2. Scan the root directories. The user can repeat 1-2. As soon as the scan finishes, the red entries are painted back in black (usually, but it's system dependent);
  3. Change albums privacy;
  4. Change files privacy, or remove some of them from the upload list;
  5. Initiate the upload process, by clicking the Upload button. Before the upload itself begins, the structure of categories/subcategories/albums is created.
• The application will check every 10 seconds (subject to parametrization, in future build) to see if there are failed uploads, and will try to upload them again. There is no limit to how many times will try that;
• There were certain situations (errors during upload, etc) in which the upload queue was not using the number of concurrent threads set by the user. Tried to cover most of the scenarios.
• Deleting of entire custom category, with its subcategories, and albums now hopefully works;
• Fixed some issues with scenarios involving the Anonymous access, in alternation with the normal access;
• Fixed the Empty SmugMug account action. Although I've never tried it out, I reinspected the code, and found a bug.
• Other fixes.

Known issues:

• There could be the situation when the network connection goes down, and some responses don't arrive to the application. The files could be on the server, but the application doesn't know that. Or in the same situation, the structure of categories, subcategories, and albums would not be completely created. These 2 issues can be solved by restarting the application, which will detect the troubled uploads, and take some measures (re-upload files if you want; complete the structure creation automatically)

Due to the changes I made to the upload process, there might be other bugs I haven't found yet. As always, your input is welcome.

There might be necessary to squeeze in one more beta, before the first release candidate of SmugLoader 0.5

I hope you'll enjoy this release.

SamirD

udy wrote:

I've just uploaded the 3rd beta of SmugLoader-0.5.

Just in time! I just got home and am very sleepy. Will set up an upload session using beta 3 and then go to sleep.

udy

SamirD wrote:

Just in time! I just got home and am very sleepy. Will set up an upload session using beta 3 and then go to sleep.

Keep me posted, please.

SamirD

udy wrote:

Keep me posted, please.

I used 30 upload streams and it uploaded everything except two files. I used the standard SM uploader web uploader to finish the upload, but somehow there's a duplicate file because one of the files that didn't transfer was a 800mb video that shouldn't transfer. The number of images in the gallery is one more than it should be.

udy

SamirD wrote:

I used 30 upload streams and it uploaded everything except two files. I used the standard SM uploader web uploader to finish the upload, but somehow there's a duplicate file because one of the files that didn't transfer was a 800mb video that shouldn't transfer. The number of images in the gallery is one more than it should be.

OK. Here are some questions:

1. Is the other file (smaller), that didn't transfer, the duplicated one? I ask you this because it could be one of the known issues I wrote about (Have you read the known issues section?).
2. Can you tell me what was the status of the smaller file?
3. If you used the SM uploader, did you select the check for duplicates option?
4. Have you tried to re-upload the failed one using SL?

I didn't announce duplicate detection in SmugLoader. :-P

I can't do anything unless I have detailed information about such situations.

Thanks.

SamirD

I'll try to answer the questions the best I can. Because of my tight deadlines, I rarely have time to diagnose issues. Instead, I usually just have to figure out a way around it.

udy wrote:

1. Is the other file (smaller), that didn't transfer, the duplicated one? I ask you this because it could be one of the known issues I wrote about (Have you read the known issues section?).

I'm not sure since that queue is long gone. From what I recall, it may have actually been more of a SM issue than a SL one. For some reason, SM didn't like two jpg files from a Canon 50D. I believe one of them was this file. I only got them to upload when I used old faithful.

udy wrote:

2. Can you tell me what was the status of the smaller file?

I believe it was 'waiting'. I get this a lot. I also get a lot sitting on 'confirmation', and 'i/o error'.

udy wrote:

3. If you used the SM uploader, did you select the check for duplicates option?

Yes. That's usually the first thing I set.

udy wrote:

4. Have you tried to re-upload the failed one using SL?

No, I just used the SM one.

I'm not sure why, but recently almost every time I set a batch to upload and then go to sleep, it fails and I have to restart it at some point. The status are 'confirmation', 'i/o error', and 'waiting'. There will be so many of these that they will use up every upload thread and then the uploads stop. This is more likely to happen on the 1000+ larger batches like I've been having lately.

udy

SamirD wrote:

I'm not sure why, but recently almost every time I set a batch to upload and then go to sleep, it fails and I have to restart it at some point. The status are 'confirmation', 'i/o error', and 'waiting'. There will be so many of these that they will use up every upload thread and then the uploads stop. This is more likely to happen on the 1000+ larger batches like I've been having lately.

Thanks for your feedback. The worse is when there is no feedback at all.
Of course, it would be more useful to have a complete picture, but I'll have to be content with what I have.

