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Introduction
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| File synchronization utilities help you keep updated copies of files or folders in two or more different locations, such as different computers, network drives, USB drives, online storage, etc. While a file sync utility could be used as a simple backup tool (called one-way syncing), its real power lies in keeping two sets of identical working files, such as keeping current versions of the same data files on both your home computer and office computer (two-way syncing). File sync utilities keep track of which files you create or change, or even delete in one location, and can create, change, and delete those same files in the other location. |
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Discussion
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There are two first choices here. The first is SyncToy. This program is more than a syncing program; it can copy, move, rename, and delete files between any number of folders and even computers. The program operates on the principal of pre-defined folder pairs. You define and name these pairs and then when you want to perform a task, you recall one of these pairs and carry out the operation. Syncing can be in either direction and covers all options from complete sync to updating newer files only. SyncToy can also keep track of files you rename and rename those in the sync destination. Overwritten files in the destination can be saved in the recycle bin, in case you need the older version. It is a well rounded utility, with almost every feature you could want. The only major things it lacks are direct support for ftp, and a portable version. If you need a synchronization solution that also works for older Windows versions, has support for ftp, or includes a portable version, I recommend Allway Sync. It is a very capable program with a great selection of features. It is very easy to use "right out of the box" with a clear-cut and simple interface based around folder sets that are set up in tabs. These sets can be fine tuned with sync rules, inclusion and exclusion filters, versioning policies, and more. You can run a job with all the folder sets at once. One nice feature is its ability to detect and begin sync jobs the moment a removable device is connected. Comparison: When it comes to certain aspects of file tracking, SyncToy probably has the edge, but Allway Sync's ability to upload files to online storage through ftp, and the existence of two different portable versions, including one that supports U3 technology, makes it first-rate option as well. The free version of Allway Sync is crippled: you can only synchronize 20,000 files in a 30 day period, but this is probably more than enough for the average user. Another highly recommended program is SyncBack Freeware. It works for Windows 98 through XP (only partial Vista support) and has a number of features that SyncToy lacks. One very nice feature is its ability to sync to a remote FTP server. It also supports using zip compression so the files take up less space on removable media. A commercial version of the program, SyncBackSE, has many additional features, and full Vista compatibility. However, for many average users the freeware version will prove sufficient. |
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I've settled on Robomirror. It is essentially a GUI for the robust file copy command included with Windows.
From the Robomirror site:
RoboMirror's aim is to provide a user-centered GUI for Robocopy, which allows to easily synchronize two directory trees, e.g. to perform a robust incremental backup, both locally (e.g. to an external hard disk) and across the network.
Installer and portable versions available here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/robomirror/
Here's another really good one: PureSync http://www.jumpingbytes.com/en/puresync.html which is free for personal use but a Pro version adds a few extra features. It is easy to use and light on resources. The interface is a bit jittery (on Windows 7) but nevertheless it is still a great program.
I have been using Windows Live Sync since the FolderShare days, and have been very satisfied. I have several different sync folders configured: between work laptop and desktop, between daughter's laptop at college and home desktop (her "live" backup of documents), and between 2 laptops and home desktop. The latter allows synchronizing across laptops that are not always online at the same time, but by including the desktop, everything stays in sync. The conflict resolution mentioned above is great - prevents overwriting.
Another feature of Live Sync is the ability to allow (if desired) access to files on a computer in your list. So if there is ever a need to copy a file that is not inside a synchronized folder, you can still get it.
Was using SyncExp but found FreeFileSync to be easier and faster. The interface is easier to understand and you do not have to create a task, just select folders to be compared. Deleted folders are handled better with FreeFileSync also. You can delete folders or send them to the recycle bin. Great utility!
I've finally quit looking for one that has a logical interface and is easy to use.
Synkron as mentioned in a couple of other posts is great, it is simple and easy to use but has a lot more options than I've ever needed.
FreeFileSync used to look good but in use previous versions seemed to be missing a few things. However, the latest version of FreeFileSync has been improved, it is now even easier to use, and it added a delete files option as well. I no longer have any complaints with it and it is now the only file/folder sync utility I use.
Thanks for the article, helped me get started but after trying a couple of different softwares, Synkron seems like a definite win for me, it's not mentioned here but open-source, packed with features, very configurable. Only problem might be that you can't use ftp with it but there are obviously workarounds using windows etc.
I tried all three tools suggested in the article and only one suited me needs: AllwaySync. SyncToy had a problem with the current version (2.0) that involved reading timestamps incorrectly and the SyncBack freeware version wasn't sophisticated enough to provide the feature to propagate deletions. AllwaySync was the most useful tool and the one I favoured but it had the blasted filecount sync limit that absolutely crippled it for me for the next 30 days.
