OK, I know this is a FREE download, but I'd like everyone to know of another commercial app (only US$30) that I have used for several years and have found it to be an absolute MUST-HAVE in my toolbox for backup/syncing. I need to have complete control over my backups and I want my backup files to be directly accessible and not in some zipped or other archived format that I have to restore before I can access the files.

The app is called BEYOND COMPARE (http://www.scootersoftware.com/).

No, I don't work for the company, nor ever have, nor do I know anyone who has ever worked there. It's just an amazing app and I want to share my good fortune find with everyone.

It's made for several scenarios including for coders who can compare their docs and reconcile them by merging them together; I can even merge 3 docs together, whether they be HTML, C++, CSS, PERL, or any other format/language readable in ASCII.

It's also for those who just want to back up their hard drives, whether external or internal. That's how I use it. It allows me to decide what I back up and what I just leave on my main hard drive. In other words, I use it to sync my HD with my backup. I do it manually, but you can automate the process too.

It also allows me to find duplicates I have put on my HD. By comparing two folders on the same HD, I can see which files are duped and then I can decide which to delete because in the compare results it shows me through a color coded interactive report listing which files are newer.

I can also show a number of combinations of file differences. For example, I can show just those files that are in both folders but the left (or right) folder file is newer. I can restrict showing orphans on either side or any combination of orphans, file dates, etc., thereof.

It also has several viewers so I can actually compare two photos or documents and it will highlight the differences so I can make an educated decision on which version to keep and whether to merge the two docs together.

In addition, the options are limitless with each scenario allowing me to include/exclude any files/folders using wildcards, e.g., exclude all *.tmp files in the comparison. I can disregard Daylight Savings Time differences, time zone differences or specify the amount of difference to allow in the timestamp, e.g., 2 seconds.

It can compare by Filename case, file attributes, CRC comparison, binary comparison, rules-based comparison, DOS attributes, and a host of other options.

It is seriously one of the most solid applications I have ever used. It has NEVER disappointed me. It has ALWAYS performed perfectly. This is one product that has been thoroughly tested and designed by those who actually use the product to develop their own products.

Do yourself a favor and at least just take a look at it. You will be very grateful that you did. Thanks for reading this long epistle. I just wanted to share something this good with others, because I have gleaned a lot from this list and appreciate when others share good things too.

BitTorrent Sync works great. I haven't tried every program mentioned, but I have had an easy time with this. Do your research!

#11 MikeR,

Does Synchredible fulfill the 4 criteria that I mentioned?

Inexplicably, today's developer seems not to have heard of Synchredible.

I use it every day. It synchronizes and backs up non-intrusively according to whatever processing frequency one wishes to set and does so at what in my own experience has been amongst the highest speed of any software of this kind.

Synchredible is free for private use. It has a very LARGE nag screen about buying the paid-for corporate/commercial version (which is exactly the same as the free-for-private-use edition) so if you can't handle the brief irritation of nag screens, forget it. The one-time setting up of Synchredible takes no more than 10 minutes of your day; its range of options is more helpful than daunting. It comes with an excellent User Manual anyway.

As Synchredible has established itself amongst the most dominant in this software class -- I can't actually think of anyone amongst my own friends and colleagues who doesn't use it -- I'm at a loss to understand why 1-abc.net is hoping to sell a $20 product that doesn't even have Synchredible's development provenance.

Thanks GAOTD, but no thanks: 1-abc.net software really needs to research the existing marketplace a lot more thoroughly before punting something that a domestic user is unlikely ever to buy and a corporate / commercial user will ignore because of the lack of developmental track record.

i donot need this so i thumb it down. why do sync anyway it

I've only 4 criteria for sync software and so far, none can fulfill them all. They're:

1. Support Volume Shadow Copy
2. Support >260 characters
3. Ability to retain Creation Dates of folders
4. Ability to schedule sync jobs

You may think these 4 criteria are not important, but sooner than later, you will realize that these 4 criteria will give you peace of mind that everything is synch without problems.

Also FASTCOPY moves files as well.

While I really like Giovanni's Portable Synchronicity, another really goo one is FastCopy which comes in 2 flavors also: full install and Portable:

http://ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en

FastCopy does it all: BACKUP, SYNCH, COPY, DELETE ALL, etc. all in 1 GUI. It is the ONLY one I use.

