Is there a copy program faster than Opus's internal copy function?

Help & Support
1

I know there have been a lot of threads about this topic. Ultimately, I noticed Leo concluded that a 3rd-party copy program might be faster or slower than Directory Opus's own internal copy function, depending upon whether the copy program skips or does not skip steps. For example, a copy program may skip copying attributes which leads to much faster copy times when there are many small files to copy.

My question is did you, guys finally figure out which 3rd-party copy programs were better for which types of copying functions? For example, was FastCopy faster and if so, why was it faster than Directory Opus internal copy function?

I also wanted to know how do you generally enable 3rd-party programs to replace functions like copying files? For example, I found instructions on how to integrate Teracopy with Directory Opus but I didn't find any instructions on how to do it for other programs like FastCopy.

Thank you in advance for any help that anyone can provide!

2

The answer for one person may not be the same for another, since which is faster depends on the types of hardware and other factors.

In most cases neither will be faster as the copies should usually go at the limit of the hardware.

(We will be adding an option to use the shell to do file copies in the future, but it needs significant testing before we'd ready to put that out, so not in the very near future.)

3

I used to use terracopy because windows built in file handler would have frequent issues for me.

Terracopy still had the occasional issue too. When I started using DOPUS I never bothered with a 3rd party utility as I have yet to run into a single issue. IMO stability is the most important thing. A lost 3 hour transfer once a week is going to cost you more time then any program can manage to save you by squeezing a little extra speed from your drives. Mind you I feel like DOPUS is already maxing out the speed of my drives anyways as I have 12TB WD Gold HDDs getting 240 MB/s.

4

FastCopy has command line support:
https://fastcopy.jp/help/fastcopy_eng.htm#cmdline

Here's a quick demo.

Copy

%userprofile%\FastCopy\FastCopy.exe /open_window /auto_close {allfilepath} /to={destpath} 

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<button backcol="none" display="both" label_pos="right" textcol="none">
	<label>FastCopy Copy</label>
	<icon1>%userprofile%\FastCopy\FastCopy.exe,0</icon1>
	<function type="normal">
		<instruction>%userprofile%\FastCopy\FastCopy.exe /open_window /auto_close {allfilepath} /to={destpath} </instruction>
	</function>
</button>

Move

%userprofile%\FastCopy\FastCopy.exe /open_window /auto_close /cmd=move {allfilepath} /to={destpath} 

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<button backcol="none" display="both" label_pos="right" textcol="none">
	<label>FastCopy Move</label>
	<icon1>%userprofile%\FastCopy\FastCopy.exe,0</icon1>
	<function type="normal">
		<instruction>%userprofile%\FastCopy\FastCopy.exe /open_window /auto_close /cmd=move {allfilepath} /to={destpath} </instruction>
	</function>
</button>
2 Likes
5

Ixp,

You made an outstanding post. Let me thank you for a great, comprehensive answer that really helped me and I'm sure it will help a lot of other people too. It was EXACTLY what I needed. I looked around for a while in past threads and I don't think any other past post had this information.

Thank you.

I just had 2 quick questions.

  1. This might be a stupid question but why do people create buttons for toolbars? Isn't that a little slow? For example, why not make FastCopy's copy function replace Directory Opus's original copy function? So, in this case, I went into File Types and selected to edit All Folders and Files. I cut and pasted the script there. So, whenever I drag and drop a file, it will use FastCopy instead of Directory Opus's copy function. Isn't that more efficient than clicking a button every time you have to move a file or folder? I got rid of most of my buttons and use hotkeys to do things. Isn't that what most people do?

  2. At the end of your post, it states "Scripts: Continue to the post below..." Which post are you referring to?

Again, thanks for your great answer!

6

Because you cannot delegate the most basic function of your software to a third party you have completely no control over.
Because FastCopy is not a silver bullet of any kind - I had issues with in the past on my hardware/network.
Because you can easily set up your DO to completely replace build-in function.

