Multifile settings does not accept 'Max days' value #735

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1. Pr0metheus2

   changed the title [-]Multifile settngs does not accept Max days value[/-] [+]Multifile settings does not accept Max days value[/+] on Oct 19, 2026
2. Pr0metheus2

   changed the title [-]Multifile settings does not accept Max days value[/-] [+]Multifile settings does not accept 'Max days' value[/+] on Oct 19, 2026
3. Pr0metheus2 commented on Oct 19, 2026

   

   Pr0metheus2

   on Oct 19, 2026

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   The Max days setting only controlls how many previous calendar dates were searched when the MultiFile mask contained a $D date placeholder.

   It do check the last-modified date of files found using index patterns such as:

   • *$J(.) → app.log, app.log.1, app.log.2
   • *$J(.).log → app.log, app.1.log, app.2.log

   As a result, indexed rollover files are loaded regardless of their age.
4. Hirogen

   added

   bugPesky little gritter, needs squashingPesky little gritter, needs squashing

   on Oct 19, 2026
5. Hirogen

   added the

   Bug

   issue type on Oct 19, 2026
6. Hirogen

   added this to the Release 1.51.0 milestone on Oct 19, 2026
7. Hirogen

   added

   enhancementthis will make things betterthis will make things better

   and removed

   bugPesky little gritter, needs squashingPesky little gritter, needs squashing

   on Oct 19, 2026
8. Hirogen

   changed the issue type from

   Bug

   to

   Enhancement

   on Oct 19, 2026
9. Hirogen commented on Oct 19, 2026

   

   Hirogen

   on Oct 19, 2026

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   @Pr0metheus2 your analysis is correct, and the "fixed" verdict on #185 was wrong. Max days has never filtered files by age. It only sets how many consecutive calendar days without a file LogExpert accepts when walking back through a $D(...) date pattern. Index patterns ($I / $J) ignore it completely. We're treating this as an enhancement: a separate file-age limit, plus a clearer name for the existing setting.

   Category: enhancement
   Summary: Add a "max file age" limit to MultiFile mode that works for index and date patterns, and rename the existing Max days so its gap-tolerance meaning is clear

   Current behavior:
   RolloverFilenameHandler.GetNameList builds the MultiFile list newest-to-oldest:

   • Index patterns: the index is increased for as long as a file exists.
   • Date patterns: the date is decremented, and the walk gives up after MultiFileOptions.MaxDayTry consecutive days without a file.

   No file's age is ever checked. A user with app.log, app.log.1, app.log.2 spread over several weeks and Max days = 3 gets all three loaded. The UI shows the setting only as "Max days:", which reads as an age limit.

   Desired behavior:

   • A new MultiFile option, max file age in days, with 0 meaning off. 0 is the default so existing behavior is unchanged.
   • When it is greater than 0, MultiFile collection stops at the first rollover file whose last-modified time is older than now minus N days. That file and every older one are left out, so the loaded sequence stays contiguous.
     • This applies the same way to index patterns, date patterns and mixed patterns.
     • The file the user opened (the newest one, first in the walk) always loads, whatever its age.
   • If a file system cannot report a last-modified time, that file's age counts as unknown and the file is included. Unknown age never excludes a file.
   • The existing MaxDayTry behavior is kept exactly as it is, but its UI label and help text are renamed to say what it does, for example "Max day gap" with the tooltip/help "For $D patterns: how many consecutive days without a log file to skip before giving up". The pattern-syntax help in the MultiFile dialog mentions both settings.
   • The new option exists wherever MaxDayTry does:
     • in the global default (Settings → MultiFile)
     • in the per-window MultiFile dialog
     • in the per-window Session File state, round-tripped through SessionSnapshot, SessionFileComposer and PersistenceData, the same way MultiFileMaxDays is
     • Session Files and settings written before this change load with the new option at 0 (off).

   Key interfaces:

   • MultiFileOptions: new int property for the age limit, next to MaxDayTry (default 0).
   • RolloverFilenameHandler.GetNameList: applies the cutoff during the walk. Make "now" injectable (a TimeProvider or a clock parameter) so tests are deterministic.
   • ILogFileInfo (ColumnizerLib, public plugin API): needs a way to report the last-modified time. Add it as a default interface member returning "unknown" (for example DateTime? LastWriteTimeUtc => null), so third-party file system plugins still compile and load. Implement it for the local file system and the built-in SFTP file system plugin.
     • This changes the ColumnizerLib SDK, so bump its own version in ColumnizerLib.csproj, as decided in the packaging issue.
   • SessionSnapshot / PersistenceData / SessionFileComposer: carry the new value in both directions. Legacy XML session files default to 0.
   • MultiFile dialog and Settings dialog: a new numeric field and the relabelled MaxDayTry field. Strings go in LogExpert.Resources for every existing language file, following the existing localization pattern.

   Acceptance criteria:

   • Index pattern *$J(.) with app.log (today), app.log.1 (2 days old), app.log.2 (10 days old) and max age 5 loads app.log and app.log.1 only
   • Same files with max age 0 load all three (unchanged behavior)
   • A contiguity test: app.log.1 is 10 days old and app.log.2 is 1 day old, with max age 5. Only app.log loads, because the walk stops at app.log.1
   • The opened file loads even when it is older than the limit
   • Date pattern $D(...): the existing MaxDayTry gap tests still pass unchanged, and a new test shows the age limit cutting off old dated files
   • A file whose ILogFileInfo reports no last-modified time is included
   • The value round-trips through a Session File, and an older Session File without the field loads as 0
   • The value is editable in both the per-window MultiFile dialog and Settings, and the global default seeds new windows
   • All logic tests run in Core against a fake file system and an injected clock, with no real file timestamps or sleeps
   • Full test suite passes

   Out of scope:

   • Changing what MaxDayTry does (only its label and help text change)
   • Age filtering anywhere outside MultiFile collection, such as the file-open dialog or tail-follow of the current file
   • Re-evaluating age while a MultiFile window is already open. The limit is applied when the list is built (load or reload).
   • An upper limit on how many rollover files are loaded
10. Pr0metheus2 commented on Oct 19, 2026

    

    Pr0metheus2

    on Oct 19, 2026

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    I have already released a PR, do you want me to change anything? Let me know in PR, please.
11. Pr0metheus2 commented on Nov 2, 2026

    

    Pr0metheus2

    on Nov 2, 2026

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    Done by #737
12. Pr0metheus2

    closed this as completedon Nov 2, 2026