Help on one-way backup configuration

[Ciarals]

Hello everyone, this is Luca from Italy. I will first provide you my actual situation...

I have an external hard-drive connected to my Mac mini via USB (to simplify, now called LEFT): inside it there's only one folder called "Archive". This folder is syncronized one-way only to my WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra (to simplify, now called RIGHT) in a folder with the same name. Every modification I make on the left is reflected on the right and NOT viceversa. If I rename/delete/create/update a folder on the left, the folder is renamed/deleted/created/updated on the right.

Since 2 years, I'm doing this with GoodSync for WD: it's pretty much useful and easy-going. However, its new licensing system is a mess and paying 30€/year for just synchronizing one-way one folder it's not a real bargain.

So after a lot of searches, I've come thru your app. I've downloaded the app on my Mac mini and tried to configure it, but I would prefer to have your suggestions on this... So: can you please indicate me what are the best settings I can apply to FreeFileSync in order to obtain the same behaviour I have now using GoodSync for WD?

Of course, before writing I looked at the tutorials and I think I found out that the correct setting for me would be the Mirror variant and not the Update variant, mainly because of the last option regarding the item existing only on the right side that I want to be deleted. But, as I said, I would prefer your personal opinion on this, surely more expert than mine! :-)

In addition to this, I would like to donate you and get the FreeFileSync Donation Edition. I've read all the presentation of this app and it's really wonderful that in the world some apps like this are still existing, so I would like to make my part. Is there a minimum amount for the donation or all values are well received? :-)

Thank you for your reply!

[xCSxXenon]

Mirror vs Update depends on what you want
Do you want things deleted from left to be deleted from right? use mirror. Otherwise, use update

[Plerry]

> ... I think I found out that the correct setting for me would be the Mirror variant and not the Update variant, mainly because of the last option regarding the item existing only on the right side that I want to be deleted.

The last part of your line above is a bit unclear, but:
Look at the description here and pick the sync variant you prefer.

Sorry, my reply crossed that of xCSxXenon

[Ciarals]

Hello and thank you for your replies...

Mirror vs Update depends on what you want
Do you want things deleted from left to be deleted from right? use mirror. Otherwise, use update

Yes, as per my first message, what I would like to obtain is that if I rename/delete/create/update a folder on the left, the folder is renamed/deleted/created/updated on the right.

> ... I think I found out that the correct setting for me would be the Mirror variant and not the Update variant, mainly because of the last option regarding the item existing only on the right side that I want to be deleted.

The last part of your line above is a bit unclear, but:
Look at the description here and pick the sync variant you prefer.

Sorry, my reply crossed that of xCSxXenon

Yes, Mirror is the way, as I was expecting. Can you please tell me what was not clear of my last line so I try to be more precise? If what is not clear is the line

mainly because of the last option regarding the item existing only on the right side that I want to be deleted

I meant the 5 little squares that are the settings of the Mirror variant: https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=synchronization-settings

Please let me know if it's clear now :-)

In addition to your replies, can you please also confirm me that I can leave the default settings of the Mirror variant to use for my needs? Thank you!

[Plerry]

Clear now!
Note that there are further differences between the Mirror and Update sync variant.

For the Category "Right side is newer":
The action for Mirror is "Update right item", thereby overwriting the right-side item with the older left-side item.
The action for Update is "Do nothing", thereby leaving the newer right-side item as is.

For the Category "Conflict/item can not be categorized":
The action for Mirror is "Update right item"
The action for Update is "Leave as unresolved conflict"

If you want some mix of the above, you can define your own Custom sync variant (by clicking on the action-icon of each category you cycle through the available options).

[Ciarals]

Thank you for your reply! For the behaviour I would like to obtain (right side is the exact copy of the left side no matter on what happened on the right side) what do you suggest? Are default settings for Mirror ok for me?

[Plerry]

From what you describe, Mirror seems to be the way to go.
Only if you would select the Custom variant you can change the Action for the Difference categories;
for the pre-defined variants they are fixed.
For "Delete and overwrite", choose the method fitting your needs/requirements.

[Ciarals]

Thank you Plerry. I've got 2 last (hopefully!) questions for you and I'm good to start!

Regarding "Delete and overwrite", I think that the most correct option for what I'm looking for is the flame one called Permanent, what do you think? I mean, my final goal is that on the right side I have a 1:1 copy of what I have on the left side, so my best final settings would be Mirror Variant + Permanent Delete. What do you think? Am I correct?

Second question... As I said, my LEFT side is a physical USB drive connected to my Mac, so no issue here on selecting the correct LEFT path. Regarding the RIGHT path, I have a WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra (called MillerCloud) on the same home network of the Mac. What is better for FreeFileSync to use as a path? Should I select it as a normal folder from the networks connected to my Mac (please see attachment "Sync-01") or should I use its FTP access (please see attachment "Sync-02")? What is the recommended one? I think that the FTP connection is better because it's directly connected with my WD, but I would prefer to have your opinion on this. Thank you!

