File Details |
|
| File Size | 2.8 MB |
|---|---|
| License | Freeware |
| Operating System | Windows Vista/XP |
| Date Added | November 10, 2009 |
| Total Downloads | 24,715 |
| Publisher | Microsoft Corp. |
| Homepage | Microsoft SyncToy |
Publisher's Description
SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without adding complexity. It can manage multiple sets of directories at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.
Latest Reviews
KatieKate reviewed v2.1 on Feb 8, 2011
It's pretty good software all around. I found it does a semi-flawless job in keeping my stuff synced.
No complaints here!
driver8 reviewed v2.1 on Nov 12, 2009
wow ! some great updates in this one, considering it's only a '.1' update ! Looking forward to seeing the speed updates, and the auto drive-letter fix. Good for Win7 and 64-bit.
* Better Performance: The speed of file copy operations is significantly increased across the board.
* Improved Robustness: Much more resilient to transient network and file system errors and better error reporting which pin-points which file the sync failed on in case there’s a fatal error that stops the sync.
* Folder pair configuration backup: Folder pair configuration is automatically backed up under %localappdata%\microsoft\synctoy\2.0. User can replace SyncToyDirPairs.bin with the backup copy to resolve last saved configuration.
o Fixed the data corruption issue when using SyncToy with NAS drives.
o Fixed the issue that prevented uploading files to SharePoint when using SyncToy 2.0.
o Fixed the issue that prevented delete changes from being synchronized when the sync option is set to “Echo”.
o Fixed the UI issue where reported file time were off by the difference between local time and UTC when destination is a FAT volume.
* Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition.
* True Folder Sync: Folder creates, renames and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions.
* Exclusion Filtering Based on Name: File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching.
* Filtering Based on File Attributes: The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden).
* Unattended Folder Pair Execution: Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off.
* Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints: Ability for folder pairs associated with the same or different instances of SyncToy to share end-points.
* Command line enhancements: Added the ability to manage folder pairs via the command line interface.
* Re-Architect Sync Engine: The SyncToy engine has been rearchitected to provide scalability and the ability to add significant enhancements in future releases.
* Sync engine is also more robust insomuch that many single, file level errors are skipped without affecting the entire sync operation.
* Sync Encrypted Files: Sync of Encrypted files works when local folder and files are encrypted, which addresses the common scenario involving sync between local, encrypted laptop PC folder and remote, unencrypted desktop PC folder.
* 64-Bit Support: SyncToy now has a native 64-bit build (x64 only) for 64-bit versions of Windows.
* Folder pair rename
* Sub-folder Exclusion Enhancements: Descendents created under excluded sub-folders are automatically excluded. Usability improvements for the sub-folder exclusion dialog.
* Folder Pair Metadata Moved: Folder pair metadata removed from MyDocuments to resolve any issues with server-based folder pair re-direction setup.
* Setup Improvements: Integrated setup with single self-extracting archive file and no extra downloads if you already have .NET Framework 2.0 installed. Enabled silent install for the SyncToy Installer file
tangentlin reviewed v2.1 on Nov 12, 2009
Sync Toy is simple and easy to use, it saves me a lot of hassle cross syncing both my home computer and work computer. SyncToy was noticibly missing and missed when I migrated to Windows 7, I am happy that Microsoft finally has released this powertoy for free again.
mharvey reviewed v2.1 on Nov 11, 2009
I have not tried SyncToy 2.1 yet but I did evaluate version 2.0. It looked promising but it has several shortcomings.
The show stopper for me was that it caused corrupted files when copying to a NAS. After finding that this was a known problem what had not been fixed in a long time I moved on SyncBack Freeware. It does everything that I wanted from SyncToy and more. I may investigate to see if the file corruption when copying to NAS has been fixed in SyncToy but I am not sure that I will move back in any case.
anomoly reviewed v2.1 on Nov 11, 2009
Synctoy is OK. I just don't like the junk it leaves in the folders you are trying to backup as well as the backups themselves. Try synkron. It's portable and has a very powerful gui which is also a one-click or scheduled option. It was on fileforum but was removed.
Raysy reviewed v2.0 on Aug 23, 2009
Easy to use, free, reliable - it does all you want from a home user sync tool.
xwris onoma reviewed v2.0 on Mar 25, 2009
I have not used SyncToy enough, not to the point of being able to write a review. Actually, I am not sure it can do what I want. So, here's a question for anyone interested to help me out:
Say I have two folders with many files, subfolders and sub-subfolders, etc. in it. Also, assume that INITIALLY these two folders were identical but after some time, different changes have been done in both of them. So folders (say) A and B were exactly the same, but now they are not. So, I want to "merge" them, to a new folder which will be the product of "adding" folder A+B, keeping the most recent version of all common elements, without deleting anything AT ALL.
