Automatic Compression and Decompression

When. . .

The default mode of The Almond Doubler is to automatically compress all files not excluded by the configuration parameters, and automatically decompress these files on-the-fly when they are accessed by any user or program. Under the Automatic menu of the main Almond Doubler GUI window, various options such as excluded files or directories, file size limits, minimum acceptable compression ratio, and when to automatically compress files can be set. Detailed instructions for setting each option are given below. All configurable aspects of The Almond Doubler for UNIX can be changed at any time after initial installation.After selecting When. . ., the When window shown below will appear on screen. This window allows you to select various options for when files will or will not be automatically compressed. By selecting the check box and entering the appropriate parameters, you can• Choose the hours of the day between which automatic compression will be allowed (e.g. you may not want compression to occur during periods of peak activity).• Choose to only compress files when the system cpu load is below a certain percentage, to minimize impact on system performance.• Choose to either always compress a file if possible, or stop automatic compression if a certain amount of disk space is already available.

Don't Compress Directories. . .

When selected, this window allows you to choose, by activating the check box, to exclude certain directories from the automatic compression search list. The Almond Doubler is designed to automatically search out all directories on the system and compress the files in them. If you don't want the files in a specific directory to be compressed, that directory must be explicitly excluded from the search list.A default list of suggested directories (such as those containing system commands and frequently used files) is provided upon installation. You can choose to add directories to or delete directories from the default list.An ellipsis (...) after a directory name means that all sub-directories under that directory are also included in the exclusion list.When the excluded directory list is configured as desired, you press the OK or Apply button to have your choices take effect.

Don't Compress Rules. . .

When selected, this window allows you to choose, by activating the check box, to exclude certain files from the automatic compression, even if the directory they are contained in is on the automatic search list. If you don't want a specific file or class of files to be compressed, regardless of what directory it is contained in, a rule must be added to the list of rules.A default list of rules (such as excluding the UNIX kernel or previously compressed files) is provided upon installation. You can choose to add additional rules or delete rules from the default list. For example, adding a rule to exclude all *.x files would prevent any executable file from being compressed.A rule can include the wild card character "*" in one or more locations to allow more flexibility in pattern matching. Alternately, files can be listed explicitly by exact name.When you are done adding rules, select the OK button to dismiss the window. Choosing Cancel dismisses the window without making any changes to the list of rules.

Preferences. . .

After selecting Preferences. . ., the Preferences window shown below will appear on screen. This window allows you to select various options for when files will not be automatically compressed. Default parameters have been provided which meet the needs of most users. However, these parameters can be modified to meet the particular circumstances of any given system. By selecting the check box and entering the appropriate parameters, you can• Choose to not compress any files larger than a desired size, in Megabytes (decompressing extremely large files may result in time delays that are unacceptable to some users)• Choose to not compress any files smaller than a desired size, in Kilobytes (compressing extremely small files results in relatively small compression savings which may be outweighed by the time it takes to compress and decompress the file)• Choose to not compress files that have been previously accessed or created with a specified time window, in minutes (again, the time delay due to decompression may be unacceptable for files which are being frequently accessed)• Choose to not compress a file when compression would result in a space savings of less than the specified percentage (to prevent The Almond Doubler from engaging in unwarranted compressions).