Compare advance: Folder synchronization and backup copies files and folder to keep protected copy against damage

Folder Synchronization and Backup

The Synchronization Dialog makes it very easy to understand what will be done by a synchronize, backup or mirror operation. It may still be helpful to give a short explanation of each of these terms. (Keep in mind the model described in the Compare Result Types section, that each folder comparison results in Folder 1 Only, Folder 2 Only, Same and Different files).

Backup:

Here copying is only in one direction. The "Only" files from one folder (the source) are copied to the other folder (destination), and the Different files are copied from the source to the destination (see note at bottom of page).

So for example, if you are backing up Folder 1: this will copy all Folder 1 Only files to Folder 2, and all Different files from Folder 1 to Folder 2.

Mirror:

A mirror operation is the same as a backup operation (being only in one direction), but with one extra step: that all "Only" files in the destination are deleted. So at the end of a mirror operation, the destination will look the same as the source.

For example, if you want to mirror Folder 1: all Folder 1 Only files will be copied to Folder 2, all Different files will be copied from Folder 1 to Folder 2, and all Folder 2 Only files will be deleted.

Synchronize:

A synchronize operation can be in both directions or just one direction. The basic meaning of synchronize is: copy what's different in Folder 1 to Folder 2, and copy what's different in Folder 2 to Folder 1. A synchronize operation subdivides the Different (common to both, but different) files, into Newer in Folder 1 and Newer in Folder 2.

Putting this all together, a "two way synchronize" operation, will copy the Folder 1 Only files to Folder 2 and the Folder 2 Only files to Folder 1. For the Different files, files that are Newer in Folder 1 will be copied to Folder 2, and files that are Newer in Folder 2 will be copied to Folder 1 (see note at bottom).

For a "one way synchronize", the "Only" files from one folder (the source) will be copied to the other folder (the destination), and only the newer different files from the source will be copied to the destination.

IMPORTANT NOTE: At any time the Synchronization Dialog allows you to change how different files will be copied. Only when you click on one of the sync/backup/mirror buttons, the "how to copy different files" option box is set to what makes sense for the chosen operation, but this can still be overridden. Especially if you want to use the Different source settings (as set by source settings or manually in the file display pane), you must select the "Copy according to source settings" option, in the different's option box. Any setting other than the "Copy according to source settings" and the "Leave alone" setting will override all source settings.

(Different's option box (From the Synchronization Dialog) set to use source settings when copying files)	(list of options available in the Different's option box)

Folder Color Codes

(An example showing the different folder colors)

The folder color codes indicate what result type files are in that folder. The following table explains the meaning of the default folder colors which are shown in the figure above:

Folder colors, as well as the colors of the little squares shown next to files to indicate their result type, can be changed in the General Options->Colors page.

Highlighting of Differences

Compare Advance summarizes the differences of "Different" files, into a summary node. This node shows what differences exist between the two files, and highlights these differences according to the highlight settings in the General Options-> Display page. This makes it very quick and easy to see what differences exist between the two files.

(Example of Different files using the List view)

The example above, illustrates the information that can be obtained from a quick glance at the highlighted display.

• Region 1 shows files with different sizes. The highlight settings are set to highlight larger files, so it can be quickly seen that the first file ("locality.cpp") is larger in Folder 2 - being highlighted with the Folder 2 Only color, and that the second file ("MainFrm.cpp") is larger in Folder 1 - being highlighted with the Folder 1 Only color.
• Region 2 shows two files that have equal sizes and therefore no size information is shown.
• Region 3 shows files with different timestamps (dates). The highlight settings are set to highlight newer files, and therefore the newer files are highlighted with the color of the folder that has the newer file.
• Region 4 shows a different file that has an equal timestamp (in each folder) and therefore no date information is shown. The files do however have different sizes.
  

If the "perform binary comparison" option is checked (in the Project Settings- >Compare page), then it is possible to see a file where both the size and timestamp information is not shown. This means that the files are different at the binary level, even though they have the same size and timestamp.

At any point, you can double-click on a (different file) summary node to bring into view the information of the file from each of the two folders:

(Example showing expanded summary nodes, and the separate details for each file)

Hiding Files

Hiding files is a convenient feature which allows you to remove files and folders from the File Display pane in a very temporary way.

Hidden files are not included in any copy or delete operations, nor are they added to any filter.

This feature simply allows you to move - those files or folders that you are not interested in working with - "out of the way", thus allowing you to focus on those files you are interested in.

The "Show All" button will make all hidden files visible once again.

Hidden files in the context of Compare Advance should not be confused with files marked as "hidden" by the operating system (i.e. Windows).

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