Multiple Files Attachment behavior/issues?

[PierreBn]

Hi,
I’m having trouble understanding if I do something wrong, or if there are still a few bugs wih this field.
I am attaching mostly PDFs.

– Fully attaching a file/more files works: the file is visible in TF on my mac, then syncs and is available to view on mobile devices (iCloud)
– When I just “link” a file from my Mac, I run into issues. Some may be bugs, or maybe I didn’t understand the purpose of this “link” function.

1) After closing TF for Mac, and reopening, I can’t double click the attachment to view it again: preview launches, but opens no file (obviously I haven’t touched or moved the linked file). Am I doing it wrong?
2) When deleting a “linked” file, TF warns me it will delete it forever. This isn’t the case (nor should it be), since linked file aren’t stored in/by TF. Misleading UI bug?
3) When viewing the field on my phone/iPad, TF still offers me to view “linked files” (small cloud icon, clicking opens a blank page). Obviously I don’t expect my iphone to be able to open files that are purposedly just kept on my Mac. Bug?

Thanks,
Pierre

[Brendan]

Hi Pierre,

1. I’ll have to look into this. I’m assuming you’re referring to alias files? It should be able to open a full file attachment since it makes a copy of the file.

2. It should just delete the link, not the original file. I’ll adjust the wording of the alert.

3. This is a bug. I knew it was there actually. I just haven’t adjusted the iOS version yet to ignore these types of files. Or figure out some way to tell iCloud not to sync them from the Mac.

Thanks!

Brendan

[PierreBn]

As always thanks Brandon for putting 2) and 3) on your to-do list.
As for 1), yes, I am talking about alias files, not actual attachments. I have tested again and confirm no alias file is opening for me (though Preview launches).

Which leads me to another functionality issue not mentioned yet:
a)Clicking on “show in finder” works…but a bit too much: it displays 2 finder windows, one with the actual file and location, a second one showing a hidden TF folder containing a Mac OS style alias file.

While I am at it, 2 small UI issues not yet mentioned:
b) See screenshot 1 attached: the attachment field doesn’t resize correctly (TF tries to display a big PDF icon, therefore the text is halfway hidden).
c) Visible in screenshot 2: oddly, all my alias PDF files are shown as being 823.9Kb (they are not).

Problem b) is the only general issue with attachment fields.
Problems a) and c) seems to only occur with “alias files”.

Sorry about adding new stuff, I still love TF ;-)
Pierre

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[Brendan]

Hi Pierre,

I have fixed the row height issue for version 2.0.2

Those file sizes are how much space the alias files take up. I know it’s a lot, but I think it’s because the alias files themselves contain a copy of the original file’s icons. It has been a discussion on some Apple developer forums before. I haven’t been able to get them to be smaller.

I’ll look into the show in finder issue. I hadn’t seen that when I built it, but it’s been a little while since I clicked that button.

Thanks,

Brendan

[PierreBn]

Thanks Brendan, I understand this is not your fault, so this is FYI: the problem with aliases seems worse than you think:

– The aliases (in the hidden TF folder) are very big (seems to be always 1.7Mb). This means I am actually loosing space in my iCloud account by using aliases (the original files are smaller!).
– The file size indicated by TF doesn’t seem to match neither the actual file size, nor the alias size.

See attached screenshot:
– Original file: 103Kb
– Alias file: 1.7Mb (!!!)
– Size as shown in TF: 833.7 Kb

Weird…In the meantime I need to review my usage of aliases vs actual attachments.

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[Brendan]

Hi Pierre,

Here’s a discussion on Alias file sizes you might find useful:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/10162897#10162897#10162897

Aliases are useful if the original file size is large, but not if it’s small. You’re better off just adding a copy of the file.

Thanks!

Brendan

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