13046 Strange sync result display since recent upgrade

[chrisjj]

Why since upgrade from 12204 does a sync leave my files still displayed, showing black question marks? And why does the (unlabelled) central drop-down box say Custom instead of Update Right?

12204:
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/6476/pic121410041202.th.png (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/pic121410041202.png/)

13046:
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/5622/pic121410040832.th.png (http://img257.imageshack.us/i/pic121410040832.png/)

This session is launched by:
start "" "%PROGRAMFILES%\Beyond Compare 3\BCompare.exe" /solo /sync /filters=*.htm*;*.php;-*\ "%~dp0" "ftp://chrisjj@ftp.cjj1.com/public_html/chrisjj/tango/cjjsets"

I'll revert to 12204 until this is solved.

[roymartin]

We are experiancing the same problems on our end. Your scenarios matches ours, which shows that there are differences in filesizes on the local vs. remote. You'll notice there are very small but noticable size differences. Since the filesizes were the same in previous builds and the enviroments are exact replicas, I would imagine that there has been a bug introduced into the comparison engine. We've tried various comparison options such as binary, crc and unchecking the compare file size differences, checking the override quick test results, etc and nothing seems to work.

Thanks,
Roy

[Craig]

In 3.2 we added an extra sync option of "Prompt" that's used for files that have conflicting changes, rather than the previous default of "Leave alone". It still doesn't sync any of those, but does make them visible so you can decide for yourself what to do. For each file you can right click and pick the appropriate sync action.

The fact that the sync type isn't showing correctly is just a UI glitch. It's still doing the correct action, and we'll have a new build out soon that fixes it.

[chrisjj]

Thanks Roy and Craig.

In 3.2 we added an extra sync option of "Prompt" that's used for files that have conflicting changes, rather than the previous default of "Leave alone".Added options are no problem, but are you saying you changed the default?

[Craig]

are you saying you changed the default?

Yes. Prompt doesn't do anything but make them visible, so there's no change in actual synching behavior.

[chrisjj]

Yes.

Thanks. Where is the changelog for this version, please? The download page for this version 13046 http://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php links to a changelog http://www.scootersoftware.com/ChangeLog.txt that fails to include this version.

[Tim]

The ChangeLog.txt file apparently has a typo. We'll get that fixed.

[chrisjj]

Indeed http://www.scootersoftware.com/ChangeLog.txt now says v3.2.3.13046 December 9, 2010. Thanks.

Where is the above-mentioned change to default behaviour, please? I see nothing like this in the Folder Sync changes between 12204 and 13046:

v3.2.3.13046 December 9, 2010

- Folder Sync
- Fixed "Update Left" and "Update Right" sessions from 3.1 and earlier
incorrectly copying orphans to the source side.

v3.2.2.13000 December 6, 2010

- Folder Sync
- Added ability to override sync actions on a per-item basis.
- Added "Next/Previous Conflict" commands, replacing "Next/Previous
Difference".
- "Expand subfolders when loading session" is now enabled by default.
- Fixed "Nothing to Sync" appearing after sync has completed.
- Tweaked "Session Settings" dialog layout and options:
- Moved "Sync empty folders" and "Use recycle bin if possible" from "Sync"
tab to "Handling" tab.
- Removed "Only expand subfolders with differences" option.
- Condensed "Archive handling" radio group to a "Synchronize within
archives" checkbox.

[Aaron]

This is still something we are working out. In the meantime, if there is default behavior you would like to use, please set it in the Home screen's Folder Sync defaults, or per saved session.

[chrisjj]

Where is the above-mentioned change to default behaviour, please? I see nothing like this in the Folder Sync changes between 12204 and 13046
This is still something we are working out.

Sorry to be unclear. I meant where is the changelog entry for the by-design change to default behaviour mentioned above.

