Synchronize Defaults

[Michael Bulgrien]

I must say that I am really pissed off !!!

By nature, BC3 is designed to default operations based on the current selection. I just ran a context menu mirror with 3 files high-lighted that wiped out hundreds of files and will cause hours of rework !!!

I urged the Scooter team to make the context menu synchronize options work on "Just the selection" by default (which is how it originally worked, and is consistent with how the rest of the application works). It is also safer! If a user wants to synchronize the whole folder and forgets to uncheck "Just a selection", they can always run the synchronize operation again. The way it is today, if a user intends to synchronize just the selection and fails to check the checkbox, there is no second try...and the results can be disasterous! Please, although I understand that there is a following that want the BC2 feel, the current implementation is dangerous...

By default, the context menu should ALWAYS work in the context of the current active selection. Your current implementation of the "Just the selection" checkbox fails to follow this industry standard.

[Zoë]

Michael,

I'm very sorry for your loss of data. We changed the behavior after considerable feedback, and made it a global action by default because there isn't a lot of difference between a "Just Selection" sync and copies or deletes of the same files.

I want to check one thing with you though: Is the "Just Selection" checkbox's checked state remembered across syncs? It's supposed to be, and is in all of our testing, but we have had one or two users mention that it wasn't. Based on your previous posts I expected you to check the checkbox once and ignore it after that.

[Michael Bulgrien]

I don't know what you mean when you ask if it is remembered "across syncs". I do know the setting is not remembered between sync types. In other words, I checked the box for a mirror right, and it was not checked in a later session when I went to mirror left.

But my biggest problem with the current implementation is the blatant violation of context menu rules. If I have a corrupted BC3 environment (or have been working with a special-case configuration) and I return to factory defaults (or uninstall, delete my BC3 XML setting files and reinstall), then the default functionality is to perform an action from the context menu that is out of context with the current selection...and is the more dangerous configuration.

There have been times when my suggestions have been rejected on the grounds that functionality I am interested in might be dangerous to other users. What happened to that mindset in your implementation of these synchronize options?

[Zoë]

Whether the checkbox is checked or not is a global setting and it should stay the way you set it between sync types and across program runs. It certainly works that way here. I don't know why it isn't for you, but the fact that it can lead to data loss certainly makes it a high priority bug.

We are considering changing the first-run default so it's checked, but we plan to keep it so it remembers that state rather than reverting to "Just Selection" every time.

[Michael Bulgrien]

I do know the setting is not remembered between sync types. In other words, I checked the box for a mirror right, and it was not checked in a later session when I went to mirror left.

FYI - After uninstalling BeyondCompare and starting with a fresh factory configuration, the "Just Selection" checkbox seemed to stick between synchronize types.

Regarding your other comments: When the checkbox was first introduced, I recommended that the checkbox be checked by default. I have no problem with the state of the checkbox being remembered.

[Zoë]

Can you send me a copy of your original BCState.xml? Sounds like there was some sort of corruption.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Sorry, I didn't back it up...and can't readily duplicate what I thought had happened. Is it possible that loading a saved session could revert the setting? Or launching a new session before closing the session where the option was changed?

[Zoë]

I'm not sure what would have triggered it originally, but saving or loading sessions shouldn't have done it. That part of the config is read when the Sync Preview dialog is loaded and saved when you click the "Sync" button; it shouldn't be affected by anything else.

We're still considering changing the default, but at least now it shouldn't bother you any more. I'm still sorry about the loss of data; if the sync starts acting up again let me know.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Perhaps this is what I did:

Knowing that I would always want synchronize operations to only work with the active selection, perhaps I tried to change the setting before I had a synchronize operation to perform. Perhaps I brought up a synchronize dialog and checked the check-box, then closed the dialog without completing the operation (i.e. with the [x] in the upper right-hand corner).

If this is done, the change to the setting does not stick.

[Zoë]

Thinking it through the problem was probably introduced during the beta. In order to make updates easier for users we tried to migrate any settings that we change automatically, and if we see XML nodes that we don't understand we leave them alone. If your BCState.xml had two <TOpSyncPreview> nodes that could cause the problem you were seeing, since it might have read from one node and written to the other.

During the sync development we probably changed where the sync settings were stored and we would have added code to migrate the old settings. If you had run that previous version again for any reason it would have reintroduced the old settings, and the migration code probably ran again when you went back to the newer version.

[Pete]

Your current implementation of the "Just the selection" checkbox fails to follow this industry standard.

On the one hand, I think the current implementation of "Just the Selection" is perfect when we start a sync from the toolbar buttons, the menubar, and keyboard shortcuts.

However, I agree with Michael that every action in the context menu should always only use the current selection. IMO the user expects this behavior because he has just right clicked on either a selection or a single file or folder.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Yes, Pete. My only concern is the default setting of the checkbox when launched from the context menu. I don't care how the setting defaults if launched from elsewhere.

[Dave_L]

[BC 3.0.9 on MEPIS 7]

I just got hit by this same problem. I right-clicked a folder that I wanted to sync, and selected Mirror to Left. I didn't even notice the Just Selection checkbox. BC synchronized several thousand folders and files that I didn't intend to be changed.

I also think that a context menu action should only affect the selected item.

[Bill D]

Syncing of Just Selected Folders

When I attempt to do a sync of just the selected folders in the Folder Compare window, BC3 opens the Synchronize Preview dialog and starts scanning all folders. I immediately check “Just Selection”, but it continues to scan all folders and I have to wait until the scan of the entire folder tree (not just the selected folders) is complete before I can see which files/folders will be affected. After the Sync Preview finishes, I see what will be synchronized and then press “Sync” to execute the operation (although I don’t have to wait for the Preview to finish before starting the Sync – a very nice feature).

This “Just Selection” behavior is not a problem when the higher level folder tree is relatively small, but it takes a very long time when I am close to the root level of large drives and I want to sync just the selection. In BC2, if I had folders selected before I initiated a sync, it assumed that I only wanted to sync my selection. That behavior is what I am looking for. Is there another way I can do syncs of just the selected folders?

Also the “Just Selection” checkbox is not remembered across syncs for me so I am forced to wait for the full folder tree scan every time. A good solution would be to make a Tools>Options setting for this. Having “Just Selection” set all of the time would be beneficial to me because I can simply uncheck it and sync the entire tree without having to wait any additional time or perform any extra steps. In summary, “Just Selection” should be customizable to meet everyone’s needs.

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◦BC build 3.0.11.9510◦

[DaveJamesMiller]

As a long-time user of BC2, I have the same issues with the way this now works...

1. Just Selection should be checked by default for safety reasons. It worries me how easy it is to accidentally delete everything!

2. Even after ticking this (for the first time), it continues to open every visible folder. Very slow when comparing two big FTP sites!

3. Normally I go and check/change all the settings the first time I install BC on a computer. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't find anywhere to change the default in the Options dialog. So the only way to change it is by actually performing a sync/mirror. So I either have to wait until the first time I use it, or set up a temporary session and copy a single file or something like that.

Other than that, I think BC is great.