6. Super Flexible File Synchronizer

Super Flexible File Synchronizer

While a lot of the synchronization tools that we looked at simply “dumps” you into an interface, Super Flexible File Synchronizer (SFFS)starts off in a simple Wizard mode.

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Beyond just simple local or networked attached backup, SFFS also provides for FTP, SSH, WebDAV, HTTP and Amazon S3 connections. SFFS really shines when it comes to the actual synchronization operation, with some amazingly powerful yet simple to configure options. You can do a “standard copying” operation that copies new or missing files but does not delete files. The second option is for something called “Smart Tracking”, which tracks the status of files in a database, to detect changed or moved files. It also provides option for dealing with deletions, where you can move the deleted file into a special folder, ignore the deletion, or copy a deletion back from the other side of the sync.

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Scheduling options are satisfactory, with options for periodic syncing, as well as doing it on startup and shutdown.

The actual synchronization operations window is a different breed than on most of the other tools we’ve looked at. Instead of the standard left/right paradigm, SFFS has the filename as its own column, with the left/right setup just for the source/target comparison of file size and datestamp. Then there is a simple arrow indicator to identify which way the synchronization should go (to ensure the most updated file is synced).

While SFFS has a staggering number of features, one small item that it apparently lacks is proper synchronization on a USB Flash drive plug-in. The help documentation for SFFS offers a solution that is a bit of a workaround. It’s a small shortcoming in a program that otherwise has a very comprehensive set of impressive synchronization options and features.