Convenient file synchronization. How to sync files across different computers

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 cloud services file storage. Well, it’s just not always acceptable and convenient. Cons:
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 syncs files between different platforms and systems as soon as they went online or found themselves 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.
IN home computer there are several folders:
Telephone
Server
General
Auto

To put something on my phone, I just copy required 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, as a media center it stands Google Nexus, via 3G looks at the Internet. 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 appear soon mobile version Windows.

PS
Thanks to Murin Sasha for the tip)

Life modern man is such that he needs a computer wherever he is: at home, at work or at school, on the road and on vacation. Some people carry a laptop with them everywhere, but this is not always possible and not very convenient. Therefore, another option is more often practiced: desktop computer at home and at work, laptop or netbook on the go. However, this raises another problem: you need to transfer used data from one computer to another, then back (and as the number of devices increases, the task becomes even more complicated). Users usually do this manually using local network or using a flash drive, but storing data in “cloud” storages - Dropbox, SkyDrive and others is becoming increasingly popular. Last option convenient when it comes to small volumes information, up to several gigabytes. If tens or hundreds of gigabytes are used in daily activities, it is more convenient to resort to the help of specialized utilities for data synchronization. They allow you to not think at all about which computer they were produced on. latest changes files - so you can always work in a single information environment, wherever they are at the current moment. In this review we will look at four of the most popular programs to synchronize files between computers: SyncBackPro, SmartSync Pro, AllwaySync and GoodSync.

⇡SyncBackPro

• Developer: 2BrightSparks
• Distribution: shareware
• Russian interface: yes

This powerful program, possessing a huge amount all kinds of settings. It costs $54.95 and can be used for thirty days in trial mode. The application supports many interface languages, including Russian, but the machine translation is quite poor.

SyncBackPro works based on profiles, which you can add in unlimited quantities. Creating a new profile occurs in several stages. On the first one you need to enter the name of the profile, here you can also note whether it is a group profile (that is, whether it will combine several other profiles). The next step is to select a profile type, there are three in total: backup, synchronization and mirror. The scope of our review includes the second type; the first one is intended for regular backup of your data, the last one is for creating and maintaining exact copy the specified folder with files unilaterally.

At the third stage, you need to select two folders that will synchronize with each other - they are designated as left and right. In the drop-down lists, you can select the data storage location: for the source folder, this is an internal/external drive or network path, an FTP server, Amazon S3 or Windows Azure online services, as well as files on postal service. For the destination folder, in addition to all of the above, there is also the possibility of CD/DVD burning and saving as an ISO image. It is worth saying that when choosing a source location outside of the computer, you can only specify a local path as a destination, that is, for example, you will not be able to synchronize two FTP sources. However, for the rest you can experiment.

Creating a new profile in SyncBackPro

After this, you need to configure the profile: first of all, specify the directories of the left and right folders on the computer (if other storage locations are selected, the corresponding parameters are displayed there). You can highlight individual subdirectories and files within these folders that need synchronization, and also filter for certain types of data (by default, this filter already includes system files and folders). The next option is to add a schedule. The task for which the profile is responsible can be performed daily, weekly and monthly, and the schedule is extremely flexible (for example, every third week of the month on Tuesdays); In addition, there is the ability to add a repetition after a specified number of days, hours, minutes and seconds. Following the schedule, you can set up decision policies for a variety of situations - what to do if a file was changed in the folder on the left, new file was created in the folder on the right, etc. For each event option there are several various models behavior: skip, ask user, file larger size overwrites the smaller one - and others.

The options mentioned are only that part of the profile parameters to which the simple setup mode is limited. If you switch to expert mode, you will have access to more than fifteen additional sections: compression, encryption, auto-close of programs, logging and others - consider them all within this review not possible. You can study in detail the numerous buttons and checkboxes to fine-tune the program to suit your needs (for example, in the arsenal of tools you can find functions such as starting synchronization using a hotkey combination or ignoring files that have been changed during a specified time).

Setting up a profile in SyncBackPro

The created profiles are displayed in the main SyncBackPro window. You can edit them, import/export, activate execution or, conversely, pause the action, and also view the status: time last launch, result and other information. There are quite a few columns with information; unnecessary ones can be disabled.

SyncBackPro main window

The program keeps a detailed log of actions. Present large number application settings - extensive operating parameters, dialogs, fonts, and so on. The functionality can be expanded even further by downloading additional scripts from the developers’ website: they are installed in the “Scripts” section and allow you to add new capabilities when performing tasks.