However, FASTCOPY CANNOT BE SCHEDULED, so consider that, but it is free.

Where would us noobs be if it wasn't Giovanni, our main man. He makes sure that programmers risk getting laughed at for wasting time on what is already free. There are bigger problems to solve in this world, like say Gough Island. Their IQ is welcome there.

SyncToy from Microsoft. Free and is fine for most USB/Drive/Folder sync's. I've used some of the ones G mentioned but find myself always going back to SyncToy.

Greetings all... I have a question, please:

How do any of the above mentioned programs compare to Beyond Compare (by Scooter Software) ? It does exactly what I want except that it's not free.

What program would be most like BC?

Thanks and have a great day :)

# 5. Bill

hmmm...you are right dude...

Usually whenever a program is published on Softpedia is 100% free from malware because it's thouroghly checked by Softpedia staff...

http://www.softpedia.com/progClean/SelfCloud-Clean-198617.html

I think they are just FP warnings...I've used it for a while with no problem so far (my Bitdefender Internet Security 2014 suite didn't flag it as suspicious)

But never mind.... to make your mind at rest install my First choice instead:

http://synchronicity.sourceforge.net/features.html

Giovanni - SelfCloud sounds GREAT, but VirusTotal (14/45) doesn't seem to like it.

What say you?


Bill

I have used Microsoft's SyncToy in the past, it's free, and it actually works pretty well...

Nice to see an update for this program. Ver 5.0 given away Oct 2012. You can use the same serial number that you got for this previous version to register this version.

*** ACHTUNG ACHTUNG ==> SUPER SATURATED FIELD DETECTED !!! ***

Today's giveaway looks like a pretty decent sync program helping you sync any files of yours between two folders (supports mirror/one-way sync...how about two-ways Incremental backups??).

A tool like this can be very useful if you are used to make changes on your files very often, before copying them to your USB stick, but forget to overwrite it later on your local PC.

So overall this GAOTD does the job, but 20 bucks for doing just one way syncs and file mirroring?

Come on, you must be joking dude....

BEST (and BETTER) Giovanni's FREE ALTERNATIVES

* Portable Create Synchronicity (==> My Personal First Choice)
Cool brand new lightweight, portable, fully customizable and very easy to use Open Source app designed to synchronize and backup any files/folders quickly and easily.
With this magic FREE tool you can copy your docs, pics, music and video files to your USB drive or backup drive, as well as scheduling server backups with regex filtering and DST compensation.

· Backup, Restore, Folder synchronization
· Scheduling (daily, weekly, or monthly), with automatic catching up
· Mirror/One-way, Two-ways Incremental backups
· User-friendly GUI, based on profiles
· Network backup (LAN Backup)
· GZip, BZip2 Compression
· Precise inclusion and exclusion (regular expression, file type, full text)
· Automatic translation of environment variables
· Integrity checks (MD5 Checksums)
· Dynamic destination folder (Date, Time)
· Batch synchronization + Network File Transfer

http://synchronicity.sourceforge.net/features.html

* SelfCloud
Amazing revolutionary FREE app designed to sync & share any files of yours without involving any third party server, since one of your devices actually works as a server (Yes, you heard that right, dudes!!). This way you'll be able to view and share with your friends and your family the same photos, music, videos, and documents by all of your own devices (PCs, Smart Phones, iPad etc...) anytime and anywhere, keeping them syncronized in your own devices only (so all content of yours will be stored in your own devices only, instead of on third party servers).
No cable and No Bluetooth, since all files are transferred in real time via the WEB: how cool is that?

http://ifmw.mobi

Screenshots:
http://www.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/SelfCloud-Screenshot-198617.html

See also:
http://freefilesync.sourceforge.net/usage.php#features
http://www.allwaysync.com
http://synkron.sourceforge.net
http://code.google.com/p/syncwizard

20 bucks??? ==> LOL SUPER SATURATED FIELD DETECTED !!! ***

Pros
*Sync files between two folders
*Have as many sync pairs as you like
*Supports folders on local drives, external drives, FTP, and network shares
*Can set syncs to automatically happen
*Portable

Cons
*Has a learning curve
*Poor scheduler
*Is portable but must be “installed” onto removable media, like a USB flash drive — is not the traditional standalone, executable type portable program

Free Alternatives
Review of best free file and folder sync programs for Windows

Final Verdict
Click here for the final verdict and full review