Link Creation Rules

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The Link Rule options are available in the Enterprise Edition of zsDuplicateHunter.  Link Rules allow you to have zsDuplicateHunter replace files which will be deleted by links or aliases after the files are deleted.

 

Link Creation Rules Dialog
Link Creation Rules Dialog


 

Enabling Rules

In order to enable the creation of links, you must first check on the Linking Enabled checkbox.  If this checkbox is turned off, then zsDuplicateHunter will make no attempt to create links when deleting files.

 

Link Creation Rules

Link Creation Rules specify how files within a folder are handled.  Link Creation Rules are handled in the order they appear in the list so the first rule that is matched will be used.  This allows you to handle files in a sub-folder differently than files within a parent directory. You can move rules up and down in the list to ensure they are in the correct order.

 

For each rule, you must specify the following items:

1. Source Directory - Specifies the directory which files will be removed from and replaced with links.
2. Include Sub Folders - Specifies whether or not any files which are located in sub folders of the source directory should be handled with this rule.  By default, this is turned on.
3. Destination Directory - Specifies the directory where the original file should be moved to if it does not already exist.  After moving the source file, a link will be created from the source directory to the Destination Directory.
4. Preserve Directory Structure - Specifies whether or not the directory structure of the source directory should be preserved when moving files to the destination directory or if files should be placed directly within the destination directory regardless of if they originally were in a sub-folder of the source directory.
5. Conflicting File Action - Specifies what zsDuplicateHunter should do if a file already exists in the Destination Directory with the same name as the file being deleted, and the existing file is not exactly the same as the file being deleted.  Valid values are: Use latest version, Cancel Deletion, Replace Destination File, Link to Destination, Add Version Number to File, and Prompt .
· The Use Latest Version option will cause zsDuplicateHunter to use the file with the latest timestamp for the destination file.
· The Cancel Deletion option will cause zsDuplicateHunter to not delete the source file and the destination file will not be changed.
· The Replace Destination File option will cause zsDuplicateHunter to replace the destination file with the source file, delete the source file and create a link from the source to the destination.
· The Link to Destination option will cause zsDuplicateHunter to delete the source file and create a link from the source to the destination.
· The Add Version Number to File option will cause zsDuplicateHunter to leave the destination file alone and create a new file in the destination directory with the text version_X appended to the filename.  So if you were deleting a file called my_dog.jpg from the source directory and a file named my_dog.jpg already existed in the destination directory, zsDuplicateHunter would create a new file called my_dog_version_1.jpg in the destination directory, delete the source file, and create a link to the new file.
· The Prompt option will cause zsDuplicateHunter to prompt you for the action to take for each changed file as the file is encountered.

 

Unmatched File Options

When a file is not matched by any of the rules for creating links, you can have zsDuplicateHunter either delete the file normally, or preserve the file.  If you select the Delete File option, zsDuplicateHunter will delete the file according to the rules specified in the File Deletion Options , and it will not create a link.  If you select the Preserve File option, zsDuplicateHunter will not delete the file.  If you select the Prompt option, zsDuplicateHunter will prompt you for each file so you can decide whether or not to delete or preserve the file.