v10: Connection Pinning + Preference "Pin window connections by default"

[Bernhard S]

If in preferences "Pin window connections by default" is unselected (default) it seems like "PL/SQL Developer" (PSD) will never remember pinned connections. When you store a project this way and close/reopen it the connections will be remembered, but all come up as unpinned. Isn't this wrong? Shouldn't the unpinning only be used for windows, that have not been pinned before or are new and use the main connection then?
The problem with this current behaviour is:
Assume you have 3 connections A, B and C. If you switch your main connection from A->B->C all your connections will be connected to C in the end, as they will all have followed the main connection, because their connection was unpinned.

When I check "Pin window connections by default" it seems to work correcly they way I expect it to. However it dramatically increases the time to open and close my project with lots of windows and lots of different connections. I get a sandclock for minutes!
I just found out that this dramatic increase is due to the preference "Automatically close unused connections" which I checked at the same time. I better post about this problem in a separate thread.

 

[Alex E]

btw, I'd really like to know how this "connection pinning" is supposed to work, I really don't get it?!? (maybe I'm just an idiot, but I really see no difference: sql window pinned or un-pinned)...
If I have 3 different, unpinned connections (sql window) and I'll change the main connection, all 3 unpinned connections should "follow", shouldn't they?! The connection status (left to the pin icon) doesn't change then -> why?!?
Someone please help: "pinned or unpinned"

Kind regards,
Alex

 

[Bernhard S]

Hi Alex
as I understand the "connection pinning" idea, only the unpinned connections that are connected to the same connection as the main connection follow the main connection when the main connection gets changed.

Just tested the behaviour: I created three connections A,B and C and a project with three SQL-windows connected to A,B and C connection respectively. If all SQL-windows are unpinned and I change the main connection then all three SQL-windows follow the main connection, so you are right. When the SQL-windows are pinned however it prevents them from following the main connection and they stay connected to the connection they are pinned to.
However when you close the SQL-windows and reopen them again from the project list items, they all get connected to the main connections again. All memory about your pinned connections is lost then in this project.

 

[Bernhard S]

I don't really like the connections to be stored with the window list, which forces you to keep windows open in a project, just so that connections are remembered when you reopen a project. Wouldn't it be a lot better to store connections with project items, allowing you to select several items and reconnect them at once or group them by connections? This way you can also close them and when you reopen them they are opened with their stored connections and not with a main connection again. This way you can actually close parts of a project that you're not working on currently to keep it all light and allowing your project to open quickly with only a subset of the total project items open at the same time in the window list.
A long window list really slows down PL/SQL Developer a lot when opening projects.

 

[Alex E]

Hi Bernhard,

thanks a lot for your explanation. I suppose I'll have to dig into this connection pinning a little bit deeper ;-)

Kind regards from Kehl,
Alex