sync file chnages to google drive as new version (instead of delete & upload new)

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Posts: 2
Joined: 19 Apr 2024

ShlomoCode

I'm syncing a local folder (mirror) to a Google Drive folder. I noticed that when changes are made to files, for example text files, the change is uploaded to drive by moving the existing file to google drive trash and uploading a new file.

This approach has 2 disadvantages:
1. You cannot easily revert to a previous version of a file
2. The files take up Google's storage quota as long as they are in the trash (30 days or until the trash is manually emptied)

In contrast, the official Google Drive software uploads changes as a "new version" of the same file, which makes it easy to go back to a previous version, and does not take up a storage quota for previous versions. However, it lacks many advanced features of FreeFileSync such as on-demand batch backup, exclusion by pattern, and more.

Is it possible to make FreeFileSync work also with a version upload by changing an existing file?
This seems to be the relevant API: https://developers.google.com/drive/api/reference/rest/v2/files/update

Thanks!
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Posts: 2450
Joined: 22 Aug 2012

Plerry

You can use the FreeFileSync (FFS) option of Versioning.
For files that are deleted or overwritten by FFS, this allows you to keep as many previous versions as you select for as long as you select, in a user specified location.
Posts: 2
Joined: 19 Apr 2024

ShlomoCode

You can use the FreeFileSync (FFS) option of Versioning.
For files that are deleted or overwritten by FFS, this allows you to keep as many previous versions as you select for as long as you select, in a user specified location. Plerry, 19 Apr 2024, 06:30
Thanks, but it's less convenient than the built-in feature of previous versions of Google Drive, and mainly takes up a lot of storage quota (which costs money),
If I edit a 1GB file 30 times and synchronize between each change, in the official Google Drive software the file will occupy 1GB of the storage quota and I will have access to all previous versions (up to 30 days/last 100 versions), with FFS Versions it will occupy 30GB, and will also cause a mess in the folder, unlike the built-in versions found in the interface in the options of the original file, in case you really need them.