⇡ SmartSync Pro

• Developer: SmartSync Software
• Distribution: shareware
• Russian interface: yes

This program has fewer functions than SyncBackPro, but is somewhat friendlier to use. It has a simpler and more pleasant interface, is well localized into Russian and costs 990 rubles (active support for Russian users is due to the fact that the head of SmartSync Software, Dmitry Sitnikov, is himself a programmer from Russia). The demo version of the application can be used for thirty days.

SmartSync Pro main window

As in SyncBackPro, the program's operation is based on the added profiles. New profiles are created using a wizard. First of all, you indicate what exactly you want to synchronize and the type of synchronization, and in the first step you are asked to select folders from the standard set: “Desktop”, “My Documents”, Microsoft Outlook and others. To independently indicate required directories, you should check the box “Select directories manually” (the choice will be available in the next step). There are three types of synchronization available: synchronization with a local/network computer, with a remote computer via an FTP connection, or in batch mode. For each of them there are various types operations: if selected local connection, the program can perform copying, moving, synchronizing, compressing files into a ZIP archive or incremental backup (thus, the program can also be used for data backup). When connecting to a remote computer, both bidirectional synchronization and unilateral file transfer are available - from local to remote and vice versa.

SmartSync Pro Profile Wizard

If you chose to specify folders manually, then you will next need to tick the required directories on local disk. You can view a list of all files and folders included in them and, if necessary, adjust a filter to exclude individual elements or files with certain extensions. Once you've finished setting up the source directory, you need to specify the destination directory to which the data will be synchronized (depending on the connection type, it can be located on a local drive or an FTP server). Next, you need to set up a schedule according to which the task associated with the profile will be executed. It can be started manually, as well as at a certain interval - every few minutes, days, and so on, and you can enter a starting point and mark at what time you want to mute the profile. In addition, you can add a dependency on the execution of another profile (until that one starts, this one will not take effect) and specify a trigger for the following situations: login, logout, directory changes, and disk insertion. To complete the setup, you need to add a profile name.

Added profiles can be grouped into folders, launched one at a time, several or all at once. It is possible to send a shortcut to the desktop to launch a profile; import and export are also available. You can edit profile parameters, and in the properties they are available additional settings, which are not in the creation wizard: notifications when launching a profile, events associated with the launch, a file replacement policy, saving multiple versions of files, and others. From the profile control panel, you can change the source directory and sync settings. Please note that the connection to a remote computer in batch mode is configured here: you can select a folder to save data on a removable/local disk, e-mail or FTP server. There are also a lot of options in the settings of the program itself interesting moments: for example, it can work in background, even when the computer is locked or no one is logged in.

Profile properties in SmartSync Pro

Another detail related to the program: when installed on a computer, it adds context menu files and folders, the Backup with SmartSync Pro command (make a backup), which opens the profile creation wizard with a selected directory. With its help, you can quickly configure the creation of a backup copy.

⇡Allway Sync

• Developer: Usov Lab
• Distribution: shareware
• Russian interface: yes

Allway Sync is provided by the developers free of charge for personal use, the commercial version of the application costs $19.95. The utility is quite simple and easy to use, although it has a somewhat unsightly interface (Russian language support is present). There is no list of profiles, but there are tasks, each of which is displayed on separate tab: You can add, delete, clone and rename them. To set up a task, you need to specify two folders for synchronization and mark its direction. The program allows you to select folders not only on your local drive, but also on the Internet - it supports FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, online services Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Docs, OffsiteBox and others, defines mobile devices, connected via Microsoft ActiveSync, and can also read ZIP archives. Moreover, unlike the SyncBack Pro program, which has similar functionality, in Allway Sync you can add a connection between online folders - for example, synchronize your Dropbox account with an FTP service.

Selecting the synchronization direction in Allway Sync

The selected folders need to be configured (the type of setting will depend on which folder you specified: if on a local drive, you need to specify the directory, if FTP, enter the server parameters, if Google Docs, specify the e-mail and password for your account, and so on) . The direction of synchronization is indicated between the folders: initially it is two-way, that is, the files will be identical in both places, but it can be changed to one-way by selecting the side that will become the data source. By the way, when general synchronization There can be more than two folders - you have the opportunity to configure mirroring of an unlimited number of data sources.

After setting up the task, you can click the “Analyze” and “Synchronize” buttons. The program recommends doing preliminary analysis, so you can make sure everything happens as it should. It will build a detailed report in which new/unchanged/all/excluded files will be grouped into tables, indicating the name, size, time and direction of synchronization. Can be displayed separately important messages related to file changes.

