Folder synchronization program. Convenient file synchronization

Although, of course, there was a fly in the ointment. The program is paid, costs 600 rubles. The free version, after 30 days of use, allows synchronization of only 100 files and 3 tasks.

In general, of course, in the case of good software, 600 rubles is not a pity. On the other hand, I still tried to find something similar for nothing. 🙂

And I found it. - free software for synchronizing files and directories.

Uses innovative algorithms to synchronize your data between personal computers, laptops, USB flash drives, etc. Allway Sync combines ironclad reliability and an extremely simple user interface.

Here the interface is not so pleasant, and the site itself is translated into Russian rather poorly. Also, the program cannot synchronize data via FTP, WebDAV or SFTP. But it does have the necessary function of synchronizing with a USB flash drive. It does this no worse than GoodSync and is completely free.

I didn't find instructions on the site. Therefore, I’ll tell you where and what needs to be configured so that automatic synchronization works and you don’t have to remember about the program.

1. After starting the program, a new task will be created. Accordingly, you need to select folders for synchronization. In my case it's "C:\Workfiles" on the left side and "Z:" on the right. I’ll tell you why exactly “Z” later.

2. You can perform a manual analysis and first synchronization by clicking the appropriate buttons to make sure that everything is working correctly.

• When connecting a removable device
• After a certain period of time

Accordingly, synchronization will occur the moment you insert the USB flash drive into the computer, and Allway Sync will constantly monitor file changes every time a specified time has passed since the last check. If the files are different, synchronization will begin.

There are several more synchronization time options; choose those that are convenient for you personally. In fact, the “When connecting a removable device” option alone will be quite enough.

Click "OK" to save the settings.

4. To ensure that the program loads every time you turn on the computer, select “View -> Settings... -> Application” in the top menu and check the box “Launch the application in the taskbar when you turn on the computer.”

Now the setup is complete. And then they brought me some document on another flash drive. So, what do we have here? Oops! All my top-secret work files were synced with someone else's flash drive!

To prevent this from happening, you need to change the drive letter of your working flash drive. For me it's "Z", although the "X" disc also sounds good. 🙂

To change the drive letter, insert your flash drive into the computer, with which you will synchronize. Then open "Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management". Find the flash drive there, right-click, select “Change drive letter or drive path” and select any letter, but preferably closer to the end of the list.

Now Windows will assign this letter to your flash drive every time and synchronization will occur only with the desired device, and not with any.

After that, through the Allway Sync menu “File -> Export” you can save the program and task settings in order to import them on other computers with which synchronization is required.

Now I don't worry about important files. They are duplicated 3 times: on a flash drive, on a home computer and on a work laptop. In addition, the data is synchronized and I always have an up-to-date copy. So I’m not afraid of the loss of a flash drive, the death of a hard drive, or system failures! 🙂

About two years ago I created a project - a small client program that can be installed on any device and simply synchronizes files.
For example, you could specify that documents would be synchronized between your home and work computers. Music and books between the home computer and phone. Backup between home computer, work computer and server. This program could also control the subsequent distribution of any file on the system. That is, you, as the owner, could always find out the history of the file: copying to a flash drive, to another computer, by email, etc.

Then I almost already received funding, but the investment fund with which I worked at the last moment demanded a serious share in the business. And I decided that the game wasn’t worth the candle. And then somehow there was no time for that.

Yes, you say, there are cloud storages and why is it needed when there is Yandex.Disk, Dropbox and a bunch of cloud file storage services. Well, it’s just not always acceptable and convenient. Minuses:
1. You trust your files to a third party without any guarantees. (I’m not paranoid, but you wouldn’t leave your intimate data in such a storage facility)
2. To access them you need the Internet. And this in Russia is still not always possible with the required speed.

A holy place is never empty and the BitTorrent company released something similar, but in a stripped down form. Their program simply synchronizes files between different platforms and systems as soon as they go online or are within the same subnet. Unfortunately, you cannot flexibly configure synchronization rules, but there is an excellent client that is administered through either a native interface (WIndows, MAC OS X, Android, iOS) or a web interface (*NIX).

