Hi. Just downloaded this program and I have to say I'm very impressed. Just one question. Is it possible to resolve conflicts by file size? That is when comparing files in two locations if it finds two files that are identical except for their file size it will automatically treat the smaller file as having higher priority suggest pick it as the one to be copied? While two way would be idea (All the smaller files in Folder 1 replace their counterparts in Folder 2 and vice versa) even if it was only 1 way this would work.
I didn't see anything in the manual/FAQ about this and from trying to find the answer on the forum I've seen that the system will usually use dates to try and determine which file is newer and thus has higher priority but in my circumstance I'm trying to save room on my computer and I have lots of folders with functionally identical files but different sizes therefore I want the smaller file to automatically be given higher priority. Thank you
Possile to Resolve Conflicts by File Size?
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- Joined: 3 Oct 2024
Hmm,
If I understand correctly in your source location you have different directories with the same file name in them only different sizes.
When you synchronize from the source to the destination it will recreate the two directories or however many there are and put the file that is in the source at the destination so you shouldn't have a conflict and I would think that you would want to synchronize all of your files from the source to the destination.
If the file names are not in large quantity and constantly changing or becoming new ones you should be able to exclude the files that you don't want backed up or synchronized by name in the exceptions list.
I can't seem to figure out a way to eliminate files that have the same file name in different directories. And further eliminate them based on their size and pick the one that's smaller. That's asking a lot.
Even for example if you were using a traditional backup program that supported deduplication which is the elimination of duplicate files from the backup it's based on the exact same file in every respect appearing in multiple directories and then makes a backup of only one of them.
Perhaps somebody with more intricate understanding of the software can chime in and give you a better answer.
If I understand correctly in your source location you have different directories with the same file name in them only different sizes.
When you synchronize from the source to the destination it will recreate the two directories or however many there are and put the file that is in the source at the destination so you shouldn't have a conflict and I would think that you would want to synchronize all of your files from the source to the destination.
If the file names are not in large quantity and constantly changing or becoming new ones you should be able to exclude the files that you don't want backed up or synchronized by name in the exceptions list.
I can't seem to figure out a way to eliminate files that have the same file name in different directories. And further eliminate them based on their size and pick the one that's smaller. That's asking a lot.
Even for example if you were using a traditional backup program that supported deduplication which is the elimination of duplicate files from the backup it's based on the exact same file in every respect appearing in multiple directories and then makes a backup of only one of them.
Perhaps somebody with more intricate understanding of the software can chime in and give you a better answer.
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> I can't seem to figure out a way to eliminate files that have the same file name in different directories.
You can use wildcards in your Exclude Filter definition.
If you e.g. want to exclude all file1.txt files, you can add a line
*\file1.txt
to your Exclude Filter.
The wildcard * matches any number (including zero) arbitrary characters.
So, *\ matches any arbitrary folder name, including your base folders.
You can use wildcards in your Exclude Filter definition.
If you e.g. want to exclude all file1.txt files, you can add a line
*\file1.txt
to your Exclude Filter.
The wildcard * matches any number (including zero) arbitrary characters.
So, *\ matches any arbitrary folder name, including your base folders.
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@plerry,
Won't that filter remove all copies of the file? The person is wanting to back up one of the two files if there are two with the same file name but different file sizes.
He wants to copy only the smaller file size..
Can ffs do that?
Won't that filter remove all copies of the file? The person is wanting to back up one of the two files if there are two with the same file name but different file sizes.
He wants to copy only the smaller file size..
Can ffs do that?
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- Joined: 22 Aug 2012
I addressed the cited question.
But that does not address/solve the second question; the size related aspect.
FFS can (at least presently) not solve that part.
> Won't that filter remove all copies of the file?
It will exclude all copies of the file from the sync.
Excluded items are not considered for any sync actions; any copies of said items will not be removed from the left or right base location or any of its (sub)directories.
Simplistically stated:
Such filter "removes" all copies of the file from the sync, but none from disk.
But that does not address/solve the second question; the size related aspect.
FFS can (at least presently) not solve that part.
> Won't that filter remove all copies of the file?
It will exclude all copies of the file from the sync.
Excluded items are not considered for any sync actions; any copies of said items will not be removed from the left or right base location or any of its (sub)directories.
Simplistically stated:
Such filter "removes" all copies of the file from the sync, but none from disk.
