Offline Files opening-procedure very slow due to check for newer versions

SHU-red commented 1 year ago

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

I often use NextCloud to store/share/access files for travelling documents A very common issue for me is as i want to open up my boarding pass right getting into the plane when its getting hectic

I already synced the full folder to my android phoe
I already created a shortcut on launcher to directly open boarding pass
After opening the file, there comes a very very long loading screen with the message "trying to find newer file" (or something)
During this very very long phase, the document can not be seen (and in my case, the QR-code can not be accessed)

Describe the solution you'd like

As i open up a file, it immediately opens/shows the current version on the phone
A loading icon/dialog could be shown in a corner or something and check for newer versions more passively/in the background
During the "open-phase" where the app tries to contact the NC-server, the files are directly available/zoomable/clickable in the latest version on the phone

Describe alternatives you've considered

There are no alternatives, because im syncing my files offline to have them available immediately

Additional context

none

tobiasKaminsky commented 1 year ago

Your solution is a great idea, but only for files that are shown within app. Check this situation:

you have a PDF
it is updated on server, meanwhile you are already in the folder (or as you have, use shortcut)
open PDF
files app opens external PDF viewer
files app checks in background that PDF is outdated
files app tries to inform user that PDF is outdated -> not possible, as app is not visible

This blocking mechanism is a trade off between speed/UX and making sure that file in question is really up to date.

SHU-red commented 1 year ago

I fully understand your point ...

What about this:

If i use the "On your Device" path to open a file or create a shortcut, it does not try to find a newer version or trying to sync several seconds but opens the local version directly
If i use the "All Files" path or one of the others, it tries to sync before opening

It feels really strange to me, that i am somewhere offline and i have to wait this long time before a file opens which i did prepare on purpose to acess it

If i have to search through e.g. 5 files because i don't exactly know where to find my information i will have to wait for ever until i see what the file contains

The above mentioned solution (or an alternative) could also be configurable via option

Or what about a switch on the main ui to switch between Only Offline or Online mode?

tobiasKaminsky commented 1 year ago

Normally this check is <0,5s. You mention that you are "offline", in this case the check should not performed at all… Is this really happening when your device is offline? Then app should identify it and show "no connection to server", and directly open locally stored file.

SHU-red commented 1 year ago

Yes I've definitely not been at home Could this be the case when being in a public WiFi (like on airports)?

And then the app is searching for the configured server IP but the process is slow or something?

SHU-red commented 1 year ago

I tried to screen-capture this for you as good as possible.

As Sidenotes for the video:

My nextcloud is running in docker on my homeserver
Ive deactivated my wifi so im only connected to the cellular network
Cellular network is not very good during this test

This is how it lookes and sometimes the "loading-dialogs" appear multiple times and last longer

Hopefully this is helping you?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g3atf6oym8ek58e/NextCloud_LaggyOfflineFiles.mp4?dl=0

nextcloud / android