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Feature: Free Ways to Synchronize Folders Between Computers

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Saved by 40 people (8 private), first by anonymouse user on 2008-03-26


Public Comment

on 2008-03-27 by gschaadt

Keep folders synchronized between computers. Do not need to be on same network and works between PC and Mac.

Public Sticky notes

Nothing sucks worse than getting to the office in the morning and realizing you left the most recent copy of an important file—whether it's your to-do list or a PowerPoint presentation—on your home computer. No matter where you are and what computer you're using, you always want the most updated set of documents and files you've got without having to carry 'em around on a thumb drive. Luckily, several free solutions can automatically sync folders between computers—even over the internet, through office firewalls—no matter what operating system you use. Whether you want work files edited at home to magically appear on your PC at the office, or the family room Mac to have a copy of the latest batch of digital photos downloaded onto the computer in the den, three free applications can help.

Highlighted by yoyojaw

Sync Folders over the Internet with FolderShare (Mac and Windows, Free)

Highlighted by wliepach

If the two computers you're working with aren't on the same local network and aren't both Windows machines—such as your home Mac and your office PC—you can still sync files between them over the internet using a free service called FolderShare.

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here's how to get it set up

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If the two computers you're working with aren't on the same local network and aren't both Windows machines—such as your home Mac and your office PC—you can still sync files between them over the internet using a free service called FolderShare. (We've already run down quite a few uses for FolderShare, from maintaining a consistent workspace, to syncing your Firefox extensions and Greasemonkey scripts between computers.)

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Note: FolderShare isn't completely unlimited—there's a 2GB individual file size and a 10,000 files per library limit on FolderShare synchronization.

Highlighted by wliepach

Sync Files to Your PC on a Local Network with SyncToy (Windows only, but can sync to any shared folder)

Highlighted by cuttingedge

SyncToy is a simple tool that synchronizes files between two folders (located on the same PC or on different computers)

Highlighted by cuttingedge

Sync Files to Your PC on a Local Network with SyncToy (Windows only, but can sync to any shared folder)

Highlighted by wliepach

a simple tool that synchronizes files between two folders (located on the same PC or on different computers)

Highlighted by wliepach

Free Windows utility SyncToy is a simple tool that synchronizes files between two folders (located on the same PC or on different computers).

Highlighted by amortal

Sync Files Between Computers at the Command Line with rsync

Highlighted by cuttingedge

Rsync requires manual configuration and some mucking with IP addresses, firewall ports, and other fun stuff if you want to use it over the internet

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Set SyncToy Action Options

To exclude any files from the synchronization action (such as system files, or maybe non-image files), click the "Change Options" link. There you can exclude files by name, extension, or subfolder; exclude hidden or system files; save overwritten files in the Recycle Bin; and choose other settings for your pair, as shown in the options dialog below.

Highlighted by amortal

AllwaySync'n'Go? It does the same thing in a nice tabbed format (one tab for each sync job you set up) and it has a portable version which means you can carry it on your USB drive (which is something you probably want to sync for backup purposes anyway).

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It also includes filter and exclusion options so you can specify what you do and don't want synced.

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you can preview the results of the sync without actually running it

Highlighted by amortal

If you don't want to synchronize folders, you can also Contribute or Echo from the Left Folder to the Right Folder to perpetuate actions on the Left Folder to the Right without mirroring the contents exactly.

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What about the new beta service known as Dropbox. Quite possibly one of the easiest services to use. Another genius move from the geniuses at MIT

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You can set up any number of folder pair actions in SyncToy to copy any number of folders to any number of other computers.

Highlighted by amortal

Why no mention of AllwaySync'n'Go? It does the same thing in a nice tabbed format (one tab for each sync job you set up) and it has a portable version which means you can carry it on your USB drive (which is something you probably want to sync for backup purposes anyway).
It also includes filter and exclusion options so you can specify what you do and don't want synced. You can even specify specific files.

Highlighted by amortal

Been a Foldershare user since before it was bought up by Micrsoft. It's been indispensible, I sync about 4 computers -- Macs & PCs -- in different locations.

Downsides?

* No bandwidth throttle, except for limiting the number of files downloaded/uploaded at a time;

* A resource hog, especially when comparing directories or moving lots of big files;

* No scheduler;

* No file filtering;

* Mac client is somewhat buggy under both Tiger & Leopard on Intel machines, freezing up periodically, requiring Foldershare to be force quit and restarted.

