(I hope I've reached the right forum this time...)
As an old user of Diretory Opus, I wish there was an option to choose what you want to skip under what conditions when you're confirming file replacement (the "Confirm File Replace" dialog window).
Right now, under the "Skip" selection there's only "Skip identical" as a choice.
What I'd like to see is there to be a batch option in that pull-down/arrow-down menu to select i.e. the larger version of a file and skip/replace accordingly, or other more versatile user-definable variables that could be set from that dialog. (Or, you could insert a checkbox next to each row when you get the dialog, and add a "Apply this ruleset" (or something to that degree) functionality into the "Confirm File Replace" dialog.
This particular issue is a problem for me right now -- if you don't mind me explaining the circumstances I'm dealing with right now as a case example:
I just recovered around a terabyte of data using EaseUS's recovery tool after an external HDD suddenly broke its NTFS filetable (what a joy in the middle of all else, right?). Luckily, I'm able to reach the files and recover them almost without issues, but the problem is that the NTFS file table on the damaged HDD seems to have been split into two (?) identical-looking partitions (with both of them having the same files).)
In other words, I'm in a situation where the recoverable files and folders are visible within EaseUS's Data Recovery as two lost partitions although there was only one partition on the original drive to begin with. So, essentially, they appear as they're duplicated altogether on to the file table, but on the other recovered partition it has some files that are otherwise identical in file and folder structure, but instead of containing anything, they are 0kb in size and vice versa on the other "ghosted" partition. "Stitching" these two together on a separate drive would (and will) practically solve the problem.
Now ... on to the point. This wouldn't just apply to my particular predicament but also to all batch copying: perhaps BOTH the "Replace" AND the "Skip" functionalities should have a separate selection in their pull-down menus for additional options on what to skip and what to replace and under what conditions.
For instance, now I'm not looking to copy newer files but rather to copy the larger file (some files on the other lost partition are 0kb in size, whereas on the other one they are as they should be).
There could be many parameters one could choose from that, you could even have both the "Replace" and "Skip" buttons have a separate "Advanced Options" screen where you could do a file-by-file comparison.
I know this might at first seem as an odd feature request, but if you truly think about it, it's actually what you'd really want from a solid piece of file management software such as the Directory Opus. That way, you could implement a certain type of data redundancy check into simple copy procedures and make sure you always get the correct version mirrored off to i.e. another drive, regardless of the circumstances.
Oh, and if the feature I'm referring to is already available hidden under somewhere underneath all the bells and whistles within Directory Opus, then take this as a otherwise-happy customer's feedback (who has also worked as a beta tester and a coder on various projects throughout the past few decades) on what could be done to improve and to make things more convenient in the future as for the program's user interface.
To continue on with the attempt to clarify the "Confirm File Replace" optionl: For instance, the otherwise quite useful "Skip Identical" gets confused when you have the exact same size in file but the other one is of a different date×tamp. In my case it's because they've been recovered at different times. If there was a way to set the parameters on when to replace under what priority rules and so forth, things would work out in a jiffy. That's why I'd kindly request a further look into additional options that could be implemented into the functionality of both the "Replace" and "Skip" options in any possible upcoming Directory Opus versions.
You'd likely want more parameters to be able to be selected in a separate window, maybe as in:
Replace => Replace All (Advanced Options)
Skip => Skip All (Advanced Options)
(Or just have checkboxes next to the file properties that you could check and then apply as a ruleset for whether or not to replace and/or skip the file copying.)
Something to that effect. I hope I'm making any sense here. And I know that there'll likely be a "But why don't you go through the files one by one?!" argument; in this case that's not the point. The point is to be able to select the parameters on what to skip and what to replace without further dialogs. A few terabytes of data is a lot of files to go thru as for indexing it in an A/B comparison manually.
A huge thank you once again to all the developers & staff of Directory Opus. Cheers!