[paulenorrisii]

When I want to synch (or update) I have to select the entire list of files and folders prior to performing the action. For me, this is an annoying extra step. I've been unable to find an option to get the old behavior back. Is it there, and I'm missing it? Or am I seeing something different from everyone else? I use 64 bit Windows 7 as OS.

[Chris]

Paul,

Are you syncing from the Folder Compare?

If so, uncheck "Just selection" in the Synchronize preview dialog. Unchecking the box will sync all files regardless of selection.

[chrisjj]

Where is the above-mentioned change to default behaviour, please? I see nothing like this in the Folder Sync changes between 12204 and 13046

Please??

[Aaron]

We'll look into updating the changelog. Look for a change next release.

[chrisjj]

We'll look into updating the changelog. Look for a change next release.

Thanks.

Meanwhile, re your:

In the meantime, if there is default behavior you would like to use, please set it in the Home screen's Folder Sync defaults, or per saved session.

could you please tell me precisely what setting is needed to restore the behaviour?

[Aaron]

Thanks.
Meanwhile, re your:

could you please tell me precisely what setting is needed to restore the behaviour?

The behavior of the Sync is identical and the same files will sync/not sync whether you use the old version or new version.

"Different" files are files that have been determined to be different, but cannot determine which is newer.

To restore the old display, go to the Home Screen, Folder Sync defaults, and switch "If files are different" from Prompt to Leave Alone. This will hide them from view.

The new option, Prompt, will show the files on the screen but will not sync them. This way, we can notify the user that there are files that are different that are not being synced. Previously, there were hidden and the user would have to Peek/Suppress Hidden or open a Folder Compare session to see if they were present.

[chrisjj]

> To restore the old display, go to the Home Screen, Folder Sync defaults,
> and switch "If files are different" from Prompt to Leave Alone.

Thanks.

> The new option, Prompt, will show the files on the screen but will not
> sync them.

That's a confusion I really want to avoid. And I suggest likewise enough other users to warrant this undocumented change to /default/ behaviour be reverted pronto.

[Aaron]

Haven't had any other requests yet, but if they do it is easy to customize it back to the older behavior.

[chrisjj]

> The new option, Prompt, will show the files on the screen but will not
> sync them. This way, we can notify the user that there are files that are
> different that are not being synced.

Well, I don't feel notified. I see black question marks and nothing that tells me what they mean.

Including in the Help. Can you tell me where to look?

[chrisjj]

I see black question marks and nothing that tells me what they mean.

Including in the Help. Can you tell me where to look?

Please?

[chrisjj]

>> could you please tell me precisely what setting is needed to restore the behaviour?

> To restore the old display, go to the Home Screen, Folder Sync defaults,
> and switch "If files are different" from Prompt to Leave Alone.

That doesn't work. It fails to take effect on existing stored sessions and for new sessions it changes the preset from e.g. Update Right to Custom.

Please: what setting is needed to restore the behaviour? (To that of 12204 - each up-to-date file is hidden rather than showing with a black question mark.)

[Tim]

There is no setting that will restore the exact behaviour of 12204.

[Aaron]

Our definition of Update Right has changed in the Folder Sync session. As I mentioned, if you would like you can customize this by changing the Session Defaults, which will affect all future sessions. This is a customization, and will display as Custom.

Unfortunately, we do not currently support changing multiple sessions at once. This is on our wishlist, but for now the only way to update the past sessions is to go to each one and customize the Sync.

The new behavior does not hide "up-to-date" files. The new interface only shows (Prompts but does not Sync) files that have been determined to be Different, whereas previously these files were hidden from view. If you do not want these files to be found as Different, you should customize your Comparison Criteria or investigate why your files are determined to be different. You currently have the comparison configured to find and mark these files as Different.

[chrisjj]

> The new interface only shows (Prompts but does not Sync) files that
> have been determined to be Different, whereas previously these files were
> hidden from view. If you do not want these files to be found as Different...
> you should customize your Comparison Criteria or investigate why...

