Feature Request - When performing a comparison, perform comparisons one at a time, serially

[hsehestedt]

I need to explain a scenario in order to explain by request first.

NOTE: This is a simplified scenario. What I do is a bit more complex, but this makes the point.

Suppose that I am in front of a system called "PC1". In addition, I have a USB Flash Drive (UFD) with two volumes called "UFD-V1" and "UFD-V2".

I want to sync a bunch of ISO image files from my PC to the UFD-V1 volume and after that has been synced I then want to sync those ISO images on UFD-V1 to UFD-V2.

So, in FreeFileSync, I have two lines, both setup as a one-way mirror:

PC1\ISO Images --> UFD-V1
UFD-V1 --> UFD-V2

The problem in this scenario is that when I perform the comparison and then the sync, the comparison sees the files that need to be copied from PC1 to UFD-V1, however, it cannot see the files that will need to be copied from UFD-V1 to UFD-V2 because those files do not yet exist on UFD-V1. They will only exist once the first sync is done.

The result is that I need to run the same FreeFileSync job a second time. It is only then that FreeFileSync will see that there are files on UFD-V1 that need to be copied over to UFD-V2.

So here is my feature request:

I see two ways of resolving this:

1) Allow an option to have the comparison on the second sync (UFD-V1 --> UFD-V2) take place only after the first sync (PC1\ISO Images --> UFD-V1) has completed.

2) Allow for an option to automatically run the job x number of times automatically.

NOTE: I am aware that for the 2nd job, I could simply perform a sync with PC1 rather than with UFD-V1, but there is a reason for this:


I typically copy large amounts of data (200GB+) and that is relatively slow over the network. As a result, I want to do that copy one time to my UFD-V1 volume, then for the second copy, do that from UFD-V1 to UFD-V2 because that is WAY faster than doing it over the network twice.

[Plerry]

1) Allow an option to have the comparison on the second sync (UFD-V1 --> UFD-V2) take place only after the first sync (PC1\ISO Images --> UFD-V1) has completed.

FFS runs a full Compare on all specified locations and proposes sync Actions based on the pre-sync status and FFS's sync settings. (If you want, you can even modify your sync settings after running the Compare, and FFS will update its proposed sync actions accordingly).
When then running the actual sync, FFS does not execute its sync actions in a particular sequence, neither per location, nor per folder, nor e.g. alphabetically.
Changing this would be a major overhaul of FFS software and likely creates non-backwards compatibility; a big problem for existing users.
In case of a full or partial overlap between sync locations (as in your use case) FFS even warns you about it, because it may result in other results than the user intends or expects (as you have become aware of).

2) Allow for an option to automatically run the job x number of times automatically.

What you can already do instead, is to define (and save) two separate *.ffs_gui or *.ffs_batch sync configurations.
One for your first sync (PC1\ISO Images --> UFD-V1) and one for your second sync (UFD-V1 --> UFD-V2).
To your first sync configuration you add a "On Completion" post-sync command (in your Sync Settings (F8)) that runs your second sync. In that way the syncs are run in succession, and any changes your first sync made to UFD-V1 will be part of the Compare and Sync of your second sync.