First a little background: I am a Windows programmer with over 10 years of experience behind me. Much of what I do is file based, so it is something I am very comfortable with. The problem is that I'm busy with many other things and don't have the time: That's where you come in.
The free version 2.1 has served me okay, but one bug still plagues me. It will regularly delete files from the wrong folder. While I have a work-around for this, it has become a nuisance recently. That's where an update would normally be desirable. However... version 3 still does not support drag-n-drop and the list population is slower than pouring frozen honey. The drag-n-drop is the number-one reason I don't upgrade. The second is the list-box population time. Because it is so easy to do, the first is a must for me. The second can be much more complicated, but is still a concern.
If both problems were resolved I would have upgraded to pro by now, but I have been waiting over a year now. That's why I decided to make this post. I want to buy a program that I used to love, but I don't want to buy an inferior product.
I hope that this does not come off as too critical. I understand the time invested in testing and development. I just hope to see at least the drag-n-drop feature implemented so I can justify the switch.
What is keeping me from paying?
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DigitalVolcano
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- Posts: 1729
- Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:04 am
Re: What is keeping me from paying?
Hi
Can you give any more details about deleting from the wrong folder in v2.1? Is it a selection bug or a deletion bug? Haven't had any reports of that happening before.
I'd be interested to know what drag-and-drop functionality you require. You can currently drop folders from explorer onto the paths to scan list, and drag folders between the paths available and paths to scan list. Let me know if there is any other type, and I'll see what can be done!
Have you tried version 3.1 or greater? There is no list population step anymore, as the engine was changed to be database driven. (Just a small delay when changing filters on larger lists).
thanks
Can you give any more details about deleting from the wrong folder in v2.1? Is it a selection bug or a deletion bug? Haven't had any reports of that happening before.
I'd be interested to know what drag-and-drop functionality you require. You can currently drop folders from explorer onto the paths to scan list, and drag folders between the paths available and paths to scan list. Let me know if there is any other type, and I'll see what can be done!
Have you tried version 3.1 or greater? There is no list population step anymore, as the engine was changed to be database driven. (Just a small delay when changing filters on larger lists).
thanks
Re: What is keeping me from paying?
Thank you for answering my post promptly. I apologize for not getting back with you sooner. I will attempt to clarify things as much as I can.
System Setup: Windows 7-64 bit Pro, User account with Administrator privileges.
The bug in 2.1 is rare so I haven't been able to re-create it under a controlled condition. It may be possible, but typically it only crops up with file samples of over 2K+ files. If it's a reversed selection, that will be tough to spot. But the next time I see it I will try to see if there is a repeatable pattern and get back with you on the issue.
As of version 3.1.5 drag-n-drop functionality still does not work on my computer in this state. After you said that the feature is working, I thought on this problem and found two fixes. The issue has to do with the UAC privilege level. When an application with lower privileges tries to send a message to an application with elevated privileges, the request fails.
The first fix is to launch Explorer as Administrator. By doing this, it allows the program to receive messages from Explorer. But why is DuplicateCleaner running with elevated privileges? I took a look at the installed shortcut and noticed that the "Start In" location is the same as the install directory. (Are you using an older version of Visual Studio [Early 2005] to create the installer?) The folder is a write-protected folder, so DuplicateCleaner is stuck with that access level, essentially breaking the program for some users. So I changed the "Start In" field to a more appropriate location. (In Windows7, %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH% is a good choice. That is the User's account folder.)
A little to my surprise this also addressed the performance issue. A possible explanation is that the program was being denied write access which comes with a performance hit. Without read access, windows does extra work behind the scenes for every file operation. Locking a file down with write access gives Windows a hint so that it doesn't assume the file contents will unexpectedly change. This is especially important for file operations across a network.
Going back to the problem with 2.1, when I have a spare moment and an opportunity I'll see what can be discovered.
Thanks again for the help.
System Setup: Windows 7-64 bit Pro, User account with Administrator privileges.
The bug in 2.1 is rare so I haven't been able to re-create it under a controlled condition. It may be possible, but typically it only crops up with file samples of over 2K+ files. If it's a reversed selection, that will be tough to spot. But the next time I see it I will try to see if there is a repeatable pattern and get back with you on the issue.
As of version 3.1.5 drag-n-drop functionality still does not work on my computer in this state. After you said that the feature is working, I thought on this problem and found two fixes. The issue has to do with the UAC privilege level. When an application with lower privileges tries to send a message to an application with elevated privileges, the request fails.
The first fix is to launch Explorer as Administrator. By doing this, it allows the program to receive messages from Explorer. But why is DuplicateCleaner running with elevated privileges? I took a look at the installed shortcut and noticed that the "Start In" location is the same as the install directory. (Are you using an older version of Visual Studio [Early 2005] to create the installer?) The folder is a write-protected folder, so DuplicateCleaner is stuck with that access level, essentially breaking the program for some users. So I changed the "Start In" field to a more appropriate location. (In Windows7, %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH% is a good choice. That is the User's account folder.)
A little to my surprise this also addressed the performance issue. A possible explanation is that the program was being denied write access which comes with a performance hit. Without read access, windows does extra work behind the scenes for every file operation. Locking a file down with write access gives Windows a hint so that it doesn't assume the file contents will unexpectedly change. This is especially important for file operations across a network.
Going back to the problem with 2.1, when I have a spare moment and an opportunity I'll see what can be discovered.
Thanks again for the help.
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DigitalVolcano
- Site Admin
- Posts: 1729
- Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:04 am
Re: What is keeping me from paying?
Thanks for the interesting information about the "Start In" folder. I look at getting this updated in the installer for the next version.
Re: What is keeping me from paying?
DigitalVolcano wrote:Hi
I'd be interested to know what drag-and-drop functionality you require. You can currently drop folders from explorer onto the paths to scan list, and drag folders between the paths available and paths to scan list. Let me know if there is any other type, and I'll see what can be done!
thanks
Drag and Drop functionality in the Duplicate Files list would be awesome. If it is available it does not seem to be working for me.