Re: lynx-dev LYNX: do the "override?" msg FIRST (as well as at end?)

[Patrick]

In "Re: lynx-dev LYNX: do the "override?" msg FIRST (as well as at end?)"
[04/Aug/2000 Fri 22:19:10]
David Combs wrote:

> On Fri, Aug 04, 2000 at 05:38:20PM -0700, Doug Kaufman wrote:
> > On Fri, 4 Aug 2000, David Combs wrote:
> > 
> > > Currently, it isn't until AFTER you have downloaded
> > > some maybe huge (emacs is 50mb!) file that you find
> > > out that you ALREADY have an identically-named file on
> > > the disk.
> > > ... 
> > > Yes, many things use simple names, like "index", but
> > > many more (?) have full names, like foo-3.8.2.tar.gz,
> > > and you'd like (maybe) to know BEFORE downloading if
> > > perhaps you ALREADY have it.
> > > ... 
> > > Anyone think that some such facility would be useful?
> > 
> > I don't think that I understand what problem you are talking about,
> > let alone your proposed solution. Are you talking about name conflicts
> > or about downloading the same file more than once? I would think that
> > either would be handled by either suspending lynx (with CTRL-Z),
> > if supported, or shelling to the command line (with "!") and using
> > the usual file utilities to see what you already have. I do this
                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You can also do this from within Lynx, of course, using g)oto:
file://localhost/~/ [should list your login directory].  A simpler
way to check what you have before downloading something would be
to make your login dir the DEFAULT_INDEX_FILE in lynx.cfg

# DEFAULT_INDEX_FILE is the default file retrieved when the
# user presses the 'I' key when viewing any document.
# An index to your CWIS can be placed here or a document containing
# pointers to lots of interesting places on the web.
#
DEFAULT_INDEX_FILE:file://localhost/~/

I'm assuming two thing here. . .  No, three:
1) your login directory is uncluttered enough that you can look it
   over quickly,
2) you remember to press 'i' *before* downloading, and
3) you don't already have something useful set as your DEFAULT_INDEX_FILE.

> > frequently in both unix and DOS. If you download a file and find that
> > another file with the same name already exists, the temp file is still
> > there, so you can just cancel the saving to disk with CTRL-G, then
> > save to another name, or just say no to the request to overwrite, then
> > pick another name for the saved file. Perhaps you could try to explain
> > again exactly what causes you problems.
> >                             Doug
> 
> Yes, no problem when you WANT the file you just downloaded.
> 
> It's when you have mistakenly downloaded the same file twice,
> just because you forgot what you had just done (eg phone call
> or other interruption of your concentration).
> 
> And, no big deal if it took only a few seconds to download
> the thing, as it does for me on my netcom soon-to-be-gone
> shell-account (since downloading via lynx is to THEIR computer,
> not mine).
> 
> But not so fast for ppp users on 56kb modem, and not so 
> fast for even shell acct when the file is BIG, HUGE.
> 
> ---
> 
> That's all I'm talking about -- when you make a MISTAKE,
> and download a file you already downloaded (likely just
> a few minutes (or hours, if called away to meeting, etc)
> ago.)
> 
> Simply about the waste of downloading-time.  Had you been
> informed BEFORE downloading actually started that you
> already had that file, you could have aborted it, and
> saved that (maybe precious, maybe long) time.

Might be nice to automate that, but simpler to create a quick, easy
way of checking for yourself [eg, the INDEX thing above].  Also,
with 'some_software_current.tar.gz' the same file-name from a different
server may actually *be* a differet file.  That's something Lynx
wouldn't be able to figure out.

> That's all.   I sent the suggestion only because I
> had just made that very mistake, and said to myself,
> "wouldn't it be nice if lynx had TOLD me that I
> was about to download something I already had?"
> 
> Also, it could NOT notify you about any file named 
> "index".

Offering/making up new names, like index1.html, index2.html with
pre-existing files might be nice, but also easy to type in when Lynx
asks what name to save a file as.  [Also, names like that don't help
you identify something later.  Not by name, anyway.]

> David
> 



                          Patrick
                <mailto:address@hidden>


        I just remembered that I'm absent-minded.
        Wait
        I mean I've lost my mind.
        I can't find it. . .
                                -- Slim Shady

; To UNSUBSCRIBE: Send "unsubscribe lynx-dev" to address@hidden