Duplicate folder query

Submitted by rkoktan on Wed, 07/08/2015 - 08:35
rkoktan's picture

Often while attempting to move single or even multiple files, users will accidentally drag entire folder structures and drop them and not notice where they were actually dropped.  A "duplicate folder" query would be helpful in situations like these.  Or perhaps a "duplicate folder structure" query, where one could specify the depth to search in and if a match to "x" level is found returns the path(s) of the erroneously dropped folders.

rlagger

2015-07-08
09:12:56

Which database do you need this for, PostgreSQL or SQL Server?

First, lets explore the duplicate folder query.
We need to define duplicate. Duplicate name, size, time/date stamps, etc? How exact does this need to be?

The simplest idea is simply to search for any duplication of the "FOLDER-A" name anywhere in the subordinate structure up to path-depth.

Secondly, the duplicate folder structure is going to have a system for defining candidates, such as once a folder is copied it can get added to at any time, so we should be able to find a match within some percentage of accuracy.

Will these ideas work for you, at least as a place to start?

tpatton

2015-07-21
08:34:43

The Database would be PostgreSQL

My idea behind this would be to do as you say, and search for "Folder-A" thoughout the structure. But a secondary requirement would need to be a subfolder of "Folder-A" (we'll call it "Folder-A-B") would need to be found under the 2nd instance of "Folder-A" as well. A 3rd requirement would be to have "Folder-A-B" be the same file count and file size as the the 1st instance of "Folder-A-B".

Using that logic, it should still be possible to capture folders that have only been half-copied by users. The "parent" duplicate may not be obvious, but the report would show several "child" duplicate folders, which should make it obvious that the parent is likely a duplicate

I hope that helps

Tim