*.ir_puzzle files in Windows keep getting updated but not changed while recipes run.

[jeff101]

I am running recipes on puzzle 2203 with puzzle id 2013469 on several Foldit clients on a Windows machine right now. Every few minutes, perhaps a dozen *.ir_puzzle files get updated in each Foldit client's directory. Even the one for puzzle 2203, called 0002013469.ir_puzzle, keeps getting updated, but when I compare this file's contents at different times, the contents always seem to be the same. These files are also the same for different clients. Why does Foldit keep updating but not changing these files? It seems unnecessary. Also, old Foldit clients from before the website update did not do this. When we start doing the 50th Foldit puzzle after the website update, will there be 50 of these *.ir_puzzle files getting updated constantly?

Having the *.ir_puzzle files update so often makes it hard to monitor other files like log.txt, scriptlog.default.xml, and the latest *.ir_solution files. If I sort the files in a Foldit client's directory by date, it seems like I have to keep scrolling up and down to find the files I want to monitor.

[bkoep]

Yes this is a recent change related to the website update. The client periodically refetches puzzle files for all open puzzles. This is typically about 10-12 puzzles (including open Science, Beginner, and sandbox puzzles), but it may fluctuate a bit. Files for closed puzzles are not updated.

I understand this is inconvenient if you're in the habit of monitoring Foldit files. But the upshot of this scheme is that we can update Foldit puzzles on the fly. So, if we ever need to correct a mistake in a Foldit puzzle, we can do that seamlessly—no need to close the puzzle early and repost a whole new puzzle.