Report on analyzed files in Allway Sync

In the Allway Sync options there is a “Profile Settings” section, where for each task a set of additional properties: “Synchronization Rules”, “Automatic Synchronization”, “Inclusive and Exclusive Filters”, “Versioning Policy”, “Error Handling”. Let's take a closer look at them. In synchronization rules, you can activate several important options - ignore the hourly difference in modification time, copy security attributes, etc. Options automatic synchronization allow you to select a start condition: when a removable drive is connected, when file changes are detected or the computer is idle, and the like. Inclusion and exclusion filters are highly customizable: you can apply them to file names or extensions, status (new, modified, deleted), attributes (system, compressed, etc.), modification time, and size. Versioning policy allows you to choose what to do with older versions of changed files: delete them or move them to specific folder, and also note how long these old versions should be kept. In the settings related to error handling, you can specify what the program should do in the event of these errors and determine its behavior when a warning appears.

Allway Sync Options

Finally, it’s worth adding that, like the previously discussed utilities, Allway Sync keeps a log of actions in a log and allows you to import and export application settings.

⇡GoodSync

• Developer: Siber Systems
• Distribution: shareware
• Russian interface: yes

This utility is notable for the fact that it was created by the developers of the popular RoboForm password saving program. The application has been qualitatively translated into Russian (available amateur translations into other CIS languages), has a version for Windows and Mac, as well as a separate portable version to run from a flash drive. GoodSync is a shareware program and after thirty days of use it imposes restrictions on the number of files in a task (no more than one hundred) and the number of tasks itself (no more than three). However, the price is quite affordable: 595 rubles for the version for Windows and 795 rubles for the version for Mac.

GoodSync main window

Work in the program begins with adding tasks. They come in two types: synchronization and backup. Each task is displayed on a separate tab with its own settings. Regardless of what type of task you choose, you need to specify the left and right data folder. For both the source and destination paths, there are a large number of places where files can be stored: your computer, other computers on the local network, FTP protocols, WebDAV, Amazon S3 cloud storage, Google Drive, Windows Azure, SkyDrive, connected devices on Windows Mobile, and also own service GoodSync Connect. The program has no restrictions on data exchange and allows you to compare all supported sources with each other. We should also talk about GoodSync Connect: it is a P2P network that allows you to synchronize data on several computers via the Internet. Thus, you do not need to connect computers to a local network or use a USB device for transfer, and the files will not be stored in the cloud. To use GoodSync Connect, you need to configure your computers by creating an account on the system.

Selecting a folder in GoodSync

By selecting the left and right folders, you can run a preliminary analysis or immediately begin synchronization. The main window will display a list of synchronized files in the form of a tree, indicating the size, date and copying direction (from left to right, from right to left). You can view separate categories files (changed, new and others) and exclude or, conversely, enable their copying, as well as change the direction. In the task settings, you can specify its parameters automatic execution: when changing a file, when starting a program, periodically, when connecting folders, before logging out. It is possible to schedule a task using the standard Windows scheduler with or without login mode. An interesting option is that you can specify the percentage of changes above which synchronization will not occur. Another feature that can be configured is the way conflicts are resolved automatically: skip, replace with later files, and so on. In addition to the options for automatically completing a task, the settings include other options where you can place many checkboxes next to items such as “Save backups deleted files"or "Copy file creation time", apply a filter to certain files and folders and stuff.

Job Options in GoodSync

The program can work in mini mode - it will be displayed as a small panel with a list of active tasks, which allows you to do other things and at the same time control the progress of synchronization. Finally, it is worth mentioning the GoodSync Explorer application, which is additionally installed on your computer - with its help you can view the directories in which your data is stored and add bookmarks to the right places. These bookmarks can then be used when selecting a source for folders when setting up a job in GoodSync.

⇡ Conclusion

We reviewed the most popular programs for synchronizing data between computers. All of them cope with their purpose in one way or another, and the question of choice depends on the details: what is more important for you - a powerful arsenal of functions or a simple and clear interface, and how much you are willing to pay for the program. We remind you that the only utility that can be used for free is Allway Sync. In any case, we recommend that you make your life easier by installing one of the programs on the computers you use.

Each of you can decide on the safety of this data in your own way. I suggest you take a look at how to secure these files using data synchronization.

My friend's laptop recently broke down. He hit it accidentally and it stopped turning on. It turned out that he flew hard drive, and all the important information was on it. File backup he didn’t do it because he often forgot, sometimes he was lazy or it was simply difficult to keep track of all the documents. Then he had a lot of problems with information recovery. Now, knowing about synchronization, he is not afraid of anything.

Now you understand perfectly well that when it comes to storing data, relying only on your computer, disks and flash drives is very unreliable and unsafe. You can also take into account human factor when something is accidentally deleted, forgotten, lost...

