.desc files with .zip and .mp4 files

[Russ Ballaam]

Version 8 Enterprise (build 101. Offline mode using ASP.NET control.

I have zip files and mp4 files where I have created a .desc file because I want to use a proper title and a suitable description for the search results.

I have added the .zip and .mp4 to the Scan Extensions list and configured these to use a .desc file. For a .zip file I have configured it to and only index the filename.

The .desc files are being found, but the search result does not display the information in the .desc files as expected.

I have tested it with .pdf, .xlsx, .xlsx, .pptx and .docx files and these work as expected. I have not tested it with .zipx files, but assume there may be the same problem as with .zip.

I did a search of the forum archives, and I am aware that a similar issue was raised with Zoom v6 which turned out to be a bug that you fixed.


https://forums.zoomsearchengine.com/...zip-files-desc

Many thanks and kind regards,

Russ

[Simon (PassMark)]

The problem appears to be with the ASP.net option and not the indexer.

But we do not support the ASP.net platform anymore and haven't for many years, would it be possible to use a different platform (e.g. PHP)?

[Russ Ballaam]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I think I had tried it with classic ASP (ASP v3.0) and got the same results. But in any case, classic ASP is actively discouraged because of its age and security flaws. JavaScript would be too slow given the size of the zdat files, and CGI is also not possible for us. Unfortunately, PHP is not an option either. And so as you no longer support the development of the ASP.NET control, I am stymied.

Many thanks anyway, and kind regards,

Russ

[David]

Yes, sorry about this. There just isn't any demand for ASP.NET anymore and we stopped .NET development in 2018. We could release the source code for it, or give you a quote for custom work. But I think it would take a expert maybe a week to setup a development environment, fix the bug and test it and do a new release. Maybe $5K USD? Would be much cheaper just to get a web host that supports PHP / CGI.

[Russ Ballaam]

Hi David,

Many thanks for your response.

I don't think we can justify $5k for a custom fix.

If you could release the source code, that would be great. What language/IDE has it been developed? I know it would be a challenge - and I wouldn't expect any further support. Let me know if this would be acceptable?

Many thanks once again,

Russ

[Russ Ballaam]

Hi David,

I hope you are well today

Any update on if/when I can expect to receive the source files for the ASP.NET control?

Many thanks and kind regards,

Russ

[Simon (PassMark)]

We did some further testing and was able to reproduce the issue with other platforms.

Can you try installing this build and see if it fixes the .desc file issue:
https://www.passmark.com/downloads/t...g_20230131.exe

[Russ Ballaam]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I tested the debug version successfully with the following file types (all configured to include the content from .desc files):

Adobe Acrobat .pdf
Microsoft Word .doc, .docx, .docm
Microsoft Excel .xls, .xslsx, .xslm, .xlsb
Microsoft PowerPoint: .ppt, .pptx, .pptm
Media files (not exhaustive): .mp3, .mp4, .wav
Archive files: .zip

In each case, the Zoom Indexer found the .desc file and displayed "Using .desc file found for..." in the Log output while processing.

Looking at the "zoom_pagedata.zdat" file (see attached with extension renamed to txt), the simple title and description I created for each file type was captured. Doing a search resulted in the expected title and description from the .desc in the results.

The one thing I would point out is that I also created a .zipx file, but noted that the "Configure" > "Scan options" for this file type do not currently present the option to "Use description(.desc) files". The file type, although recognised as a compressed archive, is treated as a HTML file and consequently only presents the option to "Configure images". As .zipx this is the latest file format (and the default) provided by applications such as Winzip, I am surprised that you do not offer the option to use desc files. What is the reason for this?

Many thanks and kind regards,

Russ

[Simon (PassMark)]

We made some changes that should treat non-.zip compressed archive files like zip files now:
https://www.passmark.com/downloads/t...g_20230201.exe

[Russ Ballaam]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the quick response and the fix.

I have installed the fix and ran again with .zipx files configured to use .desc file. The results for all file types tested are now as expected, i.e. they all use the title and description held in their desc files.

I assume that these fixes will make their way into the next official build at some point.

Many thanks once again to you and all your team in responding swiftly to resolve the issues.

Kind regards,

Russ

[David]

We'll be doing a public release with this fix in a couple of weeks.

[Russ Ballaam]

Thanks David to you and the rest of your team.

Appreciate the excellent service and comms.

Russ

[rkg82]

Much appreciated the fix, as we have experienced the same issue.