[Feature request] Select the location of the databases

[mcmo]

Hi All

I am using FreeFileSync for a couple of years now and this is a fantastic tool. Thank you for creating and maintaining it.
I use it to mirror several times per day a folder on a server onto my laptop. I have only read-only access rights on the folder on the server. Hence when running FreeFileSync from my laptop it cannot create the database file on the server and hence the mirroring operation lasts longer than it would have if it could write the database.
As running FreeFileSync from the server is not an option (any change in its configuration would require the IT help...) I would like to be able to specify where to create the database file sync.ffs_db on my laptop instead of the server.

Thanks in advance

[Plerry]

As you only have read-access on the server, there is no need(/possibility) to do a bi-directional sync; your sync will/must be from server to laptop only.
So, you can simply choose the Mirror or Update sync variant (according to your need) instead of the Two-way variant.
Only the Two-way variant requires to have the database; for the Mirror and Update variant the use of the database is optional, and then only has the advantage of saving some time when previously synced folders or files have been renamed.
Simply deselect Detect Moved Files in the Synchronization Settings.

[mcmo]

I am currently mirrorring the server folder onto my machine, and there are a few moved folders and files each time the synchronisation is done.
that's why I wanted to "detect moved files" to cut down the sync duration.

Currently the "detect moved files" is selected, and it causes no issue. (maybe because there is still on the server a sync.ffs_db file from the time when I was allowed to write onto the folder)
the whole process is just slow compared to what FreeFileSync can do when the database file is up-to-date.

I just wanted to be able to use properly this feature even in my case with a source folder in read-only to speed up the mirroring, and that certainly requires having an up-to-date database file.

[Zenju]

Symlinks could be used to achieve this effect, e.g. sync against a local folder that contains a symlink to the network share.

[mcmo]

Many thanks, it worked.
It was a bit tricky to figure out which folder the symlink should point to and which folders should be compared.
Certainly not as straight as the feature I would like but definitively a good workaround.
Thanks again.