E-Book Slow Start

[Tim Frost]

On first reference (after Windows startup) our 28MB exe help file can often take 15 seconds or more to show anything other than an almost empty window. If this is unavoidable, it would be nice to have some sort of splash screen which could be displayed to avoid giving the impression that nothing is going to happen. If the help is opened again, either from one of our applications or from a shortcut, the contents display in around half a second and the introduction page within the following half second.

There is a second issue, which is that sometimes it turns out that the impression of failure is justified: I can wait a couple of minutes and then finally close the window as 'not responding'. A second attempt is then successful and the display appears normally, within a second.

What might be going on here? It is hard to be more precise about the symptoms because each test to demonstrate the problem first requires a reboot. But I could run Process Monitor on it if that is likely to be helpful. This is build 3731, Windows 7/64, IE11.

[Tim Green]

Hi Tim,

It sounds as though something is wrong here. The current build is 3732, but that shouldn't be the issue. If you aren't opening the file via a very slow network connection, a 28mb file should open quickly. The "not responding" issue also indicates something is wrong. Please mail (or provide a download link to) a demo project illustrating the problem and the skin you are using to support AT ec-software.com (replace the AT with @) and we will check it for you.

[Tim Frost]

I logged the first startup with Process Monitor this morning and no delay occurred! I will keep looking, and send you a download link if I can make it reliably repeatable. I failed to mention that this was loading from a local hard drive, and that a delay has also been reported by end-users. I will also try it on some other machines here to see if I can identify a pattern.

[Martin Wynne]

I'm seeing the same. First access after a Windows re-start takes typically 15-20 seconds. Subsequently almost instant.

But the problem is not EWriter, it is Internet Explorer. Which behaves exactly the same after a Windows re-start. If I launch IE first, EWriter then loads instantly.

The problem seems to be that those of use who never use IE for anything else (I use only Firefox normally), are accessing IE for the first time when launching EWriter.

regards,

Martin.

[Tim Frost]

Same here - I hardly ever use IE, only Firefox. I will try loading IE first when I start the machine tomorrow. It is also possible that IE may occasionally get invoked by something at startup, thus explaining the variations. Thanks for the observation!

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Tim,

Another point to consider is whether your EWriter executable is signed? Some anti-virus programs scan unsigned executables every time they are launched, or the first time they are launched in a Windows session. You may want to try changing your AV settings, or turning AV off, and testing EWriter again.

regards,

Martin.

[Tim Frost]

Good point, but this exe is only built in our Finalbuilder project so has always been signed. And I would expect an AV check to complete before any part of the app allowed to execute, whereas the symptoms here, and at customer sites, always involve an empty window being visible. If the problem turns out to be an IE issue, perhaps we could ask for an e-book option to display a small 'Waiting for Internet Explorer...' message in this empty window.

[Alexander Halser]

I do not think that it is MSIE that causes the delay, it is rather the internal local webserver. You can see a similar delay sometimes when you publish Webhelp from H&M - the browser (doesn't matter which one) sometimes takes a couple of seconds before the published Webhelp is being displayed.

The EXE eBooks use a similar mechanism. When we developed the new format, we experimented with alternatives as well. In particular with "asynchronous plugable protocols". That's a Windows function where you define an ad-hoc browser protocoll and register a handler for that protocol.

That async version is much faster, because it doesn't use a loopback via the internal webserver, but handles browser requests directly. It has less overhead as well. But it did not work well in the beginning, because the internal database we use for the eBooks is not thread-safe. This issue has been addressed in the meantime, but the version is still in beta state.

However, this could be an opportunity to try and test it.

Modfied eBook viewer template (download):

http://download.ec-software.com/hm-eboo ... -async.zip

How to use it (you will need admin privileges to do that):

1) Navigate to your H&M installation, locate "\Templates\eBooks"
2) Rename the current eBook template "HMExeViewer.e32" to backup the file
3) Copy the modified "HMExeViewer.e32" from the download zip to this folder
4) Re-compile your eBook

I am curious about the results and your feedback.

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Alexander,

That is definitely an improvement on Windows 7. First time start in about 7 seconds instead of 15 seconds.

On Windows 10 (Surface Pro 3) the improvement is not so noticeable because previously it was taking only about 2 seconds.

Incidentally, on Windows 10 the EWriter window is displaying with a strange blue border on 3 sides. It's not important, but looks odd and doesn't match any other windows I have seen on Windows 10.

regards,

Martin.

[Alexander Halser]

Incidentally, on Windows 10 the EWriter window is displaying with a strange blue border on 3 sides

I guess that's normal
Or do you see any differences in the optical appearance between the previous and the new template? There aren't any UI changes, it is just compiled with a different technology underneath.

[Martin Wynne]

I guess that's normal
Or do you see any differences in the optical appearance between the previous and the new template? There aren't any UI changes, it is just compiled with a different technology underneath.

Hi Alexander,

Both old and new versions are the same. However I noticed it only today, after a significant Windows 10 update 2 days ago. I can't remember noticing it before, and it looks so odd that I think I would have done so. If I could find another window looking the same it wouldn't matter, but I have just been through lots of software, child windows, tool windows, pop-ups, dialogs, etc., and I can't find any others like it.

Except for child windows, Windows 10 appears to have removed all window borders, using only the shadow effect to make them prominent. So a wide blue border, plus a shadow, doesn't match the theme and looks odd. Especially being on 3 sides only (not the top).

Here's what I'm seeing on Windows 10. (I have been using H&M to create a personal photo gallery, using image toggles in a table. It works great, and much easier than dedicated gallery software. )

Notice the fuzziness caused by EWriter being non-dpi-aware at 144dpi. It looks so much better on 120dpi screens.

gallery_ewriter.jpg

regards,

Martin.

[Darren Rose]

I can confirm the odd border on 3 sides here too - as per screenshot - never noticed it prior to installing Windows 10 "fall" update though

Untitled.png

[Tim Green]

Hi Darren, Martin,

On Windows 10, are you testing on the latest Windows V. 1511 update just released or are you still on the previous build of Windows 10? A number of things appear to have changed in the new build -- I'm getting some problems on 1511.

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Tim,

My Surface Pro 3 updated itself over the weekend and Windows Update is now saying it is fully up-to-date.

Windows 10, Version 1511, Build 10586.3

I haven't noticed any actual problems. It got very hot while updating and I feared it may cut out -- that happened once before when it got very hot, and is just what you don't want while doing a system update. But that is Surface Pro specific. My everyday desktop is still on Windows 7, and that's the way it is staying until I next replace it.

regards,

Martin.

[Tim Green]

Hi Martin,

Thanks for the information. I'm getting "Page not found" instead of the eBook on EWriter with the experimental viewer build on Windows 10 1511, both on the Surface Pro 3 and a on a desktop. We're looking into it.

Re Surface Pro 3 heat: Did you get the i7 version? I've heard frequently that the cooling system on the Surface Pro can't really handle the i7, and that it throttles itself so frequently as a result that you actually get more sustained performance out of the i5. I got the i5 because of that and I've never had any heat problems -- it gets a little warm sometimes, but never more than that.