Afterwards I went through all the posts and comments prior to mine and looked up many other sync utilities but most of them were underpowered and/or not attractive (it may seem irrelevant, but if you find two tools with the same features but one supports a Vista Compatible GUI and the other a Win3.1 GUI then the choice is obvious).
Finally, right on the last post I read about Synkron and I feel like I found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! This program is somewhere near as powerful as AllwaySync but it's open-source and best of all: free! the program is active but updated not so frequently. Regardless, it still works wonders. I successfully ported all my sync jobs from AllwaySync to Synkron and I'm at peace.
In case Google is failing (can it really?):
https://sourceforge.net/projects/synkron/
Yep, totally agree. Dropbox wins hands down
If you can live with the 2GB limit Dropbox is very good... but it won't get a mention here because this is a Desktop-only review and Dropbox is online sync. Another interesting solution is to use Skydrive - 25GB for free - with Gladinet, this is even better - AFAIK - than Dropbox or Syncplicity... Mesh is still in beta but so far you can only sync files, not folders and subfolders which is a BIG con if you ask me... review should include not only that but also file managers sync features, never reviewed that specific category (Free Commander, Xplorer2, XYplore the new Far Manager, others...?).
I have to mention a relatively new comer to this list that I just downloaded and started using. It's called DropBox. I am extremely impressed with it. It allows for 2 GB free and you can access your files through any browser and share files if you'd like. And, it is blazingly fast!
allways sync is more of an evaluation than a 'free' version as backing up my computer on a regular basis goes over the limit. Syncback works for me :)
I always use Create Synchronicity. It's pretty new, and yet it's far faster than the others (at least that's how I feel it...)
Have you checked out BestSync 2009 4.2.15? Please do and comment. Thanks.
not free
Just wanto to sync folders to external drive. Tried all of these apps. For me the best is FreeFileSync!! Great GUI, functions, and no bugs. Bye.
I've tested a lot of these apps. My problem with them is that I usually edit the captions of my photos, and this does not change the date, just the size - usually gets bigger. A lot of these apps, like BestSync, FreeFileSync and a lot of others just doesn't consider this as suitable to compare or makes this difficult to handle.
SyncToy does this but has an amazing bug that doesn't read properly the dates on an external disk - it adds a time zone difference! And this bug has been detected for more than a year now and incredibly they haven't found a solution for it!!
GoodSync is a paid app that handles this issue OK, but I've found another one as good as it and much cheaper, Sinchronize It!, which I tested, liked (it is also great for back-ups) and bought.
I put this review here because it was the first place I come when searching for an app, and this time I lost a lot of time trying more than 10 apps to find one that would satisfy my needs. So, perhaps my experience would help somebody else. Also it was very difficult to hear something about this app I actually chose.
I was also looking for an app that handled file name changes, for I rename photos a lot, but the developer of FreeFileSync convinced me that it is easier to overwrite the files than to check - by CRC - that the names have changed...
And thanks the site for being so useful. While offering freeware but also being open for discussing does a good job for all developers.
Moderators comment: Links to commercial software are not allowed
A new kid on the block for backup and file sync looks quite promising:
www.wizardsync.com
I have found it quite easy to use.
Suitable for MODERATE personal use. Meaning: crippled.
Has anyone tested out Windows Live Sync I would be interested in knowing how this compares thanks
Me too!
I have been using windows live sync a while, since it was in beta as foldershare. It's great. Sync's automatically without being a huge resource hog. And when a file is changed in both locations it copies it to both computers with "filename - %computername it was edited on%". Great conflict resolution. Before a file is copied a p2p file holds its place. Can even sync with other people's files with their own sync account. Great for small collaborations in the office on computers where the performance needs require HD file access rather then a network share (Inventor CAD modeling computers in my case).
I just wish it synced with an NAS, instead of having to have both computers/profiles on at the same time, perhaps if you have a windows server you can sync to that. Also has a limit of 20k files per folder you're synching, and needs to be on the internet to login then microsoft medicates your connection. Also, it doesn't use rsync capabilities so you have to re-upload a huge file for one little change. Also, can't sync a folder that is inside a folder already being synced.
But because MS medicates the connection it will even sync over the internet (you can turn this off, and/or set it to use ssl).
Sounds great! It's been out for awhile now so I wonder why the author has chosen to ignore it?
The review is looking for an author.
Sync Expert helps me to sync folders between computers. It is portable, small, but does the basic job of synchronisation pretty well. It does not come with any help file or manual. The interface is simple enough to get into business in a few minutes.
