Compare folders

Description

The Compare folders action compares two folders to determine if the content is identical; the result will either be true or false.

Options

Option	Description
Action name	The name of the workflow action. This name has to be unique in a single workflow.
Include subfolders	Also compare the content of subfolders.
Compare	Specify what to compare: All, Only Files, Only Folders, or Let me specify…
Wildcard (RegExp)	If you chose Let me specify… in the previous option, you can specify the regular expression of files to compare. Variables are not resolved in it.
Compare file size	Check this to also compare the size of files with the same name, not only their names.
Compare file content	Checks if files have the same content. Note: this may cause slower processing speeds.
File/Folder name 1	This is the first file or folder to compare
File/Folder name 2	This is the second file or folder to compare

Option

Description

Action name

The name of the workflow action. This name has to be unique in a single workflow.

Include subfolders

Also compare the content of subfolders.

Compare

Specify what to compare: All, Only Files, Only Folders, or Let me specify…

Wildcard (RegExp)

If you chose Let me specify… in the previous option, you can specify the regular expression of files to compare. Variables are not resolved in it.

Compare file size

Check this to also compare the size of files with the same name, not only their names.

Compare file content

Checks if files have the same content. Note: this may cause slower processing speeds.

File/Folder name 1

This is the first file or folder to compare

File/Folder name 2

This is the second file or folder to compare

Result

What this action passes on to the next action. See Action results for how results travel through a workflow.

Result	Value
True	For two files: their contents are identical. For two folders: both hold the same number of entries of the kind set in Compare, every name found in the first folder is also in the second, with the same type, and with Compare file size or Compare file content the files have the same size or content. Without these two options, files with the same name count as equal.
False	The folders differ, or one path is a file and the other a folder: the number of errors is 0. A file or folder does not exist: the number of errors is 1.
Result files	Passed on unchanged.
Result rows	Passed on unchanged.

Result

Value

True

For two files: their contents are identical. For two folders: both hold the same number of entries of the kind set in Compare, every name found in the first folder is also in the second, with the same type, and with Compare file size or Compare file content the files have the same size or content. Without these two options, files with the same name count as equal.

False

The folders differ, or one path is a file and the other a folder: the number of errors is 0. A file or folder does not exist: the number of errors is 1.

Result files

Passed on unchanged.

Result rows

Passed on unchanged.

Entries are matched by their name only, not by their subfolder. With Include subfolders, a folder with s1/x.txt and s2/x.txt and a folder with s1/x.txt and s2/y.txt are reported as identical.

Wildcard (RegExp) is used as typed: variables in it are not resolved. An invalid regular expression, which includes one with ${...} in it, leaves out every entry, and the folders are reported as identical. This also happens with Compare set to All when an invalid wildcard is still stored from an earlier choice.