Microsoft SyncToy is a free application that synchronizes files and folders between locations.

Typical uses include sharing files, such as photos, with other computers and creating backup copies of files and folders.

There are files from all kinds of sources that we want to store and manage. Our digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops create files. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store, manage, retrieve and view files. Yet maintaining hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases, it is necessary to regularly get copies of files from another location to add to the primary location; in other cases, there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping track of whether the locations are synchronized in their heads. Other users may use two or more applications to provide this functionality.

It is an easy-to-use, highly customizable program that helps users do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders simultaneously; it can combine files from two folders and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.


Editor's Note:
Our download contains the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.