I am fine with them being found as Different and I do not want to change the comparision. I simply want to restore the hiding effect on Update Right, Update left etc.

For the OP sync command, I have applied your Leave Alone workaround on the default Session Settings and, causing a Custom preset that BC then uses for my sync command and does indeed restore the file hiding. Thanks. However, I don't want my script commands reliant on this workaround in global settings, so please, how can I program the Leave Alone workaround into the command?

For other sessions, I switch between Update/Mirror Right/Left and here I cannot get your Leave Alone workaround to stick - each time I switch, it is lost (and incidentally Custom disappears from the drop-down) requiring me to reapply it using the Rules button. Is this your understanding?

[Aaron]

Hello,

Script actions are the same as they always have been. The "Prompt" behavior only affects how we added the feature to Show files that are different but undetermined for the sync. Since script has no interface, this change has no impact.

In case other users are concerned, Chris has Beyond Compare 3 configured in a way that finds his pairs of files as Different (possibly due to File Size), but with undetermined Timestamps (either the timestamps are equal or the timestamp comparison has been disabled). In Previous versions of BC3, we do not know if these files should be synced in a Sync Update command, so the Update command leans on the side of caution and does not copy them. We then hid these files from view since they would not be impacted by the sync action and left it as the user's responsibility to suppress filters and manually investigate if these files were present or not. There were no visual clues or interface to suggest that any changed or different files had been left behind after a sync. In the latest release, we added a new status of "Prompt", which for these Different files will show them in the interface but the sync will not take action on them. The Prompt status does not block the user from issuing a Sync Update command; it simply shows the files in the interface, allowing the user to double click and review why the files are different before manually picking to Leave Alone, Copy, or Delete.

The Mirror command has remained unchanged. Any files determined to be Different, Newer, Older, or Orphan will be copied or deleted to make both sides exactly equal. Only Equal files are left alone.


As for switching using the dropdown, this updates the settings found in the Session Settings -> Sync tab. We do not save the "last configured sync selection" as a Custom option. BC3 currently only supports setting a custom sync in the Session Settings, Sync tab, so it is behaving as expected. If you need to change your sync type to a customized method, please set up your custom sync and Save it as a Session for future use.

[chrisjj]

> Script actions are the same as they always have been....
> Since script has no interface, this change has no impact.

By script I was referring to the DOS batch file script, and on that there most certainly is an impact.

> In case other users are concerned, Chris has Beyond Compare 3 configured
> in a way that finds his pairs of files as Different (possibly due to File Size),

Uh?? TMK I'm using the default Session Settings Comparison.

> but with undetermined Timestamps (either the timestamps are equal

No, the timestamps are determined and equal, as the report shows.

> timestamp comparison has been disabled).

It has not.

> In Previous versions of BC3, we do not know if these files should be synced
> in a Sync Update command, so the Update command leans on the side of
> caution and does not copy them.

Regardless, post-Sync they were correctly absent from the display. Since the update, not.

> In the latest release, we added a new status of "Prompt", which for these
> Different files will show them in the interface but the sync will not take
> action on them.

No problem there. What you don't mention is that you changed the default to use this new Prompt. That's the cause of the reported problem.

> The Prompt status... shows the files in the interface, allowing the user to
> double click and review why the files are different before manually picking to
> Leave Alone, Copy, or Delete.

This is a batch-file command. There is no qualified user available to perform the review stage you've added.

Hence I'd still like an answer to my question:

I don't want my script commands reliant on this workaround in global settings, so please, how can I program the Leave Alone workaround into the command?

If I have to recode the command to use BC script, fine. If it has to rely on any global BC settings, inc. stored settings, NOT fine, because it is portable.

> BC3 currently only supports setting a custom sync in the Session Settings,
> Sync tab, so it is behaving as expected.

I didn't choose to use a custom sync. It appears as a side-effect of your workaround. It is a poor workaround that evaporates whenever the user selects one of the Update Right/Left options that it claims to address. When you remedy the absence of this issue from the change log, I hope it will be clear on the the limitations of the workaround. So it won't waste the time of other users as it has mine.

