{resolved} File Copy behaviour 1.52/2.5
Posted: 08 Feb 2008, 21:36
I mostly use 1.52 for file management. I have a registered 2.5 version, but from habit and familiarity I still mostly use 1.52. Recently I hit a difference in the behaviour of v2.5 which has the potential to cause data loss, hence thought I'd mention it here.
In 1.52, if you merge two folder-structures using select then drag-to-copy, a file-overwrite situation presents you with the options "Yes(Over-write it), Skip(Don't Overwrite), Skip All or Cancel." The actions in each case are self-explanatory, and in principle match those of XCOPY's overwrite or don't overwrite switches.
The result with 1.52 is what you would intuitively expect, that you are left with a complete set of merged data, but with any pre-existing files in the destination left untouched.
In v2.5 an identical dialog is presented, but the logic is totally changed, with the action of the 'Skip' or 'Skip All' options equating more closely to 'Abort' or 'Abort All' rather than Skip. What happens here is that in any circumstance where a folder-tree contains one or more pre-existent items (even empty folders or null files) then the copying of that entire folder-tree aborts, leaving the target with missing data.
This has important implications for restoring backups using v2.5, where the presence of even an empty folder in the restore-target will break the restore if 'Skip existing files' is chosen.
It also means that all using the 'Skip All' option to resume an incomplete or paused copying copying operation (as was normal practice in 1.52) will leave you with a broken copy of the data.
In 1.52, if you merge two folder-structures using select then drag-to-copy, a file-overwrite situation presents you with the options "Yes(Over-write it), Skip(Don't Overwrite), Skip All or Cancel." The actions in each case are self-explanatory, and in principle match those of XCOPY's overwrite or don't overwrite switches.
The result with 1.52 is what you would intuitively expect, that you are left with a complete set of merged data, but with any pre-existing files in the destination left untouched.
In v2.5 an identical dialog is presented, but the logic is totally changed, with the action of the 'Skip' or 'Skip All' options equating more closely to 'Abort' or 'Abort All' rather than Skip. What happens here is that in any circumstance where a folder-tree contains one or more pre-existent items (even empty folders or null files) then the copying of that entire folder-tree aborts, leaving the target with missing data.
This has important implications for restoring backups using v2.5, where the presence of even an empty folder in the restore-target will break the restore if 'Skip existing files' is chosen.
It also means that all using the 'Skip All' option to resume an incomplete or paused copying copying operation (as was normal practice in 1.52) will leave you with a broken copy of the data.
