Tiger users, please check if this received a facelift.

[elmimmo]

One year ago I posted a bug to Apple about a downgrade in Finder's performance from 10.2 to 10.3 in one specific feature: the speed it took to display the preview of an image file in column view *when the image has a preview resource already embedded*. Many applications add previews to image files so that the Finder (and other apps) does not have to open the full image then scale it down in order to show a preview to the user.

In 10.2, when you selected an image in column view, if there was an embedded preview, the preview column displayed it instantly, and I mean instantly. 10.3, though, experiences a short delay, less than a second, during which the preview pane is blank. No big deal, you might say. Not for previewing a single image. Still, loosing this was a pain in the ass when browsing folders with tens and hundreds of images and you'll see why: in 10.2 you would go to that folder, in column view, click on the first image, resize the preview column to a decent size and keep the down arrow pressed. Boom! The Finder would slideshow lightning fast through all those images and it made it soooooo nice and easy to select the particular image one wanted in a crowded folder. Because of this I batch created the preview of all my images with GraphicConverter (which was a snap) and forgot about it or other image browsing tool after that. I teased my friends using Windows woking in the graphics world about this feature, and they were quite envious about it in fact.

10.3 comes in and brings this micro pause when displaying a preview (note that I mean even, specially, in the case when it does NOT have to create a preview, just display the embedded one). Effect: doing the same will give you a constant, blank and thus useless preview column. From then on I have had to resort to image browsing apps such as GraphicConverter or PhotoShop's browser, which sucks, specially considering that the very Finder was the best image cataloging tools I had ever seen, at least according to my needs.

What's weird, is that, while the Finder was knocked down in 10.3 in that aspect, some parts of the OS retained 10.2's behaviour, mainly "File>Open" dialogs, which IMHO is nuts. Check, then, in 10.3, how the Finder behaved in 10.2, by going for instance to Photoshop, File>Open, browse to a folder full of images which you know have a preview embedded (you can do so with GC's "Convert more…" menu) and try what I said, and you will understand why 10.3 misfeature totally sucks if you were used to the former behaviour.

We are so far in 10.3.7, so Apple obviously ignored me completely. Can anyone using a beta of Tiger check, then, if they saved the candy for the next major release? Can you see if that Finder's feature works like it did in 10.2?

 

[TigerPRO]

I don't use that particular feature, so I've never noticed that with the image previews. But on a couple other things, I did notice some "sloppier" things in Panther as compared to Jaguar.

My first question would be if they fixed the power of the "force quite" command. While I don't use it very often, when I have needed to, it hasn't worked. This has happened to me across mutiple Mac too. Programs will hang, and not even the force quite will be able to bring them down. It usually requires a log off to kill them. In Jaguar, the force quite command always instantaneously ended a program. But with Panther, after you force quite the app, it'll dissapear from the list, but it'll still be running in the dock, and continue to be unresponsive. This doesn't happen all the time, usually only when a program is REALLY stuck.

My second question would be about the menubar. This may seem like a really nit-picky observation, but it's something that bothers be none the less. In the old Jaguar, the menubar would always appear first, and then the icons would be loaded onto it after that. While the whole process took only a fraction of a second, a person paying close attention would see it. However, since upgrading to Panther, funny things happen all the time. Sometimes after closing an application, you will temporarily be able to see the menubar items floating over the desktop without a menubar background. When the system is first logging you in, sometimes it'll load the menubar items before displaying the menubar itself. It's not a problem. But for an interface perfectionist like me, those little imperfections are annoying. Especially when there are new ones apeearing with an upgrade. It's the refinement process in reverse.

 

[elmimmo]

so?

 

[Sun Baked]

so?

Some people may feel the same way about your nitpicking.

 

[jsalzer]

I use it.

so?

Uh......a needle pulling thread????



Just thought I'd toss in that I use this feature in columnar view all the time. In fact, I guess I didn't have the patience to find out that, if I'm understanding you correctly, it will eventually show images that don't have the preview pre-built. I just assumed it wasn't doing that any more.

I'm one of those folks who is still a bit afraid to let iPhoto have total control until all of the apps I use have Keynote's and Pages' new "Media Browser" capability. Otherwise, if you're trying to tile a pic (let's say, in a rectangle in Word), you're forced to find it through the finder. (Well, I guess you could find it in iPhoto and drag a copy to your desktop so you know where it is, then throw it away.)

 

[jsalzer]

short words

Some people may feel the same way about your nitpicking.

Unfortunately, we don't know the intent of the "so". In his defense, it could be:

"So....does anyone have the answer to the question I initially asked?"

and not:

"So....who cares about your problems? This is my thread!"

 

[elmimmo]

it could be: "So....does anyone have the answer to the question I initially asked?"

Yes, it was that. Of course I do not have anything against TigerPRO's post, since the subject of the whole thread is pretty vague. Still, I do recognize "bump" posts do irritate some people. That is why I waited 2 months to do it, so it is not like I am abusing or something IMHO.

jsalzer, I think I do not get your answer on one thing. I was not saying that Panther takes more to build previews of images that do not have one embedded in its resource fork. In fact, some people consider Panther to be even faster than Jaguar building a preview of an image that does not have one in column view (I have not compared that far, honestly).

What irritated (irritates) me is the cut to white and ~0.5 sec. pause that Panther will initially take when selecting a new image, wether or not it has an embedded preview. Jaguar swapped the picture in the preview column instantly, with no pause whatsoever if the new image had a prebuilt one. Waiting 0.5 sec for one single picture, even if a step back from Jaguar, is no problem of course, but browsing through tens of pictures leaving the finger pressing the down arrow is not possible anymore, since you will get a constant white preview column if you try to do that on 10.3.

Please, anyone using Tiger, it is not that difficult to try this…

 

[TigerPRO]

elmimmo, since no one appears to be responding to you, I would offer this insight. I think Apple is going to get it right with Tiger. In other words, this is going to be a solid release, and allot of long-time irritating "thingies" are going to be stomped out (finally). I expect your issue to be resolved.

 

[jsalzer]

Still...

jsalzer, I think I do not get your answer on one thing. I was not saying that Panther takes more to build previews of images that do not have one embedded in its resource fork. In fact, some people consider Panther to be even faster than Jaguar building a preview of an image that does not have one in column view (I have not compared that far, honestly).

OK - I think there was an update somewhere along the way that fixed the problem. Earlier in Panther's life, any image that I hadn't made a thumbnail for showed up in the columnar view's final window with the generic Quicktime icon.

Of course, now that I go to try to find an example, they all show a preview! I didn't realize this got fixed somewhere along the way. I wonder how long it's been working and I haven't realized it. Now I feel really dumb!!!

Just ignore me.

 

[TigerPRO]

Now I feel really dumb!!!

Just ignore me.

That's not any way to treat yourself.