[Aaron]

If you are currently using the default comparison of Size and Timestamp, and the Timestamps are equal, then these files must have different sizes.

For this sync, does a file having a different size mean anything to you and your comparison?
If so, how?

There is no added Review stage, as I stated previously. The files are shown in the Preview pane of the GUI, but it does not impact the ability to Commit the sync. What is the .bat file command you are running to launch BC3?

[chrisjj]

> If you are currently using the default comparison of Size and
> Timestamp, and the Timestamps are equal, then these files
> must have different sizes.

No "if" about it Aaron - the report shows they do.

> For this sync, does a file having a different size mean
> anything to you and your comparison?

Where the only difference is due to the FTPs line-end transform, it means Unimportant.

> There is no added Review stage, as I stated previously.

"we added a new status of "Prompt", ... it simply shows the files in the interface, allowing the user to double click and review why the files are different "

> The files are shown in the Preview pane of the GUI, but it does not
> impact the ability to Commit the sync.

That's not the impact I reported.

> What is the .bat file command you are running to launch BC3?

As the report shows.

i.e.

start "" "%PROGRAMFILES%\Beyond Compare 3\BCompare.exe" /solo /sync /filters=*.htm*;*.php;-*\ "%~dp0" "ftp://chrisjj@ftp.cjj1.com/public_html/chrisjj/tango/cjjsets"

[Aaron]

Hello Chris,

If you are currently ignoring the size differences because they will contain line ending differences, and you consider these differences as Unimportant, why not do either of these steps:
1) Run a Rules-based comparison and properly Ignore Line Ending differences, marking them as Unimportant.
http://www.scootersoftware.com/support.php?zz=kb_samebutdifferent
2) Disable Size as a comparison criteria


Sorry for the confusion. I am using the word review but not referring to your "review stage":
This is a batch-file command. There is no qualified user available to perform the review stage you've added.
Reviewing these prompts is not an additional "stage" or step added to the process. They are simply shown in the Preview Pane, along with the rest of the comparison, in all versions of BC3. A user would optionally review this pane before clicking the Sync button; the pane now contains additional information.

start "" "%PROGRAMFILES%\Beyond Compare 3\BCompare.exe" /solo /sync /filters=*.htm*;*.php;-*\ "%~dp0" "ftp://chrisjj@ftp.cjj1.com/public_html/chrisjj/tango/cjjsets"
Your batch file and screenshots would indicate you are loading a sync session in the GUI. Is there a "qualified user" that clicks the Sync button? If not, what is the next step taken after launching this command line?

[chrisjj]

> Your batch file and screenshots would indicate you are loading a
> sync session in the GUI.

Aaron, that's baffling. I see no such indication. Before we continue, could you identify the indication? Thanks.

[Aaron]

Bcompare.exe /sync is the command line used by Beyond Compare 3 to launch the Graphical Interface.

/solo and /filters are additional options, and you also passed in two locations.

The intended results would be this would launch Beyond Compare 3 in a Folder Sync session as the GUI, and load the other options on the command line.

Your screenshots also show the GUI, which I can only assume is what appeared immediately after committing the command line. If there are any other steps you would like to mention, please feel free, or take a video (using a free product like JingProject.)

[chrisjj]

> The intended results would be this would launch Beyond Compare 3 in a
> Folder Sync session as the GUI

The intended result is to launch what BC calls a Folder Sync view.

> Your screenshots also show the GUI, which I can only assume is
> what appeared immediately after committing the command line.

Correct. I didn't "load a sync session in the GUI". All I did was click Sync Now as reported.

> If there are any other steps you would like to mention

There are no other steps.

Thanks for the clarification.

[chrisjj]

There is no setting that will restore the exact behaviour of 12204.Belatedly, thanks Tim.

Suggestion: mention this change of behaviour in the change log.