Background Compare While Copying

[Aaron]

Hello Michael, Could we get a Screen capture video (Jingproject) or a single email that contains all relevant information: a step by step (each click or keyboard command used), screenshots every couple of steps, and your settings file? Snapshots would help as well.

There is some diviation between what we have attempted/seen here, and what you are describing. I believe we are missing some step that is regular in your workflow, but something we rarely do here.

You can send it to us via email at [email protected]

[Michael Bulgrien]

I selected files only.

[Zoë]

To reiterate:

I agree with you that copying a specific files shouldn't trigger a comparison of unrelated background items.

Nothing in your original message said what was triggering the build and comparison of the files you weren't copying. I'm happy to improve the behavior of that if I can, but you haven't described the steps you're taking well enough for me to do so. From your first message:

I opened a folder [...] I filtered all files except newer left and left orphans, then selected all and copied right.

If you actually did "Select All" then you apparently had quite a few closed folders selected too. If that's the case and it still only copied 179 files then there's one of two bugs: Either it should copy everything in the closed folders or it should wait until the file comparisons in those closed folders is done and then only copy the contents of those folders that are still shown after filtering. If instead you used "Select All Files" like your screenshot seems to imply, then it should have only copied and compared those files, and any extra comparisons could be a bug. The only other alternative I can think of is that I'm missing something, which is why I asked for snapshot, settings files, and repeatable steps. Which is it?

[Michael Bulgrien]

As far as I'm concerned Cirrus is usually triggering background compares exactly when it needs to, but I agree with you that copying a specific files shouldn't trigger a comparison of unrelated background items.

I have a feeling that we'll never agree on the appropriateness of when automatic full background compares are triggered in cases where the user has unchecked the "Automatically scan subfolders in background" option in their session defaults. I guess we'll just have to "agree to disagree" as they say.

That being the case, I would ask for an easy way to temporarily suspend "content comparisons" that does not require me to alter my session defaults. A toolbar toggle button that provides a quick compare only mode would be nice. If it is enabled, use the session's quick compare criteria only. If it is disabled, use the session's default content compare criteria. Then, if I foget to click the toggle, the onus is on me if a copy action that takes 10 minutes to complete results in a 5-hour background compare.

[Zoë]

As far as I'm concerned Cirrus is usually triggering background compares exactly when it needs to, but I agree with you that copying a specific files shouldn't trigger a comparison of unrelated background items. I'm happy to improve things if it works within the framework we've already built, which is why I'm curious as to what your comparison state is and what your selection looks like.

If you can, I think the best way for me to get a feel for this would be if you made snapshots of the two folders you're comparing and send us those as well as the session settings and the exact steps you're taking to do the copy that's triggering the excessive comparison.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Yes, flattened view copies are not crashing any more. Thank you.

I've expressed my concern with how Cirrus triggers full background compares in several different threads. This is just one scenario. Since my toggles are set to only show orphans and differences on the left side, a full background compare doesn't accomplish anything. The files and folders dissappear when they are copied, so there is nothing left to return the results of the background compare...

The quick compare that occurs when I expand the folders takes less than a minute. It seems ironic, then, that to move those differences to the other side triggers a compare that requires 5+ hours to complete! Can I repeat it? Yes, it happens all the time. It would seem that there is room for Cirrus to have a little more AI built in around background scans/compares to determine when one is necessary and when one is not.

[Zoë]

Sorry I didn't get back to you on this earlier. The failure to copy files in a flattened view should be fixed in the current release.

As for the comparison, I can't say why it would occur without a bit more context. Can you repeat it? Does it occur if you use "Select All Files" instead of "Select All"?

[Michael Bulgrien]

Maybe I am doing something wrong. I opened a folder, filtered for newer and orphans on left. Flattened the view and tried copying right. Some of the files copied, but 179 of them failed.

Attempt #2, I did the same thing except for flattening the view. I filtered all files except newer left and left orphans, then selected all and copied right. The copy progressed quite slowly. Here is a screenshot:



Note that the pre-copy quick compare had already identified 179 files to copy. I don't understand why a compare of 3,644 files was initiated during my copy of 179 files. Note the 400+ minutes left on the compare. Even after the file copy compeleted, the time remaining of the compare was in excess of 300 minutes. Am I missing something?

I would expect only the 179 files to be re-compared (verified) as they are copied instead of the entire filtered folder tree that is out-of-context with the operation at hand.