checksum column doesn't display many files values

[A.B.Ames]

I've had this problem on both Windows NT and Windows 2k.
I use checksum a lot and find that many files have a blank in the checksum column. When i use a scrap container and check for dupes it will locate matches correctly (confirmed by another crc checker i have) yet only show 0's in the checksum column.
Any idea's?

P.S.
any chance you'll be adding an undo feature.
Many times mouse will glitch or i slip with mouse and lose a file or so and don't know where. Also sometimes will do a rename and have to change back but can't remember original name (as have been doing so many test re-names that day).

THX for any assistance
A.B.Ames

[A.B.Ames]

I didn't notice till after i was staring at my colums then realized it was a size issue and sure enough found it in the manual and that it can be altered, i missed that and thought it was something else.

Sorry...
though still consider the undo feature please..thx again.

A.B.Ames

[narayan]

I use checksum a lot

Interesting! Either you are following a novel trick or you are doing something which is possible with much less labor!

Just to rule out the second possibility:
The checksum figures are random: for example, sorting them will not yield a meaningful result. Also, they can't be used to check if two files are almost similar, because even a tiny change in a file will yield a totally different checksum.

On the other hand, we have the dupchecker in scrap panes to look for duplicates. We also have CTRL+F9 to sync two different folders. You don't need checksums for these operations...

So, in general, you don't need to look at the numerical values of the checksum at all.

But do let me know if you are using a new trick!

[A.B.Ames]

I asked a simple question (though found my answer but couldn't delete the post). Now how i use it is how i use it, a helpful suggestion is great sarcasm is not. I didn't pay for this program to get jumped on for learning it. There are dozens of programs you know better then me and vise versa so think about the ones you are unfamiliar with before jumping on someone.

plus:
I Never said i used checksum to sort with nor did i say i use it to find almost similar files(why would i anyway?)!
I use it when comparing one or two files and it's not worth opening scrap panes etc. as the files are right there to check (or a click away). Unless i missed a feature where i could quickly select 2 files and hit compare!!

I already said i use Scrap pane to check for duplicates when i am actually looking for them (or another app out of habit), I only mentioned the checksum value there because it showed zero's where in xplore view it was blank (though i found my answer). And i don't sync 'different' folders though may someday do similar ones (not what i was asking anyway).

Checksum figures are not random, though not 100% accurate, if the file sizes are the same but different values then the files are usually different. If you don't need the values at all why have them or talk about them in the manual?

I don't have new tricks! I have old habits which i use as i gradually get use to a new program (this one).

A.B.Ames

[narayan]

My last post was not addressed with sarcasm.

If you see around these forums, you will find that a lot of users are themselves capable programmers. They have contributed a lot of tricks, including a few scripts.

So it is not unreasonable to expect a tip from a user. And it seemed like you had one.

Hope that helps.

[nikos]

the duplicates checker internally calculates checksums if you only compare by content. Checksums are a good way to double-check the results. As you discovered, if you use large files it will be necessary to bump up the checksum column from tools | options

undo is one of the things planned but not anytime soon
(it will require a major restructure)

[A.B.Ames]

narayan,

My apologies. I re-read your post several times before replying, hoping it wasn't sarcasm, but the wording of the first and last sections and use of exclamations over question marks made it look that way.

again, I am sorry

A.B.Ames

nikos,
Thx very much for the info to confirm my thoughts.

Take Care

[fgagnon]

note to narayan:
I don't know the usage in your corner of the world,  but in my region the use of "do ..." is more apt to show condescending sarcasm than genuine interest.
Using "please ..." removes the ambiguity (although it is more keystrokes ).  

PS - I had no misinterpretation of your post because I know of your genuine interest in these forums; so will back you up on your stated intent.  :D

[narayan]

Hey I had no idea a simple "do" could convey such unintended overtones!

Fganon, thanks for pointing that out.  It looks like I will have to check up some source of contemporary English: Are we still carrying the legacy of the good old Queen's English while the world has moved on?

Ames, I apologize for having hurt your sentiments. It was quite uniententional, I assure you!

BTW let me share with you why I found the topic of checksum so "interesting": a few months ago, I had a discussion with Nikos if we could have a hash algorithm that will detect if two files are almost similar. Whatever I learnt from Nikos at the time I have (tried to) share in the post above.