One of the great features of Second Copy (commercial app) is the ability to sync folders, but then also create an archive folder that stores the last X versions of changed or deleted files. Can anyone point me to freeware sync programs that do a similar thing?
Simon.
FreeFileSync_v1.15_win32.exe
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync/
Really FANTASTIC for backing up to a 2nd drive like for mirroring a backup.
Tried it. Get what you pay for in this case. Might be fine for some, but if you want true bidirectional synchronization that is "set it and forget it", then this is not the tool.
Again, speaking from experience from using a product that does the job, Allway Sync. And only $20 for a lifetime license with free upgrades for life.
I've just installed this and tried it out. I want to synchronize a dozen folders I have on my c drive in one operation. Neither Syncback nor Allway sync can do this. (At lease I have not been able to get Syncback to do this: I tried filtering on _* to get al the folders starting with an underscore, but I could nbot get it to work)
Free File Sync can do what I want.
I could find no help. You seem to have to do an analyse always first. You can load the configuration file for any stored jobs.
This Multiple folders option is more important to me than any FTP or speed or other flexibility.
I've been using Allway Sync for several years. Yes, you can Synchronize as many folders as you want. I paid $20 for years ago, and get all version upgrades FREE for life.
I'm a computer geek like most reading this site, and I'm always looking for good utilities that are FREE. Ended up buying Allway Sync, because it's been hard finding a utility that does the job as good without a price.
I've tested many of the freebies, and they are okay, get what you pay for I guess. I've tested Good Sync also, and I like the User Interface best, but I found that after using it for a few times that performance degraded. Not sure why that is, Allway Sync and Good Sync seem to operate the same way, that is they both track changes and deletions across your monitored folders, yet I've not experienced the same performance hits with Allway Sync.
Again, still keeping my eyes open for a good free sync'er, but yet to find one that is better than what I paid for.
And portable !
Yes Freefilesync is excellent. I gave up Goodsync for this.
I've used jfilesync to keep my directories sync'd between 3 computers and my USB drives for the last two years. It works well for me, and can be portable. Took a few trials to figure out how I wanted to set up everything, but it works very well now. You can create and save different pairs of syncs.
It handles issues of deleted files, instead of assuming they are supposed to be restored, like some others that don't leave database files scattered all over. It keeps its own database, and that works quite well...and once I figured that out, I worked out my system for all of my computers and drives. Doesn't have to sit and run in the background either.
I came across a serious problem with SyncToy 2.0 (Final) when attempting to sync between FAT32 and NTFS drives. Although SyncToy 1.4 and 2.0Beta seemed to do this without any problems, there is a bug in 2.0 that does not read the FAT32 files' times correctly. This means all files are always synced. This bug is described in more detail here.
I now use SyncBack. I really like the scheduling and intermittent syncing options. I have not tried any others.
Link provided retrieves error 500. 'Sorry, We were unable to service your request. Please try again later.' SyncBack free? SyncBack Pro is awesome but it will co$t a few buck$.
Works for me (they did have a note up that the website would be giving trouble, try it today). SyncBack free is available under the "Downloads -> Freeware" section. What does annoy me though is that it does not handle file deletes as well as SyncToy does; if a file is deleted on either side of the sync it does not know if the missing file is newer than the delete. Do any of the others?
Yeah, today is working. Well, Syncback free is kinda old software, writes everything into registry, maybe shareware does that, I can't tell, I haven't tested it with that detail. I'm about to buy SE or Pro, but in Europe this is expensive with VAT, I'm still looking for a generous coupon code.
Try DSYNCHRONIZE
http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/
appears to be one of the few that does real time sync.
I'm trying it now and it appears to work well.
sync programs I've tried In order of preference (considering memory usage, features, problems encounterd)
Syncback smallest memory usage. no real time.
Firesync real time sync, nice features and design. minor propagate deletions issue.
AllwaySync - free version has sync file limit, too many warning messages (but can be reset to less), largest memory usage, leaves file sync info as files in your folders. Perhaps best visual display of sync details.
maybe will write a longer comment later as I've tried all the free sync programs and am liking Syncback and Dsynchronize best.
I've had troubles with Dsynchronize when trying to use it to synchronize a full portable apps usb to an external sata backup hard drive attached to my server. It freezes at the end of the copy process. It seems to copy the files okay, but can't complete the job to shut itself down. I suspect it may have a memory leak somewhere? The program also just stops if it hits a hidden folder, like a system folder in root, and the hidden folder isn't defined as an exclude. The program seems to work on smaller copy jobs okay, and it seems quite a bit faster than most other synchronization programs. I really like this program because it's perfect for setting up with Task Manager. I sent the program author a note, I hope a fix will be forthcoming.
