Apr 13, '06 05:33:00AM • Contributed by: rlinsurf
A possible bug which has been reported at several Mac internet sites and at Apple Tech Support involves incomplete copies made over a network to 10.4 machines. In copying some folders -- in my experience, ones with a large number of files -- the OS will report all files as having been copied successfully, without reporting any errors. But when the finished copy is checked, files will be missing from some sub-folders of the root folder copied. Other folders or files may have incorrect permissions, or even report No Access.As no errors are reported, this can lead to serious consequences, including data loss, if the original folder is subsequently deleted, for example. So I created a small application (Compare Folders, 1.0MB download) to check for this issue after the copy is made.
The application lists all items, even in subfolders, or items contained within application or installer bundles, in both the Source and Target, and then highlights any items not found on the Target in red. It also lists the Permissions for each file. It can then copy over the missing items from the Source folder to their corresponding locations on the Target, and can copy the permissions from all items in the Source folder to all items in the Target, and report the success of those changes. A limitation to this is that if any files require the Admin password to change their permissions, then those files will need to have their Permissions changed manually.
Please also note that this application, although thoroughly tested here, is version 0.1, and should be considered beta software. Any damage to files or the permissions of those files is the sole responsibility of the user. If you feel you may be taking a risk, you can use the app to find which files are missing, and do any copying/changing of permissions manually without risk of data loss.
[robg adds: I tested the program, and it works as described (though I haven't had any network copying issues here). I found it easier to use than the Developer Tools' FileMerge, which has been mentioned here before as a good way to compare folders. There are some glitches (resizing the window doesn't work as expected), but this seems like a quick way to make sure a copy is really a copy.]
