Version: 7.3.4.2 (x64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 728fec16bd5f605073805c3c9e7c4212a0120dc5
CPU threads: 4; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 19043; UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: sv-SE (en_GB); UI: en-GB
Calc: threaded
I’m uncertain whether it’s a bug or a feature.
I have a simple sheet with hyperlinks to local .png files.
LO remembers the target location and offers it to me as soon as I activate the “Insert Hyperlink” button on the Ribbon.
I don’t have “Use Libre Office Dialogue Boxes” activated in General Options.
As there are hundreds of them, I “viewed” them as a detailed list, sorted them in descending date order and then reverted the view to “Medium-sized icons”.
If I have saved the image using IrfanView whilst the sheet is open, created the hyperlink and then accessed the folder to link the image to the intended H-L Button there’s a noticeable delay between LO opening the target folder and presenting any icons.
If I simply open the sheet without any recent prior image creation or save within IView and then “fake” a link to any preexisting .png in that same folder it displays the icons instantly.
Is there a known issue concerning accessing folders immediately following their utilisation by external programs? The image created by IView is always the result of a cropped [Alt]+[PrtScrn] operation so I wonder if it’s another problem related to the copy/paste buffer.
Is it a reportable bug.
My only reason for having the files sorted reverse Chrono is to avoid the overhead of scrolling/sliding to the bottom of the window. As the delay is longer than the scroll time it now seems futile.
This is just an observation. I have Windows 11 and have turned off Windows file indexing but even so, sometimes Windows explorer is very slow just to allow me access, as though it is indexing the files (reading the contents). This can occur without LibreOffice being open.
Might be Windows refreshing thumbnails, see https://www.howtogeek.com/246087/how-to-speed-up-a-windows-folder-that-loads-very-slowly/
@EarnestAl I think it must be Gremlins.
I just experimented and discovered that If I sort the folder reverse chrono in IView before saving it, opening the same folder in the LO hyperlink pane gives an instant display.
I don’t think it’s appropriate to bother the developers with an Explorer/IView/LO interaction issue - especially as the workaround is now so simple
I also guess this is more on internals of windows explorer, than anything inside LO (unless you use LOs internal dialogs for open save - can be activated in settings.)
.
My observations are Windows is caching some data, but first access of bigger folders may be slow for search and sort.
@Wanderer I’ve noticed that applications’ saving and loading folder windows are not configured the same way as the explorer folder windows. Are you aware of any protocol? Does MS force application developers to adopt an alternate, perhaps non-copyright View?
Windows native file dialogs use Windows Explorer engine. The specific configuration for any such dialog is per-application, using application-specific identifier (that the application passes to the system, and the system uses to store the settings in the registry).
This is all handled outside of LibreOffice, and uses the IFileDialog system API. Implementation is in fpicker/source/win32.
A problem could also be a hard disk.
Depending on the settings, this may have to be “woken up” first.
@EarnestAl I just reviewed that link and even though my folder is full of images - not photos, just low res cropped screen dumps - I customised the folder characteristics to “General”. Probably a “belt and braces” approach as some of the other efforts also appear to help. Thanks for the tip 
@Hrbrgr As it was only occurring in the one specific instance and only after I changed the sort order AND the disk has generally been active for an hour or more (we’re all creatures of habit) it seems unlikely. Any response is better than being ignored. Thanks for the thoughts