You see, I was exploring if x2 can find variants of a file for us, preferably in non-text files (such as MS Office files). Now that would be an exciting feature: to my knowledge no other application can do it.

And when I saw your post, I just assumed you were trying something similar...

***
Ames made one interesting point: does the checksum as a column have any uses?

I mulled over some possibilities but none of them look so good. For example, I could enter a checksum in the search dialog box. But that would slow down the search. The search may be much faster if I enter the name (and extension) of the file in the search box, and if anything is caught, check if it is the same file, by using the Dupchecker...

Any ideas?

[nikos]

checksum is a bad idea as a search parameter: it's slow to calculate and you can't figure out what number to search for anyway

on the other hand it is ideal as an identity indicator. On its own it can be used to detect identical files without even using the duplicates checker command: just enable the column and sort by it; identical files will be bunched together

[A.B.Ames]

narayan,

Thx, and again i'm sorry for the misunderstanding.
Not that i wan't to dwell on my screw up but i'd like to clarify. It wasn't the use of "do" as please would have come across near the same to me because of the punctuation. As previously mentioned it was the exclamation and phrasing that i misunderstood. Probably due to places i've previously hung out on the net but generally i've found the use of exclamation changes/raises the tone of a word or phrase. If I had seen question marks i would have believed you as being genuinely curious plus the use of the word "trick" I assumed was meant as something not real but imagined or faked.
 Again...I'm sorry for the mix up.

BTW
I see what u mean by use of finding similar files, and after thinking about it more i can see it has many uses.

And in regards to use of checksum column, though it is useless for searching and sorting do to many other means being faster, i currently still find it faster to compare single or small amounts of files i come across when not intentionally looking for dupes.
Heres a few more examples when i organize my driver collections:

If i come across a few files (while organizing other stuff) that i think i already have within a zip i can view with WinZip and make a quick comparison without having to extract all the contents to a folder just to dupcheck a few. I always have crc columns enabled in WinRAR and WinZip etc.

Also if i want a quick check within the folder i'm viewing then i will sort by size and quickly scan the checksum column for the occasional match.

And/or comparing files on a second machine that is not connected to my network.

don't get me wrong though, I use the Dupcheck often and love it (as i previously had to run a separate app) but currently it's only when i'm focused on the task of just looking for dupes. For the instances when i just want a quick check or come across something i believe is familiar i find a visual check faster. Though i'm still new to all the features and as i get use to Xplorer2 i may find faster ways of using it.

Currently the only thing i think that would work better, but would most likely be a major pain to incorporate, would be if i could select a few files and click a button to view just their checksum values. Then visually compare to themselves or contents of a zip (the ones i selected).

Though there are a zillion things Xplorer2 does that i'm not even aware of yet, the main reason i bought this is because of the dual panes, the multitude of ways to navigate, and believe it or not the ability to view the crc values.
I wasn't even aware of the Dupcheck feature or the many other things till  i looked into buying it (i didn't get the pro ver for features so much as i mostly wanted to support the Author).

Thx Again,
Take Care
A.B.Ames

[nikos]

be if i could select a few files and click a button to view just their checksum values

that's ideally done in a scrap window
just select, ctrl+S to send them to a scrap and there see the checksum of only the files you're interested in!

i didn't get the pro ver for features so much as i mostly wanted to support the Author

thanks for that
however it confirms my suspicion that most of my sales come more or less as pats on the back (i could call it charity even ) whereas xplorer2 is a good quality product that could manage on merit alone

clearly this one is for my marketing team to crack

[A.B.Ames]

Nikos,

Thx for the send to scrap tip, very handy, as mentioned am still reading and learning. Also is there a way to get the scrap window to open ontop instead of in the background when sending to scrap?


In regards to marketing, its a tricky because had it not been for your free version (2Xplorer originally then X2) i would have never found this.

I wanted to add more about marketing your product but unfortunately it's a difficult subject to try to explain clearly and gets too long (tried 3 or 4 times but had to delete it). Do you have an group thats talks about ideas to market you software?

thx Again,
A.B.Ames

[nikos]

the idea with the scrap remaining in the back is to give you a chance to browse some more filling in items without having to switch back and forth. Once you are done filling, alt+tab or ctrl+W will get you to the scrap window

if you have any marketing ideas to share you can send me an email
thanks