A Review of AJC Directory Synchronizer

Quick and easy PC to PC File Transfers

Read on to find out why I recommend this as the best Windows File Synchronisation Software available, to easily visualize two folders.... identify, compare and select changed files.... then transfer them between computers more reliably than using Windows Explorer....

....plus you can save your settings as a Project so you can quickly repeat the same task at any time!

If you are looking for high quality file synchronization software that runs on Windows XP, 98, 2000 or NT that can perform a file synchronize two ways to transfer files between two computers for PC to PC, (peer to peer file transfers), - well, this is it!

If you have just read the Introduction you will now have a basic idea of what the main AJC Directory Synchroniser program features are.

Now I'm going to explain how to backup your computer using this Windows file compare utility to make a computer to computer file transfer, including some screenshots of it at work.

Let's recall the 5 basic steps involved:-

File/Folder Synchronization the easy way !

1. Select the two folders to be compared in the explorer.
2. Set the options to decide which files get transferred.
3. Press the Prepare List button to create a Synchronize List (nothing is transferred yet).
4. Review the Synchronize List and then press the green "tick" button to do the transfer.
5. Save as a Project for repeat use if required.

Step 1 - New Project - Set the Folders for Comparison

The first thing to do when starting the file transfer wizard, is simply to choose the two folders to compare. This is the screen that starts off a new Directory Synchronizer project. Right from the outset you can see that the program clearly colour-codes the two locations so you can easily see what is happening.

The Next button moves onto a couple more screens where you can enter a Title and Description for the project. You can also setup the Project Settings at this stage, but beginners can move straight on. As you get to know the program you may wish to change project settings from the outset, although it doesn't matter because you can access them at any time.

You are then asked whether you want to Prepare for a compare / synchronise now (this is the easier option for beginners), or if you are advanced you can choose to Use the Dual Explorer (Classic Interface)

Genuine Customer Testimonial: "How AJC Sync keeps me sane ! I have to work with two systems, a portable and a desktop unit. The portable is work-provided and lacks any proper facility to enable me to easily synchronise my work with my home system. After a long time struggling with copy/paste commands to try to keep my work synchronised between the two locations, I found AJC Sync. Using a portable USB hard disk unit, I am now able to hold a copy of my work files on this and keep the two machines locked together. Because AJC Sync does not force you to install any files in the system directories, I can run it from my portable hard disk unit and so shift data around very easily. If you prefer to use ZIP drives to store the data, you can also run it off a CD - this overcomes almost all restrictions which power-crazed IT departments impose on innocent users. It is very user-friendly and never falls over. After installing a new hard disk the other day, I used it to transfer over 8,000 files without incident. I am running it between Windows 2000 and Windows 98 systems without incident. I am able to use the settings functions to keep control of what is copied to stop unnecessary file movement. I have been working with PC's since 1985 and looked around for a long time before finding this excellent piece of shareware. Best few pounds I ever spent ! Highly recommended." CB

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Step 2 - Choose the Options - What gets transferred?

Directory Synchroniser uses quite a few wizards and hint screens initially while you are learning the program, but they are all optional and can easily be prevented from displaying once you know what to do. Here is an example......

Next a Wizard starts to introduce the process, and ask you some questions. Here is the screen providing a number of common Tasks to choose from. This is used to automatically set the Project Settings to recommended values for the type of file synchronize operation you want to perform.

Then you are asked to choose the Direction that the file transfer between computers will go. Easy, just click one of the middle arrow icons to go from Left to Right, Right to Left, or the bottom arrow for a two-way file sync.

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Now the Wizard asks you a couple more questions (although to keep this page simple I have omitted their two screenshots - download the program if you want to see more - 2.1Mb Virus Checked ZIP file). Basically they ask;

1. Whether you want to use the optional Backup Archive feature. During the synchronize process files overwritten or deleted can be stored in the Backup Archive. This archive can store multiple revisions of each file (not just a single backup copy). This is an important safety feature if you make a mistake while synchronizing, effectively giving you an undo facility to any previous version stored. (In fact this feature comes from another product available called AJC Active Backup). Again this feature is well thought out and allows you to choose where the archive is stored, and other settings to control which file patterns are archived, and options to control automatic purging so the archives don't grow too large. You can view file versions using the FREE AJC Revision Archive Viewer, also available from the AJC web site..
2. Are you transferring files between older Windows operating systems? e.g. Windows 95/98 to/from Windows NT/2000/XP, because there can be a 2 second time difference on file date/time stamps which the program will then make allowance for when comparing file modification times.
3. Do you want to verify files after transfer, just in case you are transferring files over a network between two computers, and are concerned that there are network problems (yet another useful feature).

The final step in preparing to generate a synchronize list is shown below:-

If you choose to change some more settings (by unticking the top box), then click Finish, you will get the Prepare Synchronize List window shown below (I have shown this only so you can see what else can be done, not because you would necessarily want to do this). This is probably the most powerful window available, allowing you to specify quite a few other options (remember that the Wizard has just done the hard work for you, so you most likely won't need to change anything more just yet).

As you can see above, files can be selected based upon their Modification Date, their Size, or their file Content having changed, and whether either or all of these rules apply.

The Options tab allows the following options;-

• Recurse sub-directories
• Only select files that exist on both sides (e.g. existing files)
• Only select files that exist on one side (e.g. new files)
• Delete files only on target directory
• Delete empty folders
• Verify after file copy

The Tuning tab allows for files with a 1 hour time difference, or to specify a number of Seconds difference.

Well I think this page is long enough now! The next thing to show you is the Explorer and Synchronize List screens which hold a wealth of other useful options and tools.

Click here for the next page which covers How to Backup your Laptop and transfer laptop files to PC

Click here to download a FREE fully functional 30 day Trial (the download is a 2.1Mb Virus Checked ZIP file, and you only need to download once, because if you decide to purchase after the trial you simply activate the full product using your license key).

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