Synchronise folders with SyncToy

Joe Cassels demonstrates how to make sure that the contents of two folders are identical and up to date

If you regularly switch between different PCs or carry work around on a thumb drive you’ll know the value of accurate synchronising. Much work nowadays involves dealing with multiple files that are regularly changed. If you move around a lot, it’s vital to ensure that you’ve always got the most up to date version of these files with you. If you change between a desktop, laptop and PDA or you work at home and in the office, a good synchronising tool can be a godsend.

Microsoft provides the excellent SyncToy to Windows users for free. You can download it from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E0FC1154-C975-4814-9649-CCE41AF06EB7&displaylang=en. It’s designed to help you do away with the hassle of manually dragging and copying files about from folder to folder. In many cases you simply want to have exactly the same contents on a portable drive or device as you have on your PC. SyncToy enables you to specify two folders and then update the contents of both quickly so you can worry about your work rather than managing your data.

If you want to synchronise between a folders on two different computers like a laptop and a desktop, the easiest way is to ensure that there’s a network connection between them and that one has a shared folder that’s accessible from the other PC. You can then use SyncToy to set up a pair including a local folder and the network one on the remote computer. As long as both folders are accessible to the computer running SyncToy, you only need the program installed on one of them.

The walkthrough demonstrates how to set up a folder pair and run a synchronisation between them. You have several options for synchronising. The first, Synchronise, updates both folders with changes made on either side since the last sync. If the same file has been changed, the most recent change takes priority. Echo updates changes from left to right only. Subscribe does the same but in the opposite direction. Contribute copies updates and new files from left to right without deleting. Combine copies updated files in both directions but doesn’t delete anything.

Sync your data
Use SyncToy to reconcile the differences between two separate folders



1
Install and launch SyncToy. To set up a synchronisation, click Create New Folder Pair. Under Left Folder click Browse and select the first folder that you want to use. It can be on the local PC or a shared network resource.


2
Click Next and browse for the Right Folder. Once specified you have a folder pair that you can sync to make their contents identical. Click Next and specify the kind of synchronisation that you want. If in doubt choose Synchronize which applies the most recent change to both folders.


3
Click Next and provide a name for this folder pair. You’ll see a summary of the folder pair. Click Preview to see which files will be copied, deleted or changed. Click Run to fully synchronise the two folders.