How Do I Increase the Memory Available to DeltaWalker Classic?
By default, DeltaWalker Classic may use up to a quarter of your computer’s memory. That is usually enough to compare folder hierarchies with tens, even hundreds of thousands of files and folders. Comparing even larger hierarchies can slow DeltaWalker Classic down or make it run out of memory; in such cases, consider comparing the hierarchies in smaller chunks. Giving DeltaWalker Classic more memory is unlikely to help much on its own, as many factors come into play when comparing very large hierarchies. The same holds for very large text files, which is why text files larger than 100MB are compared byte by byte: it is much faster and uses much less memory.
With that in mind, there are two ways to change the memory available to DeltaWalker Classic:
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Permanently, on macOS: go to Settings > Application > General, clear Automatic next to Memory, and drag the slider to the size you want. Click Apply and Close, then Restart Now, or Restart Later to keep working: the new size applies from the next start. Select Automatic again to go back to the default. On Windows and Linux, the memory setting is always Automatic.
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For one session, from the command line: the following command launches DeltaWalker Classic with a maximum of 4GB of memory:
DeltaWalker -vmargs -Xmx4gOn macOS, give the full path to the DeltaWalker executable:
"/Applications/DeltaWalker Classic.app/Contents/MacOS/DeltaWalker" -vmargs -Xmx4gA size given on the command line takes precedence over the Memory setting.
On Windows and Linux, to change the memory permanently, add a line such as -Xmx4g after the -vmargs line of the DeltaWalker.ini file in the DeltaWalker Classic installation folder (on Windows, editing it requires administrator privileges). Each argument after -vmargs goes on a line of its own.
“Folder Comparison(s) Paused” and “Folder Comparison(s) Stopped”
While folder comparisons run, DeltaWalker Classic estimates how much of its memory they use, and it warns you before they exhaust it:
- Folder Comparison(s) Paused appears when the running folder comparisons have used 80% of the available memory, and again at 90%. The comparisons wait until you answer. Click Yes to cancel the running folder comparisons; you can then compare the folders in smaller chunks or give DeltaWalker Classic more memory (see above). Click No to let the comparisons continue, which makes sense when most of the items have already been compared. Note that the dialog’s message does not ask a question: Yes means “stop”, not “go on”.
- Folder Comparison(s) Stopped appears at 99% of the available memory. DeltaWalker Classic has already cancelled the running folder comparisons to keep itself stable. Click OK, then follow the suggestions in the message: make more memory available, or compare your folders in smaller chunks.
Both messages report how many resources, files and folders, were compared so far.