InSync

Frequently Asked Questions

The registration key you sent me doesn't work, why?

Please see the General FAQ webpage for the answer.

Where has 1-way-sync gone, and what is the new mirror mode?

The mirror mode is exactly the same as the old 1-way-sync. It was simply renamed to the more common industry accepted terminology.

InSync runs just fine on the desktop, but cannot find it's job definitions when run using a scheduler under Windows XP/Vista

Under Windows XP/Vista, InSync stores registration, job, and profile information on a per user basis so that each user can have his own job definitions. Under Windows XP/Vista a third party automatic scheduler must be able to run InSync under the same user account that was used to define the job to be run, or InSync will not find it. If using the Windows builtin scheduler, you can easily set the userid and password using the Task tab of the scheduled task property.

We also suggest that you use the 'Save selection' button to create a .ISY file containing a list of the jobs currently selected. Since the .ISY file type is automatically associated with InSync, a .ISY file can be scheduled directly, and InSync will automatically be invoked to run the selected jobs.

I want to filter out the RECYCLER and 'System Volume Information' folder since they are always locked anyway, but I can't see them in the folder browser in order to select them for exclusion.

InSync uses the Windows built-in folder browser, therefore it adheres to folder options. To make hidden folder visible open a window where the hidden folder resides, then choose the Tools->Folder Options... menu entry. Then select the View tab and enable the 'Show hidden system files' option and disable the 'Hide protected operating system files' options. Then click Apply. The next time you bring up InSync, all folders will be visible in the browser.

Why are files copied unnecessarily to or from a SAMBA server file system?

InSync uses file attributes to determine if a file has changed or is different. Samba, in its default configuration, does not support all Windows style file attributes. You can specify Samba configuration options to enable the required support. Three Samba options decide whether the bits are mapped: map archive, map system, and map hidden. These options map the archive, system, and hidden attributes to the owner, group, and world execute bits of the file, respectively. You can add these options to the [data] share, setting each of their values as follows:

			[data]
			path = /home/samba/data
			browseable = yes
			guest ok = yes
			writeable = yes
			map archive = yes
			map system = yes
			map hidden = yes
			create mask = 755
			hide dot files = no
			

Is it safe to copy locked files?

As of version 8, InSync supports the copying of locked files on NTFS files systems. Be aware however that a locked file is not necessarily in an internally self-consistent state. Some data may be held in buffers by the process owning the file that may not yet have been written out to the file at the time it is copied.

When daylight saving day changes, why are files that have not changed copied?

InSync uses file date stamps to determine if a change in the file has occurred. Each operating systems has its own way of storing file timestamps. Some operating systems like Windows 98 store the local time, others like Windows XP store the universal time (Greenwich mean time). If local time is used then the file's timestamp will appear to change when daylight saving time changes. InSync has no way to determine how the timestamps are stored. If the source and target folders are on hardware whose operating systems use different file timestamping strategies, then the files will appear to have changed whenever the daylight saving time changes.

Where are InSync configuration options stored?

As of version 6.2.18, InSync options are stored the user specific 'application data' folder for Windows versions that support it, and in a common folder for Windows versions that don't. The file is called InSync.xml and can generally be found in one of the following locations.

Under Windows XP/Vista:

\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Dillobits Software\InSync\InSync.xml

on your boot drive, where USERNAME is your logon account. You may have to set the 'View hidden files' folder option to see the files.

How are NTFS permissions handled?

InSync will attempt to copy file security permissions if both the source and destination folders support them, such NTFS. InSync itself must of course be running under an account that has sufficient privilege to read permission attributes from the source folder files, and to write target file permission attributes. It would not make sense to copy inherited permissions since there may be differences between the source and destination security contexts. Only non-inherited permissions are copied.

If your question was not answered here, please check the General FAQ webpage.