1 Like
7

Buttons are the core concept of Opus. Where you put them (toolbar, hotkey, context menu) is only a matter of personal preference.

Well, that is not my text, that's just the preview of the link to the FAQ I included :slight_smile:

8

Ixp,

You seem pretty knowledgeable. By any chance, do you know who or any groups that are discussing the next generation of OS's will look like? Something that would replace Windows OS? I don't mean like Chrome or Linux alternatives but something that is similar to the leap that tech took when they went from DOS to Windows.

Windows was, of course, was revolutionary in its use of graphical representations for data and for sorting and storing this data but these ideas are decades old. It's very antiquated in its fundamental structure. There has been so many advancements in behavioral psychology that are not considered by the computer industry at all. There is a disconnect. If ideas were more freely shared, I'm guessing it would probably create an entirely new computer OS that would dwarf the productivity of Windows. Do you know of any websites that present possible future OS designs - how they would look and operate?

I just find the current development of OS and the internet so stagnant. Nothing has really changed in the last decade or so. I am guessing that there should be another leap in how a computer OS should be structured.

I thought about virtual desktops and incorporated it into my computer use. I specifically used Dexpot and spent a lot of time truly incorporating virtual desktops into my workflow but it doesn't really seem to improve productivity. The brain is actually too limited in its working memory to remember which desktop you've previously used, location, etc. You forget what you were working on.

Also, Google is antiquated itself. There is simply too much information out there. There used to be a lack of it but now there is just too much noise. It takes forever to get an answer to a simple question. You have to look at multitude of websites and never know if the information is solid or made up. Anyone out there making a new search engine?

9

No, sorry, I am not aware of any OS developments that might replace Windows. I have little hope that anything major will come from Microsoft :pensive:

What can be expected from a company that several decades after Norton Commander still only offers a single pane file management tool? :roll_eyes:

Admittedly, Visual Studio Code is a great program, so maybe there is some hope? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

A new search engine? That's another moonshot question. How about opening a separate thread? :sunglasses:

10

Master Ixp,

I have a few small questions I am wondering if I could ask you? I hope I'm not bothering you, Esteemed One.

  1. Is there any way to speed up FastCopy? It makes fast copies when there is a large file or a lot of small files but what if you want to just copy 1 file. It seems to be really slow relatively to Windows File Explorer. Is there a way to fix the speed for copying one small file. Or moving a small file to one folder to another?

  2. I probably read it literally ten times but since I AM STUPID, I don't know if I should be check-marking the ACL and AltStream that is located towards the bottom of the main window. I know ACL is something about permissions so I said why not transfer permissions to the copy. Altstreams is about adding some sort of information (is it metadata) to the file and I said why not too.

Well, it doesn't seem to have made a difference when I copy things from my hard drive folder to another folder but I don't know if it had an impact when I copy folders on my Synology NAS from my computer or vice-versa since they use different type of file systems. I seem to get some permission issues with these files sometimes and I don't know if this was the cause of it.

  1. I also heard that a weakness of FastCopy is that FastCopy occasionally has a tendency to totally miss copying a file. I'm worried it might be an important file. Is there any validity to this claim? More than one person has said it. I did check-mark Verify in the main window but I was wondering if it still misses it. Google Drive used to do this ALL THE TIME and I never noticed it for a very long time until one day I saw a copied file simply not copy right in front of my eyes! It copied but then the copy disappeared! Then, I looked out for it and I noticed it doing it more than occasionally. I stopped using Google Drive right away. Anything of a smiliar issue with FastCopy, do you know?

  2. Is there a way to exchange types of buttons or toolbars from one theme to another? I like the toolbar from one but how do I move it to another configuration that I have saved?

I know that these questions are too easy for you but if you can answer them, I will slaughter a big fast pig as a sacrificial offering to you.

11

1, 3 Why not ask FastCopy author?
2 No one is going to magically know whether you need ACLs/ADSes or not.
4 Just locate the .dop in one theme and copy it to another one. (Maybe there is a better way, but I don't know it).