What function of SyncToy will do this?
Thank you in advance!
wetbook71 reviewed v2.0 on Feb 5, 2009
I'm not sure i trust SyncToy. First, i copied all my files (drag-n-drop) from my harddrive to my fash drive/memory stick. Then, i created a folder pair across the two (C:\work paired with G:\work), and used SyncToy to preview them for any file changes.
Two problems
1) In a lot of the operations it identified, the "last modified" time shown in the SyncToy preview list did NOT match the "date modified" time shown for the file in Windows Explorer.
2) Despite having just dragged-n-dropped all the files from G:\work to C:\work, it still identified 'overwrites' as being necessary (when the files should've been identical across the pair). Moreover, it wanted to overwrite the side of the pair having the newer "last modified" time (target path) with the side having the older "last modified" time (source path). In other words, it wanted to overwrite a more recent version with an older version, according to "last modified" times (never mind that the times didn't match what was shown for the files in Windows Explorer, as noted in point #1, above).
If anyone understands what's going on here, and can convince me that my mistrust is unnecessary, that would be cool! thanks.
trevithick reviewed v2.0 on Aug 18, 2008
I have used SyncToy since version 1 and on through 1.4 and the beta of 2. SyncToy works well, has an understandable interface, and provides intelligent feedback on errors that occur in a job. It is quick, flexible, and easy to use.
It is not flawless, as once in a great while you will have to re-create a sync pair for some reason. However, I personally have not found a better synchronizing software.
belthurgp reviewed v2.0 on Aug 18, 2008
Well written tool and works as advertised. Use it to sync both of my computers weekly once. Syncing / Backup is not a easy task and you should spend some time in setting up your synchronization folders. Once you setup, it's just a one click operation.
@Busthead..learn how to use SyncToy first
KatieKate reviewed v2.1 on Feb 8, 2011
It's pretty good software all around. I found it does a semi-flawless job in keeping my stuff synced.
No complaints here!
driver8 reviewed v2.1 on Nov 12, 2009
wow ! some great updates in this one, considering it's only a '.1' update ! Looking forward to seeing the speed updates, and the auto drive-letter fix. Good for Win7 and 64-bit.
* Better Performance: The speed of file copy operations is significantly increased across the board.
* Improved Robustness: Much more resilient to transient network and file system errors and better error reporting which pin-points which file the sync failed on in case there’s a fatal error that stops the sync.
* Folder pair configuration backup: Folder pair configuration is automatically backed up under %localappdata%\microsoft\synctoy\2.0. User can replace SyncToyDirPairs.bin with the backup copy to resolve last saved configuration.
o Fixed the data corruption issue when using SyncToy with NAS drives.
o Fixed the issue that prevented uploading files to SharePoint when using SyncToy 2.0.
o Fixed the issue that prevented delete changes from being synchronized when the sync option is set to “Echo”.
o Fixed the UI issue where reported file time were off by the difference between local time and UTC when destination is a FAT volume.
* Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition.
* True Folder Sync: Folder creates, renames and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions.
* Exclusion Filtering Based on Name: File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching.
* Filtering Based on File Attributes: The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden).
* Unattended Folder Pair Execution: Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off.
* Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints: Ability for folder pairs associated with the same or different instances of SyncToy to share end-points.
* Command line enhancements: Added the ability to manage folder pairs via the command line interface.
* Re-Architect Sync Engine: The SyncToy engine has been rearchitected to provide scalability and the ability to add significant enhancements in future releases.
* Sync engine is also more robust insomuch that many single, file level errors are skipped without affecting the entire sync operation.
* Sync Encrypted Files: Sync of Encrypted files works when local folder and files are encrypted, which addresses the common scenario involving sync between local, encrypted laptop PC folder and remote, unencrypted desktop PC folder.
* 64-Bit Support: SyncToy now has a native 64-bit build (x64 only) for 64-bit versions of Windows.
* Folder pair rename
* Sub-folder Exclusion Enhancements: Descendents created under excluded sub-folders are automatically excluded. Usability improvements for the sub-folder exclusion dialog.
* Folder Pair Metadata Moved: Folder pair metadata removed from MyDocuments to resolve any issues with server-based folder pair re-direction setup.
