Watch Folder

[Editpo]

Hi
Any chance of adding a Watch Folder for batch processing?

[RandomEngy]

Maybe someday. It would be a big feature that would require setting up a system service, and I'd need time to do it.

[Editpo]

Ok thanks. Ive been using HBBatchBeast but its a bit clunky

[jglazer63]

Given that there are command line options, you can do this with a little power scripting to watch a folder for files and then add them to a queue. This is precisely what I plan to do.

[RandomEngy]

Added a folder watcher in 8.4 Beta.

[jglazer63]

Where/How do you enable this? I have 8.6 and cannot find the setting.

[RandomEngy]

@jglazer63 Windows -> Watcher. It is not supported in the Portable version, only in the Installer or zip.

[Editpo]

Excellent!
I've created a watch folder
ENABLED watch folder on the Windows icon.
I can see the Watch Folder window. It says Watcher - Starting... (is that meant to say Started after a bit?)
Put a file in the watch folder
Nothing happens!

Any clue?

[RandomEngy]

Looks like it is having trouble starting the VidCoderFileWatcher process. Can you check the %appdata%\VidCoder-Beta\Logs folder and see if there is a log named "Watcher"?

[Editpo]

I haven't got a LOGS folder

[Editpo]

Ah There is a logs folder in appdata/Roaming. Nothing called Watcher though

[Editpo]

The last entry in the logs folder is general and reads

VidCoder 8.5 Beta

ERROR: Could not refresh folders in file watcher.
PipeMethodCalls.PipeInvokeFailedException: Can only invoke methods after connecting the pipe.
at PipeMethodCalls.PipeInvokerHostExtensions.InvokeAsync[TRequesting](IPipeInvokerHost1 invokerHost, Expression1 expression, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
at VidCoder.Services.WatcherProcessManager.RefreshFromWatchedFolders()

[RandomEngy]

Do you see a process named VidCoderFileWatcher running in Task Manager?

[Editpo]

No. Not seeing that

[Editpo]

FYI I have just installed into another PC. Still the same problem

[Editpo]

2nd one

Application: VidCoderFileWatcher.exe
CoreCLR Version: 6.0.622.26707
.NET Version: 6.0.6
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException: Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Users\david\AppData\Roaming\VidCoder-Beta\Logs\2022-09-13 11.29.18 Watcher.txt'.
at Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle.CreateFile(String fullPath, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options)
at Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle.Open(String fullPath, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize)
at System.IO.Strategies.OSFileStreamStrategy..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize)
at System.IO.Strategies.FileStreamHelpers.ChooseStrategyCore(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize)
at System.IO.Strategies.FileStreamHelpers.ChooseStrategy(FileStream fileStream, String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize)
at System.IO.StreamWriter.ValidateArgsAndOpenPath(String path, Boolean append, Encoding encoding, Int32 bufferSize)
at System.IO.StreamWriter..ctor(String path)
at VidCoderCommon.Services.SupportLogger..ctor(String type)
at Program.

$(String[] args)
at Program.(String[] args)

[RandomEngy]

And there is the smoking gun. Left in a line meant for debugging. Should be fixed in 8.7 Beta. Thanks for all your patience in helping me debug.

[Editpo]

Excellent! Its all working so far. Got 3 files in watch folder queue. Top one encoding
Glad you got there.

[Editpo]

Just noticed that if you put just one file in the watch folder it gets queued but doesn't start encoding. As soon as you add a second file it starts the queue.
Is this intentional?

[RandomEngy]

That's a bug that was introduced when I refactored away the scan dialog. It will be fixed in the next Beta release. Thanks for pointing it out.