Feature Request: Same Sync Settings--Different Drive Names

[BrendaEM]

Hi,
Firstly thank you for FreeFileSync.

So, I use FreeFileSync mostly on Linux now, to sync/backup to external drives. These drives are named as

Brenda-BU1
Brenda-BU2


Under Linux Ubuntu and Mint, the destination folders are usually pathed out in FreeFileSync as they are mounted:

/media/brenda/Brenda-BU7/Backup/Documents
/media/brenda/Brenda-BU7/Backup/Downloads


Because each drive really should have its own name, so I can tell them about the computer, what I have been doing is using 7 different backup sets that I hope are all the same.

Is there a way, or could there a method of doing a separate absolute drive--and relative path?
So, we can select a drive or media mounting point:

/media/brenda/Brenda-BU7/


Then the folder set we could chose relative output paths:

./Documents
./Downloads


With the idea, that we could use the same source folders, same relative destinations, BUT we can swap drives in rotation.

Ironically, the GUI legends state "Relative path" below, but we don't see a way to do a relative path above.

Thank you,
BrendaEM

[Plerry]

Look into using the [url]Include Filter[/url] for your relative path (because filter rules are relative to the left and right base location.
And look into using Macros for your different drive names.

[BrendaEM]

Thank you for the reply.
Unless I am incorrect, I don't think that the filter is going to work because I don't want to filter files--I want to change destination drives. As for the Macros, it's seems a bit sketchy for this purpose.

Basically, I just want to separate the destination drive root from the rest, so that I can back up on multiple drives.

In these examples, please imagine that the [ ] are text path fields, such as this Windows example...
It's regrettable that we live in portrait mode in a landscape world.

Destination Root: [ /Brenda-BU1/ ]
Source: [ C:/User/Brenda/Documents ] ---- Destination Folder: [ ./Backup/Documents ]  
Source: [ C:/User/Brenda/Downloads ] ---- Destination Folder: [ ./Backup/Downloads ]  
Source: [ C:/User/Brenda/Pictures ] ---- Destination Folder: [ ./Backup/Pictures ]
Source: [ C:/User/Brenda/AppData/Local/Mozilla ] ---- Destination : [ ./Backup/Mozilla ]


Or this Linux example...

Destination Root: [ /Brenda-BU1/ ]
Source: [ /home/brenda/Documents ] ---- Destination: [ ./Backup/Documents ]  
Source: [ /home/brenda/Downloads ] ---- Destination: [ ./Backup/Downloads ]  
Source: [ /home/brenda/Pictures ] ---- Destination: [ ./Backup/Pictures ]  
Source: [ /home/brenda/.mozilla ] ---- Destination: [ ./Backup/Mozilla ]


So, the entire drive could be changed to either a drive or a NFS, or whathaveyou--just by changing the Destination Root.

Presently, I have about 9 backup sets, 7 of them backup the same thing--on different drives, with similar file folders.

[Plerry]

> I don't think that the filter is going to work because I don't want to filter files--I want to change destination drives.

You can use the In- and Exclude Filter for folders, just as well as for files.
As per your example:
Define C:/User/Brenda/, respectively /home/brenda/ as your left (source) location, and /Brenda-BU1/Backup as your right (destination) location.
And then put /Documents/ , /Downloads/ , /Pictures/ in your Include Filter.

You can also put /AppData/Local/Mozilla/ in that same Include Filter, but then its content will be synced to /Brenda-BU1/Backup/AppData/Local/Mozilla/ and not to /Brenda-BU1/Backup/Mozilla/.
If that is not acceptable, you can create a second left-right pair (via the "+"-icon in front of your left-right pair) with C:/User/Brenda/AppData/Local/Mozilla/ as its left location
and /Brenda-BU1/Backup/Mozilla/ as its right location. For that left-right pair you then need to use local Filter rules (via the funnel-icon mid between that left-right pair), i the Include Filter replacing any entries there by a single asterisk * (=everything).

And again: if you want to change your source (or destination) location, you could use Macros, although that does not seem to appeal to you.

P.S.
Don't you need to use backslashes (\) instead of forward slashes (/) in your Windows specifications?

[BrendaEM]

I appreciate you trying to help me with what is there, but this was indeed a feature request.

It would appear that once we have wandered into macro territory, it both speaks loudly of FreeFileSync's flexibility and power--but also that we are expecting a ordinary user to program the functionality that I am feature requesting.

I am requesting the feature because: it would be fast, and safe. You could still throw an error, if the mapped drive name was not the same, and had not been changed.

Intrinsically, I am asking for is a HAL between the backup drive and backup set. If implemented, a user could use one backup set on multiple drives, in rotation--on a modern Linux desktop.

[ As far as the slashes, well, I was up late, and trying to emulate while in Linux, what I also do in Windows, or was it the other way around. I was also trying to placate Windows users.]