Exclude Files

[smckean]

Is there a way to exclude certain types of files from your Analyzer scan? For example, if i did not want my PDF or Movie files to appear in the scan, or conversly, just .htm files. Is there a way to customize the scans or "hide" the other content?

[MarkMetcalfe]

I had hoped for a reply, too.

I have a large project. (~2100 pages; 4200+ files in the Content folder alone)

Even more simple than an exclude file list, there should be a way to scan ONLY when directed to do so. Then I could fix a whole bunch of items, and THEN re-scan.

PLEASE stop scanning after every little change! It is maddening to make a single fix through Analyzer (and I have version 6.0, now), and then have to wait for it to re-scan the project! It is the downfall of this otherwise very useful utility!

[doc_guy]

You should be sure to log this with MadCap:

https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... yzer&v=6.0

In fact, both of you should log this, as items with multiple requests can often receive priority in future versions.

[NorthEast]

I had hoped for a reply, too.

I have a large project. (~2100 pages; 4200+ files in the Content folder alone)

Even more simple than an exclude file list, there should be a way to scan ONLY when directed to do so. Then I could fix a whole bunch of items, and THEN re-scan.

PLEASE stop scanning after every little change! It is maddening to make a single fix through Analyzer (and I have version 6.0, now), and then have to wait for it to re-scan the project! It is the downfall of this otherwise very useful utility!

I agree, Analyzer is quite literally unusable in any of our large projects (2000+ topics), as it can take minutes to re-scan after each single change. This isn't down to PC specification either; my PC is quick and has 6GB memory. It's been like this since v2.

[MarkMetcalfe]

You should be sure to log this with MadCap:

https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... yzer&v=6.0

In fact, both of you should log this, as items with multiple requests can often receive priority in future versions.

Thanks. I did just that.

Now, as maddening as it was, I did use Analyzer to eliminate about 2400 unused bookmarks (that were probably left over from our conversion from Frame to Flare quite a few years ago). I just had to have the patience of a saint and eliminate about 100 at a time. Each operation took multiple minutes: minutes to wait for the re-scan to finish, minutes to check out the files from the selected bookmarks which only checked out the files (I had to RE-SELECT the bookmarks), and short minutes to actually delete the unused bookmarks from the checked out files. (Then the automatic re-scan would start all over.) Even so, it was much better to have the program deal with all the bookmark connections and links than for me to have to do it by hand in the HTML code (which I had actually started to do).

Still a fan!

[doc_guy]

What a PITA. I have a tool that I have to work with that has similar usability issues. What works for me is to be doing two things at one. I interact with the tool every five minutes or so, but I just keep working on other stuff and let the tool run in the background and I interact with it at intervals. I hate staring at the screen for 5 minutes when my next interaction with the software will only take 20 seconds, but I've found that trying to do two things at once at least lessens my frustration with the arduous one.

[MarkMetcalfe]

What a PITA. I have a tool that I have to work with that has similar usability issues. What works for me is to be doing two things at one. I interact with the tool every five minutes or so, but I just keep working on other stuff and let the tool run in the background and I interact with it at intervals. I hate staring at the screen for 5 minutes when my next interaction with the software will only take 20 seconds, but I've found that trying to do two things at once at least lessens my frustration with the arduous one.

True. I have two machines at my desk and three monitors, so I know all about the multi-tasking. I use one of the machines to build the project and I can continue to work on the project in the other. (Builds: PDF 20 minutes; PDF A4 20 minutes; Mobile 16 minutes; HTML5 9 minutes)

I ran Analyzer on a small project (~100 pages), and the automatic scan was tolerable, perhaps 10-15 seconds to re-scan the small project. (I didn't actually time it.) However, with our main project (~2100 pages) every re-scan is about 3 minutes (or more; again no stop-watch), and Analyzer re-scans after every single operation. It is a good tool. It lets me fix things I couldn't find on my own and right from the interface; it handles all the under-the-hood ramifications of what links to where and such.

I got a note about shutting off certain scan items: File > Options > Analyzer Tab > Check boxes for what Analyzer will scan but this isn't what I want. (I already had all the of items unchecked.) I simply want a way to shut off automatic scanning so that I can do things, and then manually launch a scan -for example- after I've tackled all the unused bookmarks in the report.

C'mon MadCap whiz kids, I know you can do this!