folder compare and ignoring timestamps

[snidely.too]

I have a bunch of picture folders that a certain camera vendor's "easy" software created, and have backed them up by copying to another drive. Each time I sync the camera, a new folder is created (with the date in the name). Said vendor had a period where the timestamps of existing picture files would get mucked with, even for pictures in a different folder. So when I compare those folders with their backups, I want to ignore timestamps, but I'm having trouble getting that to happen in a reliable way.

I've tried setting the flag to override quick results; I've selected binary comparison when clicking "compare contents", and it still seems to look only at the time stamps.

What am I not doing correctly?

Thanks.

(the build # is 11626 for V3.1.10)

/dps

[snidely.too]

When I select an individual file, and use the viewer for the compare (Picture Compare in this case), the middle panel will remain black, and when I close it the folder status shows this file pair now equal.

But when I do Compare Contents on the folder, it still gets done way to fast to be doing any binary compares.

/dps

[Zoë]

Is there a black = in the center column between the two files? If there is, BC has done a binary compare. If it's only checking size or timestamps the center column will be empty.

[Aaron]

A binary compare will have a 01,10 = sign; a Rules-based compare will have just the black = sign.

A rules-based compare can trigger if you double click on any pair of files and View them (which is running a Rules-based comparison). We will then propagate this compare back to the Folder Compare. The background comparison can take awhile to run, so watch the red Abort/Cancel button. If it is blinking, then your initial background scan is not done.

Also note, the center column does not populate for folders; only files. You must expand your Folders (with the Expand All command or manually) to view the files inside to see if the center column has populated:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/suppo...ferentthensame

[snidely.too]

I don't get '=' at all, unless I view the files in the Picture Compare tool.

I've expanded the folders, usually manually, and I've selected either the entire folder, 1 or more files in the folder, or all the files in the folder.

The backup copies are on an external hard drive hanging off the USB bus, and the originals are on the internal c: partition, in Users/Public/cameravendor.

I don't seem to have this problem with folders elsewhere. That includes backups of other things (like web-site files) that are on the same pair of drives (but in other paths from the partition roots, like c:/mydatadir/mysite/....)

I don't think I've seen this issue on other computers, either, but I was still using BC2 the last time the camera was hooked up to my old XP system.

I'm quite willing to believe that I've overlooked something, but you can tell I haven't figured out what.

/dps

[Michael Bulgrien]

Take a look at the options under the Session -> Session Settings... Handling tab.

[Aaron]

Hello,

Could you email a screenshot of your expanded folders and a copy of your Support package (Help menu -> Support; Export) to [email protected] ?

*Please also include a link back to this forum post in the email.

Your support package will have a copy of all of your settings, so we can verify what you have enabled, and the full screen screenshot will help us verify what types of folders you are looking at and the files inside.

[snidely.too]

Sorry to take so long to get around to this. I saved off the settings file, and then got distracted. Every once and a while, I'd remember and then get distracted again. But now I've seen it on a second system.

Sent a screen shot as well as the settings file. It shows miscompares after a very fast "compare contents" between a USB hard disk and a CD. I suppose it could have been using file caches, because it had done the background scan. One file shows as equal, where I had just used a double click to use the file viewer; it had no miscompares.

BTW, for image files such as JPEG, do you have support for IPTC headers? I'd like to (a) be able to see changes in the header, preferrably decoded, and (b) to be able to ignore the headers for comparing the image contents.

Thanks for your help.

/dps

[snidely.too]

Ah, found your EXIF support in the Additional Rules area ... and yes, the headers differ in the latest example. So part (a) of my IPTC wish is covered ... is there an easy way to part (b)?

Thanks again.

/dps

[snidely.too]

Ah, found your EXIF support in the Additional Rules area ... and yes, the headers differ in the latest example. So part (a) of my IPTC wish is covered ... is there an easy way to part (b)?

Looks like a rule using exifstrip.bat works:
"Helpers\EXIF\jhead.exe -purejpg -v %1 > %2"

/dps

[Chris]

If you want to compare the picture files ignoring the headers, it should work to use "rules-based" comparison as your comparison type. As long as the "Picture Files" format is higher in the list in "Tools > File Formats", BC3 will use the Picture Compare to compare the files for rules-based comparison in the Folder Compare.

You can also uncheck the box next to the EXIF file format to disable it without changing the order of formats.

[snidely.too]

Yes, that works, but I think the stripping rule I derived from your exif rule will still have its use. That helper program seems to be a great find.

/dps

[snidely.too]

You can also uncheck the box next to the EXIF file format to disable it without changing the order of formats.

For cases like mine, where switching back and forth between rules (of which turning 1 rule on and off is a subset), it would be handy to make it easy to toggle said rule. One approach would be a toolbar button where you could use a dropdown on the File Formats menu page to associate a chosen rule with the button.

/dps

[Aaron]

Hello,

Our EXIF file format is a Text Compare file format. We do offer a dropdown for switching between different file formats within the same session type (name of the format in the top status bar) or form the Session menu -> Session Settings, Format tab.

We do not support switching formats to a different type. Instead, you would use the Session menu -> Compare Using menu to pick the new compare type. The default file format for that specific type would then be used for that new comparison.

[snidely.too]

These only show up for the file comparison tab, right? I don't see them on the folder sessions.

Another place that would be handy to access is this is in the pop-up for Compare Contents when rule-based is selected.

/dps