Regarding the issues, I don't know what to say, but most likely the connection, or SmugMug server was the cause. The I/O error is usually because of that. The long confirmation period it could also be a slower response time of SmugMug, or of course your connection to the Internet wasn't the best at that time. Are you sure that your ISP isn't filtering the traffic?

If an upload fails, the application should re-try to upload it, when the time is right. Usually you shouldn't manually do that. The only exceptions would be the ones that I described in the release notes. Have you read them carefully?

Bill tested a 9GB ("2,369 images in 113 folders") upload a good while ago, when beta wasn't even out, and only 2 files failed to upload.

If the application didn't freeze, I can't think about anything else but connection issues (on SmugMug part, or yours).

I haven't uploaded so many files till now, but I uploaded a 440MB batch yesterday without a single fail.

For a complete picture I will need feedback from more people, maybe with different connection setups.

I see many downloaded SL, but only a few gave me feedback, which is not the ideal situation.

Thanks again.

SamirD

udy wrote:

Regarding the issues, I don't know what to say, but most likely the connection, or SmugMug server was the cause. The I/O error is usually because of that. The long confirmation period it could also be a slower response time of SmugMug, or of course your connection to the Internet wasn't the best at that time. Are you sure that your ISP isn't filtering the traffic?

I'm glad that the I/O error isn't something local like it couldn't read the file. That was making me panic a bit.

SE also has problems, so there may be issues with the ISP. But I tend to believe it is more likely my setup than the ISP since I am using a multi-wan router and three connections. For now I'll have to be happy that I can upload multi-wan for a while by just setting SL and letting it run until it stops. Then I'll have to switch to manually setting SM to finish the uploads. Better than what I was doing before.

udy

SamirD wrote:

I'm glad that the I/O error isn't something local like it couldn't read the file. That was making me panic a bit.

SE also has problems, so there may be issues with the ISP. But I tend to believe it is more likely my setup than the ISP since I am using a multi-wan router and three connections. For now I'll have to be happy that I can upload multi-wan for a while by just setting SL and letting it run until it stops. Then I'll have to switch to manually setting SM to finish the uploads. Better than what I was doing before.

Samir,

I assumed that your HDD had no issues. Please check it. Right now, the only way you could find out if it was a HDD issue is to check the logs for IOException, and see if it was an input issue. I'll implement more specific error reporting for such a situation, and let the user know if the file couldn't be read. By the way. Could you please send me the logs? Just pack the log folder.

For your sake, please check your HDD.

Don't panic! The panic won't help you.

udy

SamirD wrote:

I'm glad that the I/O error isn't something local like it couldn't read the file. That was making me panic a bit.

SE also has problems, so there may be issues with the ISP. But I tend to believe it is more likely my setup than the ISP since I am using a multi-wan router and three connections. For now I'll have to be happy that I can upload multi-wan for a while by just setting SL and letting it run until it stops. Then I'll have to switch to manually setting SM to finish the uploads. Better than what I was doing before.

I thought about it, and your HDD probably has no issues, since you were able to send the files, in the end.

boyan silyavski

udy wrote:

I thought about it, and your HDD probably has no issues, since you were able to send the files, in the end.

hi,
i wait for the moment when sb will make a tool to delete galleries,categories with all the galleries inside and so on.

SamirD

udy wrote:

I thought about it, and your HDD probably has no issues, since you were able to send the files, in the end.

Yeah, I didn't think it was the hd like you said. I have 2 sets of drives and compare them to the original before sending. They would have failed that test.

I'm sending you one of the log files once I get to that system. Stand by.

udy

Beta-3 replacement
I've just replaced the archive of the 3rd beta.

The new archive contains a fix for the first of the known issues stated in the Beta-3 Announcement. I hope it will work for you too.

It should improve the upload success ratio for those cases.

Please update to the new archive.

Thanks

SamirD

udy wrote:

I've just replaced the archive of the 3rd beta.

Downloading now.

lunarphile

Yay my first dgrin question is complete newb one.

How do I use SmugLoader?
I've downloaded the zip file, unpacked it, but see no executable
Read through this thread and didn't see any instructions mentioned. And the link mentioned in the first post for more info doesn't work
http://www.bulcu.ro/SmugLoader

Thanks, would love to use this because the web interface of SmugMug is driving me nuts while I try to organize multiple galleries.

BeachBill

lunarphile wrote:

Yay my first dgrin question is complete newb one.

How do I use SmugLoader?
I've downloaded the zip file, unpacked it, but see no executable
Read through this thread and didn't see any instructions mentioned. And the link mentioned in the first post for more info doesn't work
http://www.bulcu.ro/SmugLoader

Thanks, would love to use this because the web interface of SmugMug is driving me nuts while I try to organize multiple galleries.

SmugLoader is written in Java. Look for SmugLoaderLauncher.jar in the unzipped folder and run it.