I no longer go to my mobile phone for photos, documents and music, and I don’t go to the server to get a rarely updated backup.
There are several folders on your home computer:
Telephone
Server
General
Auto

To put something on my phone, I simply copy the desired file to the “Phone” folder. It will appear on my phone in a few seconds
To exchange documents with the guys at work, I put them in the general folder. And after a few seconds, this file will appear for all the people I need - locally and not in the cloud.

In the car, there is a Google Nexus as a media center, looking at the Internet via 3G. On my home computer I put navigation maps and music into the Auto folder. Everything is automatically folded into the car. From the Auto/recorder folder I take interesting moments captured by the video recorder (the device in the car is always online).
Saves a lot of time.

We wish BotTorrent success in the development of their wonderful project.
Download.
Available on Google Play Market and Apple AppStor. I think it will soon appear for the mobile version of Windows.

PS
Thanks to Murin Sasha for the tip)

The development of technology has led to the fact that every home has several computers. In this case, we are talking not only about a desktop PC, but also about laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, etc. If you often work with all these devices, then most likely you need to synchronize folders. Let's talk about her.

What is this?

So, to understand what it is, you need to turn to computer science. There are several interpretations of the concept of synchronization in this area. This may be about the coordination of processes, data or transmission.

Process synchronization is special actions that help maintain the integrity of documents, files, data and other things while using them at the same time. This mechanism is usually activated when multiple processes or threads occur in a random order.

If we talk about synchronizing folders or, in general, data, then this is rather an action that helps to get rid of differences in copies of data. That is, if you transferred a document with text from one PC to another, and then corrected a couple of letters, then synchronization will do the same on the second PC with this document.

Methods

The question of synchronization methods is quite controversial. It clearly depends on some additional assumptions. But there is a problem that the changes that have been made may be incompatible. Then an “edit conflict” arises. What exactly to do in this case is still unknown.

Still, there are some clues that shed light on methods that are applicable in different situations. As a result, there are assumptions that changes were made to one of the options, and the second was simply overwritten with its content. This method is used by many programs for synchronizing files and folders. Since all edits in this case will be considered irreversible, then you need to choose which of the two documents will be the main one.

There is another way this process can take place. If in this case the files are represented by independent entries, such as a telephone book, then the whole thing is combined into a set. If in this case there is continuous synchronization, it is easy to enter additional information into such data sets. This option is similar to how Outlook synchronizes folders.

The last way is to handle edit errors. It occurs automatically or manually. This option is accepted in version control systems. If such software notices an error, it either corrects it itself or gives the user the opportunity to do so.

For what?

Why is this process needed in general? There can be many options for using it. It all depends on what you are using synchronization for. You may need to periodically update documents and deliver them to another office or to a nearby computer. This can be done in several ways.

Let's say you work both at home and at work. In this case, you need data synchronization to create copies of folders. This can be done, for example, from a computer to an external drive, over a local network, or via

It is the action that occurs periodically in this case that is called folder synchronization. It is important that the first and second folders have identical contents, are located in the same place and have the same name.

Program

Utilities that cope with this task are widespread. There are many of them, and therefore finding a convenient and favorite one will not be difficult. We will look at a couple of options; they could help achieve our plans.

Exiland Backup

This program belongs to It is easy to use, it can create several backup options at once, one of them is synchronization. It works on a simple principle: a copy of the file appears in one of the folders, and over a certain period the program mirrors the source documents, adding them to the final folder. There is an option to update via FTP.

Exiland Backup is a folder synchronization program that uses a one-way copy method. Updates are carried out every minute. It works quickly and correctly, verifies all the contents and changes that have occurred. There may be more than one source folder. That is, you can conditionally synchronize several projects.

The utility has received many additional options. Maintains a consistent log of changes. You can adjust the process schedule. Synchronization starts automatically when the PC logs into the system. You can activate it using the command line.

Setting up Exiland Backup

In general, any “New task” is easy to start on your own. The setup wizard is intuitive and easily describes all your steps. First you need to give the task a name so as not to get confused in the multitude of projects. As mentioned earlier, there are four types of backup, the last one proposed is synchronization.

