Synkron is a multiplatform Qt application designed for synchronising two or more folders.
Apart from doing synchronisations, it provides many other additional features. The user interface of Synkron is divided into several sections: Synchronise, Multisync, SyncView, Scheduler, Restore, Blacklist and Filters. To switch between these sections, use the toolbar.
The Synchronise section provides the main feature of Synkron: doing synchronisations. You can have many synchronisations opened at the same time thanks to the tabbed interface. To add or remove a tab, use the buttons "New tab" and "Close tab" in the toolbar.
Every tab has its own name. The name of a tab can be edited using the line edit at the top of a tab.
Sync folders
Synkron supports synchronising multiple folders at the same time. A new sync folder can be added by clicking on the plus button above the paths of used sync folders. To remove a sync folder, click on the minus button next to the folder you want to remove. To change the path of a sync folder you can either modify the path in it's line edit or click on the "Browse" button to choose a new path.
Analysis
The Analysis is a good way to see which files are going to be synchronised in the next synchronisation. To analyse your sync folders click on the "Analyse" button in the lower part of the window. The outcome of the analysis is shown in a tree view in the middle part of the window, where you can see the content of all your sync folders grouped into a single tree. Every sync folder has it's own column in the tree (Folder 1, Folder 2, ...) where you can see the state of files or subfolders in the sync folder. The column "Folder 1" refers to the first sync folder from top in the order of the sync folders, "Folder 2" refers to the second folder, etc. In these columns are also shown the last modified dates of files. If you double-click on a column, the file or folder represented by the row will be opened from the sync folder represented by the column.
Icons of the files and folders which need to be synchronised are painted red. If a file or subfolder doesn't exist in one of the sync folders, the cell in the column of the sync folder and the row of the file or subfolder will be painted red and will contain the text "NOT FOUND". If a sync folder contains an older version of a file than the other sync folders, the last modified date of the file in the relevant cell will be painted red, otherwise it will be green. If you have "Propagated deletions" option (explained below in "Advanced options") turned on and Synkron finds out that a file or folder was deleted, the relevant cell will contain the text "DELETED".
Next to each file and folder in the Analysis you can see a checkbox. This checkbox symbolises whether the file or folder is contained in the Blacklist of the current tab (explained below in "Advanced options" and "Section Blacklist"). You can add the file or folder to the Blacklist or remove it from there simply by checking or unchecking the checkbox.
If you right-click on a file or folder you will see a context menu. From this context menu you can choose to sync the file or folder, delete it, rename it, add it to blacklist, or add it's extension to blacklist.
To search inside the analysis tree you can click on an item in the tree and type the first letters of the file or folder you are looking for, or you can type the file or folder name into the search box above the analysis and press return and the items containg your entered keyword will be expanded (this takes a bit longer).
Analysis is not obligatory for running a synchronisation.
Synchronisation
To start a synchronisation click on the "Sync" button in the lower part of the window.
In the process of synchronision, Synkron displays all the changes it performs in the Sync log (the table widget in the centre of the window). The Sync log also displays paths of files and folders which were skipped because of Blacklist (explained below in "Section Blacklist"), deleted files and folders and errors that occured during a synchronisation. To search inside the Sync log use the search box above it and items not containing the keyword you entered will be hidden from the Sync log as you type. To save the log into an HTML file click on "File" in the menu bar and choose "Save log".
Files which are overwritten by newer versions of those files during synchronisations are automatically backed up to the users_home_folder/.Synkron folder. They can be then restored or removed using the Restore section (see below in "Section Restore"). To disable backing up overwritten files use the "Do not backup updated files" option from the Advanced options (explained below in "Advanced options"). Files which are deleted during synchronisations are also backed up to the same folder. Files in the .Synkron folder in the user's home directory are stored inside folders named after the date and time of their sync. These files are given a unique extension to ensure that a folder won't contain more files with the same name.
A running synchronisation can be stopped using the "Stop sync" button shown when a synchronisation is in progress.
