I have had great difficulty understanding the docs on how to set up realtime synch so I have written some detailed step by step instructions on exactly how to do this on Windows 11.
There is a zip file here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13gFBINBB23NiJl2cl0rdglr-uSRv31vd/view?usp=sharing
it is too big to attach here. The zip file includes a pdf, mht and onenote formats of the instructions.
The zip file attached here does not include the pdf, to reduce the size.
The zip file includes some example folders and files, unzip into C:temp, create shortcuts in the windows startup folder and you can play with the process. It includes a configuration file for the temp1 folder and another for the temp2 folder so you can see that it is possible to have more than one realtime configuration active at the same time.
Regarding the existing docs, there is a section "RTS run as a service". It's easy to miss this section as lots of people wouldn't know what a service is on Windows and nor should they have to. RealTimeSynch is not even a service - it's a background process, and it's not the least bit obvious that RTS means RealTimeSynch here and the information in this section is quite poor.
Please review and consider adding the instructions that I have written to your website in the RealTimeSynch section.
docs for how to setup RealTime synch
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- realtime-folder-mirror-example.zip
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Seems pretty complete
https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=realtimesync
https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=realtimesync
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If you think it's complete then you have tunnel vision.
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The only thing you seem to have added is how to get it to start when Windows boots, but that is a Windows-side process.
I'm all for creating clearer/more helpful docs, but I don't see any benefit in anything you've added ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm all for creating clearer/more helpful docs, but I don't see any benefit in anything you've added ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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ok, I take it back. You do not have tunnel vision. You are blind. You are blinded by the fact that you know it all and perhaps by the fact that maybe you wrote the section on realtimesynch. I'm not the only person who struggled to set up realtimesynch and I'm a highly experienced developer with first class comprehension and communication skills.
Also, in case you wrote the software itself, you should change the realtimesynch configuration dialog so that it has a "stop synch" button instead of just silently cancelling the synch when you hit the close button, which is hardly ever gonna be the behavior that the user wants. If you bring up the configuration dialog it's because you wanna inspect the configuration, not because you want to terminate the synch.
Also, in case you wrote the software itself, you should change the realtimesynch configuration dialog so that it has a "stop synch" button instead of just silently cancelling the synch when you hit the close button, which is hardly ever gonna be the behavior that the user wants. If you bring up the configuration dialog it's because you wanna inspect the configuration, not because you want to terminate the synch.
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Although not on the RealTimeSync (RTS) manual page, even that info is already present not only on the "RTS: Run as a Service" manual page, but also in the RealTimeSync tutorial video. And in the latter case there can be no unclarity about the abbreviation RTS, as that video is called RealTimeSync in full.The only thing you seem to have added is how to get it to start when Windows boots, ...xCSxXenon, 15 Sep 2024, 21:03
Well, despite your proclaimed competencies, at least your communication skills clearly could use improvement.... I'm a highly experienced developer with first class comprehension and communication skillsphoton, 16 Sep 2024, 11:07
Not only in how you react to the non-offensive, solicited criticism ("Please review ...") in this thread, but also considering the instructions you wrote. Despite your good intentions, those instructions are buggy and illogical in some places.
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LOL riiiiightI'm a highly experienced developer with first class comprehension and communication skills. photon, 16 Sep 2024, 11:07
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"buggy and illogical". Surprise, surprise, you give no evidence to back up your rubbish claim.
Watch a tutorial video. Well guess what, I didn't even know you had a tutorial video. Why don't you link to it from your real time synch page. But who the hell wants to watch a tutorial video on a file synch tool.
Watch a tutorial video. Well guess what, I didn't even know you had a tutorial video. Why don't you link to it from your real time synch page. But who the hell wants to watch a tutorial video on a file synch tool.
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and surprise, surprise here's another user who found your docs so inadequate he wrote his own
https://www.reddit.com/r/unRAID/comments/lxe5oa/using_freefilesync_and_realtimesync_with_windows/
https://www.reddit.com/r/unRAID/comments/lxe5oa/using_freefilesync_and_realtimesync_with_windows/
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Must be another "highly experienced developer with first class comprehension and communication skills"and surprise, surprise here's another user who found your docs so inadequate he wrote his own
https://www.reddit.com/r/unRAID/comments/lxe5oa/using_freefilesync_and_realtimesync_with_windows/ photon, 19 Sep 2024, 06:24
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Making a pointless comment like this shows that not only do you have poor communication skills, you have poor character.
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Look who is talking!
With your asserted first class communication skills you not only reacted highly inappropriately to xCSxXenon's non-offensive comments on the instructions you drafted, but you followed up by upfront classifying my "buggy and illogical in some places" as a "rubbish" claim.
This while, with your asserted first class comprehension skills, you could easily have figured out that my "buggy and illogical in some places" statement is correct and what it is based on.
With your asserted first class communication skills you not only reacted highly inappropriately to xCSxXenon's non-offensive comments on the instructions you drafted, but you followed up by upfront classifying my "buggy and illogical in some places" as a "rubbish" claim.
This while, with your asserted first class comprehension skills, you could easily have figured out that my "buggy and illogical in some places" statement is correct and what it is based on.
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If you had any evidence that what I wrote was buggy and illogical, you would say what it was. Obviously you've been taking lessons from Trump on how to lie and bullshit.
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Wow! Even without the slightest evidence I was wrong, you now even suggest I lie and bullshit.
Let me make you eat your words (although I strongly doubt you are prepared to apologize and admit you were wrong).
The bugs in your instructions:
• You write "We have a folder temp2 that we want to mirror in real time". This is incorrect (= a bug), because your instructions do not describe a mirror sync of the folder temp2, but instead a mirror sync of a folder1 (in temp2) to a folder folder1-mirror (also in temp2).
