AJC Sync

Versions

This product is constantly being developed and as you can see below new versions are regularly released. We are very interested in our users experiences with our software and always ready to listen to new ideas.

Version 3.5 Released November 19th 2011

A new global option has been added so you can turn off the new project and new sync pair wizard. This makes it faster for some people who prefer not to be guided through the options.
A new quick folders shortcut window has been added to allow you to very quickly select two Windows folders to sync without the extra options. You can access this from the drop down menu under the Add sync pair button on the Home tab.
There is a new project setting to turn off the sync capability. This is useful because it lets you use the project to create sync plans to compare locations without running the sync process by accident.
There are new command line options so you can create a new project and specify the Windows folders.
In Windows Explorer you can now right click on folder and choose Compare or sync with AJC. By default this will open the application and start a new project by opening the quick folders window and filling in the left folder path.

Version 3.4 Released August 12th 2011

Working with FTP servers is now more reliable because it traps more errors and retries on failure more.
When you selected multiple items on the sync plan it sometimes told you that the selected number was higher. This has now been fixed.
A minor bug has been fixed that sometimes caused the progress bar to move too far ahead and then jump back when running a sync.

Version 3.3 Released July 5th 2011

You can now sync with Amazon S3 cloud storage .
On the sync plan tab a new find option has been added so you can search for file names containing the text.
On the sync plan tab another find option has been added to allow you to search just the text that has changed in the differences between the left and right files.
The sync pair settings now includes a date range section so that you can choose to only sync files in a certain date range.
In the file patterns area for each sync pair you can now specify that you only want to include files/folders for sync that have the Windows ready for archiving option set.
Vertical scroll bars have now been added to the file patterns boxes.
On Windows 7 the task bar now shows a progress bar when a sync is running.
While preparing a sync plan or running a sync it now stops the computer going to sleep.
When entering the folder path for a Windows sync location there are quick buttons for using the my documents folder etc and picking recent folders.

Version 3.2 Released May 17th 2011

We have now created a portable edition so you can run the software from a USB stick and take it with you to different computers.

Version 3.1 Released April 24th 2011

A move files facility has been added so you can setup the sync logic to move files instead of copying them.
Various performance enhancements.

Version 3.0, Released 28th June 2010

This major new version adds the following improvements from v2.

Unicode file name support.
Multiple sync folder pairs per project.
Modern Microsoft Office style ribbon interface with customizable colors.
Up to 4 times faster preparing the sync list (the sync list is now called the sync plan).
Up to 6 times faster transferring the files, especially with lots of small files.
Built in AJC Diff v2. This lets you compare files and edit them so that you can just move partial file changes over.
Supports very long folder path names.
Easier and faster to use. You setup the sync logic against the sync folder pair and you can produce a sync plan with one click. You can still change the logic for a one off sync.
You can now sync empty folders.
Track a drive by its volume name instead of drive letter. Useful when those memory sticks etc keep changing drive letter when you plug them in.
FTP sync is now more robust and can keep files in sync without having to alter the time stamp on local files.
The sync plan shows a tree view of folders/files as before but there is also now a list view. This lets you sort by any column so you can, for example, see a list grouped by file extension or direction of transfer.
The sync plan shows itemised totals of files by action. For example you can see how many files are going from left to right. This is very useful if you are expecting all files to be going in one direction and you can see right away if some are not.
On the sync plan you can click on an icon by a total to select files. E.g. click on the icon for the total which says that files have been modified on both sides to select the first file. Right click on this icon to select them all (and then you can set the direction for them all in one go if you like).
Explorer has improved facilities for selecting of files for sync inclusion/exclusion. Previously if you cleared the check boxes next to files in a folder so they would be excluded from the sync, any future new files in that folder would be included. Now you can exclude the whole folder and then re-include files/sub folders that you want so new files will not be automatically included in the sync.

Version 2.9, Released Sept 30th 2008

Windows server 2003/2008 compatibility. Adds a warning to the installer (also notes in the FAQ) to tell you how to turn off DEP for this software to allow it to run.

Version 2.8, Released Nov 19th 2007

You can now change the port number used when synchronizing via FTP and for SMTP when emailing.
Sometimes when an FTP connection timed out, this was not detected, resulting in a socket error.