Advanced options
When you click on the "Advanced" checkbox in the lower part of the window you will see the Advanced options used for configuring the synchronisations and analysis in the current tab.
Synchronise hidden files and folders
If this checkbox is checked, Synkron will sync hidden files and folders. Otherwise they will be ignored.
Propagate deletions
To propagate deletions means to delete files that the user deleted in one of the sync folders, in the other sync folders as well. After each synchronisation, Synkron makes a record of existing files and folders in every sync folder. This record is stored at the top level of every sync folder in a file called ".synkron.syncdb". This file simply contains a list of relative paths to the files and subfolders contained in the sync folder. If the option "Propagate deletions" is not checked, this file is not created.
Deletions are propagated during synchronisation in this way: If Synkron finds a file which is missing in a sync folder but exists in another sync folder, it searches in the ".synkron.syncdb" database of the sync folder in which the file is missing for a relative path of the missing file. If Synkron finds the relative path, it means that the file used to be there, but was deleted. In that case Synkron propagates the deletion to the other sync folders.
Do not synchronise subdirectories
If this option is checked Synkron doesn't synchronise the content of the subdirectories in sync folders.
Ignore blacklist
This checkbox provides an option to ignore the exceptions in the Blacklist (explained below in "Section Blacklist").
Edit blacklist
This button opens a private Blacklist of the current tab. If you modify this Blacklist, the changes will only apply to the synchronisations and analyses in the current tab. If you add a new item or remove an existing one in the general Blacklist the change will be applied to all private Blacklists in your tabs. However, if you add or remove an item in a private Blacklist, the change will only apply to that particular private Blacklist.
For the explanation of Blacklist see "Section Blacklist".
Do not backup updated files
This option disables backing up files which were overwritten during synchronisations. These files older versions of files are backed up to the user_home_folder/.Synkron folder. You can restore or remove them using the Restore section (explained below in "Restore section").
If you decide to enable this option you won't be able to restore files that were overwritten by newer versions of those files in your next synchronisations.
Update existing files only
This option forbids Synkron to copy files to sync folders where they don't exist. But it doesn't restrict Synkron from updating already existing older versions of files by newer ones.
Folder specific options
The checkboxes located inside the groupboxes labeled "Folder 1" and "Folder 2" represent options specific for the first folders and second folder respectively. These options are disabled if you sync more than two folders. If you sync only two folders, the topmost one is the "Folder 1" and the one below is the "Folder 2".
Options "Do not backup updated files" and "Update existing files only" work just like the options described above, but they have effect only on either the first or the second folder.
Move contents to folder 2, leaving folder 1 empty
This feature replaces the synchronisation with moving the contents of the first folder into the second one. That means that files and folders in the first folder will be synced with the files in the second folder or copied to the second folder (if they don't exist there) and then deleted from the first folder, leaving the first folder empty and the second folder up to date.
Clone folder 1
This feature also replaces the synchronisation with "cloning" the first folder into the second folder. That means that the second folder is made to be an exact mirror of the first one. Files that do not exist in the first folder will be deleted from the second, files that do not exist in the second folder will be copied there from the first and if a file in the first folder has a different last modified date than the same file in the second folder, the file in the second folder will be replaced by the one from the first folder (doesn't matter which one is newer or older).
Options for configuring the analysis
These options are located in the groupbox called "Analysis" and help to configure the analysis.
Fast analysis
This option makes the analysis load considerably faster. The difference between a standard and a fast analysis is that in the standard analysis Synkron analyses all the subfolders on every level in the sync folders right at the start, whereas the fast analysis analyses only the files and folders on the first level. In this case when a user expands a folder in the tree, a new analysis is run on the level of the expanded folder.
A disadvantage of the fast analysis is that the user has to check every subfolder to find files that need to be synchronised. In the standard analysis the folders which contain files which need to be synchronised on any level of their subfolders are painted red and so the user can see right from the start which folders are going to be synchronised.
