Issues - Outlook not exiting, sync not working properly

[CarolHaynes]

I have just installed the plugin yesterday and like its functionality but there are two issues that mean I am probably going to have to uninstall it:

1) Outlook and Xobni Service refuse to exit. I exit Outlook (either by closing the window or File>Exit) and the app appears to close, however both Outlook 2003 and Xobni service saty in the task manager and I have to manually kill the tasks - given that this tends to cause problems over time with PST files this makes Xobni dangerous to my email data.

2) Even when nothing is going on with Xobni running the memory footprints of Outlook and Xobni just keep increasing as long as they are in memory (even after exiting Outlook the memory usage in TaskManager keeps climbing steadily for bot apps. For example I exited Outlook about 10 minutes ago but as in (1) they are still in memory and visible in the task manager. I have not forced them to exit and after 10 minutes the amount of memory used by Outlook has trebled and Xobni's memory usage has more than doubled. There is obviously a memory leak that isn't there when Xobni is not installed.

Finally there is an odd bug/feature in the syncroisation system. As I download emails the index is updated correctly but when I delete emails Xobni does not update the index properly, and even after using manual synchronise from the menu Xobni retains references to emails and attachments that are now deleted. If this is a 'feature' it is very confusing and should be made optional.

[ryan]

Hi Carol,

The Outlook process not exiting is a problem we're working on, but XobniService not exiting is expected behavior. XobniService is installed as a Windows Service, and hence that process doesn't die unless you turn off the service in the "Services" Admin control.

As for the memory footprint, that could be from a number of things. First, if a sync is running in the background, the memory would be increasing as more mail is indexed. Also, if you're running an older build, there were some memory issues found in the native .NET libraries which we fixed (by pulling them out) in the most recent build.

Deleted emails should be taken out of the indexes after a small delay. If they're not being deleted for you, this is a bug I'd like to look at :).

-Ryan

[CarolHaynes]

Thanks Ryan for the comments ...

After posting I realised that the service was not meant to be stopped - but why do we need a service running when Outlook isn't even loaded - surely it can be started manually with Outlook and stopped on exit - otherwise it is just a waste of resources.

The memory leak doesn't seem to be related to indexing as I had manually finished indexing my PST before I started to monitor the problem on exit. The version I was using was the download location you sent to me just a few days ago (1.2.0.0) - so either it was an accidental old build or there is still a problem.

I have uninstalled it now so I can't check the deleting issue but even when I manually ran sync the deleted emails are still present the next day so it looks like a bug. Given that the index updates in realtime when emails arrive surely it should also update in realtime as emails are moved from folder to folder or deleted otherwise the archive is going to be permanently out of date ??

I really like this plugin so I really wish you well getting the bugs ironed out. Please keep me posted when you have a new version to try.

Cheers

Carol

[ryan]

Hi Carol,

Thanks for the comments. The XobniService is used to check for and install updates only, as updates can only be made while Outlook is closed -- the majority of Xobni is indeed loaded only when Outlook is started up.

Also, Xobni does update its indexes in semi-real time (i.e., after a short calculated delay) when emails are deleted or moved between folders. The fact that you're not seeing this behavior means that there is some sort of Xobni bug you've exposed in your Outlook configuration, and I'd be interested in getting your logs to find out what's going on.

As for an update, you should be getting one real soon :). An announcement will be made in the forums when it's sent out.

-Ryan

[CarolHaynes]

If you want logs I will need to reinstall again - where are they located?

Or would it be simpler if I wait until the next release and see if the issue is cured?

[gary]

The log file is called xobni2.log and can be found in:
XPC:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Xobni\Outlook
VistaC:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Xobni\Outlook
-Gary

[CarolHaynes]

The log file is called xobni2.log and can be found in:
XPC:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Xobni\Outlook
VistaC:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Xobni\Outlook
-Gary

OK a bit of an update ...

I have reinstalled Xobni version 1.2.3.2952.

I am still having the problem with Outlook not exiting but I think I have found the reason (at least on my system).

I use iTunes and for some reason that I can't fathom the iTunes installer insists on adding a COM addin to Outlook. If I disable the iTunes addin Outlook then exits cleanly. I can't for the life of me see why iTunes needs this addin but the installer has no options for custom install and unfortunately disabling it doesn't have a consistent result because iTunes has an annoying habit of 'repairing' its installation when it detects that something has changed!! At least for the time being it should be fine though.