If you have already started to have questions about the meanings of some words and phrases, you can always look at the section . I will be collecting answers to frequently asked questions there.

How to synchronize files and folders?

Synchronizing files and folders is actually easy. It all comes down to the fact that you need to register in one of these services, then download a special program to your computer. The program will create its own folder on your hard drive in which you need to place files for synchronization.

On this blog I tried to cover the most popular services file synchronization. You can find them at these links:

Nowadays there is a stormy development of cloud services, which in the fight for users they are trying to come up with unique chips and offer favorable conditions using their services. On average it is offered approx. 5 gigabyte free cloud disk space to synchronize files. This is not so much, but for the most important files will be enough. Therefore, I recommend also taking a look at the article, where I tried to answer the question of which files are for you and which are unimportant. It will help you choose the right files to synchronize and backup.

The essence of synchronization

Data synchronization ensures the identity of the selected information on different devices, which are connected to the synchronization service. If we take for example text document, then it will be the same on all your computers. If you add anything to this document, the file will be automatically updated on other computers. Synchronization occurs mainly via the Internet. To do this you need to install special programs to all the computers, tablets or smartphones you use, for example. The program will create a folder called Dropbox in which you will store your documents. They will be uploaded to special storage on the Internet, after which you will have access to them from anywhere on the planet via a web browser, smartphone or tablet.

The distinctive feature of data synchronization is that you no need to keep track of file versions with whom you work. You will always have the most latest version your document. Any file synchronization service allows you to upload your documents, photos, music and other files to cloud storage and then access them through programs for computers, tablets, smartphones, or simply through a web browser. In order to start using file synchronization you need to register and download the free file synchronization program. You can read about how to do this in the article about . And don’t let the English interface scare you, you can use a wonderful plugin for Google Chrome For quick translation incomprehensible words.

What benefits does data synchronization provide for ordinary users:

Firstly— data protection from loss of important information. You are not afraid of computer failure, loss of a flash drive, breakdown of hard disk. Your documents, photos, presentations, spreadsheets and other files will always be available from anywhere there is Internet access.

Secondly- you can easily share files with other people simply by sending them a link via email, VKontakte, Facebook or in any way convenient for you.

Thirdly— synchronization of computers via the Internet. You can start doing something on your work computer and continue where you left off on your home computer. Synchronizing data on two or more computers has become much easier.

Fourth— you don’t have to carry a flash drive with you all the time, often forgetting to put something on it. It is enough to know the login and password for the data synchronization service and your files will always be available to you via the Internet.

I never tire of repeating that with the modern rhythm of life, synchronization will not be superfluous. Nowadays it is especially easy to lose all your documents, files, photos due to the fact that computers have become mobile, they are easier to break or lose. Quite often, important documents just lie on the Desktop. But this won't bother you until you lose something important. So, to protect important information they will help you synchronization services

To sync files with other computers and devices in Windows 8.1, there is Windows Mobility Center, which is linked to the Sync Center. It is in Windows Mobility Center that you can manage any devices and link your account with another computer or Windows server. Devices include both smartphones and tablets. If you manage your device through ActiveSync, synchronization is usually set up through Microsoft Exchange.

Sync Center allows you to manage your synchronized devices. The device you want to synchronize with your computer may already be connected, but using Sync Center you can also save an offline version of your files for working on the go.

The Sync Settings page allows you to view your current sync relationships and any conflicts that may arise.

To check if everything is in order, you can view current state synchronization with devices.

To sync files with another Windows 8.1 device, click " Settings new connection synchronization" Please note that the other device must be connected to your computer. When you select synchronization in the Sync Center, buttons appear at the top of the list to set a synchronization schedule.

You can click on them and manage your sync options.

If you use Sync Center to save offline copies of files on a Windows server, to control synchronization settings, click the " Manage Offline Files».

In the Offline Files dialog box, you can control the current state of synchronization, including the ability to specify the amount of disk space on your computer available for synchronization. To do this, use the " Disk usage" The more available disk space, the more files you can sync with your computer and store locally.

This dialog box also allows you to ensure that offline files, are automatically encrypted. This option is very useful if you keep offline versions of files on your laptop.

Setting up and using working folders.

If your company uses the work folders feature, manage the save system standalone versions files for the user is much simpler and easier. Working folders are located in the control panel. To get started, click the " Set up working folders" and you will be asked to enter your work address email or URL working folder on the company server.

After the first synchronization of files and folders, the working folders panel displays changes in the progress of the current file synchronization from the server. This panel can be used for both general management file synchronization, as well as specific uses, such as which files should be synced over a mobile broadband connection. This is where working folders are disabled.