Then you need to specify the address of the source folder. We don’t need compression in this case, so we skip it. Then you need to specify the final folder where the documents will go. Afterwards, you can configure the synchronization process itself. Depending on when you need the data to be updated.

The last step is setting up notifications. It's individual here. You can just leave everything as default. If we are talking about synchronization via FTP, you will need to select this option in the final folder.

Outlook

This is not a specialized synchronization program. This is a utility that plays the role of a manager and easily works as an email client. But in addition to writing letters, the program can work with a calendar, plan tasks, use a notebook, and a contact manager. There is also work with documents.

When you add an IMAP account to the program, you can set up folder synchronization with your subscription. What it is? Subscription folders appear in the list because they are regularly synchronized with the mail server. If there are ones that you don't use often, you can unsubscribe from them. This is necessary to make the update process faster.

In general, this program is universal. It allows you to synchronize various types of data. You can update letters from one mailbox to another. You can use contacts with Outlook on your smartphone. You can forward data from your calendar, planner, and much more.

Services

In addition to the classic utilities that we described earlier, you can use various kinds of services. Such programs for synchronizing files and folders will save you when working with a computer and smartphone.

For example, the business version of Yandex.Disk turned out to be quite good. 10 GB is available to the user for free. The business version is slightly better than the regular version thanks to special protection and security protocols. This already familiar cloud storage allows you not only to send data to the cloud, but also to synchronize it between different devices.

Zocalo is a similar service. It works thanks to Amazon, which released it in 2014. The user needs to pay $5 per month. At the same time, 200 GB of virtual memory is available to it. The operating mechanism is the same as that of Yandex.Disk.

iCloud Drive has also recently been able to sync Windows folders. Even owners of Apple gadgets did not like the early version of iCloud. It synced only internal files, cost as much as $20 for 20 GB, and only worked with Apple devices. Now the cloud has become similar to the already familiar Dropbox service. It synchronizes any folders and documents. Windows users have been added to supported Mac and iOS clients.

conclusions

Synchronizing folders and files can be useful for every computer user. Even if you are not seriously involved in any paper work, even for studies or personal matters, you will sooner or later come to such programs. Conveniently, their number seems unlimited. There are both free and paid options.

Now cloud storage has become universal, allowing you to work with synchronization. Of course, their main drawback is their inability to work offline. In this case, you will have to get a desktop program that would work with updates every minute.

I tried and worked with different programs for a long time. Required to synchronize data from computers and external hard drives. At first it was done manually, but as the work progressed the task became more complicated, as did the number of synchronized folders and files and synchronization methods. Where did I start and what have I come to:
1). Microsoft SyncToy 2.1.
"+" - free, simple, quite convenient
“-” - it dropped several times and started synchronizing the wrong thing and in the wrong direction (obviously it was due to the fact that the amount and volume of synchronized information increased). Once again, after a similar glitch, I read and searched for a long time and eventually opted for self-written programs
2) the simplest version of xStarter - by the way, it allows you to do a lot of things, again from written actions / scripts, etc. immediately assemble the exe file itself, which can also be made into a service if desired. However, having suffered with rewriting, finishing, etc. (I just have a lot of “plans” for synchronizing directions and places of receipt, etc.), I switched to Allway Sync.
By the way, dropbox, etc. They didn’t fit for the reason - I don’t like big brother and I’m paranoid
3) Allway Sync.
"+" - Everything is good, convenient, etc. What I especially liked was the synchronization between one source and several “receiving” locations. Works like a clock, BUT
"-" - Doesn't work (at least when I worked with it) by threads, or rather one thread at a time, that is, for example, there are several tasks: synchronize several different, unrelated folders from the hard drive on the computer to an external one hard, and in the end it runs it all in parallel, as a result, if everything had been in one thread, it would have ended much faster, it also led to catastrophic results, because of which we later had to abandon it, this will be written about Further; It glitched a couple of times, but it was not critical, it will become critical when the volume is large. And in the end, when I got to the point where there were about 150,000 files in one of the folders and the volume of the folder was not small, Allway Sync simply could not stand it when it started synchronization in automatic mode when the hard drive was connected. I had to run the tasks manually and one by one. I really didn’t like it, but I endured it for exactly that moment until it stopped synchronizing just one folder. As a result, I switched to GoodSync.
4) GoodSync. It took me a long time to get used to it, which after Allway Sync (which was understandable on an intuitive level) seemed terribly inconvenient, not informative, etc. Getting used to it took a long time, and not always successfully. I didn’t like that there was only one source and one destination. Allway Sync had multi-directional “multi-ended” tasks, and immediately had to split / duplicate tasks. One of the immediately noticed advantages was that now all tasks were completed in turn. For a long time I could not find (if not through the task wizard) a connection to a specific external hard drive. For some settings there is no normal description, and it is not always clear what they do. Some things still bother me, but precisely because it looks like I haven’t set it up myself yet, but I don’t want to waste time on tests, and they are absolutely not critical. It’s also a convenient thing for copying a large amount of data when synchronization was not needed or was not used, but you need to copy quickly and the data is almost the same. Over time, I got used to it and began to like it, it doesn’t make mistakes, it processes a number of files without problems and hasn’t made a mistake yet (for a couple of years), there is the possibility of “quick” analysis, md5 verification, copying attributes, etc. In general, my choice is GoodSync

