Navigation:  PeerLink Help > Creating a File Collaboration Job > Global Configuration > Global File Filters

Overview

 

Filter expressions govern the inclusion and exclusion of files under the Watch Set. Included files are subject to scan and event detection, while excluded files are not. Initially, all files are included and no files are excluded, except for the internal expressions listed below under Auto Excluded Filter.

 

Filtration can be configured with wildcard expressions to more easily cover well-known file extensions or names that follow established patterns. When a single expression is insufficient for configuring filtration, multiple expressions may be supplied.  You can also filter file based on a file's last modified time and file size.

 

 

Usage Notes

 

Since inclusions and exclusions are expressed separately, it is possible to submit conflicting expressions. The expression evaluator addresses this by exiting when a file is determined to be excluded. Therefore, exclusions expressions override inclusion expressions.

 

Rename operations may subject files to an inclusion status change. Renaming a file out of the Watch Set will trigger a target deletion, while renaming into the Watch Set triggers a target addition.

 

Folder deletions only affect included files, possibly leading to folder structure inconsistencies. When a session participant deletes a folder, the target outcome will vary depending on whether excluded files are present. Folder deletions are propagated in detail to the targets as to the exact files that have been affected.

 

 

Auto Excluded Filter

 

The following wild card expressions are automatically applied as exclusion expressions and cannot be changed:

 

Temporary files generated by common applications

~$*.*

*.tmp

*.$$$

 

Any file without a file extension, e.g. abcdefg

 

Explorer System Files

desktop.ini, thumbs.db, and Windows shortcut file e.g. *.lnk

 

 

Configuration Notes

 

The excluded and included file name filters take one or more standard wildcard expressions that are combined by performing a logical OR of each wildcard expression.

 

Standard Wildcard Expressions

 

 

The following examples show the use of wildcard syntax to enter a file exclusion or inclusion:

 

 *.ext        Filter files that end with the .ext extension

 ext        Filter files that contain the string ext

 ext*        Filter files that start with the string ext

 

PeerLink also supports the use of complex regular expressions, e.g. <<regEx>>. These expressions can be used for either included or excluded patterns. For information on where to enter a regular expression, see the Configuration section immediately below.

 

A good reference on regular expressions can be found here: http://www.regular-expressions.info/reference.html

 

 

Filtering on Folders

 

In addition to filtering on files, you can filter on folders using the following syntax: \Folder or \Folder* or \Folder\*

 

Presently, PeerLink only supports included expressions for a full folder path, and does not support wildcard matching on parent paths. For example, the following expression is not valid: \Folder*\Folder

 

Reduce the Number of Jobs Using Folder Filtering

 

For management purposes, we recommend keeping the total number of jobs as low as possible, preferably to no more than 10. Using folder filters, you can reduce the total number of jobs without sacrificing efficiency. This process involves analyzing all existing jobs, identifying all the folders and hosts that will be collaborating, and consolidating them into fewer jobs by watching a few root folders at a higher level. Filters will then be added to include or exclude only the folders of interest. Here is a small example which demonstrates this concept:

 

Example:

 Reduce existing four jobs down to two:

 

 

 After consolidation:

 

 

Jobs 1 and 3 were merged into a single job watching the root D drive on both servers while using Filter Option 1 or 2.

 

Jobs 2 and 4 were merged into a single job watching the root E drive on Server 1 and the root F drive on Server 2 while using Filter Option 1 or 2.

 

Please note the following regarding regular expressions:

 

 

Additional Folder Filter Examples

 

To exclude a specific folder from anywhere within the Watch Set:

 

*\FolderName

*\FolderName\FolderName

 

To exclude a specific folder from the ROOT of the Watch Set:

 

\FolderName

\FolderName\FolderName

 

To exclude folders that END with a specific name from anywhere within the Watch Set:

 

*FolderName\

 

To include a specific folder from the ROOT of the Watch Set:

 

\FolderName

\FolderName\FolderName

 

 

Configuration

 

The PeerLink Hub supports the concept of "File Filter Configurations" where a single configuration (consisting of a unique name, and lists of inclusion and exclusion expressions) can be applied to multiple file collaboration jobs without requiring repeat entry for any job. This capability also allows you to define File Filter combinations for use with specific collaboration scenarios.

 

To mange these configurations, navigate to the Window menu of the PeerLink Hub, select Preferences, then navigate to and select File Filter Configurations from the tree node on the left. The following screen represents the list of defined File Filter configurations, along with buttons to add new ones and edit, copy and remove existing ones. To increase flexibility, multiple File Filters can be applied to a single job, combining elements of each to form one large filter. For more information on selecting multiple filters, see the page on File Filter Selection.

 

 

Upon adding or editing a File Filter configuration, the following dialog is displayed:

 

 

When creating a File Filter configuration, you will generally want to exclude all temporary files created by the applications you use so they are not propagated to the targets hosts. For example, AutoCAD applications should add the following expressions to the Excluded File Name filter table:

 

*.AC$

*.SV$

*.DWL*

*.BAK

 

To do so:

 

Your AutoCAD temporary file exclusion filter configuration is now created and all files ending in *.SV$ or *.AC$ or *.DWL or *.BAK will be excluded from collaboration within any running file collaboration job that uses this configuration..

 

Additionally, complex regular expressions in the format <<regEx>> can be used in both the inclusion and exclusion pattern lists. An example is shown in the dialog screenshot above (<<^.*\\atmp[0-9]{4,}$>>).

 

The following regular expression excludes any path containing a folder "XX" which also contains a child folder "YY"

 

<<^.*\\XX\\YY(\\.*$|$)>>

 

The following files and folders MATCH the above expression:

 

\projects\xx\yy

\accounting\projects\xx\yy\file.txt

\accounting\projects\xx\yy\zz\file.txt

 

The following files and folders DO NOT MATCH the above expression:

 

\projects\accounting\file.txt

\projects\xx\y

\projects\xx\yyy\file.txt

\accounting\projects\xx\file.txt

\accounting\projects\yy\xx\zz\file.txt

 

 

Filtering on Last Modified Time

 

In addition to filtering on file names, file extensions, folder paths, or partial path wildcard pattern matching, you can filter based on a file's last modified time.  PeerLink only supports filtering on a file's last modified time and does not support filtering on a folders last modified time.  In addition, if you have a folder hierarchy that contains files which are all being filtered based on last modified time, then all folders  will still be created during the initial scan process on all hosts.  If a file is excluded from collaboration based on last modified, then the initial scanning process will not synchronize the file even if the file's last modified time and size do not match, or the file does not exist on all hosts.  However, the file will by synchronized, if and when the file is modified in the future, and if a user deletes or renames the file on any host, the file will be deleted or renamed from all other hosts where the file exists.

 

Included Last Modified Date Filter Options