How can I find photos that exist in my backup but were deleted from my working folder?
Asked 11/19/2012
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2 answers
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I keep three copies of my photos: a working folder and two backups. In the working folder, I delete the images I reject, but the backups still contain everything. I’d now like to identify the files that exist in the backup but no longer exist in the working folder, so I can review those rejected images one more time.
What’s a good way to compare two folders and collect the files that are in the backup but missing from the working set? Also, are there better workflow practices for handling rejected photos so this is easier in the future?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
2
Yes, Total Commander can do this. I will post step by step screen shots here. For the example I have 3 folders a,b, and c.
A is the working folder where the subset is.
B is the backup with all files.
C is the destination for the deleted files
First enter both folders in the split view:
Then Commands->Synchronize dirs and "compare":
Then deselect the => = and != so you only show those that go from teh backup to A:
Press Synchronize, and change the destination folder to c:
And now you have all the files in two sets A and C:
The best part is that Total CMD is fully functional for free, but it is so great and cheap that it's good to pay for it.
Originally by user11455. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11455
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. What you want is a folder comparison/synchronization tool that can show files present in the backup but missing from the working folder.
One method mentioned is using Total Commander:
- Open the working folder and backup folder in split view.
- Use the directory synchronize/compare feature.
- Filter the results to show only files that exist in the backup but not in the working folder.
- Copy those files to a third folder so you can review just the previously deleted images.
In general, this is the right approach: compare folder A (working set) with folder B (full backup), then copy the “only in backup” files to folder C for review.
For workflow improvement, it’s usually safer not to permanently delete rejects immediately. Instead, move them to a separate “rejects” folder or use rating/flagging in photo management software first, then delete later after a final review. That keeps your working set clean while making it easy to recover or reconsider images before permanent removal.
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