external changes to bib file make JabRef go mad

[j0hannes]

• I have tested the latest master version from http://builds.jabref.org/master/ and the problem persists

“JabRef_macos_4_1-dev--snapshot--2017-12-08--master--6f39151a7.dmg” is damaged and can’t be opened. You should move it to the Trash.

JabRef version 4.1-dev

Steps to reproduce:

1. make changes to bib file with another editor
2. JabRef will ask you to review the changes, you acknowledge them
3. you try to save the bib file; JabRef will tell you that the file has had been modified externally
4. you go for "save" and JabRef will tell you that the library is protected and that it won't save until "changes have been reviewed"
5. you try again with "Review changes" in the save dialog but nothing happens
6. you now want to close and reopen JabRef, but it will tell you that your library has changed
7. again, "save changes" won't work so you for "discard"
8. it will hang with the message "waiting for save operation to finish"
9. you kill JabRef

I have the same problem.

[lenhard]

I can reproduce this as far as step 7. When I go for "discard", JabRef just closes as desired.

Chances are this is related to the last big changes to the diff functionality in #3353

Another observation: If I hit save twice subsequently in step 4, then the library will be saved and everything will work as expected.

[tobiasdiez]

Yes, this bug was probably introduced by my refactoring. Sorry for that!

Unfortuantely, jabref 4.0 does not work for large bibfile due to the memory issues, and I am finding the development branch increasingly unstable - I have had to move back to jabref 3.8 on all my machines. I would recommend leaving links to 3.8 on your downloads page - neither 4.0 nor the dev branch are ready for production use (ie myself with a 5000 citations and use jabref/lyx 2-6 hours per day). It turned out easy to save my groups back into 3.8 by just changing the key word in @comment.

…

On Fri, Dec 8, 2017 at 5:07 PM, Tobias Diez ***@***.***> wrote: Yes, this bug was probably introduced by my refactoring. Sorry for that! — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3498 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABmNkXUTFRCYkBOqiKNRmQ0OmBtvUNkeks5s-bMOgaJpZM4Q7GtQ> .

-- W. Bentley MacLeod Columbia University in the City of New York wbentleymacleod.wikischolars.columbia.edu

[j0hannes]

@lenhard I tried clicking save twice, thrice, many times. It will still give me an error message and I have to kill the application.

[j0hannes]

@lenhard The bug is still there in the current version.

[Siedlerchr]

@j0hannes Unfortunately as the master builds are not up to date, did you try to run the latest master from source? (git fetch && git pull )
With having the master branch on commit c2d0070 it works as expected. I can save the changes, review/and or deny them. If I just hit save without reviewing the change will be overwritten.

[j0hannes]

I am using source version but apparently that fix wasn't included in the version I compiled while the other fix targeting the missing search box was. Now it's working as expected, thanks 👍

[genodeftest]

This bug is still present in the latest stable version of JabRef, 4.3.
Sometimes it sporadically happens without even having an external editor open the library file.