LMMS
Implement directory watching / auto-refresh for file browser
Under linux, there exists a tool called inotify which allows an application to watch a directory and be notified whenever something about it changes (new file added/deleted, existing file modified, etc).
A natural way to use such a tool is to monitor all the open folders in the file browser and update the UI in real-time as the folders are modified, saving the user from having to manually refresh the directory view, or forgetting to.
inotify is linux only, but a quick search reveals these equivalent cross-platform tools (though I know little of their reputation/usability):
- simplefilewatcher (Win/Mac/Linux, poll-based, MIT license)
- libfswatch (Win/Mac/Linux/FreeBSD, callback-based, GPLv3 license)
The latter option looks to be better all-around (more actively developed, doesn't require calling "update()" on a regular basis, and it supports slightly more backends), except for the less-permissive license, but LMMS is licensed under the GPL anyway ( :-1: ) so that's pretty much moot.
Note for anyone wanting to try their luck: This should be relatively easy to implement using QFileSystemWatcher.
Also, It would be better if the refresh button refreshes the currently open directory only.
As of now, it resets to the home link (/), collapsing all of the directories navigated by the user,
In LMMS 1.3.0-alpha.1 on Linux Mint 20.3, this feature already seems to be in place. I can add/remove directories and files and the file browser automatically updates. Can anyone else confirm this?
This isn't working on my local build of master on Windows. I can't see at a quick glance any code that would implement this feature, either. Are we all definitely talking about the sidebar, and not file dialogs?
