'Cut' feature of Millenium

[Dilip1954]

I am using Mill.Ver4.64 with P4 2.4GHz 512MB DDR RAM with Intel GVAD2 mb. I have a curious problem. Whenever I cut a part of the file at the end using the 'Cut' feature, it is done almost instantenously, but when I try to do the same at the beginning of an audio file it takes a very long time. Can this be set right or ss it normal? Dilip

[DougMac]

Re: \'Cut\' feature of Millenium

I'm sure Craig or somebody else will give you a much more technically accurate answer, but here's my stab. This is a very simplified explanation of Windows type files.

What you're seeing is perfectly normal. When you cut from the end of the file, all that needs to be done is to truncate the current file by moving the end of file marker. Files are not contiguous entities, rather they are a collection of "packets". Part of the information in the packet is the address of the next packet. All the file directory has to store for a file is the address of the first packet. The last packet in the chain stores a null value in the next packet address and marks the end of the information with a special end of file character.

When you cut from the beginning of the file, the entire file has to be rewritten to a temporary file name, because the new starting point will almost always fall somewhere in the middle of a packet. Once the entire file is rewritten, the old file is deleted and the temporary file is given the old file name.

Craig, how'd I do?

Doug

[Craig Maier]

Re: \'Cut\' feature of Millenium

Doug is exactly right. We have gotten around this situation in the DC 5 version using something called "fast edit" mode if the long wait becomes problemsome. DC 5 also keeps what we refer to as "classic edit mode" for those who like the source and destination window approach to editing.