Reimporting comic with different content

Panels
#1

I was trying to reimport an incorrect CBZ file I had made, but the app would not recognize it correctly. The new file had the exact same name, but I added few extra images at the beginning. The app would not have the correct comic unless the filename was changed.

Steps: (iPadOS 16.2 using Jan 3, 2023 panels update)

  • Import CBZ from files app (saving the CBZ to panels folder from gdrive)
  • Open comic in app
  • Delete comic (either delete in app, or in files app)
  • Import comic with added images at beginning but same filename
  • Open comic in app
  • Comic is incorrect

Current Behavior:
App did not recognize the new images, it still shows the old first few pages. It seems to duplicate the last (number of images added) at the end so the total number of pages is the same as the number of images in the CBZ. Changing the filename to anything else will let it import correctly. Afterwards, trying to rename it back to the original name will screw it up again until named to something else. It seems that there is some internal caching going on linked to the name of the file specifically.
After switching between original name and different names a few times, the pages eventually become correct, but the original (wrong) thumbnail still exists

Expected:
Deleting files in the app allows new files with the same name to be imported and work correctly.

#2

Hey @PixelRa

Yes, this is a known issue, but we still have to fix it. We haven’t done it yet due to the low volume of users that update their comics files. But we plan to do it shortly.
The “problem” is that Panels caches the latest opened comic to speed up the reading experience, and the cache folder uses the filename. If you modify the file’s content and open it again, it will try to use the same cache folder.

If you open a different file, it will delete the previous cache and create a new one, because we only keep the cache of the last file opened.

I know it’s quite annoying, but if you open a different file before opening the modified one, it should show the correct new content.

Just be aware that Panels uses the file checksum for identifying it, and some things depend on it, like the reading sessions. If you start reading a comic, modify it, and continue reading, Panels will probably treat them as different files and create a new reading session.
At the moment Panels is not designed to react to file updates. But I hope the workaround will be helpful.

We will fix the cache thing soon.