List files which need to be synchronised only
If this option is checked, the analysis tree will contain only the files which need to be synchronised (i.e. not updated files, not existing files, deleted files). All folders will be displayed anyway.
Filters
The groupbox called "Filters" contains a list of the user defined filters (explained below in "Section Filters"). To use some filters you need to first check the groupbox and then check the filters you want to use in the list.
Section Multisync
The Multisync is a useful feature for doing backups. Multisync synchronises sources (folders that are backed up) with the destination (the backup). Every source has its own folder (or path of folders) in the destination with which it is synchronised.
Multisync uses tabs just like section Synchronise (for more information see "Tabs" in "Section Synchronise").
Sources
A new source can be added by the "Add" button and an existing source can be removed by clicking on the source in the list of sources and pressing the "Remove" button.
Each source has its own path in the destination where it's content is synchronised. For example, if you have a source with the path "/Users/john/source1" and a destination with the path "/Users/john/destination", the content of the source will be synchronised into a folder with the path "/Users/john/destination/Users/john/source1" (unless you use Variables).
Variables
The Variables provide a way for replacing the beginning of the path of a source with some word or string. Variables affect the path of the source in the detination. There are two predefined variables: "HOMEPATH" which replaces the user's home path and "ROOTPATH" which replaces the path of the root directory ("/" on Unixes and normally "c:/" on Windows).
For example, if you use the "HOMEPATH" variable and have a source with the path "/Users/john/source1" (and "Users/john" is your home path) and a destination with the path "/Users/john/destination", the content of the source will be synchronised into a folder with the path "/Users/john/destination/HOMEPATH/source1".
Variables can be added or removed through the dialogue opened after clicking on the "Variables" button.
Analysis
To analyse a source and the folder representing the source in the destination click on the "Analyse" button and choose a source you want to analyse.
The result of the analysis in Multisync looks the same as the analysis in the section Synchronise. The same method is used for both of them. To learn more about the analysis see the "Analysis" in "Section Synchronise" above.
Multisynchronisation
Multisync uses the same mechanism for synchronisation as the section Synchronise does for synchronising two folders. Synkron synchronises the sources one by one with their representing folder in the destination.
Advanced options
Multisync uses similiar Advanced options as the section Synchronise does.
"Folder 1" is in the folder specific options in Multisync replaced by sources and "Folder 2" is replaced by the destination.
Multisync doesn't support Filters.
To learn more about the Advanced options see the "Advanced options" in "Section Synchronise" above.
Section SyncView
The SyncView provides a quick overview of the Synchronise and Multisync tabs.
Syncview is divided into two sections: "Syncs" containing a list of Sync tabs and "Multisync" containing a list of Multisync tabs.
You can start a synchronisation, stop a synchronisation that is in progress, or edit a Sync or Multisync tab right from SyncView. When you double click on an item in the list, the represented tab will be opened.
Section Scheduler
Scheduler provides an environment for planning synchronisations in a specific time in the future or in periodical intervals.
Schedules
Schedules are displayed in the top table with their names in the left column and their current states in the right column. You can add or remove a schedule using the buttons "Add" and "Remove" under the table of schedules.
To start all your schedules use the "Start all" button, to stop all running schedules use the "Stop all" button.
Schedule options
After choosing a schedule from the table of schedules you will see it's settings in the "Schedule options" groupbox.
At the top of the groupbox there is a line edit containing the name of the schedule. In the list labeled "Syncs to use:" you can see all your Sync tabs and in the list labeled "Multisyncs to use:" are shown all your Multisync tabs. Check the tabs in the lists you want to use in the schedule.
On the right side of the schedule's groupbox there is a tab widget with two tabs: "Sync times" and "Synchronise periodically". Depending on which tab is opened those settings will be used when the schedule is run.
In the tab "Sync times" you can plan synchronisations to start in certain times, dates and days in the future. To add a new time you need to enter it into the spin box and click on the "Add" button. To remove a time, select it in the list of times and click "Remove".
