WISH LIST SUGGESTION: compress attribute handling

[andwan0]

I have an external 500GB HD. Over time Windows XP tricked me into letting it compress old files on it.

Now I changed my mind and I don't want ANY files compressed on the 500GB external HD. The problem is, I don't know what files are compressed and what's not.

I see Beyond Compare can view/compare attributes of files.. but it doesn't show/handle compressed attribute files. If it handles DOS attributes, then please can Beyond Compare support handling XP's compress attribute too!

That way I can filter files to only show compressed files and then decompress them!

Right now in Beyond Compare I have to select all files, right-click Properties... and wait for 30 minutes before I see the Properties sheet.

No, doing it natively under Windows Explorer doesn't work.

[Michael Bulgrien]

File compression is a feature of NTFS. To disable it:

Open (double-click on) My Computer
Right-click on the compressed drive, click Properties
Near the bottom of the General tab, uncheck the "Compress the data to save space" checkbox

There should be no need to "un-compress" the files. They "un-compress" as you use them and, if the "Compress the data" checkbox is not checked, do not re-compress when you close them.

[andwan0]

Am just saying if Beyond Compare already facilitates for DOS attributes (archive, readonly, system, hidden)... then am sure they can do NTFS's compress attribute too.

No no no, your method would compress the entire drive. There's another compression way... but restricted to specific files... which have the compress attribute. Apparently the HD's compress attribute/tick is not related to individual files compress attributes.

[Zoë]

This sounds more like a one-off thing than something you'd use BC for regularly, so it's not really a good fit. The other mark against it is that even though the user interface might be the same, actually telling Windows to compress/decompress a file is quite a bit different than just setting it's read-only flag.

I'd suggest something like Compressed NTFS File Decompressor.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Am just saying if Beyond Compare already facilitates for DOS attributes (archive, readonly, system, hidden)... then am sure they can do NTFS's compress attribute too.

I understand your suggestion/enhancement request and am not disagreeing with it as a possible future solution. That is up to the Scooter team

No no no, your method would compress the entire drive. There's another compression way... but restricted to specific files... which have the compress attribute. Apparently the HD's compress attribute/tick is not related to individual files compress attributes.

Actually, the HD compress attribute is related to the compress attribute of individual files. For a short-term solution, you can:

Check the checkbox for the drive, but DO NOT select the option to apply the changes to subfolders and files. This will set the compress flag on the root folder of the drive only. Apply the changes.

Next uncheck the checkbox for the drive, but this time be sure to select the option to apply the changes to subfolders and files. This will remove the compress flag on the root folder as well as all subfolders and files, even if the settings on the files were set by the Windows "Disk Cleanup" option.

As I said in my original post, once the compress option is removed, the files will uncompress when accessed and will not re-compress.