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- Joined: 3 Oct 2024
Sorry,
In my previous post I meant to have those words mean that a filter will remove the files from the backup not remove the files completely.
I don't think ffs can do this and I know about other Solutions and I don't think any of them would solve the problem.
In my previous post I meant to have those words mean that a filter will remove the files from the backup not remove the files completely.
I don't think ffs can do this and I know about other Solutions and I don't think any of them would solve the problem.
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- Joined: 3 Oct 2024
Thank you for your response but after looking into it I realized I had misunderstood something which might have made it unclear what I was asking. From other topics on conflicts I was under the impression the the system would automatically try to resolve conflicts based on the date and choose the newer one to keep however I think I'm wrong. I'll try to show what I was asking in a picture.Hmm,
If I understand correctly in your source location you have different directories with the same file name in them only different sizes.
When you synchronize from the source to the destination it will recreate the two directories or however many there are and put the file that is in the source at the destination so you shouldn't have a conflict and I would think that you would want to synchronize all of your files from the source to the destination. sam23, 03 Oct 2024, 05:56
https://imgur.com/a/naSs5XC
If you look at this picture you'll see that the system says there's a conflict for all these text files because it does not know which one has priority and by default the system won't offer any action. I have the ability to manually click and instruct the system which file should have priority as you can see in this image:
https://imgur.com/PTQYxM7
What I'm asking is if there is a way to have the system automatically pick which side has priority and which way to copy based on the size of the file which in the case where smaller files have priority would be all files on the left are copied to the right like what's shown in Text3 in the second image.
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- Joined: 22 Aug 2012
From your picture(s) it is unclear what causes the conflict.
Hoovering your mouse over the unequal-to or conflict icon in between the left and right side may give a clue.
What Comparison method do you use (File time and size, File Content or File Size)?
What sync variant do you use (Two-way, Mirror, Update or a Custom variant), and are you using a database file to detect changes or not.
All of these may affect what FFS considers to be a conflict, and if changing your settings may be able to prevent unresolved conflicts.
Hoovering your mouse over the unequal-to or conflict icon in between the left and right side may give a clue.
What Comparison method do you use (File time and size, File Content or File Size)?
What sync variant do you use (Two-way, Mirror, Update or a Custom variant), and are you using a database file to detect changes or not.
All of these may affect what FFS considers to be a conflict, and if changing your settings may be able to prevent unresolved conflicts.
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Let me first be clear that I manufactured the two pictures to try to explain the behavior I wanted. To do that I had Comparison by File Size and either Two-Way or Update and no database file. The files in the picture have the same name but not the same timestamp so I compare by size alone to create the conflict. The reason given is "Cannot determine sync direction, the items have different content but it is unknown which side has changed." Again I want to be clear that the files in the pictures are irrelevant since I just created for the sake of showing the picture to explain what behavior I was trying to achieve but if I again mislead and confused anyone by doing that I'm sorry.
The the files I'm actually trying to use it on have the same name and date but different sizes and if I run the comparison on the "size and date setting" (no database file and either Update or Two way). It shows the same icon (Red Lighting Bolt) but has a slightly different message of:
"Files have the same name but a different size
Date: [date] Time: [time] Size:[size] <-
Date: [date] Time: [time] Size:[size] ->
[Name of file]"
Again to reiterate it is completely random which directory has the smaller file. What I'm trying to do is find out if there's a way I can get the program to automatically resolve each conflict by always choosing to copy over the smaller file every single time. Sometimes it would copy from the first directory to the second, sometimes it's the second directory to the first. It would be equally acceptable if it copied from the the first to eh second but only the files in the first directory which are smaller and ignoring the files which the second directory have as smaller.
The the files I'm actually trying to use it on have the same name and date but different sizes and if I run the comparison on the "size and date setting" (no database file and either Update or Two way). It shows the same icon (Red Lighting Bolt) but has a slightly different message of:
"Files have the same name but a different size
Date: [date] Time: [time] Size:[size] <-
Date: [date] Time: [time] Size:[size] ->
[Name of file]"
Again to reiterate it is completely random which directory has the smaller file. What I'm trying to do is find out if there's a way I can get the program to automatically resolve each conflict by always choosing to copy over the smaller file every single time. Sometimes it would copy from the first directory to the second, sometimes it's the second directory to the first. It would be equally acceptable if it copied from the the first to eh second but only the files in the first directory which are smaller and ignoring the files which the second directory have as smaller.