• In your step 2, you show a "how to set the source and destination folders" image. However, your left folder path shows you now suddenly will sync C:\temp\temp21\folder1 rather than C:\temp\temp2\folder1 as in your saved temp2-BatchRun.ffs_batch and the RTS image you show in step 3 and as is saved in your temp2-RealTime.ffs_real (= a bug)
Both your bugs might severely confuse the intended audience of your instructions.
The illogic in your instructions:
• In your step 2, you start by clicking the "New" button (makes sense), but then instantly save that still blank sync configuration as a batch job (= illogical step).
The logical sequence is to first define/develop your sync configuration.
This consists of defining the left-right pair(s), the type of sync, and whether to use a database to detect changes or not (and optionally change the Delete and overwrite method, modify the Include- and-or Exclude Filters, etc.)
Then you first run (just) a Compare and when finished critically review the proposed sync actions to verify you will achieve the intended sync results. Only if everything seems OK, you run an actual sync and review the sync results. If still all seems OK, only then it makes sense to save your sync configuration; given the context, as a *.ffs_batch file.
• Your FFS log-files for your sync are saved into C:\temp\temp2\Logs (and not into their default location). Your saved temp2-BatchRun.ffs_batch file shows you have changed that log-file location, but you failed to mention so. This might confuse less experienced FFS users
As you can see, my "buggy and illogical in some places" was fully justified.
Your (photon's) insulting reactions are therefore completely inappropriate.
If photon does not retract his words, I hereby suggest Zenju, the site admin, given photon's attitude and insulting style of communication, to block Photon from this forum.
Let me make you eat your words (although I strongly doubt you are prepared to apologize and admit you were wrong).
The bugs in your instructions:
• You write "We have a folder temp2 that we want to mirror in real time". This is incorrect (= a bug), because your instructions do not describe a mirror sync of the folder temp2, but instead a mirror sync of a folder1 (in temp2) to a folder folder1-mirror (also in temp2).
• In your step 2, you show a "how to set the source and destination folders" image. However, your left folder path shows you now suddenly will sync C:\temp\temp21\folder1 rather than C:\temp\temp2\folder1 as in your saved temp2-BatchRun.ffs_batch and the RTS image you show in step 3 and as is saved in your temp2-RealTime.ffs_real (= a bug)
Both your bugs might severely confuse the intended audience of your instructions.
The illogic in your instructions:
• In your step 2, you start by clicking the "New" button (makes sense), but then instantly save that still blank sync configuration as a batch job (= illogical step).
The logical sequence is to first define/develop your sync configuration.
This consists of defining the left-right pair(s), the type of sync, and whether to use a database to detect changes or not (and optionally change the Delete and overwrite method, modify the Include- and-or Exclude Filters, etc.)
Then you first run (just) a Compare and when finished critically review the proposed sync actions to verify you will achieve the intended sync results. Only if everything seems OK, you run an actual sync and review the sync results. If still all seems OK, only then it makes sense to save your sync configuration; given the context, as a *.ffs_batch file.
• Your FFS log-files for your sync are saved into C:\temp\temp2\Logs (and not into their default location). Your saved temp2-BatchRun.ffs_batch file shows you have changed that log-file location, but you failed to mention so. This might confuse less experienced FFS users
As you can see, my "buggy and illogical in some places" was fully justified.
Your (photon's) insulting reactions are therefore completely inappropriate.
If photon does not retract his words, I hereby suggest Zenju, the site admin, given photon's attitude and insulting style of communication, to block Photon from this forum.
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Ah, this brings me back to the "good ol' days" of forums :D
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Your accusations of bugs and illogical are complete rubbish as I thought. The temp21 thing is a minor typo since anyone setting this up will be putting their own folder paths into and it is blindingly obvious what they need to put there. Your complaint about terminology "mirroring temp2" versus "mirroring folder1" being a bug is also completely invalid since it is once again, blindingly obvious that folder1 content is being mirrored to folder2 and the user will be substituting their own folder pairs.
However, your worst accusation of all is that you say my instructions are illogical and I knew you wouldn't be able to substantiate this without even reading your reason. The reason I put "save as batch file" up front and "save" at the end is that it is highly unusual (and in my opinion flat out wrong) that to access the batch file settings of "run minimized" and auto-close etc. you have to use the "save as batch job" button to get access to them, so I put that first to draw attention to the fact that this is where those settings are. At the very worst it is inconsequential as to whether this is done at the start or the end, however I think it is more logical to put it at the start so that you can then use the "save" button at any time as you set up the folder paths and filtering options, which might not be trivial, and in my case are not trivial.
I call upon Zenju to add the instructions that I wrote, to the realtimesync documentation and save future users some grief of trying to figure it out, or worse, outright failure to sync properly due to inadvertant silent termination of the synch.
I won't be reading or posting any further in this thread as I have wasted far too much time here already.
However, your worst accusation of all is that you say my instructions are illogical and I knew you wouldn't be able to substantiate this without even reading your reason. The reason I put "save as batch file" up front and "save" at the end is that it is highly unusual (and in my opinion flat out wrong) that to access the batch file settings of "run minimized" and auto-close etc. you have to use the "save as batch job" button to get access to them, so I put that first to draw attention to the fact that this is where those settings are. At the very worst it is inconsequential as to whether this is done at the start or the end, however I think it is more logical to put it at the start so that you can then use the "save" button at any time as you set up the folder paths and filtering options, which might not be trivial, and in my case are not trivial.
I call upon Zenju to add the instructions that I wrote, to the realtimesync documentation and save future users some grief of trying to figure it out, or worse, outright failure to sync properly due to inadvertant silent termination of the synch.
I won't be reading or posting any further in this thread as I have wasted far too much time here already.
