Microsoft has finally made the download for the new SyncToy available.
What is it? I guess I’d call it Offline Folders on steroids or a superhuge Briefcase. It’s supposed to allow you to synchronize multiple folders across multiple machines, combining directories, handling renames and so on. I haven’t tried it yet but I’m about to.
Update: I don’t think it’ll replace Offline Folders because it’s a manual synchronization. Supposedly you can set it up to run automatically through XP’s Scheduled Tasks but that’s not the same as Offline Folders which allows you to specify that synchronization is to occur at logon and logoff. Not to mention the fact that if your connection disappears, when Offline Folders detects that your connection has been restored it will automatically sync up. SyncToy provides other features that makes it valuable, though. There are 5 “modes” which you can set up:
Synchronize: New and updated files are copied both ways. Renames and deletes on either side are repeated on the other.
Echo: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.
Subscribe: Updated files on the right are copied to the left if the file name already exists on the left.
Contribute: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions.
Combine: New and updated files are copied both ways. Nothing happens to renamed and deleted files.
Worth the energy, I think.