Version 2.7, Released June 11th 2007

Word 2007 documents with extensions .docx and .dotx can now be compared as text.
Fixed a rare problem where if a file was deleted that was also in a new directory the delete was not synchronized to the other side but rather the file was copied to the other side again.
A FAQ (frequently asked questions) help topic is now provided from the Help menu.
When creating a new project, if the project title contained illegal filename characters, which were then used as a filename default, this stopped the save dialog window from appearing.
Fixed the problem where you got an error when directory structure caching was turned on and you tried to rename a file.

Version 2.6, Released Jan 29th 2006

A tool has been added to allow you to check the integrity of the backup archives. This will make sure that every file revision in your backup archives can be restored without problems.

Version 2.5, Released Nov 9th 2006

You can now compare and synchronize between a local machine or network a remote server via FTP.
The software settings are now saved to disk in the standard Windows user application data area instead of the registry. This makes the settings easier to backup and transfer between machines.
The help file has now been changed to HTML help to be compatible with Windows Vista.

Version 2.4, Released Feb 27th 2006

You can now easily schedule automatic synchronization with fully integrated support for the Windows scheduler. An easy to use wizard helps you setup your synchronize job to run at the times you define.
The -Background command line option has been added for improved running of the program in the background.
The logging option has now moved to its own section in the project settings.
Emailing has now been added so you can receive an email of the synchronize report which is very useful when running in unattended mode.
Directory patterns can now be used in the archive file patterns to exclude whole folders from archiving.
The option to delete empty directories has been further clarified. When a file is deleted during a sync creating an empty directory the directory is then deleted. Previously the directory on the other side could also be deleted if empty which was not always desired.
A secondary check on the files has been added just before a copy or delete action is due to be performed. If the file status is different to the preparation stage the file is skipped generating an error. This has been put in for an extra safety feature mainly when running over a VPN.
The project file format has changed slightly. When you save an older project a .bak file will be created. If you ever need to use an older version of this software you would need to restore the .bak file.
Fixed bug where if you answer "No" to a question and check the "Don't show this again" box it permanently stores "No" as the response when it should store "Yes" in certain cases.

Version 2.3, Released Nov 29th 2005

Graphic thumbnails can now be displayed on the explorer and synchronize list. This is a very useful improvement to people who want to synchronize their digital photo collections. The thumbnail shape and size can be customized in Tools, Options, Thumbnails. Currently .jpg, .bmp and .gif files are supported.
The built in AJC Diff has also been improved to show the pictures side by side when comparing graphic files.
When a file is being transferred, overwriting an existing file, it is now copied to a temp file first and then renamed on successful completion. This makes copying safer in situations when partial file locks may be present. e.g. with Outlook .pst files.
There is a new file popup context menu option to let you open a file with a favorite text editor. The editor can be specified in the new global options, opening files section.
When you try to open a file that may run a program (e.g. a .exe or .bat file) you get a warning. File types for warnings are specified in the global options opening files section.
There is a new file popup context menu option to let you open a directory in the normal Windows explorer.
You can now access the normal Windows properties for a file from the popup context menu.
On the synchronize list the popup hints over the colored drive cylinder icons now tell you how much disk space is free on that device.

Version 2.2, Released Oct 16th 2005

Performance has now been massively improved when working with synchronize lists while large directories are shown in the explorer.
The check boxes against directories in the explorer can now contain a grey check mark to indicate that the directory will be included on synchronize lists but some sub files or directories are not included.
You can now specify what will happen if a file has been modified on both sides on the prepare synchronize list window options tab. The default option, in keeping with historical behavior, is to ask you to manually select the file's transfer direction but you can choose other options such as always taking the newest file.
When selecting the top two directories to compare it now lets you create a directory if it does not exist.
A new graphic has now been added for pen drives.
The command line option -Minimize has been added for starting the program minimized.

Version 2.1, Released July 5th 2005

You can now select different images to represent the two locations to synchronize instead of just pictures of computers. For example you could select a picture of a laptop and external hard drive to make it easier to visualise your situation.

