Features
Users initially need to create a “folder pair” that represents the two folders ("left" and "right" folders) to be compared and synchronized. These folders can be on the local drive, on an external device such as a flash drive, or on a network share from another computer. SyncToy supports UNC paths. It provides a Browse option to find the folder or network share, or users can type it in directly. SyncToy offers two safeguards to ensure that the user does not lose files permanently when they are deemed unnecessary during a sync. Firstly, a user can preview what is going to happen when the sync takes place, without actually changing anything; secondly, any deleted files are optionally moved to the Recycle Bin.
SyncToy defines three different types of operation to synchronize two folders:
- Synchronize takes the two folders and makes sure they have exactly the same files. To do this, SyncToy may copy files in either direction and may delete or rename files in either folder. In the case that a file has been updated in both the left and right folders, the version with the later modification date is considered the conflict winner and will overwrite the other version.
- Echo looks for changes (file modifications, new files, renames, deletes) in the left folder and makes them in the right folder (one-way sync).
- Contribute is like an Echo, but it does not delete any files on the right folder that may have been deleted in the left folder.
SyncToy supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
A significant weakness of SyncToy, including the latest release, is that it does not notify the user of conflicts in which both copies of a file have been modified. It simply uses the latest version and overwrites the oldest. Without proper notification, the user could lose important changes on the older version.
Read more about this topic: Sync Toy
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