SyncToy v1 Beta for Windows XP : The Smart Way to Copy Files!
Yes! It's finally there, The Smart Way to Copy Files! SyncToy v1 Beta helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers quickly and easily.
Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to move files from one place to another; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications of one sort or another to provide this functionality for them.
Now there is an easier way. SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without adding complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of directories at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.
I was in desperate need of this one. I use a tablet for my daily work, emailing, study, creating ppt's etc. For demo's/presentations I have a 2 GB RAM laptop with an external 250 GB hard drive in order to get all my demo's running at max speed in a virtual environment (I use both Virtual PC and Virtual Server). I end up syncing data between my tablet, laptop and external drive every week with robocopy. With robocopy you can use the -mir command to mirror a directory but it stil lacks a graphic interface. Internally some guys created an GUI for robocopy but I'll go for the SyncToy!
Enjoy SyncToy, Daniel.
Update: Here is the link to the Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP which consists of the following tools:
- RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer
Are you a serious photographer? Now you can organize and work with digital RAW files in Windows Explorer (much as you can with JPEG images). This tool provides thumbnails, previews, printing, and metadata display for RAW images.
- ClearType Tuner
This PowerToy lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access.
- HTML Slide Show Wizard
This wizard helps you create an HTML slide show of your digital pictures, ready to place on your Web site.
- Open Command Window Here
This PowerToy adds an "Open Command Window Here" context menu option on file system folders, giving you a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at the selected folder.
- Alt-Tab Replacement
With this PowerToy, in addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open.
- Tweak UI
This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.
- Power Calculator
With this PowerToy you can graph and evaluate functions as well as perform many different types of conversions.
- Image Resizer
This PowerToy enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click.
- CD Slide Show Generator
With this PowerToy you can view images burned to a CD as a slide show. The Generator works downlevel on Windows 9x machines as well.
- Virtual Desktop Manager
Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy.
- Taskbar Magnifier
Use this PowerToy to magnify part of the screen from the taskbar.
- Webcam Timershot
This PowerToy lets you take pictures at specified time intervals from a Webcam connected to your computer and save them to a location that you designate.
I mainly use Image Resizer and Open command Window Here. In explorer I can now select a picture and with the right click context menu resize it or select a folder and with the right click open a CMD box there. Handy!
Power! Daniel
