he Synchronize utility is used to synchronize two directories so that they contain the same files. I use it myself for keeping a synchronized version of the various home pages I maintain on both my hard disk and on my external ZIP drive. It can also be used for backup purposes to make sure that your backup is updated with all the changes you have made since the last time you ran Synchronize.
hen you start up Synchronize, you are presented with a screen like the one to the right. The two directory trees are the source directory (on the left) and the target directory (on the right), also known as "local" and "remote". You select the directories in the usual manner by clicking on the drop-down list of drives to select a drive, and double-clicking on a directory in the directory list box to select the directory. You can also select multiple directories in the usual way (ctrl-clicking on them).

The box on the right side of the window is a list of file masks that should be ignored when synchronizing the directories. Normally, you would put files like *.BAK etc. in there to prevent Synchronize from taking these files into consideration. You can add a new file mask to the list by entering it in the edit box below the list and press the "Add" button. To remove a file mask, click on it to highlight it and then press the "Remove" button.

The two check boxes in the lower right corner of the window modify the behaviour of how Synchronize synchronizes the two directories. The top one ("Backup mode") will - if selected - make Synchronize only copy from local directory to remote directory and ignore any files that might exist on the remote side but not on the local. This corresponds to the CopyNew functionality with the /ALL switch. The bottom one ("Copy new files") instructs Synchronize to also consider copying any files that exists on the one side but not on the other. If unchecked, Synchronize will only update files that already exists on both sides - local and remote, like CopyNew without the /ALL switch.
nce you have selected the two directories and specified which file masks should be ignored, press the OK button, and you will be presented with a screen much like the one to the right. In the first column you will see the names of the files which are found to be different on the local and remote sides. The data for the local side is listed in the 2nd column, whereas the 3rd column lists the data for the remote side. A data specification of "*** N/A ***" means that the file doesn't exist at the appropriate side. If you want to know what directory the file is located in (relative to the local/remote directory), just place the mouse cursor over the file name in question and keep it there for a couple of seconds. The full, relative path will then appear in a yellow box below the file name.

Next to the file lists are radio buttons for each file, where you can specify what you want done with the file at that line. You can either copy the file Local->Remote, Remote->Local or you can ignore the file (ie. don't copy it either way). When the window is first created, the radio buttons are set as to correspond with the default selction (see the section on command line switches further down). Normally this will mean that the direction of copy is set to copy the newest file on top of the older file, ie. an update of both sides so that both local and remote will be as up-to-date as possible.

You can select the action for each file by clicking the appropriate radio button and scrolling the file list is accomplished with the use of the scroll bar just right of the radio buttons. If no scroll bar is visible, then all the files are listed on the current screen.

Further on to the right are several buttons. They are a sort of macro buttons, in that they set the radio button on all files according to specific algorithms, as follows:

  • Sets the radio buttons so that the newer file always is copied on top of the elder (or non-existing) file, ie. it assures that both sides are up-to-date. If two files have the same time stamp but different sizes, the larger one is considered the "newest".

  • Updates remote side only, ie. copies all files from local side to remote side, where the local side is newer than the remote side. If a file on the remote side is newer than the one on the local side, that file is not copied either way (ie. the radio button is set to "ignore").

  • Updates local side only, ie. copies all files from remote side to local side, where the remote side is newer than the local side. If a file on the local side is newer than the one on the remote side, that file is not copied either way (ie. the radio button is set to "ignore").

  • Sets all radio buttons to "ignore"

  • Always copies files from local to remote side, regardless of the time stamp. Caution! This option can overwrite a newer file with an older one!

  • Always copies files from remote to local side, regardless of the time stamp. Caution! This option can overwrite a newer file with an older one!
  • Once you have set the radio buttons on all the files to the option you want for that file, press the OK button to start the copy. If - during the copying process - you decide to abort the copying, just press the Cancel button.
    ommand line syntax:

    SYNCHRO [<LocDir> <RemDir> [<ExclMask>...] [<Switches>]]

    By specifying two directories on the command line, you instruct Synchronize to immediately compare the two directories and proceed to the file list window, ie. it is excactly the same as if you pressed the OK button on the directory list window. By specifying additional switches, you can specify which selection should be performed on the file list window, and whether or not you want Synchronize to start the copying procedure immediately.

    The 3rd, 4th, and so on, parameter is the exclude file masks. If no exclude file masks are specified, the default ones will be used. If any file masks are used, the default ones are not included, and only the file masks you specify will be excluded.

    The following switches are only valid if you have specified two directories on the command line:
    • /UPDATE
      Like pressing the Update button (default).
    • /LOCAL
      Like pressing the Local button.
    • /REMOTE
      Like pressing the Remote button.
    • /FORCELOCAL
      Like pressing the *LOC* button.
    • /FORCEREMOTE
      Like pressing the *REM* button.
    • /RUN
      Auto-selects the OK button on the file list window, ie. starts copying immediately after comparing the two directories, and exits the program once the copying is done.
    • /NEW-
      Disables the Copy New Files check box.
    • /BACKUP
      Enables the Backup Mode check box.
    The /NEW- and /BACKUP switches are scanned for (and obeyed) first, then the /UPDATE, /LOCAL, /REMOTE, /FORCELOCAL and /FORCEREMOTE switches are scanned for (and obeyed), and finally the /RUN switch may set it all in motion.