In case there is any clue I tried to attach my log file to this not but the attachment function is not working properly (the file is .txt and only 5k so it fits the requirement). I have quoted it in full below. Note that this covers a period where the iTunes addin was actived and then deactivated deactivated a number of times:

4c0bf18e1e0e48a99f4a9a292b3341df
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:29] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: OutputDebugLogFilePrinter activated
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:29] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: DelayedStartup [<Other><RunMode>Outlook</RunMode><IsFirstRun>False</IsFirstRun><IntPtrSize>4</IntPtrSize></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Hooking stores (9)
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Not hooking store because of IMAP 5E6DF24777159C26
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Not hooking store because of IMAP 2D8D99D1251072CD
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Not hooking store because of IMAP 57B1446DC0EAD90D
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Not hooking store because of IMAP 7B9171EA504238CB
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Not hooking store because of IMAP 77FE42E89F57080D
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Raising open Outlook UI event
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Loading file system [<Other><Name>str</Name></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: FileSystem loaded [<Other><LoadTime>312500</LoadTime><BaseFileName>str</BaseFileName></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: TableFile loaded [<Other><Name>IndexStore</Name><LoadTime>312500</LoadTime></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Loading file system [<Other><Name>adr</Name></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: FileSystem loaded [<Other><LoadTime>0</LoadTime><BaseFileName>adr</BaseFileName></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: TableFile loaded [<Other><Name>AddressLookup</Name><LoadTime>468750</LoadTime></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: PersonLookup loaded [<Other><LoadTime>781250</LoadTime><NumRecords>756</NumRecords></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: CurrentMail loaded
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Index loaded [<Other><IndexName>cnv.ix</IndexName><LoadTime>0</LoadTime><NumIndexRecords>3107</NumIndexRecords></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Index loaded [<Other><IndexName>sbj.ix</IndexName><LoadTime>156250</LoadTime><NumIndexRecords>2777</NumIndexRecords></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Index loaded [<Other><IndexName>skhc.ix</IndexName><LoadTime>0</LoadTime><NumIndexRecords>3111</NumIndexRecords></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Index loaded [<Other><IndexName>id.ix</IndexName><LoadTime>156250</LoadTime><NumIndexRecords>3230</NumIndexRecords></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Loading file system [<Other><Name>fts.b</Name></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: FileSystem loaded [<Other><LoadTime>0</LoadTime><BaseFileName>fts.b</BaseFileName></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:30] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Index loaded [<Other><IndexName>fts.t</IndexName><LoadTime>468750</LoadTime><NumIndexRecords>21096</NumIndexRecords></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:31] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Loading file system [<Other><Name>ite</Name></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:31] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: FileSystem loaded [<Other><LoadTime>0</LoadTime><BaseFileName>ite</BaseFileName></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:31] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Loading file system [<Other><Name>bdy</Name></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:31] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Raising new active item event
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:31] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: LightPersonInfo loaded in 15.625 millis
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:31] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: CurrentMail load time recorded. [<Other><TotalMillis>140.625</TotalMillis><ConnectedPeople>15.625</ConnectedPeople><PersonConversations>31.25</Person...
Conversations><FilesExchanged>31.25</FilesExchanged><PersonFeed>140.625</PersonFeed></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:32] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Raising DelayedStartupFirstUI
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:32] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: Startup time recorded [<Other><TimeMillis>156</TimeMillis></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:32] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: DelayedStartup time recorded [<Other><TimeMillis>578</TimeMillis></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:32] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: End to end startup time recorded [<Other><TimeMillis>500</TimeMillis></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:38] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: End to end simmer down time recorded [<Other><TimeMillis>500</TimeMillis></Other>]
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (1) Hooked message: IPM.Task, F48AE225D2408B72
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (1) Hooked store event Modified Task: 00000000233B853AA2A8724B84A658DEF88D9041E4B52400
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (1) Hooked message: IPM.Note, 894989EE07B6FD07
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (1) Hooked store event Modified Mail: 00000000233B853AA2A8724B84A658DEF88D904184B22400
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (1) Hooked message: IPM.Note, 894989EE07B6FD07
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (1) Hooked store event Modified Mail: 00000000233B853AA2A8724B84A658DEF88D9041E4B12400
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (2) Sync'ed copied / created / modified / moved: F48AE225D2408B72 xid = 45
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (2) Sync'ed item, xid = 45
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (2) Sync'ed copied / created / modified / moved: 894989EE07B6FD07 xid = 537
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (2) Sync'ed item, xid = 537
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (2) Sync'ed copied / created / modified / moved: 894989EE07B6FD07 xid = 535
[08/Mar/2008:20:18:57] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: (2) Sync'ed item, xid = 535
[08/Mar/2008:20:19:00] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Raising close Outlook UI event
[08/Mar/2008:20:19:00] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: KeyboardHook: Currently unhooked
[08/Mar/2008:20:19:00] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: KeyboardHook: Finished
[08/Mar/2008:20:19:03] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Debug: Discovered new explorer mail item via slow poll
[08/Mar/2008:20:19:06] XobniMain-1.2.3.2952: Info: TearDown

[tyler]

Carol-

Ok, going over your emails, and logs I can tell you a couple of things that may explain some of the behavior that we're seeing.

First of all, judging by your log files, you're using an IMAP account, which by it's own nature is very slow, so we don't do what we call 'EventSync', which is how we handle the process of indexing mail in realtime. All of our testing shows that we slow Outlook beyond the point of usability when we tried letting IMAP have EventSync turned on. So the way that you can deal with this is by periodically running the 'Synchronize' command in the Xobni menu, OR by letting Outlook stay idle for a period of about 5 hours (usually this happens when people leave Outlook running overnight). Then we will index anything we can find in your IMAP store.

