Comparison rules

Options window can be activated by selecting the main menu item View|Options (Ctrl+O).

The sheet 'Comparison rules' defines directory comparison criteria.

ADCS Options window

The side-by-side directory compare window visually identifies matching and mismatching files. By default, Heatsoft ADCS considers timestamp (date and time), size and attributes of the files. This information is quickly read from directory entries, so folders comparison can be very fast.

Comparison rules will be used only for DUPLICATES files. DUPLICATES files are files which have equal names and exist on the both pane of the comparison table. Comparison rules are options for the file display: these options become effective immediately, without a new comparison.

You can change the rules for directory comparison by selecting View|Options and editing the options under the Comparison Rules tab. These options let you specify what criteria is used to consider files as equal. Comparison criteria can be any combination of these values:

Field Meaning
Size If checked, files will be considered as equal if they have an equal size.
Timestamp If checked, files will be considered as equal if they have an equal date and time.
Attribute If checked, files will be considered as equal if they have an equal attribute. File attributes can be different in some OS, for example in Windows 2000 and Windows 98.
Ignore NTFS/FAT differences
(up to 2 seconds) This option is useful for comparing directories between computers with different file systems. For instance, the DOS FAT system only stores file timestamps to the nearest 2 seconds, while NTFS and HPFS can represent timestamps to the nearest 100 nanoseconds. Copying across a network, between file systems, can result in files with slightly different timestamps. If this options is checked, those files would be treated as if they had the same times.
Ignore daylight savings
(usually 1 hour) This option is useful for comparing directories between computers with different file systems. For instance, the DOS FAT file times are not adjusted for Daylight Savings Time (DST), whereas NTFS entries are. When NT automatically adjusts for DST, the date/time stamp of files on NTFS volumes appear to be shifted by one hour, even if the files were last changed prior to the DST adjustment. This adjusted time is then displayed in all operations which report local time (that is, NT Explorer, File Manager, directory listings, and so on). When files are copied from an NTFS drive to a FAT drive before the time change, the times can differ by an hour, but the files remain the same. If this options is checked, those files would be treated as if they had the same times.
Adjust timezone.
Ignore filetime differences in hours Sets filetime differences in hours. Available if Adjust timezone checked.

Click Ok to apply your changes temporarily, or Save settings to apply them permanently.

See also:
   General options (general program settings)
   Layout (options of the main window)
   Trees (directories tree options)
   Compare (options of comparison tables)
   Disk piecharter: General (options of Disk space viewer)
   Disk piecharter: Styles (styles settings)
   Confirmations (defines which confirmations windows will be shown)
   Language (options for change ADCS GUI language)
   Open with (allows to configure applications to open files)
   Log files (allows to change log files settings)
   The main window

Field	Meaning
Size	If checked, files will be considered as equal if they have an equal size.
Timestamp	If checked, files will be considered as equal if they have an equal date and time.
Attribute	If checked, files will be considered as equal if they have an equal attribute. File attributes can be different in some OS, for example in Windows 2000 and Windows 98.
Ignore NTFS/FAT differences (up to 2 seconds)	This option is useful for comparing directories between computers with different file systems. For instance, the DOS FAT system only stores file timestamps to the nearest 2 seconds, while NTFS and HPFS can represent timestamps to the nearest 100 nanoseconds. Copying across a network, between file systems, can result in files with slightly different timestamps. If this options is checked, those files would be treated as if they had the same times.
Ignore daylight savings (usually 1 hour)	This option is useful for comparing directories between computers with different file systems. For instance, the DOS FAT file times are not adjusted for Daylight Savings Time (DST), whereas NTFS entries are. When NT automatically adjusts for DST, the date/time stamp of files on NTFS volumes appear to be shifted by one hour, even if the files were last changed prior to the DST adjustment. This adjusted time is then displayed in all operations which report local time (that is, NT Explorer, File Manager, directory listings, and so on). When files are copied from an NTFS drive to a FAT drive before the time change, the times can differ by an hour, but the files remain the same. If this options is checked, those files would be treated as if they had the same times.
Adjust timezone. Ignore filetime differences in hours	Sets filetime differences in hours. Available if Adjust timezone checked.