When you click on the "Dates/Days" checkbox you will see a list of dates (on the left) and a list of days (on the right). You can add and remove dates to the schedule in the same way as the times. If you use dates, the schedule won't start any synchronisations on other dates than the entered dates.
To exclude a day from the schedule uncheck it in the list of days. Also if you uncheck any of your times and dates in their lists, the schedule will ignore them.
The tab "Synchronise periodically" allows you to plan synchronisations in periodical intervals. You just need to enter the interval in minutes into the spin box in the tab.
Now you can start the schedule with the "Start" and stop it with the "Stop" button.
Section Restore
The Restore section provides an environment for restoring and removing files which were overwritten during synchronisations. These files were backed up to the
users_home_folder/.Synkron folder before they were overwritten by newer versions of the same files. Information about these files are saved in a XML file called ".backup.syncdb" stored in the same folder. You can see a list of these files in the left part of the Restore section. Groups of files synchronised at the same time have the same background in the list.
If you click on a file in the list you will see several options for working with the file: restore the file back to it's previous directory, remove the backed up file and add it's path to blacklist.
To search inside the list use the line edit above the list. If you want to check all the files in the list use the "Select all" button (if you are searching inside the list only currently visible items will be checked).
To restore backed up files to their previous folders you have to select the files in the list and click the "Restore" button. The selected files will be then copied into their previous positions and if another files are already occupying their previous positions the backed up files will replace them.
If you want to delete the temporary files you can use the options in the "Clean temporary files" groupbox opened by clicking on a checkbox with the same name.
When you open the groupbox you will see these options: "Delete selected files only" which forbids Synkron to remove other files than the ones selected in the list, "Delete files older than YourInsertedNumber days" removes files synchronised earlier than the number of days you set into the spin box from today, "Delete older versions of files, keep YourInsertedNumber latest versions" keeps the number of versions of the same file you entered into the spin box and removes all the older versions. After you have configured these options you can click on the "Clean" button to remove the temporary files according to the chosen options.
The section Blacklist provides a shared blacklist for all your sync and multisync tabs. Blacklist is a list of files, folders and extensions of files and folders which will be excluded from all synchronisations. The Blacklist is divided into three parts: "Files in the blacklist", "Folders in the blacklist" and "Extensions in the blacklist".
New items can be added to the blacklist by clicking on the "Add" button and removed by clicking on the "Remove" buttons. All items added to this main blacklist will also be added to the private blacklists of sync and multisync tabs and all items removed from the main blacklist will also be removed from the private blacklists. In synchronisations, Synkron uses the private blacklists of synchronised tabs, not the main blacklist. For explanation of private blacklists see the "Edit blacklist" article in "Advanced options" in "Section Synchronise".
When adding a file or folder into the blacklist you can use wildcards instead of the path of a file or folder. Just type into the opened dialogue the wildcard you want to use (for instance "*.txt") and click "OK".
Extensions in the blacklist are shared for both files and folders and contain the endings (suffixes) of files and folders which will be excluded from synchronisations.
Filters provide a way for synchronising just the files you want to synchronise. The principle is simple: if a file doesn't end with any of the extensions specified in the used filters, it won't be synchronised.
Filters are shown in the list on the left side of the Filters section. You can add a filter using the "Add" button and typing in its name and remove a filter by selecting it from the list of filters and clicking on the "Remove" button.
When you click on a filter in the list of filters, it's extensions will be shown in the list of extensions on the right. You can add new extensions to the selected filter using the "Add" button and typing in the extensions separated by commas (for instance ".txt, .html, .cpp") and remove a selected extension by clicking on the "Remove" button.
To use filters in a synchronisation, go to the Advanced options in the sync tab you want to synchronise, check the "Filters" groupbox and check the filters you want to use. For more information see the "Filters" in "Advanced options" in "Section Synchronise".
Filters are supported only in the Synchronise section, they aren't supported by Multisync.
