.mp4 files locked after viewing

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Brother Gabriel-Marie
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.mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by Brother Gabriel-Marie »

With my camera I take a lot of photos and an occasional movie (mp4).
Then I view them all the same in MP.
So I double click on the files to view them - images and movies alike.

I also don't use tabs - so I have the settings all set so there is only ever a single tab open and then I hide all tabs. That way I can simply double click to switch between browser and viewer without ever having to close tabs.

However, I have problems with movies.
After I watch part of one, I double-click on it to go back to the browser mode. I can still hear the movie playing - which means that the file is still open in the background. This file keeps playing even though I am in browser mode and have clicked on other files.

And of course, the file is locked, too, so I can't move it.

ALSO, I notice that if I select a movie file and copy/cut it, and then try to paste it in Explorer, I can't because MP has it locked because that movie is showing in the preview panel. So I have to cut the file, then select some other file, and THEN I can paste it in explorer.

So there are two places the mp4 is getting locked: whilst it plays in a hidden background tab, and when it is displayed in the preview panel.
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xnview
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by xnview »

if you show tabs, do you see 2 tabs?
Pierre.
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Brother Gabriel-Marie
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by Brother Gabriel-Marie »

Pierre, yes - one for browser and one for the mp4 file.

So the mp4 keeps playing in the tab until I "view" another file. If I double-click on a jpg then *that* opens in that second tab and the movie stops playing.

But if I don't open another file in view mode, then the mp4 is locked because MP still has it in that other tab.
So the file will be locked if it is open in the hidden tab, AND/OR if it is open in the preview panel.

Oh, and the reason I don't like tabs is because I like to view a lot of files by switching between browser and view - and I hate having to close tabs all the time. So I try to use MP's settings to get a sort of "tabless" mode.
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Brother Gabriel-Marie
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by Brother Gabriel-Marie »

So, is there a way to get out of having to close tabs all the time?

Maybe there can be an auto-close tab option which happens when you select a different file?
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xnview
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by xnview »

Brother Gabriel-Marie wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2018 3:02 pm So, is there a way to get out of having to close tabs all the time?

Maybe there can be an auto-close tab option which happens when you select a different file?
and pressing ESC or double click to close the current tab is not good?
Pierre.
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Brother Gabriel-Marie
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by Brother Gabriel-Marie »

Well, sure I could close the tab myself. But when you move through alot of files, it adds extra steps and stresses the workflow with actions that are not necessary to accomplish anything. It's like using an umbrella in the rain and you have to keep pushing it back up because the catch doesn't work right.
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xnview
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by xnview »

but how do you return to browser?
Pierre.
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Brother Gabriel-Marie
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by Brother Gabriel-Marie »

I just double click the image to switch between browser and viewer.

In Settings > Interface > Switching Mode
I use

Use Double Click to Switch Between:
Browser <> Viewer

Sometimes I also use:
Use ENTER to Switch Between
Browser <> Viewer

In either case, I wouldn't ever have a reason to close a tab. (also, all these problems persist if tabs are hidden, anyway. I'd hide my tabs, but there are certain times where I'm forced to close the tabs manually, so I *can't* hide the tabs). The problem here (I think) is that the tab *locks* the file - that's why you can't rename or move a file when it's open in a tab.
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xnview
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by xnview »

the video file is opened when you open the tab
Pierre.
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Brother Gabriel-Marie
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by Brother Gabriel-Marie »

No - the video loads in the preview pane unless you click on it to load in a tab. Either way, the video gets locked and you can't move it.

It's like this: I am reviewing photos that I took with the camera, and then I drag them out of xnview into a folder in my file-browser (FreeCommander). It's okay until I move everything except the last video in the folder. I can't move it without clicking on it and selecting it. But then I cannot drag it out of xnview into the file-browser because it gets loaded in the preview pane and gets locked.

So I have to click on the video file, ctrl+x to cut it, then go and use keyboard paste in the file-browser.

I'm just saying here that you can't drag the file out of xnview like all the others because the preview panel locks the mp4 file. It doesn't lock image files, though.
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foxyshadis
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Re: .mp4 files locked after viewing

Post by foxyshadis »

In Windows, video is via DirectShow. Unfortunately, that API generally holds exclusively open any video with an open handle, since it's always required to be ready to render the next frame without crashing. It's probably best to just assume that video won't work like images on Windows, and go from there.

This is one of several reasons I don't use the preview panel. (Accidentally clicking on a 10,000x20,000 PNG is another reason. Might as well go make coffee.)
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