Sync User-Folder in Windows subfolder AppData constantly causes event trigger

[ACX_Com]

I want to do the following...

I want to back up the most important subfolders under the user folder (e.g. C:\Users\USERNAME\).

As there are a lot of folders to be backed up in there (usually around 13), this doesn't work with FreeFileSync!

(By the way... in addition to the user folder mentioned above, at least 5 other main folders have to be synchronized.)

Reason:
I set up C:\Users\USERNAME\ as the sync folder.

I use filters to determine which subfolders should be synchronized and various exclusions.

This also works perfectly.

BUT:
In RealTimeSync I can only specify a MAXIMUM of 10 paths to be monitored.

However, this is not enough to monitor the required (sub)folders that should also be synchronized.
DIFFERENTLY, if I let the main folder (i.e. C:\Users\USERNAME\) be monitored completely, the event trigger (add/remove/change) is signaled by all subfolders and RealTimeSync starts every few seconds.

I have monitored the file changes and here a change occurs every few seconds in different areas of AppData.

POSSIBILITY:

I could of course have several RealTimeSync tools running, but it is ANNOYING when there are so many in the taskbar and they keep popping up.

Basically, it would be very simple if you could enter more than just 10 paths for monitoring in the software (RealTimeSync).

Does anyone know a solution?

[Plerry]

> In RealTimeSync I can only specify a MAXIMUM of 10 paths to be monitored.

Interesting. I was not aware of this limitation (never ran into it)

> I could of course have several RealTimeSync tools running, but it is ANNOYING when there are so many in the taskbar and they keep popping up.

RTS taskbar items should only popup when started. So, I wonder why they would keep popping up.
Conversely, the FFS sync launched by an RTS instance upon detecting changes in the folder(s) that RTS instance is monitoring may popup in the taskbar. Make sure you checked all suitable boxes when saving your *.ffs_batch file(s).

If I understand you correctly, you have 13 subfolders of C:\Users\USERNAME\ you want to monitor and sync in the event of changes, and 5 folders outside C:\Users\USERNAME\.
With max 10 folders to be monitored per RTS task, this would then only need to be two RTS instances and corresponding FFS syncs. But in practice, more likely three RTS instances. Still, not quite "so many".
E.g.
Divide your 13 subfolders of C:\Users\USERNAME\ over two FFS syncs (by creating multiple left-right pairs, not via the Include or Exclude Filter), and create a third FFS sync for your 5 not C:\Users\USERNAME\ folders. Save those syncs and create an RTS job from all there FFS syncs.

[ACX_Com]

Hello and thank you very much for the answer.

Yes, you understood correctly.

...users with a minimum of 13 subfolders and at least 5 folders that have nothing to do with users.

What I mean by messages appearing is the sync icon in the taskbar, which appears in addition to the RTS icon when a sync takes place.

You are of course right that I would actually need 3 RTS and I currently see the division as you described as the only sensible and even possible way of setting it up.

But...
1. It is annoying (as I already said) if the taskbar could be displayed with at least 3 fixed icons and then up to 6 icons when synchronizing - just because you can only enter a maximum of 10 folders in RTS.

I also find it inconvenient that RTS has to be started with Admin when "Copy via Volume Shadow Copy" is activated and this therefore has to be started via Windows Task Job, but no error messages can be displayed here and you are therefore in an uncertain state.
By the way, I was not able to start the service via SYSTEM as stated in the description. I had to use an administrator account for this to work.

[Plerry]

If you create a dedicated RTS/FFS user (different from the logged-in user), and start an your RTS instance with the user credentials of that dedicated RTS/FFS user, the logged-in user does not own that RTS instance and consequently will not get/see the corresponding RTS and FFS notifications in his/her taskbar. Obviously, the dedicated RTS/FFS user needs to have at least read access to the logged in user's C:\Users\USERNAME\ folder.

