Do I really have to create the directories manually?

[Garfield]

Hi :)

I'd like to mirroring my data from left to right.
Example:
C:\myDirectory

should be synced to O:\C\

With that it copies all the files and directories inside 'myDirectory' directly into O:\C\ which produce a mess.
I'd like to have also O:\C\myDirectory\
Isn't that possible in an automatic way? Do I really have to manually create all the directories on the right that I selected on the left? That would be really annoying... (I used SyncBack Pro before and there I hadn't to create them...)

[Plerry]

If O:\C does not exist yet, there are two options:
• Create O:\C manually, and then drag&drop that folder e.g. from Windows Explorer into the right base location field.
• Simply type O:\C in your right base location field (or drag&drop O:\ into the right base location field and then type C behind it). No need for a final backslash; the base location is always a folder.
In the latter case, when running the Compare, FreeFileSync (FFS) will notify you that O:\C does not exist yet and ask you if it should create it for you. By then replying "yes", FFS will create O:\C for you (once running the sync). This even works if O:\C does not exist yet and you specify your right base location e.g. as O:\C\subfolder1\subsubfolder2. FFS will then gladly create folder C in the root of O:, subfolder1 in folder C and subsubfolder2 in folder subfolder1.

And when running the sync, FFS (itself) does create all the necessary (sub)folders in the left and/or right base location to copy the to-be-synced files in, in an identical folder structure relative to the left and right base location.

[Garfield]

But I still have to manually type the folder on the right side, which is very annoying.
I have to sync about 20 Folders and now I have manually enter these filepaths.

What I'd like is:
C:\myDirectory -> O:\C\myDirectory
But I want only specify O:\C\ on the right side. The problem is that FFS doesn't copy the source directory, it copies its content!

[Plerry]

There is no need to type or create not-yet existing folders, as long as those are (sub)folders existing inside the left base location and need to be created inside the right base location.
(The bottom paragraph of my reply).
Only if the base location specification itself comprises a folder or folder-path that does not yet exist, you need to create it upfront (my first bullet above) or type in the new path, after which FFS will create it for you (my second bullet above).

If you only want to sync the content of (the existing) C:\myDirectory to (the not-yet existing) O:\C\myDirectory, you can simply specify those two as your left, respectively right location,
and FFS will create the folders myDirectory and if necessary its parent C for you.
During the sync, FFS will now sync all content of C:\myDirectory to O:\C\myDirectory, maintaining the directory structure inside C:\myDirectory and where necessary creating the corresponding folders inside O:\C\myDirectory .

If you want to sync everything in C:\ to O:\C (including the folder myDirectory and its content), you can simply specify C:\ and O:\C as your left, respectively right location, and FFS will create folder C in the root of O:\ for you, if it does not exist yet.
During the sync, FFS will now sync all content of C:\ to O:\C, maintaining the directory structure inside C:\ and where necessary creating the corresponding folders in O:\C, including e.g. O:\C\myDirectory.

[Garfield]

I think you don't understand my problem. The problem is that I have to write the path manually for every single directory because FFS doesn't sync the folder itself, it syncs its content! So I'm forced to rewrite the directory on the right side so that it gets created by FFS. Yes, it gets created by FFS, but I still have to type it manually. And thats not a great user experience...

[Plerry]

I (think I) understand your problem, but you don't understand yet how to solve it.
It is simply a matter of defining suitable left-right base folder pairs.
Instead of defining all folders to be synced individually as left-right base folder pairs, simply define the left and right parent or grandparent of those folders in your left-right base folder pair(s). FFS will then sync all files and folders that are child, grandchild etc. of that parent or grandparent folder, and automatically create all folders necessary for the sync.

If the parent folder comprises more folders than need to be synced, you can use the Include Filter (F7) to define the files and/or folders to be included in the sync, or conversely, if that is more convenient in your case, use the Exclude Filter (F7) to define files and/or folders not to be included in the sync.
Simplest way to "compose" Include and/or Exclude filter is to run a Compare in the FFS GUI, select the files and folders, and use a right-click to add the selected files/folders to the Include or Exclude Filter.

[Garfield]

Ah that's the point, using filters. Still not very user friendly, but better than have multiple rows for every directory.

I was used to the behaviour of SyncBackPro Software where I just had to select a directory and the whole directory (including the directory I selected, not only its content) was synced without specifying any filters or settings for every directory.

Thanks for your patience and help :)

[xCSxXenon]

So you need to sync C:\ to O:\C\ and change the include filter to only include myDirectory