Folder Sync, alignment override and missing folder

[Laurent]

Hi,

I use Folder Sync with alignment overrides to copy and update a directory tree (from left to right).

I have 2 issues with folders that do not exist on the right side:

1) If an overrided folder is missing on the right, it is copied without the name override (the folder has the left side name).
I clearly see this as a bug. And it is really annoying for my purpose.

2) If some folders do not exist in the base "Right folder", there is an "Error opening folder".
As it is a Folder Sync and not a Folder Compare, there should be an option in the Sync options tab to create the destination base folder if it does not exist (or it could be a "create folder" button in the folder sync session window, or any solution that avoids the creation of the destination directory tree manually).

Of course I can also have missed something in the software.
Comments or solutions are welcome.
Thanks.

[Chris]

Laurent,

Thanks for the email reminder about your question. I sent a response by email, but I will copy it here for anyone else monitoring this thread:

1) This is an issue both with the "Actions > Align With" command and the "View > Ignore Folder Structure" command. There isn't a work around in the current version, but I think this is something our developers plan to work on in a future version of BC.

2) I'll discuss prompting to create a folder that doesn't exist like the folder compare with our developers.

[Zoë]

Your (1) issue is not a bug. Alignment overrides encourage alignment, they don't force it. If you have 'A' on both sides, but no 'B', and you add an override of 'A=B', the two 'A' files will line up, they won't be treated as orphans.

If there is sufficient demand we can consider changing the behavior, but it will require more requests for it before I look into it.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Just my 2 cents... While issue (1) sounds like it might be useful in some circumstances... I would have to agree that I do not see the current functionality as a bug... and would not have expected it to work as Laurent described.

[Laurent]

I understand that the current behavior can be considered as "normal". Particularly in a Folder Compare session.
But in Folder Sync, when I click on "Auto-Sync" with "Mirror to Right", I'd expect to have the same result regardless the current content of the right folder (which is not the case when one of the overrided subfolders is missing).

[Michael Bulgrien]

Understanding that some users like to put version info and the like in their folder names, an option (or checkbox) to enforce an alignment override (create aligned folders if missing) would be useful. It would allow a user to easily create a new set of folders under a new name (potentially eliminating considerable manual effort). It's not something I would use often, but if the capability existed, I am sure I would make use of it sooner or later.