Preview not updated on changes to included files

[knuesel]

Bug description

Not sure if this qualifies as bug or feature request: running quarto preview on a file such as

---
title: Title
---

Text.

{{< include b.qmd >}}

the preview is updated when this file is changed, but not when the included b.qmd is changed.

Tested with quarto 1.1.251 and 1.2.203 on Pop!_OS 22.04.

Checklist

• Please include a minimal, fully reproducible example in a single .qmd file? Please provide the whole file rather than the snippet you believe is causing the issue.
• Please format your issue so it is easier for us to read the bug report.
• Please document the RStudio IDE version you're running (if applicable), by providing the value displayed in the "About RStudio" main menu dialog?
• Please document the operating system you're running. If on Linux, please provide the specific distribution.

[cscheid]

It's certainly a bug, but a fix would be spread all over the quarto codebase as is. We're planning improvements for this that will make the fix easier. (in other words, it's on our radar, but don't expect it in the next 2-5 months)

[danieltomasz]

When files are included additionally as resources in _quarto.yml the content is updating for html, but not for pdf

[maikol-solis]

When files are included additionally as resources in _quarto.yml the content is updating for html, but not for pdf

Hi! I'm also interested in this feature.

How do you declare the included files in _quarto.yaml to update the whole project as they change?

Best.

[skwde]

@cscheid can you give a (new) estimate when / if this will be fixed?

[mcanouil]

It will be fixed when it will be fixed. The team is working on many things and time is not unlimited.
Please be mindful of the time.
Thank you!

[peekxc]

I think a simple fix would be to do what e.g. other SSG's do and just give the user the option to include what to watch.

Something like:

preview: 
  watch: 
    - "pages/*.qmd"
    - "resources/*.css" 

...or similar. That way, this wouldn't cause a massive change / disrupt in how includes work, and let's the user decide when a re-render needs to be triggers.

[cscheid]

We've accumulated a fair bit of preview bugs and improvements that we'll likely try to tackle in 1.7 or 1.8, and this would fit.

Up until recently, Quarto didn't have the knowledge about the include dependency graph, and now we do via the information in quarto inspect.

(to be clear, 1.7 and 1.8 are only expected to come out in Feb/Apr 2025.)

[einarpersson]

@cscheid I just stumbled on this also, it really hurts the workflow you'd want.

Did this make the 1.8? If not, I hope this thing can be prioritized next! :)

[cderv]

Let's try to solve this for 1.8, among other issues with quarto preview.