Converting Batch process to use BC4 instead of BC3 issues

[nbd66m4]

We have a batch process to do 14 selected folder by folder compares with different strings to ignore, and files to ignore. Works fine. Uses a number of different script files. Currently runs fine in Dev environment. Ported it to Prod, got it all working. Ran for over a year. Ported it to UAT when we rewrote it converting DOS to Power Shell.

We are ready to upgrade to use BC4 (4.0.7) and it mostly works. I had exported all BC3 session for userid and then imported these settings into same users BC4. Filters for "-*.xlsx" not working (I get the XLS-CSV Helper error, which is why I have the filter). And it isn't ignoring the strings to ignore.

I have compared the session defaults on BC3 and BC4 and found places where I've had to uncheck unimportant differences to use. Seems to be ignoring these.

I can probably attach scripts and settings if I know what you want.

[Aaron]

Hello,

While most settings can import directly from BC3 to BC4, you may want to consider leaving BC4's default Excel file format. This uses a different conversion process, which does not require a copy of Excel on your machine.

Also, if you are freshly deploying BC4, I would recommend the most recent update (4.1.5) as it contains many bug fixes and features, including 64bit support.

We would need precise error logs to better determine which settings are different between BC3 and BC4. It is very likely we can track down and fix the configurations needed. As you have found, if you have Saved Sessions or the default sessions (New folder in the Saved Sessions list of BC4), these will need to be set up with the expected Importance values. First, test the interface to make sure the graphical display is treating the settings/comparison as you expect, then transition to script. If you see a difference in behavior, it is likely because the script is executing as a different Windows User account, and both BC3 and BC4 store settings per Windows User account unless configured to run in a single directory mode. You could use the BC4 Setup.exe to create a Portable Install in a global read/write location, such as C:\Beyond Compare 4\ to test if this helps, since a Portable Install will always share settings with any user, either graphically or in automated script.

[nbd66m4]

We are BC4 v4.0.7, cannot upgrade to anything else without huge hassle.

Thought I mentioned same user account. It does work in GUI, just not in batch using same script and folders.

I already convert XLSX, XLSM files to CSV and compare those, but in a few cases a single file in a folder is XLS and it has a comparable, built same time version in HTML, so I try to filter out the XLS and compare the other files to include the HTML version.

I will poke around tomorrow.

[Aaron]

Hello,

If it works in the GUI but not script, there is a small configuration difference in the actions you are running with script, or the user accounts might accidentally be different. As the first line of your script, would you need to load the graphical default folder compare session settings (load <default>)? I would also suggest the Portable Install test, as it does simplify the setup and guarantees what you see between both views are using the same settings.

[nbd66m4]

Converting Batch process to use BC4 instead of BC3 issues - Attachments

I tried portable version on BC3 while back. So you will see it in the screen shots. I'm confident I'm using the same user id for batch and GUI.

In the process of collecting my attachments my file is just over your threshold. I could trim it, but read next sentence. If my rerun is just a fluke, I'll trim it and resubmit.

I reran BC4 version fresh from top to bottom this morning and it seems to have worked. I will research in depth after forwarding my attachments. Is there a caching issue that might explain this? I included an older summary report using BC4 to show that differences were found.

[Aaron]

Hello,

If you are hitting any forum limits, please email us at [email protected] and include a link back to the forum thread for our reference. There aren't any known caching issues, but a reboot would help if something was in a bad state.