Post #95 says that the home page has changed. Udy, it appears it would be a good idea to update your first post.

udy

BeachBill wrote:

Udy, it appears it would be a good idea to update your first post.

Thanks for the suggestion, Bill. It's done.

I also updated the Home page with some brief instructions.

udy

lunarphile wrote:

Yay my first dgrin question is complete newb one.

How do I use SmugLoader?
I've downloaded the zip file, unpacked it, but see no executable
Read through this thread and didn't see any instructions mentioned. And the link mentioned in the first post for more info doesn't work
http://www.bulcu.ro/SmugLoader

Thanks, would love to use this because the web interface of SmugMug is driving me nuts while I try to organize multiple galleries.

Thanks for considering SmugLoader. Please read the Features page on sl.bulcu.ro, and see if your requirements for organizing are met with the current version. If not, they will, eventually :-P

apexonephoto

I generally have very long category names.


The longest category I currently have is:CRA Super Series, ASA Late Model Challenge, and Whelen Southern Modifieds at Music City Motorplex Nashville Tennesee March 31, 2007

I can make it shorter.

So when I open up Smugloader and click on the category dropdown, I lose access to the whole right side of the dialog box.

I understand some people use square 15" monitors, many do have widescreen laptops and this is the reason to have the dialog box centered and a certain width.

Would it be possible to add the ability to drag the right hand corner, making the dialog box wider.

Thanks for your time.
James

udy

apexonephoto wrote:

I generally have very long category names.


The longest category I currently have is:CRA Super Series, ASA Late Model Challenge, and Whelen Southern Modifieds at Music City Motorplex Nashville Tennesee March 31, 2007

I can make it shorter.

So when I open up Smugloader and click on the category dropdown, I lose access to the whole right side of the dialog box.

I understand some people use square 15" monitors, many do have widescreen laptops and this is the reason to have the dialog box centered and a certain width.

Would it be possible to add the ability to drag the right hand corner, making the dialog box wider.

Thanks for your time.
James

Could you please provide me a screenshot in a private email?

Thanks

udy

Beta-3 Replacement
I've replaced the beta-3 archive with a new one. It brings a few fixes:

• The albums tree component had a performance issue when there were a lot of categories;
• The Album Settings dialog did not resize when a combo box was resized to accommodate a long entry;
• There was an issue with the uploads, when temporary switching from a regular account to anonymous account, and back again;
• There was an issue with the settings dialog, while being in the anonymous mode;
• Fixed the home page in the About dialog.

I hope it is a better build .

apexonephoto

The Smugloader link brings me to a Google log in page for your site.

Thanks for your changes and addressing the category length issue.

udy

apexonephoto wrote:

The Smugloader link brings me to a Google log in page for your site.

Thanks for your changes and addressing the category length issue.

The website is back online. Keep in mind that you can download the application directly from:

http://kenai.com/projects/smug-loader/downloads

http://sl.bulcu.ro is the presentation site, and it usually is the first site where a new user should go, before downloading.

Thanks

SamirD

SamirD wrote:

I'm not sure why, but recently almost every time I set a batch to upload and then go to sleep, it fails and I have to restart it at some point. The status are 'confirmation', 'i/o error', and 'waiting'. There will be so many of these that they will use up every upload thread and then the uploads stop. This is more likely to happen on the 1000+ larger batches like I've been having lately.

This issue has gotten so bad, that SL doesn't really work for me anymore. :cry SE doesn't even work either, which leads me to believe something has changed on SM's side rather than with the ISP or the connection. Until something gets resolved, looks like I'm back to the SM uploaders. :cry

udy

SamirD wrote:

This issue has gotten so bad, that SL doesn't really work for me anymore. :cry SE doesn't even work either, which leads me to believe something has changed on SM's side rather than with the ISP or the connection. Until something gets resolved, looks like I'm back to the SM uploaders. :cry

You should really ask SmugMug for an answer. It's really sad it's happening. I remember though that they stated in a thread that there should be no issues with massive uploads.

Then again, please drop them a question.

Since we are here, have you tried to lower the number of upload threads? It is always better to have even twice, or four times the speed, isn't it?

SamirD

udy wrote:

You should really ask SmugMug for an answer. It's really sad it's happening. I remember though that they stated in a thread that there should be no issues with massive uploads.

Then again, please drop them a question.

Since we are here, have you tried to lower the number of upload threads? It is always better to have even twice, or four times the speed, isn't it?

I just don't have time right now. I've been behind schedule for two weeks now, so until I catch up, I can only use what works. :cry

Each of my modems needs 4 streams to max out the bandwidth, so a total of 12 streams should theoretically be enough. But I've found that 12 isn't enough. 15 does the job, but I noticed that 30 squeezes every drop of bandwidth out of them. I'll try lowering the number of threads to 12 and see what happens. 16 still had the problem. :cry