Microsoft SyncToy

Laptop users have suffered over the years in trying to keep work on desktop PCs up to date with the files they take and modify on the road. So many over-powered and obtuse products claim to make syncing easy, but don’t. Surprise, Microsoft’s SyncToy is laudably simple, suited to most basic syncing tasks, and it’s free. One of the free add-ons of Windows XP PowerToys, SyncToy is a model of user-friendliness.

At startup it asks you to point to the pair of folders (designated as left and right) you wish to keep in sync, including destinations on another networked PC. You choose among five syncing methods, such as Echo, which updates all files on the right folder with changes to the left, or Synchronize, which updates in both directions. The program detects renamed files in one folder and duplicates that rename on the other folder. If you are tentative about letting a program modify and update files, SyncToy can even preview the changes it will make before altering a byte. Very cool.

Far be it from us to complain about a freebie, but the obvious omission is built-in scheduling. SyncToy can work with Windows XP’s own Scheduled Tasks function to run at set intervals, but this procedure isn’t exactly intuitive. Regardless, what we love about this new XP toy, aside from the price, is that its no-frills approach is simple and good enough for road warriors.
www.microsoft.com