Both PathSync and TreeComp are awesome, and portable and free too!!!
SyncToy 2.0 requires .net 2.0, not sure I like that.
I use PathSync which works pretty basically but nicely.
Comparator 2.2 which should be available at one of these links:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/File_Cleanup_Utilities/Comp...
http://www.download3k.com/System-Utilities/Backup-Restore/Download-Compa...
http://www.filetransit.com/view.php?id=8897
I just downloaded and tried both SyncToy and Allway Sync N Go for U3. Both worked fine in the manual mode. I could not get Sync N Go for U3 to work in automatic mode. Allway indicates that Sync N Go should work automatically when you plug in your Flash drive. This would be great if it worked. Unfortunately I could not get it to work. I spent about 1 hr trying every conceivable configuration and it would not work. This included disabling firewalls, playing around with folders and many other things. The other thing about Sync N Go that bothers me a little is the license. It says free, but you should pay if you use it for business, government, military, industry, etc, etc. Well, what does that leave? Copy it from one home computer to another? Why would you even use it then?
I use syncback: synctoy not appropriate and allway sync is restricted. Syncback good for my needs of scheduling backups from other computers while unattended.
Maybe I'm extending this almost to the professional realm.
I've been using Synchback for quite some time. I think the policy for the free software is quite nice. It permits me to use it for personal uses but also for career related issues (synchronizing my howto's from between company and home computer). I have to do it in two steps FTP synchronization to my ISP.
However Syncback is missing the synchronization over ssh. I suppose then you have to pay the pro version.
There is a sw that dose this, free scp or something, but golally it's less practical than synchback
I can't believe no one has mentioned File Synchronizer yet!
I have a large collection of music and video files on my PC, not to mention downloaded apps that I want to keep for later use. Due in part to the extremely lengthy process of ripping audio files to my PC, tagging them and naming them in the format that I prefer, and organizing my directory structure how I like it, I choose to keep a copy or two of the whole collection on one or two other hard drives for redundancy to minimize the chance of losing anything without having to use a RAID array. RAID certainly has its benefits, but for my purposes of keeping a copy of my files on an external hard drive it's not the best choice so until now I have chosen to try to keep the files between drives synchronized manually.
I wanted a utility that would make that process more efficient whenever I add more files to the collection. I've been searching for a good (and preferably free) application that would make this task as painless as possible, and as of this moment File Synchronizer works best for my purposes. I tried most of the ones mentioned here, and wasn't completely satisfied with any of them. Like a previous poster, I don't like programs that add extra files, so that ruled out SyncToy and Allway Sync (not to mention Allway's limitations under the free version). I liked ViceVersa FREE except for the fact that I couldn't manage to get it to sync files in subfolders -- only files in the root folder were analyzed. SyncBack normally does a great job, but I noticed it seemed to have problems when directory paths go too deep, causing the overall file name to be considered too long (other programs may have this problem too; I'm not sure).
So after all of these other programs either left database files behind or considered the directory structures to be equal when they weren't (a BAD thing in my case), I tried File Synchronizer and it worked like a charm the first time. It was able to successfully scan subfiles and subfolders and accurately alert me to any discrepancies. The GUI is clean and easy to understand, so I would have no hesitation recommending it to a novice. It might not have some features that power users might require, such as the ability to copy open system files (I haven't attempted that so I don't know...) but it seems to do a great job for what I want it to do. I'm not saying it's the best, but it's another option that I didn't see mentioned and it definitely deserves to be among the list of contenders here. Hopefully someone else will find it to be useful. I plan to use it along with SyncBack, which also does a great job for the most part, and see which one I prefer in the end.
You can get File Synchronizer here:
http://www.latshawsystems.com/ProductDetails_FileSynchronizer.aspx
I missed your comment about not copying system/hidden files.
Your right, not what I need, bummer looked good.
ScottsAI.
File Synchronizer interface looks like dual pane file manager, e.g. free commander. Under file manager category there are also a lot of alternatives like that. Syncback is also the best I have tried, but not the free version, it doesn't even have a progress bar. For freeware I still prefer Synctoy, syncs several pairs without issues regardless of folder depht.
I have tried all three suggested programs and found them all lacking in one way or another. Now I use Sync Expert and it works perfectly and far better than those recommended here.
Certainly a candidate, and it's portable too.
This may not fit into the strict definition of syncing, but I use Karen Kenworthy's Replicator to keep the directories and files I want backed up 'in synch'. Replicator has a lot of control that you need to look at to appreciate, including scheduling, exclusions, recycle/delete, and other features. Good product, and free! http://www.karenware.com/powertools/powertools.asp
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