Also, as far as iTunes is concerned, they have a COM Add-in because you can technically sync Outlooks Calendar and Contacts to your iPod or iPhone, and that's how they bridge those two applications. I _think_ that there is an option that you can disable during the iTunes installation, but it's been a while since I've looked at that plug-in, so I can't say that with 100% surety.

Ps, with regards to the 'deleted items not disappearing from the sidebar', this is an open bug we are working on right now! So, hang in there!

[Philcomputing]

1) Outlook and Xobni Service refuse to exit. I exit Outlook (either by closing the window or File>Exit) and the app appears to close, however both Outlook 2003 and Xobni service saty in the task manager and I have to manually kill the tasks - given that this tends to cause problems over time with PST files this makes Xobni dangerous to my email data.

Same issue here ... I exit Outlook and it crashes. At present I am not able to close Outlook properly.

Regards, Phil

[CarolHaynes]

Same issue here ... I exit Outlook and it crashes. At present I am not able to close Outlook properly.

Regards, Phil

Try the following to see if you can troubleshoot the issue ... (it worked for me)

In Outlook go to Tools > Options

Go to Tab "Other" and click "Advanced Options ..."

In turn click on "Add-In Manager ..." and "COM Add-Ins ..."

Each button opens a screen. In each screen uncheck all the add-ins and click OK.

Hi OK until you get back to Outlook and then close it down and check that Outlook disappears from the task manager (give it a minute or so and if it still there use End Process to get rid of Outlook).

Now use ScanPST.EXE (do a search on your hard disc and double click it) and scan your PST file for errors. Let it fix them if there are any (it will make a backup of the old file in the same folder with a .BAK extension)

Now open Outlook again and see what happens when you close it. If Outlook exits properly and disappears from the TaskManger within a minute then the problem lies with one of your extensions. Try enabling them one at a time to find the one causing a problem.

I found the iTunes plugin caused problems for me and leaving it disabled cured the issue. (I don't use an iPod so it was a waste of time anyway).

[prestech]

Carol-

Ok, going over your emails, and logs I can tell you a couple of things that may explain some of the behavior that we're seeing.

First of all, judging by your log files, you're using an IMAP account, which by it's own nature is very slow, so we don't do what we call 'EventSync', which is how we handle the process of indexing mail in realtime. All of our testing shows that we slow Outlook beyond the point of usability when we tried letting IMAP have EventSync turned on. So the way that you can deal with this is by periodically running the 'Synchronize' command in the Xobni menu, OR by letting Outlook stay idle for a period of about 5 hours (usually this happens when people leave Outlook running overnight). Then we will index anything we can find in your IMAP store.

Also, as far as iTunes is concerned, they have a COM Add-in because you can technically sync Outlooks Calendar and Contacts to your iPod or iPhone, and that's how they bridge those two applications. I _think_ that there is an option that you can disable during the iTunes installation, but it's been a while since I've looked at that plug-in, so I can't say that with 100% surety.

Ps, with regards to the 'deleted items not disappearing from the sidebar', this is an open bug we are working on right now! So, hang in there!

Has any progress been made with this issue (that I have bolded above)? It is the single most frustrating thing for me about Xobni. I have a bunch of "thanks" and "ok" emails between myself and a co-worker that I don't want indexed. Periodically (about once a week) I go through and delete them. The problem is that Xobni does not ever reset its statistics. Even if I close the sidebar, and even if I index all mail.

Any help?

[Digerati]

At the start of this thread, Carol was concerned about xobniservice running even after Outlook had exited completely. I share that concern. Ryan responded with, XobniService not exiting is expected behaviorI beg to differ. I expected it to exit too. Carol responded with, why do we need a service running when Outlook isn't even loaded - surely it can be started manually with Outlook and stopped on exit - otherwise it is just a waste of resources.The XobniService is used to check for and install updates only, as updates can only be made while Outlook is closed -- the majority of Xobni is indeed loaded only when Outlook is started up.I have a problem this. We're not talking daily virus signature file updates. How often do you expect to put out updates once out of Beta?

I would much rather my Outlook experience be interrupted occasionally with xobni informing me, "An update is available" then give me the option to download now, never, or upon exiting Outlook. If I select Now or upon exit, xobni takes over as instructed, prompts me to save any open items, closes Outlook, does its thing, and then xobni exits - completely.

[themeiam]

I would much rather my Outlook experience be interrupted occasionally with xobni informing me, "An update is available" then give me the option to download now, never, or upon exiting Outlook. If I select Now or upon exit, xobni takes over as instructed, prompts me to save any open items, closes Outlook, does its thing, and then xobni exits - completely.


I could not agree more. Also adding the option for the user to click a button to "check for updates" and then run it at their convenience. I really don't like programs running on my system unnecessarily, it is a total waste of resources.

[ahpatel]

I would much rather my Outlook experience be interrupted occasionally with xobni informing me, "An update is available" then give me the option to download now, never, or upon exiting Outlook. If I select Now or upon exit, xobni takes over as instructed, prompts me to save any open items, closes Outlook, does its thing, and then xobni exits - completely.

+1. This follows more closely with what most developers would consider "best practice"