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Unison for "sneakernet" synchronizing (e.g between my computers and an external hard drive)

SugarSync for computer to computer syncing (also stores is online, first 10Go free)

Highlighted by amortal

I use Sync toy and it's great. The only thing it is missing is a scheduler.

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Foldershare was just updated to include Windows Vista support and is now called Windows Live FolderShare Beta:

[www.foldershare.com]

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I tried PowerFolder, it's an open-source alternative of FolderShare.

Highlighted by amortal

DocSyncer and a Google Docs account, which I think is the most useful.

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I use Syncback (freeware version) and a Secure tunnel (via the DD-WRT firmware) to a location offsite to backup my files.

Highlighted by amortal

Been a Foldershare user since before it was bought up by Micrsoft. It's been indispensible, I sync about 4 computers -- Macs & PCs -- in different locations.

Downsides?

* No bandwidth throttle, except for limiting the number of files downloaded/uploaded at a time;

* A resource hog, especially when comparing directories or moving lots of big files;

* No scheduler;

* No file filtering;

Highlighted by amortal

I was using Sync Toy for a while to keep my music collection in sync across multiple computers and ended up with tons of copies of the songs. It was a mess!

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unison.

I happen to use it to sync between my workstation at work and my workstation at home. The great thing about unison is that I don't have to think about which way the sync should go. It figures it out. It also works on friggin' everything.

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The problem I'm having with Foldershare is that it can't handle files if the directory path is too long.

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I personally love SynchronizeIt! from Grigsoft. I use it daily. It has an easy scheduler, exclusion filters, etc. You can tell it to sync, backup, update target only, or clone as needed. It can do single folders, groups of folders (session), or groups of sessions (projects).

Highlighted by amortal

I've been using Foldershare for a couple of years now, and it works great. Very simple to set up, reliable, no hassles. I've also tried SyncToy a couple of times to do the "sneakernet" sync thing (with a USB flash drive), but reverted to using Treecomp (outdated UI perhaps, but supremely useful). I like the manual control over the automated sync. As I recall, one thing that I didn't like about SyncToy is that it created extra (hidden) files all over the place. I don't know if that's still the case.

I also got in on the SugarSync beta, and it seems to work well (esp. since if you need to access files when the home PC is off).

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foldershare lacks is online file hosting for the synced files

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The good:-
I've been using Foldershare for a while now, and it has performed really well. I have found it particularly useful for syncing files between my home Mac and my Windows laptop.

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I use syncToy and a USB keychain to keep my files from my work comp and home comp sync'd.

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One slight annoyance with FolderShare is that it creates a backup of all deleted files in a separate folder. Thats great if you want them, but

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I have used SyncToy with Windows Scheduled Tasks (in Control Panel) and it worked ok.

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Unison may not be pretty, but it can run on an automated basis, it maintains backups if you want, it can be run invisibly when operated from Vista's Task Scheduler, and (like microe noted) you don't have to worry about which direction it's syncing.

The only downsides I've seen with unison are that human intervention is required if a critical error was encountered in a prior sync, and a little thought is required when setting up sync on huge collections of files.

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gmail drive which can upload files to your gmail account and save them there and you can log in and re download them on any computer no need to have sync software!!

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Foldershare

The good:-
I've been using Foldershare for a while now, and it has performed really well. I have found it particularly useful for syncing files between my home Mac and my Windows laptop. I also use it to sync Firefox profiles, as posted by Adam here [lifehacker.com]
I like the fact that (once everything is set up) you can just leave it running in the background. To date, it has been very reliable.

The bad:
I think Microsoft really need to simplify the set up process. I'm pretty IT literate (I read LIfehacker!) but even I found it a bit fiddly. Gina's post above is great (although as previously highlighted the interface has now changed)... but the fact that it is actually necessary means Microsoft has missed something here (especially verses Dropbox). As already stated, you do need both machines to be switched on, which is inconvenient (kinda). The 2GB file size limit hasn't been a problem for me, but the 10,000 file limit has. Also, the system was down for a few hours on Monday (for maintainance)...

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Synctoy
Synctoy is simply brilliant, and I haven't had any issues with it at all. I only really use it for backing up on to an external hard drive, but it does this job really well.

Highlighted by amortal