Version 2.0, Released May 17th 2005

The interface has been given a new look with the aims of making the application look more modern and be easier to use.
A new backup archiving system has been added. This gives you the option of storing files that will be deleted or overwritten during the synchronize process, protecting you from mistakes. This uses a built in compact revision control system so multiple revisions of each file are stored giving multiple undo possibilities as you can restore any previous version of a file.
A new history tab has been added to the main window. This shows details of previous synchronize jobs and the files in a tree structure making it easy to select files if you need to undo anything.
There is now an option to keep a history of directory contents. This then allows you to synchronize file deletions in both directions and be notified if a file has changed on both sides. When you open existing projects if you sync both ways you should go to Project Settings, History and turn on Keep history of directory contents. If you use the Prepare Synchronize List Wizard to setup a both ways sync this will be done for you.
The explorer now shows check boxes next to each file and directory so you can choose if they are included in the synchronize. This replaces the old way of right clicking on a file and selecting Include File/Dir in Synchronize list.
There is now an option to delete read only files as part of the synchronize process.
You can now specify a date/time range window for the synchronization.
There is now an option to disable the splash screen at startup.
If you entered a project description it used to popup when opening the project even if you were trying to automate using the command line. This has now been fixed.
The diff only treated .doc files as MS Word documents. It now also works with .dot files.

Version 1.16, Released Sept 8th 2004

This software is now even easier to use with the inclusion of a new easy synchronize wizard that guides you through how to setup the compare or synchronization options.
New graphics have been added to make it easier to visualize the relationship with the two locations you are synchronizing.
There is new project setting to make it prepare a synchronize list as soon as the project is opened. This will simplify regular synchronization and is well on the way to a one click solution.
The project settings now include a detailed description box. If you enter text here it pops up when you open the project to remind you of what it does.
When preparing a synchronize list you can now tell it to compare the contents of the files to see if they are the same or not. This is not very fast but is useful for a full verify that all your files are the same.
The file size for files larger than 2GB did not show correctly although this did not affect program function. This has now been fixed.
There is now an option on the right click menu to copy the selected files or directories to the Windows clipboard so that they can be pasted into explorer or emails etc.
Bug fixed where in the explorer view if you double clicked on a directory that had not been opened before, to expand it, the files where not always listed.
Using the file Diff, MS Word documents can now be compared as text.
There was a bug that meant the binary diff viewer would sometimes tell you the files were the same even though it had just told you that the files were different at a certain position. This has now been fixed.
There is now the option of displaying color background bands across the lists of files.

Version 1.15, Released March 5th 2004

You now have the facility to mark specific files or patterns for special attention in the project settings. This means that if the file appears on the synchronize list and is going to be overwritten you will have to give it extra attention and confirm the file and synchronize direction. This is useful for files such as MS Access database files (*.mdb) or Outlook mail files (*.pst) because these files are changed just by opening them so it is dangerous for the program to assume that a new modified date means the file contains newer information than the one it will overwrite.
When you click on a file in the explorer or synchronize list the path and filename are now shown in the status bar at the bottom of the window. This is most useful for seeing the full path when on a long synchronize list.
When a file fails to synchronize you now get more informative error messages. Also the file is left on the synchronize list giving you the opportunity to try the synchronize again and there is a new error message column.
There is now a verify option for the synchronize process. After a file has been copied it can compare the source and destination files to check they are the same. Turn on this option if you are experiencing any kind of file corruption on your system.
After you have prepared a synchronize list you now have the option, on the context menu, to copy all/selected files on the list to an alternate location directory or zip file. e.g. This is useful when synchronizing over slow wide area networks where it is fast enough to do the comparison but to slow for the copy. You can prepare the list and then copy to a zip file for physical transport to the other machine.
When printing file diffs, if lines wrapped, lines may have been repeated, in some cases in an endless loop. This has now been fixed.
There is now an option on the tools menu to clear the history of projects opened.

Version 1.14, Released Nov 10th 2003

Directory mirroring. When synchronizing in one direction, there is now an option to delete files that only exist in the target directories. You can also choose to remove empty directories.
In the prepare synchronize list window there is now a button to set the current settings as the project defaults for next time you synchronize.
Windows XP encrypted files can now be transferred to another PC without it failing due to the file becoming decrypted.
The synchronize progress bar on the report tab now represents the percentage of bytes synchronized rather than the percentage of files synchronized. This gives a more accurate indication of how much progress has been made. On Windows NT/2000/XP the progress bar is also updated during a file copy so you can see the progress when a large file is transferred.
When adding a sub folder to a folder with no current sub folders it did not update the tree on the left hand side of the explorer view.
The program now prompts for network logon if required.
There is a new option to show file size in KB, which defaults to yes.

