Vista - Suggested improvement: File filtering

One of the users that shares files with me uses a scanner program that
tends to create a lot of files called "PPThumbs.ptn". These are some
kind of internal control file or "catalog" for the scanner
application, and are only meaningful to that one user. They
apparently end up in every folder that user puts scanned images into.
(They may be marked hidden on their machine, but become visible once
they are transferred to me.) As a result, these files get propagated
to other members who share the library, even though they are useless
to these other members.

I (as the owner of the library) tried deleting all of them, but they
came back a short time later. They still existing on the original
user's PC, and had already been propagated to other PCs as well.
That's a lot of wasted transfer time. (But that also puzzles me -- if
I'm the owner of a library, why don't my deletes become permanent on
all other PCs that share that library?)

Would it be possible for the developers of Foldershare to add a
"filter" option to the Satellite, to, say, block all files that have a
certain file name, or a particular file type, etc.? It may be
desirable to limit its use to the library owner, since they have
command of the library.

I'd have to second that. Windows Media Center for 2005 and Vista creates
thumbs.db files that only work with the original computer. Same idea as that
"PPThumbs.ptn" file you get.


"I (as the owner of the library) tried deleting all of them, but they
came back a short time later. They still existing on the original
user's PC, and had already been propagated to other PCs as well.
That's a lot of wasted transfer time. But that also puzzles me -- if I'm the
owner of a library, why don't my deletes become permanent on all other PCs
that share that library?"

Basically, your deletions do become permanent on the other PCs running
Foldershare after you deleted those individual files. However, the program
that those files come from was opened by that user later, and the program
recreated those files.