New user to v6

boswell2011

boswell2011

New Member
Used old v5.7 I think it was for many years.
Very easy to use - small dialogue box with progress bar and a few erase method options and that was it - job done.

Updated to latest version as an encryption software I have apparently had issues with the older Eraser versions.
New version however is really disconcerting in that there is no progress bar - I use the explorer context menu for any and all erasing. I therefore right click in explorer, select erase and nothing appears to happen - then the file disappears - presumably erased.

Now I have read your sticky where you indicate that you can still see the progress bar somehow - though I don't understand how, as I don't have any task window open in Eraser at the time - I simply use the explorer link to erase (I do not open Eraser as such).

Would it not be better for peace of mind as a default to have a small progress indicator to show what was happening rather than just the file vanishing?
A small point maybe but for a novice I simply want to select erase - see what's happening - and be assured that the file in question is gone and irrecoverable - and that's it.
Can that simple view not be incorporated?

I also note the default is Gutman 35 - Is this really necessary?
 
Thank you for these constructive points, and for taking the trouble to look up the FAQ before posting.

boswell2011 said:
New version however is really disconcerting in that there is no progress bar - I use the explorer context menu for any and all erasing. I therefore right click in explorer, select erase and nothing appears to happen - then the file disappears - presumably erased.

Now I have read your sticky where you indicate that you can still see the progress bar somehow - though I don't understand how, as I don't have any task window open in Eraser at the time - I simply use the explorer link to erase (I do not open Eraser as such).
Click to expand...
When you erase via the context menu, a new task is created, then deleted again if the task completes successfully. While the task is running, you can open the Eraser Schedule and see the progress bar (and also read the log). You might not regard that as a satisfactory answer but the Schedule is where you see the progress bar.

boswell2011 said:
Would it not be better for peace of mind as a default to have a small progress indicator to show what was happening rather than just the file vanishing? A small point maybe but for a novice I simply want to select erase - see what's happening - and be assured that the file in question is gone and irrecoverable - and that's it. Can that simple view not be incorporated?
Click to expand...
The FAQ topic on Eraser architecture explains why Joel chose to program erasing as a background task, and that is very much part of the design philosophy of Eraser 6, getting away from the modal progress window in Eraser 5. That said, your point is fair, though I think that the idea could be best implemented as one of those taskbar icons that function as mini progress bars, rather than as a window; this is what CCleaner does. Joel will be able to say how difficult this is to program; I suspect that the Eraser Schedule would have to be minimised to the taskbar. Of course, the Eraser tray icon flashes when Eraser is actually working; that is not a progress bar, but it is evidence that something is happening.

boswell2011 said:
I also note the default is Gutman 35 - Is this really necessary?
Click to expand...
No, it isn't, but Joel thought that many users would expect it. I use the HMG 3 pass erase as my default.

David
 
Many thanks David for your response - much appreciated.

I confess I had not noticed the tray icon flashing - indeed I never even noticed the icon! So I had a look today and I found that it was ticked as "hide when minimized" - which I have now deselected.
The appearance of a small progress bar/icon in the tray (without hovering the cursor over the icon) would certainly suit a novice like me better as I tend not to schedule erasing. I simply erase files as and when I need to. But I also take your point and appreciate that the work to provide that feature may be prohibitive.

However and not for the first time I note that sometimes programmers forget about the poor layman guy on the keyboard, who's angle is - Press a key, what's happening, whats' the result, end. (nothing worse than pressing a key and nothing is seen to happen).

About the Gutman 35 - I was just curious but I thank you for your answer which I appreciate.
As long as Eraser does what it's supposed to do I'll probably keep it, though I still have the older version if I just have to have a progress bar! (I'll sort out the conflicting software if I have to as well).

Best regards,
JB
 
DavidHB said:
boswell2011 said:
Would it not be better for peace of mind as a default to have a small progress indicator to show what was happening rather than just the file vanishing? A small point maybe but for a novice I simply want to select erase - see what's happening - and be assured that the file in question is gone and irrecoverable - and that's it. Can that simple view not be incorporated?
Click to expand...
The FAQ topic on Eraser architecture explains why Joel chose to program erasing as a background task, and that is very much part of the design philosophy of Eraser 6, getting away from the modal progress window in Eraser 5. That said, your point is fair, though I think that the idea could be best implemented as one of those taskbar icons that function as mini progress bars, rather than as a window; this is what CCleaner does. Joel will be able to say how difficult this is to program; I suspect that the Eraser Schedule would have to be minimised to the taskbar. Of course, the Eraser tray icon flashes when Eraser is actually working; that is not a progress bar, but it is evidence that something is happening.
Click to expand...
Like the Internet Explorer download progress bars, or the CCleaner window's progress bars in the system taskbar? Those shouldn't be too difficult I believe, however that would require the user to keep the Eraser Scheduler window open.

So, in Trac, we've got a few suggestions:

http://eraser.heidi.ie/trac/ticket/268: display some sort of progress bar when erasing, like the Windows copying/deleting progress dialogs
http://eraser.heidi.ie/trac/ticket/239: have a small window which summarises the status, like the Windows 7 Wireless Network Connection taskbar window

Both give good solutions, this would just be a third way of doing so. Do you want to open a ticket for this?
 
Yes, a small window display indicating the task at hand is in progress. A visual representation of what is actually happening is what most users would want to see as an indication that their trusted program is actually performing what it's supposed to do. Just a small window, now is that too much to ask?
 
A window is probably too much to ask, because Eraser 6 is designed to work in the background. In a multi-tasking environment, progress windows can be a real pain; if they are modal they interfere with everything else (as Eraser 5 did); if they are non-model they disappear under everything else.

What makes more sense in the current design is a better progress bar (perhaps with text and/or percentages superimposed on it), together with a logging arrangement which gives details of what Eraser has done, summarises issues with inaccessible files and only records those errors that stopped the program working.

David
 
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