Conversely, because the FFS syncs are then run under different credentials than the logged in user, the logged in user will not receive any FFS error messages.

[xCSxXenon]

RTS just isn't the appropriate tool for this. Task Scheduler is where you want to get this configured, for periodic syncing rather than real-time.

By the way, I was not able to start the service via SYSTEM as stated in the description. I had to use an administrator account for this to work.

Well yeah, standard users shouldn't be allowed to create things that run with SYSTEM privileges lol

[ACX_Com]

Google Translate:

Correct, my user "Admin" (Group Administrators) has access to my usual user files with which I am logged in.
It works, of course except for the fact that the synchronized data (in this case only in one direction) is given the owner Admin at the destination.
I don't have a big problem with that and it basically only serves as a short-term backup.

It's just strange that (as I already mentioned) it doesn't work with the user SYSTEM.

Also that I get absolutely no message or warning when something goes wrong.
This would be possible by monitoring a log file, for example, but the effort is not worth it (for me at the moment).

In any case, there seems to be no way around all of the circumstances.
And so I'm probably forced to run at least 2 or even 3 RTS...or I'll come up with another solution.
I don't want to "bend" the entire standard Windows procedure and the settings etc. - anything that deviates from the standard can lead to problems.

[ACX_Com]

RTS just isn't the appropriate tool for this. Task Scheduler is where you want to get this configured, for periodic syncing rather than real-time.

By the way, I was not able to start the service via SYSTEM as stated in the description. I had to use an administrator account for this to work.

Well yeah, standard users shouldn't be allowed to create things that run with SYSTEM privileges lol

Thank you for the contribution.

But who says that my "normal" user is a "standard user"?

He also has admin rights (group administrators).

How else am I supposed to create the task and assign it to SYSTEM?

I did it exactly as described in the instructions (I wouldn't have done it any differently anyway).

[therube]

(

In RealTimeSync I can only specify a MAXIMUM of 10 paths to be monitored.

I'll just note, that on my XP machine (so a far older version of FFS), my JCS.2.NAS_DB_BU.ffs_real has 13 monitored directories:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FreeFileSync XmlType="REAL" XmlFormat="2">
    <Directories>
        <Item>G:\BASIS</Item>
        <Item>G:\BASIS.X</Item>
        <Item>G:\BASIS13</Item>
        <Item>G:\BASIS14</Item>
        <Item>G:\GUI_BBX</Item>
        <Item>G:\GUI_CALLS</Item>
        <Item>G:\GUI_TXT_SAMPLES</Item>
        <Item>G:\MATH4</Item>
        <Item>G:\USR\JCS</Item>
        <Item>G:\USR\SONNY</Item>
        <Item>G:\USR\STEVEN\BASIC</Item>
        <Item>G:\USR\STEVEN\P</Item>
        <Item>G:\USR\STEVEN\P\PP</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\BASIS</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\BASIS.X</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\BASIS13</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\BASIS14</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\GUI_BBX</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\GUI_CALLS</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\GUI_TXT_SAMPLES</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\MATH4</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\USR\JCS</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\USR\SONNY</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\USR\STEVEN\BASIC</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\USR\STEVEN\P</Item>
        <Item>\\Nas\BACK_up_BASIS\USR\STEVEN\PP</Item>
    </Directories>
    <Delay>180</Delay>
    <Commandline>"C:\DEV\BACKUP\FreeFileSync\FreeFileSync.exe" "C:\DEV\BACKUP\FFS_PROFILES\JCS.2.NAS_DB_BU.ffs_batch"</Commandline>
</FreeFileSync>


)

[therube]

Screenshot in first post, viewtopic.php?t=11650, also has > 10 pairs (& with 13.7 RTS).

[Zenju]

In RealTimeSync I can only specify a MAXIMUM of 10 paths to be monitored.

There is no limit. That's only a display glitch. If you slightly resize the window manually, you'll see the scrollbar appearing. Fixed for the next release.