Synced work folders appear in the " My PC» file explorer where they can easily be opened and viewed.

Automatic synchronization Windows folders allows you to organize and maintain 2 identical directories. Files are copied to a neighboring computer on the local network or to another company office in a safe way SFTP protocol(SSH) . When you add or change data in one folder, all changes will be reflected in the other.

So, we assume that you have a main working directory at home or at work, located on a local or network machine, and there is a need to automatically copy (mirror, deliver) files from it to another location: to a flash drive, external hard disk (hard drive), via local network, on remote server By FTP protocol or to the Yandex.Disk cloud.

Folder synchronization is the process of periodically mirroring (mapping) source files to a destination. The source data and the destination directory will always be exactly the same in both quantity and size of data.

This task is easily accomplished by a small, but very convenient program to synchronize folders and Exiland files Backup, which allows you to create 4 types backup copies , one of which is the ability to mirror data in Windows.

Sync files on local network and via FTP(synchronize) – only a small part of the possibilities Exiland Backup. You can see the full list of features on the version comparison page. In this article we will not dwell on them, but will only consider how to set up mirroring between computers. This function will help as system administrators, and home users.

Exiland Backup - a simple solution for synchronizing files and folders

Simple utility Exiland Backup allows you to automatically perform one-way synchronization of folders on a schedule (no more than once per minute). Quickly and thoroughly compares the contents of the source data with the target folder and brings them into compliance. This is especially convenient for periodically delivering files from one branch of an organization to another via FTP. Several directories can be specified as the source directory.

ATTENTION. When adding, changing or deleting source files, all changes are also reflected in the final directory. If you delete data from the source, it will automatically be deleted from the destination. If you don't need to delete files from the destination folder, select the appropriate option.

Exiland Backup provides various settings"smart" synchronization of folders on the local network, on one computer, in the cloud. For example, a program can copy both all data and selectively according to a given mask, attributes and specified subfolders.

TO additional features can be attributed such as:

• Maintain a detailed log showing which files were added, updated and deleted.
• Possibility of sending the log by e-mail or notification to mobile phone in the form of SMS.
• Flexible setup schedules.
• Starts copying automatically when Windows startup, when connecting a flash drive or other removable device.
• Running a job from command line(command line).

Step-by-step setup wizard

So, let's look at an example of how to configure Exiland Backup for mirroring.
Suppose we need every 3 minutes from 8:00 to 21:00 synchronize "C:\Documents" with all subfolders with local computer, where the program is installed, on remote machine"NAS-Server" to the shared folder "\\NAS-server\Backups\Documents".

Launch the backup program. In the upper left corner of the main program window, click the create a new task button - a step-by-step wizard will appear.

Step 1: Job Name

Enter any name for the task, for example “Mirror of working documents” and click “Next”.

Step 2: Backup Type

Specify the type – “Synchronization” and click “Next”.

Step 3: Initial Data

Specify which source data you want to mirror. This can be the path to directories on a computer, flash drive, server or cloud.

To do this, click “Add -> Local/network folders and files...”, specify the path to “C:\Documents” on your PC and click OK, after which a window for selecting folder options will appear.

Here you can leave everything as default and immediately click OK.

Step 4: Destination Folder to Sync

Select the path to the final destination directory, in in this case"\\NAS-server\Backups\Documents", and also specify the login/password to enter network folder, if access to it is limited.

If you need to mirror data to remote computer via FTP, then select FTP when setting up the destination folder.

There can only be one final directory!

Step 5: Schedule the task

To specify the schedule for running the task, click the "Edit" button and in the window that appears, specify the schedule type "Daily", then select the time. Click "Edit" to the right of the "Time" field, then click the "Add" button, select "Periodically" and specify "Every 3 minutes" with a specified interval: from what time and until what time should synchronization be repeated (in our example from 8:00 to 21:00). Ready. Click OK several times until all previously appeared windows are closed.

Step 6: Notification

Leave everything as default and click “Done”.

The task has been created!
For a customization proposal additional parameters For now, answer “No.” Later you can always return to the settings and change them.

The program has an intuitive, well-thought-out interface and is recommended for synchronizing files between Windows servers, between different computers, as well as between branches or divisions of an organization via SFTP (SSH).

Except paid versions Standard and Professional, there is also a free one, Free, which you can download to evaluate its capabilities on your files. If the program is suitable for solving your problems, you can purchase a Standard or Professional license and become a full registered user with all the benefits of the paid Standard and Professional versions, which are much more functional and include priority technical support, Personal account and a number of other advantages.