I Discovered a Technique to Compare one Entire Sub-tree to a Second one.

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JDN
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I Discovered a Technique to Compare one Entire Sub-tree to a Second one.

#1 Post by JDN » 18.09.2019, 08:35

I recently discovered a technique in FC that saves me a huge amount of time and effort and it occurs to me that it may be worth describing this technique here in case any other people might like to use it as well. I used the "Search" tool to look and see if this technique had already been described. But I could not find it.

I keep many media files on two large hard drives. I keep my original collection in a large sub-tree on one drive and I keep a duplicate on a different drive as a backup. I'm not certain if "sub-tree" is the best way to describe the structure I use. Maybe a "tree extract" might be a better name? It is essentially several folders and sub-folders all containing media files.

I used to spend several hours every week using Windows Explorer and Folder Size (a free utility that shows all of the files in a set of folders together with their sizes) in order to ensure that I had an exact duplicate on my backup drive.

But I found that FC provides an excellent technique to compare all of the files in two different sub-trees. I'm guessing that most all users of FC know there is an easy way to compare all of the files in a single folder to all of the files in a different folder. But until recently, I never knew how to compare all the files and folders in an extract of a tree on one drive to all of the files and folders in an extract of a tree on a different drive.

Here is the technique I use:

By selecting the folder and sub-folders and then using the View command and selecting View - Plain View - Files, Folders, I can then use the Compare command (Keyboard shortcut - Alt+V) and FC then compares each file in all the folders and sub-folders at once. I used to spend hours reading the names of the files in all the folders and I used to do that at least 2 or 3 times every week. Considering how easy this is to do with FC, I can't believe how much time I had been wasting using Windows Explorer and Folder Size instead. FC is so much better.

I realize this problem and technique are difficult to describe. A picture of a sub-tree would make things so much more clear. I hope the reader of this forum will understand what I mean.

So, I just wanted to say, "CONGRATULATIONS!" to Marek for making such an excellent command in FreeCommander. FC is absolutely top notch! Thank you Marek. I am very happy to be a Lifetime Donor and ...

I would encourage everyone else who uses FreeCommander to consider becoming a Lifetime Donor because, the cost is minimal and the benefits are worth it. It's wonderful to know that when I have some exceptional problem, Marek seems willing and available to help me.

I understand that for most all problems, the best approach is to describe the problem here in the Forum. But for exceptional problems (like problems with my account), there are times when it is appropriate to send an email to the Administrators. If you read the posts that Marek has written to describe the approach he recommends when we have problems, you will see the conditions under which he suggests sending an email to the Administrators.

Although I have only sent email to Marek requesting help twice in the past 18 months, I feel that Marek values my support and he is willing to take the time to help me. So, thank you once again Marek.

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Forez
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Re: I Discovered a Technique to Compare one Entire Sub-tree to a Second one.

#2 Post by Forez » 30.10.2019, 12:33

And to find differences you can combine ALT + V with CTRL + B

I use it when I have some files in location A that I need to get removed from location B and do not wish to look for them on a file-by-file basis by the means of CTRL + F

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