Compare Folder Content becomes stuck

I find Compare Folder Content particularly useful, but it has a problem: once enabled, it can't be turned off, and if you force it off, it can't be turned back on because it thinks it's already on! It's a bit broken.

Taken any given local and remote folders, and click the toolbar button for Compare Folder Content:

• Partial Name Matching = FALSE
• Compare Name & Size = TRUE
• Don't Size Compare ASCII files = FALSE
• Exclude File Extensions = FALSE
• Select Non-Matches = TRUE
• Hide Matching Files/Folders = TRUE

The relevant files become hidden and selected accordingly.

Now, how do you turn this off and show all files again? The Compare Folder Content button should depress to show that it's engaged, but it does not. Clicking it again, redraws the lists but otherwise does nothing.

If you navigate to the parent local folder, and back in to your selected folder again, you do get the full list of files back on the local side, but not on the remote side. You must then refresh the remote list to get its side to redraw, to finally get the Compare mode turned off.

Worse, if you modify the local folder in any way, the local pane in FlashFXP draws as if comparison was disengaged – all files now show – but you can't compare again because the program believes that compare mode is still in force and you have to go through the above rigamarole to force it off before you can re-engage it!

I'd have imagined that:

a) The Compare Folder Content button would be a toggle button showing when comparison mode is engaged
b) Per a, clicking it again would turn it off
c) Local pane refresh would obey comparison mode if it's in force

Cheers

Daniel.

I think there is some confusion as to how this feature works.

When you click "Compare Folder" it's a one time event, there is no on/off.

In your specific configuration by hiding the files, the proper method of making them re-appear is to press refresh to undo the effect.

This is true if you modify a local file after doing a "Compare Folder" that results in the local list being updated then it will undo the "Compare Folder", This is a limitation of using the hide option with "Compare Folder".

Originally Posted by bigstar

I think there is some confusion as to how this feature works.

I believe this is as true for you as it is for me

When you click "Compare Folder" it's a one time event, there is no on/off.

All things considered, I believe this is a design flaw. A toggle would make more sense (with the ability for FlashFXP to untoggle it as necessary).

In your specific configuration by hiding the files, the proper method of making them re-appear is to press refresh to undo the effect.

Where? That works on the remote side, but not on the local side, where refresh does not turn the filter off. Please re-read what I wrote above. There's no easy way to use this feature. Having it be a toggle would allow you to clear the filter from both sides without (an often tedious) remote refresh or having to redo both sides separately.

This is true if you modify a local file after doing a "Compare Folder" that results in the local list being updated then it will undo the "Compare Folder", This is a limitation of using the hide option with "Compare Folder".

Yes, but the program still believes that filtering is in effect, meaning that pressing the Compare button now does nothing because it assumes the filter is in place, yet all files are shown. You have to back up a directory and return to force all remnants of the filter to disappear. The program gets into quite a confused state.

All things considered, I believe this is a design flaw. A toggle would make more sense (with the ability for FlashFXP to untoggle it as necessary).

I'm not so sure that it would especially if your not doing any hiding, Then desired effect is to select/unselect based on the rules.

Where? That works on the remote side, but not on the local side, where refresh does not turn the filter off. Please re-read what I wrote above. There's no easy way to use this feature. Having it be a toggle would allow you to clear the filter from both sides without (an often tedious) remote refresh or having to redo both sides separately.

Using Refresh works the same way for the local browser. Changing folders is not needed.

As soon as the complete folder is complete it's technically done. To get back anything that was hidden you refresh the view (Local or Remote).

Sorry, polite version :P

Refresh doesn't do what you suggest it does. Try it. It makes the local pane flicker and that's it. My bad, I'd not noted originally that I'd actually tried refresh. It doesn't bring back files. So yes, this is a bug.

Unable to reproduce this here, all fresh methods (button, shortcut key, menu) seem to correctly refresh on the local side.

Edit: upon some further testing (after experience some other weird behavior and testing it so i can submit seperate bug report) i did notice some other weird behavior that could be related.

After posting my bug report and testing some more, i think its worth asking something here to determine if this possible bug is one in the same.

Telcontar, what method are you using to try and refresh the local folder content? kb shortcut f5, rightclick menu item, or the refresh toolbar button? If you are using the button (indicating that this would be cause by the same issue), try the other methods, do they work correctly?

OK this is weird.

I use the toolbar button (probably because, subconsciously, I'm avoiding caring about which pane is focused).

If I hit F5 or right-click, Refresh, all the files come back. I then believed that the button had stopped working, broken by F5. Turns out that you must refresh both sides first -- to completely cancel the filtering -- before you can apply it again, which is strange.

I see another bug: the local refresh button doesn't bring back the files if you used the local Compare Folder Content button. If you use the remote Compare Folder Content, then local refresh works, but the remote refresh button stops doing anything instead, and only F5/right-click > Refresh work on that side.

Indeed, this indicates the this bug report is infact valid, and is infact caused by the same issue i reported afterwards (that is, toolbar failure). Read other bug report thread for full details.

Turns out that you must refresh both sides first -- to completely cancel the filtering -- before you can apply it again, which is strange.

This is not at all strange, since you are hiding the matches, refreshing one side still leaves the other with hidden files until you refresh it also.