* Setup Improvements: Integrated setup with single self-extracting archive file and no extra downloads if you already have .NET Framework 2.0 installed. Enabled silent install for the SyncToy Installer file
tangentlin reviewed v2.1 on Nov 12, 2009
Sync Toy is simple and easy to use, it saves me a lot of hassle cross syncing both my home computer and work computer. SyncToy was noticibly missing and missed when I migrated to Windows 7, I am happy that Microsoft finally has released this powertoy for free again.
mharvey reviewed v2.1 on Nov 11, 2009
I have not tried SyncToy 2.1 yet but I did evaluate version 2.0. It looked promising but it has several shortcomings.
The show stopper for me was that it caused corrupted files when copying to a NAS. After finding that this was a known problem what had not been fixed in a long time I moved on SyncBack Freeware. It does everything that I wanted from SyncToy and more. I may investigate to see if the file corruption when copying to NAS has been fixed in SyncToy but I am not sure that I will move back in any case.
anomoly reviewed v2.1 on Nov 11, 2009
Synctoy is OK. I just don't like the junk it leaves in the folders you are trying to backup as well as the backups themselves. Try synkron. It's portable and has a very powerful gui which is also a one-click or scheduled option. It was on fileforum but was removed.
Raysy reviewed v2.0 on Aug 23, 2009
Easy to use, free, reliable - it does all you want from a home user sync tool.
xwris onoma reviewed v2.0 on Mar 25, 2009
I have not used SyncToy enough, not to the point of being able to write a review. Actually, I am not sure it can do what I want. So, here's a question for anyone interested to help me out:
Say I have two folders with many files, subfolders and sub-subfolders, etc. in it. Also, assume that INITIALLY these two folders were identical but after some time, different changes have been done in both of them. So folders (say) A and B were exactly the same, but now they are not. So, I want to "merge" them, to a new folder which will be the product of "adding" folder A+B, keeping the most recent version of all common elements, without deleting anything AT ALL.
What function of SyncToy will do this?
Thank you in advance!
wetbook71 reviewed v2.0 on Feb 5, 2009
I'm not sure i trust SyncToy. First, i copied all my files (drag-n-drop) from my harddrive to my fash drive/memory stick. Then, i created a folder pair across the two (C:\work paired with G:\work), and used SyncToy to preview them for any file changes.
Two problems
1) In a lot of the operations it identified, the "last modified" time shown in the SyncToy preview list did NOT match the "date modified" time shown for the file in Windows Explorer.
2) Despite having just dragged-n-dropped all the files from G:\work to C:\work, it still identified 'overwrites' as being necessary (when the files should've been identical across the pair). Moreover, it wanted to overwrite the side of the pair having the newer "last modified" time (target path) with the side having the older "last modified" time (source path). In other words, it wanted to overwrite a more recent version with an older version, according to "last modified" times (never mind that the times didn't match what was shown for the files in Windows Explorer, as noted in point #1, above).
If anyone understands what's going on here, and can convince me that my mistrust is unnecessary, that would be cool! thanks.
trevithick reviewed v2.0 on Aug 18, 2008
I have used SyncToy since version 1 and on through 1.4 and the beta of 2. SyncToy works well, has an understandable interface, and provides intelligent feedback on errors that occur in a job. It is quick, flexible, and easy to use.
It is not flawless, as once in a great while you will have to re-create a sync pair for some reason. However, I personally have not found a better synchronizing software.
belthurgp reviewed v2.0 on Aug 18, 2008
Well written tool and works as advertised. Use it to sync both of my computers weekly once. Syncing / Backup is not a easy task and you should spend some time in setting up your synchronization folders. Once you setup, it's just a one click operation.
@Busthead..learn how to use SyncToy first
Busthead reviewed v1.4 on Sep 29, 2007
Ignores some files creating directories but leaving them empty without reporting errors. Completely unreliable. Another piece of crap from MS.
xee reviewed v1.4 on Sep 24, 2007
It does what it says on the tin, however, Unison is a better, more powerful, cross-platform alternative and it's very customizable.
hypotheticalBeta reviewed v1.4 on May 29, 2007
it worked as advertised for the most part, except that it reported a few files as "not found". The files do very much exist and perhaps the only thing i could find was that SyncToy was perhaps running into some sort of path length limit. the 8 files reported as "not found" are all in 8.3 "dos name format" in a path that is 116 characters long. seems like 128 chars is the underlying limit (116 + 11 + 1(period)) .
Anyone know of this being a known bug?? anyone know where i could submit a bug report for this? Google doesn't seem to show any mention of this yet???