So, how many computers do you own or are part of your household? Do you sometimes wish you had access to your files at home from your laptop even though they are many miles apart?
If you have more than one computer and you want to share your files and keep them automatically in sync, I have a great program for you. And, of course, like many of my favorite programs, it is free!!
The program is called FolderShare and has been around for a couple of years. And because it is so good, it was recently bought out by one of the giant software companies...in this case, Microsoft. It is available on the FolderShare web site for free.
How does it work? Well, I will use myself as an example to help you get the idea. Right now, Susan and I own four computers, two at home for our own use, the main one in my studio, and a laptop that is used at home, at the studio and on the road. All are connected via the Internet, using our Grant County Fiber Optic system. The laptop, when on the road, uses a wireless connection from wherever there is a signal. Right now, as I write this, it is here at my studio plugged into my fiber optic connection, next to my main computer.
There are a lot of files on my studio computer that I want on the road with me, such as my Word and Excel files that I constantly access, my calendar program, database files and several others. Before I went out on the road, I used to use a great program called Syncback to sync those files between my two computers. When I come back, I would, in the past, sync them up again to make sure the changed versions or new files got back into the main studio computer. I bit of a pain, especially when I updated two identical files in two computers, then synced them. Some of my changes would then be lost forever.
Now, with FolderShare, those same files are in constant synchronization. As I change and save a file in my main computer, it is automatically updated in the laptop (and visa versa). But more than that, if I am in Seattle, for instance, and change or add a file, it will synchronize it with the main computer in Ephrata automatically, using the Internet. Of course, both computers must be connected to the Internet at all times and must both be turned on in order for it to work, which is not an issue for me.
To do this, you identify the folders (or directories) on each computer that you wish to stay in sync. From that point on, they will automatically update each other as you work on the files. You don't have to do anything special.
Another added bonus is that you can select certain files to share with friends. And you can access other files not designated for synchronization from one computer from another. For instance, if I want to work on my art or photo files at home, I can connect to the one I need without having to synchronize all of my photo files. Oh, yes, for those of you that have PC's and Macs, it works the same way.
All of this happens using peer-to-peer network technology. When you download FolderShare, you create your own private peer-to-peer network just for all your computers. Of course, you need to download FolderShare on every computer that you intent to use.
I like this program a lot and I recommend that if you have more than two computers, you take a good look at it.
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