No files shown with "Don't start the download automatically" enabled

[roccov]

I have "Don't start the download automatically" enabled so that I can click a torrent, go to the utorrent client, select the files I want to down load then start it.

With magnet links it doesn't list any files until you start it downloading. It seems to have a 2 step process. First the magnet link downloads the torrent info then it starts downloading the files.

Is it possible that, when I enable "Don't start the download automatically" and click a magnet link, that it first downloads the torrent info, then stops so that I can then select the files I want and start it?

[ciaobaby]

With magnet links it doesn't list any files until you start it downloading. It seems to have a 2 step process. First the magnet link downloads the torrent info then it starts downloading the files.

Yes, that has ALWAYS been the case.

Is it possible that, when I enable "Don't start the download automatically" and click a magnet link, that it first downloads the torrent info, then stops so that I can then select the files I want and start it?

No.

[DreadWingKnight]

How long are you waiting after selecting the magnet before you declare the file list "not going to show up"?

[roccov]

How long are you waiting after selecting the magnet before you declare the file list "not going to show up"?

It doesn't matter. It could be there for hours. If "Don't start the download automatically" is enabled then it doesn't list the files. Note: I'm viewing utorrent via the webui because utorrent is installed on my server, if it makes a difference.

[DreadWingKnight]

Is this a linux or windows server?

[roccov]

Windows. Actually it's still an XP machine.

[DreadWingKnight]

When you add the torrent through the regular interface, do you get the same behavior?

[roccov]

If I click a magnet link on my server, I get the "Add new torrent" dialog. At first, the "Torrent Contents" is empty but as I write this, the contents appeared. So it looks like it works.

So there must be something about my setup that interferes with it working properly.

This is how I have it set up. utorrent is run as a service on my winxp server using a program called FireDaemon. utorrent is started with the same credentials that I use to log in with. I use "utorrent Adder" on my client to send torrents to my server and I use the webui to check and start the torrents.

Can you spot the problem? Does anyone have a similar set up that works properly so I can copy them?

[roccov]

I spoke too soon. I was able to exclude all parts of my setup as the cause of the problem.

Using a normally started utorrent (not a service started one) on the server and clicking a magnet link on my server, with "Don't start the download automatically" enabled and "Show options to change the name and location of the torrent" disabled, it does not get the list of files. With "Show options to change the name and location of the torrent" enabled it does.

[ciaobaby]

So there must be something about my setup that interferes with it working properly.

Nope the problem is mainly external.

'Magnets' have to load the meta data from the peers in the swarm, if they are not connectable for any reason the meta data will take much longer (if ever) to load, and until it does load, your client has no way to determine the size and structure of the data.

[roccov]

I don't think it's external. When I was first asked "How long I wait", I downloaded a test magnet and today it still hasn't got any files listed. Today I used the same link in the situation that does cause it to load the file list and it listed the files within a few seconds.

I've done enough testing now to be sure it doesn't get the file list if "Don't start the download automatically" is enabled and "Show options to change the name and location of the torrent" is disabled. It's not just a matter of waiting or slow connections to peers.

[ciaobaby]

that does cause it to load the file list and it listed the files within a few seconds.

Yes if you HAVE the .torrent file which is what contains the meta data it will load immediately, because there is a local copy of the meta data, and the client does NOT have to wait for peers to supply it.

It's not just a matter of waiting or slow connections to peers.

You are wrong on that.

[roccov]

I don't think you are understanding me. I'll try to explain again but I expect I'll just be repeating myself.

If I have "Don't start the download automatically" ticked so the torrents don't automatically start and "Show options to change the name and location of the torrent" unticked so it doesn't show that dialog, then click a magnet link, then the magnet goes directly to utorrent in a stopped state. I've done this numerous times and the file list never has files and the files never appear until I start the download even if I wait for days.

If I enable "Show options to change the name and location of the torrent" so that dialog pops up, then while looking at it and making no changes to it, it retrieves the file contents information. And if I click ok and leave it in a stopped state it still has the file info. So it was able to retrieve the file info even though I didn't start it.

What I'm asking for is for it to retrieve the file information when I click a magnet link and it gets added to utorrent in a stopped state, even when I don't show that dialog, because of course I don't see that dialog when adding torrents from the webui.

Should be easy to implement. Just make it do whatever it does, to get the file info from magnet links, when it shows that dialog even when not showing that dialog.

[peaches760]

Just make it do whatever it does, to get the file info from magnet links, when it shows that dialog even when not showing that dialog.

i.e. download the .torrent file

In some ways, "Don't start the download automatically" is irrelevant. I don't use that option but an option to immediately download .torrent files from magnet links would help me as well.

Since some folks might prefer the current process, it would probably make sense to have this a separate option like "Immediately download .torrent files from magnet links".

With a magnet link, if "Show options to change the name and location of the torrent" is checked, uTorrent immediately downloads the .torrent file so it has the file list metadata to show to the user (which makes sense).

If "Show Options..." is unchecked, the torrent is added to the list and only downloads the .torrent file once it starts. If the torrent is in a stopped state (because "Don't start the download automatically" is checked) or queued state (because of the active download limit), it's not going to download the .torrent file.

In my case I don't use "Show options...", and since I prefer to only have a few active downloads, most of my torrents are added as "queued" so I run into the same issue (I force start long enough to get the .torrent, to get around it).

[roccov]

Thanks, peaches760, that's pretty much what I thought. I suspected the magnet link downloads the .torrent and the .torrent downloads the files but I wasn't sure.

An option would solve my problems. The reason I didn't suggest an option is because I couldn't see a reason why a user might want to not recieve the .torrent, or at least wouldn't have a reason to object to receiving it, so I suggested a change instead. But if you can think of a reason then there probably are users who wouldn't want it changed. So an 'option' might be a better choice. I'm curious to know what these reasons are though. Why would a user, who uses the "Don't start..." option, and clicks a magnet link, not want the .torrent downloaded?

It's good to hear that someone else needs this option. So if we could get an option "Immediately download .torrent files from magnet links" it should download the .torrent immediately even if it starts in a stopped or queued state. How does that sound?

I wonder how many people would welcome this option.