Comparing with Google File Stream and Dropbox folders on macOS

[proftanda]

Hi -

We're trying to move some Google File stream folders to Dropbox using Folder Compare and Synchronise.
However, we're getting odd mismatches in file counts in Finder following Beyond Compare file syncing.

Here's the steps we've taken:

1. Step up File Stream client in macOS on our local file server
2. Tick 'Available Offline' for the File Stream folder we're archiving (and wait for it to download)
3. Select destination Dropbox folder in macOS (this is is a pre-existing folder but appears empty in finder)
4. Open a Folder Compare session in Beyond Compare with the source File Stream and destination folders.
5. Run Synchronise - to update the destination Dropbox folder.

Running 'Get Info' in Finder afterwards shows a notable difference between folder sizes:
4.72GB (File Stream) vs. 4.71GB (Dropbox), but oddly many more files in the destination Dropbox (350 vs 436)

However, Beyond Compare's Folder Compare (*.*) only shows minor diffs between the folders (.DS_Store files)

Can anyone suggest what might be the issue or how to interrogate this further?

Thanks!
Nick

[Aaron]

Hello,

We don't have a Google File Stream to directly test against in office. Could you try a few more troubleshooting steps to help narrow down where the issue might be occurring?

First, in BC4, if you enable Suppress Filters, does this show more than just .DS_Store files? Sync Update won't copy any files that are Newer in the destination than they are on the Source, and any existing files in the Destination are not deleted. If there were files already present in Dropbox, that could explain the higher count there.

If you copy from Google to empty, local temp (not dropbox), how do these results look?
If you copy from local temp up to Dropbox, what does this comparison look like before you commit the sync? Using the Display Filters, are there different files in the Destination that are Newer or Orphan?

[proftanda]

Thank you for the tips.

And sorry for the slow reply - it's taken us a while to get back to this!

If we enable Suppress Filters it reveals an additional zero byte Icon file inside every folder and subfolder.
We think these relate to the custom folder icon shown in Finder for Filestream.

For the source Filestream folder, these Icon files are invisible in Finder and not counted in Finder's Get Info.
However, they're shown and counted by Finder in the destination folder on Dropbox.

The total number of Icon files accounts for the difference in file counts.

Thanks again for your help!
Nice one.

[Aaron]

Hello,

I would guess the icons are protected operating system files (System + Hidden attributes). We filter these by default, but you could disable this behavior in the Folder Compare's Session menu -> Session Settings, Other Filters tab, disable "Exclude protected operating system files". However, this will then include other S+H files, so please review any preview/sync carefully about what is included or deleted.