[Plerry]

> ... so my best final settings would be Mirror Variant + Permanent Delete. What do you think? Am I correct?

If you feel you may never have the need to restore a file you accidentally deleted from your LEFT location and then ran your Mirror sync, or feel that you never mess up and may want to restore a previous version of a file, then Permanent is OK for you.
Recycle-bin is probably the obvious choice for recovery from short-term OOPS-ses.
Versioning is the best choice for a more structured, bit longer term option to restore previous versions.

Regarding the second part:
I am not proficient on Mac systems, so I can't tell what is the best/suitable choice.
Personally I dislike using FTP in syncs, as most flavours of FTP do not preserve file-dates when copying over or overwriting files, but give such created or overwritten file the actual/present date.
This is very inconvenient for syncs, as it disallows comparing on file-date and -size.
Connections using the SMB protocol normally do preserve file-dates, and (as far as I know?) the same holds for NFS.

[Ciarals]

Thanks again Plerry, you're really kind in your replies :-)

The recycle-bin you're talking about should be available on my WD My Cloud, correct? Will FreeFileSync use the recycle-bin of WD My Cloud or does it have its own recycle-bin? Will it also auto-empty after X days? I'm evaluating this solution, even if with GoodSync I'm actually not using it.

Thank you for your hint on SMB/NFS over FTP. So you are suggesting me to use the "Browse" button instead of the "Cloud" button that I used for FTP, correct (please see attachment "Sync-04")? So should I select the WD My Cloud from my drives list and then the folder that I want to sync, correct (please see attachment "Sync-05")?

Thank you!

[Plerry]

External drives normally do not have a Recycle-bin.
In some cases (e.g. some NASs) they do/can have a recycle-bin, but not one that FFS is aware of.
For external drives is then best/simplest to use Versioning. That is always to a self-selected location, that should be accessible by FFS.

Regarding your other question:
I don't know what protocol items in your drive list on your Mac use, but guess it is NFS or SMB.
But you can do a simple test with just a few files and see which approach retains your file-dates.

[Ciarals]

Ok, I'll do that. Thank you again Plerry!

[artz]

I had the 'Recycle Bin' option selected, but I noticed a sizeable accumulation of files sent to the Recycle Bin on my PC, making it hard to access a file that I might want to restore (just too many files, 92 GB). I appreciate the information shared earlier and did make the change from 'Recycle Bin' to 'Permanent'. So, I will monitor to see how that goes. I received a couple error messages initially, but I am hoping everything will resolve over time.

[xCSxXenon]

I had the 'Recycle Bin' option selected, but I noticed a sizeable accumulation of files sent to the Recycle Bin on my PC, making it hard to access a file that I might want to restore (just too many files, 92 GB).

While the contents do show up in the computer's 'Recycle Bin', let me clarify that the deleted contents are stored on the drive they were deleted from. If you move that drive to a different Windows computer, those deleted files will show up in the 'Recycle Bin' of that computer instead. You may know this, but I just want to clarify for anyone who reads it differently. In Recycle Bin, you may opt to sort by location, as that will sort the deleted contents by driver letter, essentially, making it easier to organize what came from where. You can also use the "Group By" option in File Explorer, but that also separates files into folder sections, not just by drive.

[artz]

Thanks. If I understand correctly, when 'Recycle Bin' is used, the files deleted on the external drive (FFS mirror) are stored on the same external drive (where the FFS mirror files exit), but they show up in the recycle bin of the PC? That is what is happening here (up to an extra 75 GB on the mirror external drive, showing in the recycle bin on the PC. After switching to 'Permanent', I am wondering if there is a way to get rid of all those files?

[xCSxXenon]

Thanks. If I understand correctly, when 'Recycle Bin' is used, the files deleted on the external drive (FFS mirror) are stored on the same external drive (where the FFS mirror files exit), but they show up in the recycle bin of the PC?

That's correct!

That is what is happening here (up to an extra 75 GB on the mirror external drive, showing in the recycle bin on the PC. After switching to 'Permanent', I am wondering if there is a way to get rid of all those files?

Emptying the Recycle Bin is the obvious way. If you don't want to empty the whole Recycle Bin, you can sort by location, select all the files from the external, then delete those. But if there is something in the Bin that you don't want to delete, it probably shouldn't be in there. This is easily done, click the first item in the list and then SHIFT+CLICK the last item. This will select all items including and between the two.

[Jimbo]

All I want to do is take new or changed files on the left to update or write the new files on the right. I don't want anything deleted. I don't know what happened as not too long ago it was doing that but now it wants to delete anything on the right that's not on the left and that's not what I want it to do.

[Plerry]

So, in the Sync Settings (F8), select the Update sync variant instead of the Mirror (or Two-way) variant.