Thanks, I'll try. Today I tried GoodSync - it seems to be a similar program.
But the strange thing is that it does not synchronize all the files from several thousand images; two dozen are not synchronized. GoodSync on the server does not see them on the client’s machine, although they are there.

Click to expand...

1) Question - maybe the filter is working? It is in the general settings of the program (common for everyone) and there is also a separate one for each task.
2) Also, when comparing, if there is an antivirus, it also blocks files if it considers that they have a virus or are suspicious
3) Set the "Copy blocked files" setting
I have never had any problems with synchronization using GoodSync. But I had to figure out the settings. By the way, there is a fairly sane manual with a FAQ for this program. And why did you notice that he didn’t synchronize some of the data? And try turning on md5. It will take noticeably longer, but you will check it and plus this method is more reliable. At least I think I've seen something like this - when you open a photo, but it opens only halfway, because... "rotten". At least you will be protected from this during synchronization. And then we had a case - the database archive was backed up, but in the end the file turned out to be broken (because it was simply copied, or rather recorded incorrectly)

Having in its arsenal such functions as one-way and two-way synchronization on a schedule, synchronization of Windows folders, databases, etc., the program will help you fully automate file synchronization between several computers and servers.

Why do you need automatic folder synchronization?

Duplication of up-to-date information on all media

Today, one computer in the house is a rarity, especially given mobile devices. Every computer stores important data that you need to have at hand. Synchronizing files across all devices simplifies the user's life by ensuring that the data is up to date.

Speed ​​of operation and elimination of human errors

Synchronizing folders and files not only saves time compared to manually copying the necessary data from device to device, but also eliminates careless errors when copying data. Everything will be synchronized!

You can synchronize folders and files with user data in Windows. Moreover, you can use masks to select files by name or type, and also apply filters to exclude unnecessary folders and files.

How folder synchronization works in Handy Backup

You simply connect one computer to another, run the synchronization task, and after that the program itself determines where and what files should be copied, based on the conditions you specify:

• You can customize one-way synchronization when files are copied from one folder to another, or two-way synchronization when files are copied between two folders in both directions.
• When performing two-way synchronization, if there are files with the same names in both folders, you can specify which file to give preference to: larger or smaller, later or earlier, or skip such files.

• File synchronization can be performed Scheduled at a certain time, with an interval of 1 minute, when logging in or out of the system, when connecting a USB storage to a PC, etc. You can also configure it to restart all missed tasks.

Support for syncing folders across different versions of Windows

Handy Backup allows you to synchronize local and network folders between different versions of Windows, including Windows 10/8/7/Vista, as well as server solutions Windows 2016, 2012 (R2) And 2008 (R2). The latest versions of the program also provide directory synchronization on Linux (Ubuntu 16.04/14/04) and in heterogeneous networks.