FreeFileSync Forum

Not sure if Macros also work when used in GlobalSettings.xml; just try.
If not, you can always revert to defining your location(s) in a Command line, e.g. from a *.bat or *.cmd file.

I beg to disagree with xCSxXenon here: > 1. That is, it is impossible to simultaneously synchronize the same data with different tasks? As it is syncing the same data , there must be a full or partial overlap in the locations being compared and synced (see my 1st reply). If you did not disable (=set...

First question: https://freefilesync.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9410#p34159 Second question: Not clear what exactly you mean by "one address", but in general: no problem. You can simultaneously run multiple FreeFileSync (FFS) instances, even on one and the same computer. The only thing you ...

The user under which credentials this instance of FreeFileSync (FFS) is running does not seem to have write-access to \\NAS-BACK and/or \\NAS-BACK\{Archive}Pictures. This may e.g. happen when running FFS via the Task Scheduler. By default those tasks are run as the SYSTEM user, which most times does...

Only after posting my above reply, I noticed that I should better not have reacted to levaclaus's request, as it dated from 2020. I understand the reason/logic behind your (David.P 's) request, and do certainly not classify your request as "absurd", although such comparison may be a bit ri...

PLS add new variant off "comparision" Сompare files only by name. Ignoring extension, size, etc So, you would already consider left and right to be in sync if left you have a 10k file XYZ.pdf of date A and right a 220k file XYZ.xlsx of date B? This sounds kind of absurd for a synchronizat...

> I guess I'm just wondering ...

Can't tell.
An open door:
Just make sure there is no overlap between the folders (and their subfolders) monitored by the individual RTS instances.

RT(F)M: https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=comparison-settings

It is never wise to define the scope of what is being monitored for changes wider than what potentially needs to be synced. ANY change in the entire scope of an RTS (RealTimeSync) instance will cause RTS to launch its command line, normally invoking a specified FFS sync. Conversely, ANY further chan...

Your proposal would require two instances of FFS, each running on respectively the left- and right location (for a sync job that has just a single left-right pair). If you are syncing between two computers you have full control over, that would theoretically be an option. However, most of the time p...

The use of RegEx like behavior in the FFS In- and Exclude Filter has been suggested before (see e.g. here). The counter arguments listed there do also still apply. Apart from the addition of the column character ":", filter rule definitions have not changed since then.

These are two unrelated "issues". If, during a sync, a file that is to be synced turns out to be locked, syncing that file is skipped. Such event is logged in the FFS log-file. For Windows, there is however the option of Volume Shadow Copy . When using Versioning in FFS, a pre-existing fil...

The Compare phase will last about equally long every time.
During successive syncs, the amount of sync actions will generally be less than for the initial sync.
Therefore the duration of the sync phase is normally shorter for successive syncs.

1) The databases do not exist yet when you run any given sync for the first time, and are created during/at the end of running the sync (one on either side of every left-right pair). If, after you have run any sync the first time, you remove a databases (a sync.ffs_db file) on either side, "the...

During/based on the Compare of the initial FFS instance, FFS decides which sync actions should be performed later, during the sync phase. A Compare performed by a second FFS instance on the (at least part of) the same location(s) is blissfully unaware of any impending sync actions of the initial FFS...

Note, that RTS does not have a (time) interval, but an Idle Time. Read the description in the RTS Manual page. If any new changes occur in the RTS monitored directories during the Idle Time, the Idle Time timer is reset. If there are too frequent changes in any of the RTS monitored directories, the ...

That's how you configure RTS, not an answer to my question how you start RTS.

How do you start RTS?
• Manually, e.g by double clicking the *.FFS_real configuration file?
• Via your Autostart folder?
• Via the Task Scheduler? If so, under what user credentials do you run the task?

Under which credentials do you have the Task Scheduler run your FFS sync? By default, that is the System user, and that user does not have access to your C:\Users\xxx folder to read the *.ffs_batch configuration, and also may not have access to the locations specified in your *.ffs_batch configurati...

But what exactly is your problem/issue? E.g. • Does RTS not start/run? If so, how do you start RTS? • Does the FFS sync not run when invoked by RTS? • Does Versioning not work as expected? • ... ? Note that for an FFS sync to run, all locations specified in your FFS sync configuration need to be ava...

Your problem description is not very clear (at least to me), particularly the part "auto run doesn`t work, every time I run it manually." Also not clear: "archiving all changes to own paths" This suggests you would use local sync settings, with a specific Versioning location per ...

Because you write that the "recycle bin" folder was created on (in?) the destination folder, this reads like it happened on a (Synology?) NAS. If that is the case, the creation of said folder and moving any deleted files to that recycle bin folder, may even be completely unrelated to FFS, ...

> The right side has some system files not on the left side that I don't want to get deleted, but I don't them to go over to the left side either. Assuming the names of said system files are stable, the simplest thing to do, is to add said system files to your Exclude Filter . If said files are all ...

As described here, you must invoke FreeFileSync.exe to open the *.ffs_batch file, not just invoke the *.ffs_batch file.
This is true for all scheduled jobs, not just FFS jobs; scheduled tasks are not aware of file-associations.

Given your reply, it seems you did not understand the impact of Zenju's reply.
Irrespective of the cause of changes (renames or just deletions), when using SFTP you can not expect any such changes will be properly detected in a two-way FFS sync.

The answer I previously gave is exactly the solution to your problem (as I already understood it from your 2nd post but you repeated above). The 1st pair and added local Ex clude Filter rule /subfolder11/ will sync all folders but subfolder11 and its content. The 2nd pair and local In clude Filter r...

FFS places those files before a comparison and removes them upon closing FFS.
They are there for a reason: see LockDirectoriesDuringSync.
If you set the LockDirectoriesDuringSync flag to false, you won't get those files, but you also run a risk.

You should follow the "Example: Complex filter rules with exceptions" section of the FFS manual page on Exclude Files.
For your 1st pair use local exclude filter: /subfolder11/
For your 2nd pair use local include filter: /subfolder11/subfolder21/

> Perhaps to prove to themselves later that what they did was correct or at least harmless. The FFS log-file keeps track of what actually happened, and is therefore better proof of what "they did" than the FFS compare results, which (from that angle) only show what FFS intends/intended to ...