Hello,
Scripting mirrors steps you can take in the graphical interface, each step performed top to bottom.
So the original script is:
loading a pair of folders
expand all folders to see all sub items
selecting nothing
performing the right-click -> Compare Contents command on no selection, so nothing is scanned.
By adding the select all in the newest script, you are selecting everything, right clicking and running the binary scan on that selection, which should take much longer.
Without setting a criteria before the load, the default criteria is used (timestamp and size comparison). This timestamp/size scan uses the file properties and metadata without opening and scanning the content inside of a file, which makes it a much faster scan to perform. If the file's recorded timestamp and size information matches, then the files are marked as the same. Often, this level of accuracy is fine, but if you want to know if the files are exact copies of each other then a binary scan would be needed.
In my earlier example, setting criteria first sets a new comparison to use on load, a background criteria used (binary), then loads a pair of folders into this environment. The load itself then triggers the binary scan. This is like if you had an empty Folder Compare in the graphical interface, then updated the Session Settings to perform a binary scan on everything, and then picked and loaded folders into this customized Folder Compare session. Setting criteria first is slightly faster since it loads only once with a specific criteria. Otherwise the first load of timestamp/size has to finish, and then the binary compare is run additionally after that, instead of a single scan at the same time during the load.
Scripting mirrors steps you can take in the graphical interface, each step performed top to bottom.
So the original script is:
loading a pair of folders
expand all folders to see all sub items
selecting nothing
performing the right-click -> Compare Contents command on no selection, so nothing is scanned.
By adding the select all in the newest script, you are selecting everything, right clicking and running the binary scan on that selection, which should take much longer.
Without setting a criteria before the load, the default criteria is used (timestamp and size comparison). This timestamp/size scan uses the file properties and metadata without opening and scanning the content inside of a file, which makes it a much faster scan to perform. If the file's recorded timestamp and size information matches, then the files are marked as the same. Often, this level of accuracy is fine, but if you want to know if the files are exact copies of each other then a binary scan would be needed.
In my earlier example, setting criteria first sets a new comparison to use on load, a background criteria used (binary), then loads a pair of folders into this environment. The load itself then triggers the binary scan. This is like if you had an empty Folder Compare in the graphical interface, then updated the Session Settings to perform a binary scan on everything, and then picked and loaded folders into this customized Folder Compare session. Setting criteria first is slightly faster since it loads only once with a specific criteria. Otherwise the first load of timestamp/size has to finish, and then the binary compare is run additionally after that, instead of a single scan at the same time during the load.
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