Parallel traversal
Walks the tree in parallel; an unreadable file does not stop the scan (the error is recorded).
Scanning
Inventory
The Inventory module recursively catalogs a whole folder or volume: for each file it records real type, size, hash, metadata and content date in a database, and produces a chronologically ordered PDF report.
What it does
What the Inventory module does
Type from magic bytes
Recognises the real type from content (with an extension fallback) and classifies it by category.
Four hashes
MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512 computed in a single read for each file.
Content date
The real content date (EXIF, video, audio, Office, PDF, XMP), distinct from the filesystem one.
Database and report
Everything is saved in SQLite and rendered into a PDF report with cover, folder structure and detail.
Step by step
How it works
- Pick the folder (and whether to include system files).
- Probatio enumerates the files, then for each detects type, dates, 4 hashes and metadata.
- It saves everything to SQLite and gives you the browsable inventory and the PDF report.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which hashes does it compute for each file?
MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512, computed in a single read for each scanned file.
What is the "content date"?
The real date taken from internal metadata (EXIF, video, audio, Office, PDF, XMP), distinct from filesystem dates; its source is tracked too.
Does an unreadable file stop the scan?
No: the scan continues and the individual file's error is recorded in its record.
Related modules