Microsoft has endowed Windows Vista with a new tool called Sync Center which is designed to work as a centralised location for all of your synchronisation operations.
If you have files stored on two computers or on a computer and mobile devices that you need to keep synchronised, then you know how frustrating it can be to have to use several different software packages with different user interfaces for each of your synchronisation operations. Fortunately, Microsoft realises that there is a much stronger emphasis on synchronisation. They've endowed Windows Vista with a new tool called Sync Center which is designed to work as a centralised location for all of your synchronisation operations.
A little sync background
You may not realize it, but Microsoft actually has a lot experience in the syncing business -- going all the way back to Windows 95. In that operating system, Microsoft introduced an elementary, but effective, synchronisation tool called Briefcase, which was represented by an icon that lived on the desktop.Back then, the most common way of using Briefcase was via a floppy disk. In this scenario, you'd drag and drop the files that you wanted to keep synchronised onto the Briefcase icon. You'd then drag and drop the Briefcase icon onto the floppy disk icon in My Computer. You could then take the floppy disk to another computer and then edit the files in the Briefcase folder on the floppy disk. When you later brought the floppy disk back to the original source computer, you'd double-click the Briefcase icon on the desktop and select the Update All command and Briefcase would synchronise the copies on the floppy disk with original files.
When we got to Windows XP, Briefcase was replaced by the more sophisticated Offline Files tool. Of course, by this time networks were more common and Offline Files was designed to use Ethernet rather than a floppy disk as the medium for synchronisation.
In August 2005 Microsoft released a much more powerful synchronisation tool called SyncToy. The nicest thing about SyncToy is that while it offers all kinds of sophisticated methods of synchronising files, its user interface is extremely clean, making this tool very easy to use.
Centralised synchronisation
Building on all their past synchronisation efforts, while
recognising the plethora of external devices that can now be connected to a
computer for the purposes of synchronising data, Microsoft developed Sync
Center for Windows Vista. Sync Center isn't really a synchronisation
application per se, but it is designed to work hand in hand with the
synchronisation applications that come with various devices. Because of that, you'll
still install the native synchronisation application that comes with your
device. When you do, Sync Center will establish a behind-the-scenes working
relationship with the application to allow you to initiate synchronisation
operations from within the Sync Center interface. In addition, Sync Center will
provide an iconic representation of the device, display a progress bar, report
on the results, and alert you to any conflicts that may arise.
An example: Offline Files
To illustrate how Sync Center works as a centralised
interface, let's take a look at how Offline Files works in Windows Vista. Using
Windows Vista's Offline Files interface, I set up a
connection to a folder on another computer. As soon as I did, Offline Files
began synchronising the files and gave me the option to switch to Sync Center
to monitor the operation. Upon doing so, the View Sync Partnerships page
appeared and I saw connection and its progress, as shown in Figure A.
Figure A
When the synchronisation operation was complete, I selected View Sync Results in the Tasks pane. Figure B shows the result.
Figure B
Sync Center displays the results of the sync operation.
On a subsequent synchronisation operation, Sync Center reported a problem on the View Sync Conflicts page, as shown in Figure C. I was also prompted to get more details and fix the problem by clicking Resolve.
Figure C
When a conflict arises, you can get more information on
After clicking Resolve, I saw the Resolve Conflict dialog box which explained the conflict and provided me with two ways to fix the problem, as shown in Figure D.
Figure D
The Resolve Conflict dialog box provided two ways to solve the problem.
Of course, the Sync Center provides you with the ability to schedule your synchronisation operations. As you can see in Figure E, the wizard that walks you through the scheduling operation will prompt you to choose a specific time or an event or action for initiating the synchronisation operation.
Figure E
The
Syncing other devices
When you install a mobile device that can synchronise its files with your computer, you'll see it on the Set Up New Sync Partnerships page.The current documentation mentions that mobile devices must be Sync Center-compatible in order for them to appear on the Set Up New Sync Partnerships page.
I can only speculate that Microsoft is aiding mobile device developers in updating the software for their most current devices. Furthermore, it's a safe bet that you will soon find Sync Center Compatible logos on new mobile devices.
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I support a number of naive computer users who depend on Briefcase to backup a copy of their important files. While flaky at times, Briefcase has the virtue of relative simplicity. I cringe at adding complexity to these users' backup routine. The extra time that will need to be devoted to instruction (assuming Briefcase disappears) will be hefty.