Folder comparison

[QT-Pro]

When I use the Compare option between 2 panes (left pane: content on main drive; right pane: content on external backup drive), only files are compared. How can I get x2 to compare folders as well please?

[nikos]

to get a list of subfolders, drag-drop with the RIGHT mouse button and when you drop in a scrap window pick the menu command EXTRACT SUBFOLDERS. If you do this twice in a dual pane scrap window, you can then compare the folders too
it doesn't make sense to compare BOTH files and folders, either one or the other methinks

[QT-Pro]

Thanks for your reply nikos however, I didn't really understand what you said, probably because I have never used the scrap options.
Nonetheless, I need to compare folders between 1 pane and another, not to see if they are different sizes but to see what on the left is not found on the right. On a week to week basis many new folders are added, especially when I'm building web sites.

[nikos]

open a scrap window, then grab the root folder you want (using the right button) and drop it on the scrap window

[QT-Pro]

It doesn't work. If I right click on the folder I get a context menu and the scrap container disappears. If I use the folder address in the scrap container only the root is displayed, none of the sub-folders. And if I try to open the root from the scrap container, a new x2 window opens.

[nikos]

I am not saying to right click but right DRAG. Press the right button and hold like you drag

[QT-Pro]

I can't. As soon as I touch the right button the scrap container disappears.
It's just like all those applications that tell you to drag something onto the program's window so that it then performs its task. I have never been able to use any of those because the program window disappears if I touch ether the left or right buttons. Maybe Windows isn't setup correctly or perhaps it's the mouse that is misbehaving.

[nikos]

there are many ways around this, either resize both windows so the scrap is partially visiable, or use ALT+TAB while you drag to bring the other window upfront or drag over the taskbar button of the scrap window and wait for it to come up

[profess]

If it's Compare, maybe it's something different you require.

Use Mirror Browsing.

Browse the same folder (original on left, backup on right) and use Mirror Browsing (CTRL+M). This offers something similar, but it's not a 'Comparison' like F9 or Ctrl + F9.

[QT-Pro]

Thanks for the suggestion profess but mirror browsing doesn't do the trick. Imagine I'm in dual pane mode. In the active pane I have a list of folders which has recently been added to. The right pane is the same directory on the backup drive. I wish to do my weekly backup but cannot remember every single new folder I have added. If these were files, and not folders, the Compare option instantly shows me which files are not present on the back up drive so I can use the Copy to function. My problem is therefore that I need to be able to Compare folders and it appears there is no option for doing that without going down the route of using Scrap containers, which I'm still having trouble with.

[QT-Pro]

Ok guys, the problem has been solved. I just discovered the sync-o-paste option. While it isn't as easy as just clicking on the Compare button, it still does the job.
If there's a way to make the Compare option handle folders as well, or maybe a way to automate copying all new files and folders to a backup drive as they are created, I would really appreciate tips on how to achieve either.

Thanks to both of you for all your input to date.