Two-Way Folder Synchronization
You can synchronize two folders using:
- Predefined, high-level synchronization operations e.g. Update and Mirror.
- Finer-level synchronization operations e.g. Copy, Move, and Delete.
One-Click Synchronization
The following one-click folder synchronization operations are available:
- Update First - newer and orphan files from Second are copied to First.
- Update Second - newer and orphan files from First are copied to Second.
- Update Both - newer and orphan files are copied from each side to the other.
- Mirror to First - First folder is made identical to Second.
- Mirror to Second - Second folder is made identical to First.
To perform one of the above sync operations select it from the dropdown menu then take
a look at the info panel to ensure that the number of files and the involved sub-operations
are what you expect them to be and finally click on the Sync button.
Synchronization using Copy/Move/Delete
Any desired synchronization result can be achieved using two or three basic
operations—Copy, Move and Delete.
Here are the steps involved in synchronizing two folder hierarchies with DeltaWalker, specifically
making the second hierarchy the same as the first:
- Select the folders of interest in the first and second folder selectors and hit the "Compare"
button on the main toolbar.
- If there are files present only in the first folder they'd be reported as deleted and
the little orange rectangle with a minus sign on the status bar would show their count.
Those files need to be copied from the first to the second folder. To do that, right-click
and choose "Select Deleted". Right-click on one of the selected items in the first
hierarchy then click on "Copy Selected from First to Second".
- Next copy the different files, if there are any: right-click and choose "Select Different"
then copy the selection from first to second as in the previous step.
- Finally, if there are files present only in the second folder, you'd probably want to delete them.
To do that, first do "Select Added" then right-click in the second folder hierarchy and choose
"Delete Selected" or hit the Del key.
The thing to ensure when copying files is that the files that are being overwritten don't contain
valuable changes. It is not uncommon that two folder hierarchies have been
changed independently and both branches contain valuable changes. The safest approach is to
analyze carefully the different files and, if necessary, manually merge them. Comparing and merging
different files with DeltaWalker is easy—just double-click on them from your folder
comparison window and they'll open for comparison..
DeltaWalker presents you with everything you need to make
informed and confident merge and synchronization decisions; it also offers the tools to carry out these decisions
with the least amount of effort.
If you can't move, copy or delete a file or folder on Mac OS X
If DeltaWalker reports an error when moving, copying or deleting an item—a file or a
folder—on Mac OS X, you can do one of two things:
- Change the item's permissions settings. You may also need to change permissions settings
for the disk, server, or folder where you want to copy or move the item.
To check your permissions for an item:
- Right-click on the item in DeltaWalker and select 'Show in Finder'
- In Finder, select the item and choose File > Get Info.
- Make sure the item isn't locked i.e. the Locked checkbox must be unchecked.
- Click the triangle next to Sharing & Permissions to expand the section.
- Open the pop-up menu next to your user name to see the permission settings. You may
need to click the lock icon and type your password.
- For the item you want to move or copy, choose Read Only or Read & Write. For the
location where you want to place the item, choose Read & Write or Write Only.
- Run DeltaWalker as root/administrator by typing the following in a terminal window:
sudo /Applications/DeltaWalker.app/Contents/MacOS/DeltaWalker
Here, as in the first case, you want to make sure that the item isn't locked.
If you are logged in as administrator for your computer or you know the user name and password
of an administrator, you may be able to change permissions for an item.
If you don't have the permissions you want, contact an administrator of your computer or the
owner of the file or folder. For further information, see the references below.
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