Just matching files report option

[Noramar]

Hi, I recently started using v3 after using v2 for some time. There's a report I have to run that, in v2, I got by choosing "Just matching files". In this new version, the closest I get is "Same", but it looks different from the previous version.

What I'm doing is running an archive of a subset of the f:drive onto the g:drive. Everything on the g:drive is/should have a match on the f:drive, and that's all I want to see on this report. I got that in the previous version by choosing the "matching files" option.

In this new version, the "same" option does show me those files on the f:drive that are the same on my g:drive archive, but it also shows me everything else that's on the f:drive. Is there anything I can do to actually reproduce what version 2 gave me? I hope I'm explaining this clearly enough.

Layout in both v2 and v3 is side by side.

[Aaron]

Hello,

Picking Same would show only the same files in the report. Is the issue that folders are also showing up? You can first switch the Folder Compare's View menu -> Only Compare Files, then the Edit menu -> Expand All, then generate the report.

How does this look to you?

Would you be able to post or email the two reports (BC2 and BC3)?
If you email us at [email protected], please include a link to this forum thread.

[Noramar]

Hello,

Picking Same would show only the same files in the report. Is the issue that folders are also showing up? You can first switch the Folder Compare's View menu -> Only Compare Files, then the Edit menu -> Expand All, then generate the report.

Would you be able to post or email the two reports (BC2 and BC3)?
If you email us at [email protected], please include a link to this forum thread.

This is even worse. It shows no matches at all, which is not correct since I can see matching files visually.

I'm attaching a small sample of one BC2 report and the one I've been trying to create from BC3. And sorry it took me a few days, but I couldn't get back to this until just now.

Thanks!

[Aaron]

Hello,

I think we'll need to verify the graphical interface first before comparing report output. Those two reports do look different, but are also of different directories created on different dates. Of note, the BC2 report seems to calculate the CRC as "0" for both sides. If you enable the CRC column in the graphical interface of BC3, what is shown there? Is the comparison criteria configured to be the same in BC2 and BC3 (BC2: Session menu -> Comparison Criteria, BC3: Session menu -> Session Settings, Comparison tab)?

You can have both BC2 and BC3 installed and open at the same time, so you could have the same compare open, to see what is displayed or compared differently between the two programs. Once we get that working, we can then look into why the report generation might be different.

[Noramar]

Unfortunately, the purpose of the report is to confirm that all of the files of a certain date (month) were copied to the other side for the purpose of archiving them. Once we confirm this, we delete the files on the side we copied them FROM. So I can't reproduce any existing report.

The CRC is enabled only for the report, not in the graphical interface. That was the case in BC2 as well as now in BC3. We installed BC3 when the server crashed a few months ago, and I have no idea how we could get a hold of BC2 at this point. Can we download it from your site? Although we're using BC3 in other servers without a problem, I would actually prefer to downgrade to BC2 in this particular server just to make sure that things are working like they're supposed to.

The problem is that all of the file copying and archiving is done via cygwin scripts that I neither wrote nor understand, so BC2 was a really good way to make sure things didn't go awry. For the archives I've done since the server crash and the installation of BC3 I've had to rely on visual verification, which is never a good thing.

Please let me know where/how/if I can get a copy of BC2.

Thanks.

[Aaron]

We host the latest release of each of the major versions on our main download page. There's a Beyond Compare 2 link in the left side menu. Here's a direct link:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php?zz=dl2_en

Do you still have your BC2 registration emails handy? If not, please email us at [email protected] with a link to this forum thread, and your BC3 or BC2 serial numbers (8 digits with a dash in the middle).

This way, you could at least put BC2 back in place. BC3 should be able to get things to work similarly. It is often easier to troubleshoot from the graphical interface as that offers far more feedback about what is being compared and how. It is possible the old install of BC2 was configured differently, so you may still need some additional setup/troubleshooting with it.

[Noramar]

Aaron, thank you for the link to download BC2. I don't have control of that server, and the admin decided to uninstall BC3 before installing BC2. In any case, I should be able now to do my archives without worrying about whether the files match or not. Now I'll know for sure!

Again, thanks, and have a great weekend!

[Aaron]

We do not remove the BC3 settings when BC3 is uninstalled, so it should be easy to put it back if you would like to give it a second spin.

http://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php

[Noramar]

Thank you for all your help here. In BC2 I found how to exactly reproduce the report I was getting previously, and that was under Session >> Comparison Control. While I no longer have BC3 on that particular server, I do have it on my desktop.

I believe I found the equivalent in BC3 under Session >> Session Settings >> Comparison for part of it (compare timestamps & compare contents) and then Session >> Session Settings >> Handling for folder handling.

I'm attaching a screenshot of the BC2 settings. Please let me know if my assumption of the BC3 equivalent is correct. We may or may not reinstall BC3 on that server. I'm the only one who uses it, and only for that one monthly backup. I use it (BC3) almost daily on my desktop for my day-to-day job.

Again, thank you SO much for all your help.

[Aaron]

Hello,

Yes, given that BC2 screenshot, you would need to customize the default behavior of BC3. You can do this from the Home screen, in the Saved Sessions list, expand the Edit session defaults folder, then select the Folder Compare (Default) session. The Comparison tab and Handling tab have these (similar) options.

You would want to enable the CRC, disable timestamps, and change the Handling tab to expand all our subfolders.

If you do reinstall BC3, please note that it will likely have the previous settings (as we do not remove the Setting.xmls during an uninstall). You can also leave BC2 and BC3 on the system at the same time, and setup different automated tasks to test out or use either.