FFS Default Settings for: Synchronization (F8) options

[gdhm]

Is there a way of a User to set his own DEFAULT FFS Synchronization options so that when a NEW configuration is created the Default Options offered are those desired by the User (not the preset FFS defaults).

In my case I would like "UPDATE>" to be MY Default for a New configuration and NOT "<-Two Way->" which I never use and would never wish to.

For me "Update>" is much safer and easier for me to notice if unexpected syncing has occurred. For instance by Default "Update>" does not delete files in target location that are not in the source location etc.

I know the GlobalSettings.xml stores desired "Exclusions" but there seems to be no way to set a Users desired Defaults for the Synchronization options, "Select Variant", "Delete files" and "Handle errors" which would be very useful.

I found I had made a mistake with 3 of my several configurations where I had failed notice I had not changed "<-Two way->" to "Update>" when I created them.

This explains a few minor unexpected results in the past I did not understand and assumed a "silly" had been made by me. My oversight was not correctly identified by me UNTIL today, when I ran into a more serious unexpected, undesired result from my yesterday's syncs.

If there is no way please can I request this extra feature be added in due course to a later build.

Thanks

[Zenju]

Currently not and I'm not sure if it is needed. What about simply saving a config and naming it "default"? Wouldn't this already solve the requirement?

Alternatively it would be possible to programmatically bind the "New" button to a special configuration named `<new>` on GUI similar to `<last session>` which is stored as a regular ffs_gui configuration, e.g. "new.ffs_gui".

There are two problems this solution could solve:
1. give the user some graphical interface to customize the default file exclusion list (currently containing items like "\System Volume Information\, \$Recycle.Bin\").
2. allow to customize the default sync variant: "two-way" is usually a safe default for users who don't know what they are doing. For one-time syncs however "mirror" is usually required more often.

Potential problems:
Is it a good idea to have all configuration items be customizable? E.g. clicking "New" should give a blank slate. Should folder pair configuration also be restored, or always set to empty?
How restore "New" to factory default? Needed?

[gdhm]

Currently not and I'm not sure if it is needed. What about simply saving a config and naming it "default"? Wouldn't this already solve the requirement?

Alternatively it would be possible to programmatically bind the "New" button to a special configuration named `<new>` on GUI similar to `<last session>` which is stored as a regular ffs_gui configuration, e.g. "new.ffs_gui".

There are two problems this solution could solve:
1. give the user some graphical interface to customize the default file exclusion list (currently containing items like "\System Volume Information\, \$Recycle.Bin\").
2. allow to customize the default sync variant: "two-way" is usually a safe default for users who don't know what they are doing. For one-time syncs however "mirror" is usually required more often.

Potential problems:
Is it a good idea to have all configuration items be customizable? E.g. clicking "New" should give a blank slate. Should folder pair configuration also be restored, or always set to empty?
How restore "New" to factory default? Needed?

Hi Zenju :) Thanks for you comments

I personally find myself safer with update because with 3 physical drives in my pc setup (2 internal and 1 external) I backup to different physical Drives (with less frequent emergency backups in my house on Flash drives but elsewhere.

I sometimes whist dabbling/tweaking things confuse myself. To be honest I don't know exactly what I do wrong but recently I found after syncing with FFS (when I had accidentally left a new config on "two way" that I had lost an important Excel worksheet's changes having overwritten it with an older backup version which I think maybe I opened to check something and then saved a minor change to it which I ASSUME making its timestamp the newer and FFS with "two way" would overwrite the original.

I hope I am clear in what I have typed. If not, I apologise to you and other reader.


Clearly it is TOTALLY MY STUPIDITY forgetting and not noticing FFS default for new configs is "two w'y

My suggestion was to try to protect myself and others who may do similar.
It had not occurred to me that you consider "Two Way" safer for most so consequentially I bow to your better knowledge and judgement on this matter Zenju.
I must remember to switch a new config to Update (being safer FOR ME ;)


Your final para. I agree with you. I suppose what I was saying is "I prefer a clean slate based on "Update" rather than "Two Way".
I appreciated others would not feel that way hence why I asked it is was possible for the User to choose which one of Two way, Mirror or Update each prefers as their Global default for a New Config.

I appreciate being a small Home User setup my needs (safety valves) may be VERY different from the majority).


Thanks for your time Zenju :)

[blues12]

I also never use 2-Way. Much too risky because some programs change the modification date even though nothing was modified. Simply by opening a database or mail-client or ftp-uploader or private wiki, the modification date gets altered and FFS will thus overwrite a newer version (with real recent edits) by the older file (with even newer modification date although it contains outdated data).

Allowing the user to change the default setting would help me, too. At the moment I work around this issue and protect myself by starting FFS via command-line option only. This loads a generic preset and thanks to recently changed behavior it will not immediately start scanning, but give me the chance to change the paths.

[Zenju]

> I also never use 2-Way. Much too risky

The two-way mode uses a database to track progress and will detect conflicts like a file changed on both sides. However this will not be in effect when there is no database yet, i.e. on the very first sync. So for one-time-only syncs this mode doesn't make sense, but it's suited more for repeated syncs of the same folder pairs.

[blues12]

> it's suited more for repeated syncs of the same folder pairs

A situation where users are likely to create a preset, imo.
The DEFAULT setting however, is the one that pops up when I have no preset to work with, no folder pairs set up. And that's when I repeatedly have made the mistake of overwriting my current data with an older version, just because it carried a newer timestamp.

This led to my personal rule to always determine the direction myself, and never let an automatic handling override my knowledge of what side really holds the new stuff.