Version 1.13, Released Sept 24th 2003

The explorer now reads the directory tree faster. This helps when expanding a directory with many large sub directories.
When selecting the two directory structures to compare, you can now type in the paths as well as using the pop up directory selection window. This helps when browsing for directories over a network is slow or non existent.
You can now specify file and directory patterns to include in transfers, in addition to the exclude options. These include patterns override the view include patterns.
There is a new option to transfer files that just exist on one side (e.g. new files only).
It now works much better with Windows large fonts.
You can now change the font that is used to display the file names.

Version 1.12, Released Aug 20th 2003

Fixed problems that occurred if the Windows date format contained month words.

Version 1.11, Released Aug 6th 2003

The tree display used to show the directory structure and transfer list has been vastly improved. It is now much faster and copes better with large structures and directories containing large numbers of files.
Directories and files can now be cached in memory to make exploring and synchronization faster. This helps especially with slow network connections. Caching can be turned on/off for each directory tree in the project settings.
There are now options to refresh the whole directory tree or just the current directory.
You can now choose, in the project settings, if you want a warning when overwriting a newer file with an older version during the transfer process. This is useful if you accidentally try to transfer a file in the wrong direction.
The log file can now be viewed from the program.
The transfer tab now has file information on the right hand side instead of in sub items.
You can now select multiple files on the transfer tab. This means you can change transfer direction, remove etc many files at the same time.
If files fail to transfer they are now left on the transfer tab for you to try again.
A progress bar is now shown while files are being transferred.
Long file names now wrap to the next line within the column on the report and in the log.
You are now shown a more meaningful error if the log file cannot be written to.
When comparing files using the diff, text files containing nulls would be truncated and cause errors.
When using the diff in binary mode, the last line may have been lost.
The transfer exclusion patterns would not work if View all files was selected in the project settings.
When running on Windows XP it now has the correct look and feel.
The history of projects opened can now hold up to 20 items.

Version 1.10, Released Jan 15th 2003

The logic for selection of files for transfer has been made more powerful. You can now tick more than one box. e.g. Transfer files with a modified date of newer or older. You can specify 'and' or 'or' logic between the date and size. WARNING: PLEASE REVIEW YOUR TRANSFER LOGIC AND DO A TEST TO MAKE SURE IT DOES WHAT YOU EXPECT. The project file format has changed so please backup your project files before saving them if you wish to use earlier versions of this product.
Occasionally the same file could be selected multiple times for transfer. This has now been fixed.
In the project settings view options you can now choose to include or exclude directory patterns in addition to file patterns.
In the project settings transfer exclusions you can now choose to exclude directory patterns in addition to file patterns.
When allowing an hour difference with the transfer modification stamps and up to 2 seconds difference: A file would only be treated as the same date if it was an hour different OR up to 2 seconds different. This has now been changed so it can be an hour different AND/OR up to 2 seconds different.
When saving a transfer report the file was saved as rich text when it should have been plain text.

Version 1.09, Released Nov 1st 2002

There are now powerful command line options. This means transfers can be automated from batch control.

Version 1.08, Released Aug 14th 2002

You can now cut, copy and paste files and directories within a directory structure. This can be done in both directory structures at the same time or just one.
You can now create new folders in one or both directory structures.
The explorer tab now has a pop up context menu on the directory tree side.
The files to transfer tab now has a new option on the pop up context menu to transfer a selected file immediately.
A bug in the file diff program sometimes caused text files to be compared as binary files.
On the explorer tab and the files to transfer tab when opening a file you can now use any of the windows file action commands associated with that file type.
On the file diff main window you can now click on a file name at the top to see a menu allowing you to run any of the Windows associated file commands such as open the file.
You were not allowed to enter a project log file name that did not exist. This has now been fixed.
The do compare button is now called Refresh.
There are now hint dialogs for beginner users. These can be made to go away by ticking a box.

Version 1.07, Released Feb 5th 2002

The project settings now has a new tab for things to be excluded from transfers:
Specific files and directories can be excluded.
File patterns can be excluded. These are in addition to the view file patterns.
Files and directories can also be excluded from the transfer by using new options in the explorer and transfer tabs.
The files to transfer tab now has a new button to allow you to navigate to the selected directory.
There is now a tutorial help topic.

Version 1.06, Released 2001

The first public release.

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AJC Sync

Versions