send US check, Canadian equivalent check or equivalent major currencies:
Randall Voth
46058 Fiesta Avenue
Chilliwack, BC
Canada V2P 3S4
email: Randall Voth <rvoth@uniserve.com>
Quick Start
1) Define the mode: Backup or Synchronize. A backup will remove any files or folders that do not exist in the "From..." folder out of the "To..." folder. Synchronize will copy files both ways between the two "Select..." folders.
2) Choose two folders clicking on the "From..." and "To..." buttons, if a Backup, or the two "Select..." buttons if a Synchronize.
3) Decide what happens to old files with the "Obsolete files" popup. If you are archiving old files you will need to choose an archive folder.
4) Optionally define rules for files or folders that should be skipped. Click on the appropriate list box and then click the "New..." button. For more information about selection rules, read the accompanying documentation.
5) Click "Go"
6) There is a condensation of the manual later in this "about" text. You can click in this text, choose "Select All" and then drag the text to the Finder as a text clipping if you have at least System 7.5. Of course, the documentation is provided in its best form as a portable document file to be read by Adobe Acrobat.
What Makes Synk Special?
Other than being sublime and joyfully simple, Synk can resolve aliases.
This means you can fill a folder full of aliases and Synk will backup the actual files or folders. I keep a folder full of aliases to my source code and other important bits that I use as a regular backup. It is easy to program a backup strategy this way. Simply make an alias of anything you want backed up and throw it in a "Daily Backup" folder. You can add or delete items in this folder without modifying the Synk Document.
You can even have aliases in your destination folders so disparate files will be placed (for instance) into the correct place on your PowerBook's hard drive. The possibilities are endless.
Just one limitation: do not place aliases to parent folders within child folders. Such an endless loop trembles even the boots of Synk.
Common Errors in Log
-34, no room left on disk for copying
-47, file was in use
-45, file was locked
-44, disk was write-protected
Subconscious Psycho-Babble
Be a hippocrite, vote Rhinoceros Party
Special Thanks
Jim Luther
Marco Piovanelli
Dan Crevier
Timothy Paustian
What follows is the Synk manual minus graphics.
Introduction
Synk 2.4 provides fast and easily programmed backup and synchronization for the Macintosh.
Send suggestions, bug reports and registration confirmations to the author at <rvoth@uniserve.com>.
Registrations should be directed to:
Randall Voth
46058 Fiesta Ave.
Chilliwack, BC
Canada, V2P 3S4
Shareware
Synk 2.4 is distributed as shareware. For $10 you get unlimited support and updates to the basic program. Please refer to the accompanying form for specific information on registering your copy and site licensing.
Synk 2.4 may be freely distributed in its original compressed archive form on online services. Please direct any requests to distribute on CD collections to <rvoth@uniserve.com>. Regularly updated archive mirrors do not require my notification.
The latest version can always be found in the INFO-MAC archives. Try <ftp://ftp.ucs.ubc.ca/pub/mac/info-mac>
Installation
Synk 2.4 is distributed as a compressed file suitable for internet archives. To decompress, simply drag the file you downloaded or copied to a free program called Stuffit Expander. This program is available through all online archives and services.
After decompression, find a folder containing this documentation and the application Synk 2.4. Find also a document called History & Notes explaining the version history and any bugs that have been fixed as well as special considerations for installation and running Synk 2.4 on different Macintosh computers.
Requirements
Synk 2.4 requires System 7 and approximately one megabyte of free memory. To use drag and drop, System 7.5 is required. Any destination volumes must have enough free space to contain all the data that will be backed up or synchronized.
Basic Functionality
Synk 2.4 can backup or synchronize a volume, a folder or a file.
For example, if all of your documents are stored within a folder called 窶廴y Documents窶 and wish to back them up to a removable cartridge, simply create a folder on the removable media called 窶廝ackup Documents窶.
窶｢ Nested aliases are not allowed.
A nested alias is one that points to an enclosing folder. If such a path is followed by Synk, the system will eventually crash because it is an endless loop.
窶｢ An alias filename must be exactly the same as the source file because files are located in sorted order.
Once an alias file is found and resolved, Synk copies the originating file to the destination directory. If the filenames are different, you will end up with conflicting names. This is a nuisance during a backup but it makes synchronizing folders impossible.
System 8 provides a COMMAND-OPTION-drag shortcut for creating aliases that no longer adds the word alias when copied to another directory.
Backup Tutorial
These tutorials will quickly demonstrate the basic features of Synk 2.4. They assume you know basic Macintosh techniques, including a familiarity with aliases. Refer to the documentation that came with your computer if you do not know how to create folders and aliases and copy files.
1. Create a folder on your hard drive called 窶廝ackup Source窶.
2. Place a copy of a document in this folder by pressing OPTION and dragging a file into the folder. One of the documentation files that came with Synk is a good choice.
2. Create another folder called 窶廝ackup Destination窶. This folder can theoretically be placed on any mounted volume, but for now create it alongside the 窶廝ackup Source窶 folder.
3. Run the Synk application by double clicking it in the Finder.
4. Define the source folder for your backup document by clicking the 窶廡rom...窶 button.
Navigate the folder select dialog box as you would any Macintosh file dialog. Choose the folder you wish to define and click the 窶彜elect窶 button at the bottom of the dialog.
1. Make a copy of your Synk folder. Do this by pressing OPTION and dragging the folder to your desktop.
If you have not deleted any of the files, the folder should contain two applications, various text files and this documentation in both Adobe Acrobat format and plain text.
For the purposes of this tutorial, you can copy any folder from your hard drive to the desktop as long as it contains files that you can modify. We are working on a copy so you can freely experiment without fear of losing any of your data.
2. Create another folder called 窶彜ynchronized Folder窶 alongside the folder you have just copied.
3. If Synk is still running from the last tutorial, create a new document by choosing 窶廸ew窶 from the 窶廡ile窶 menu. Otherwise, double click the application in the Finder. A new untitled document will appear.
4. Click the 窶彜ynchronize窶 radio button to change the document from backup to synchronize. Notice that the folder definition buttons change to 窶彜elect...窶
5. Define the two folders you have created for this tutorial by dragging them from the desktop to the Synk document window. Drop the first folder onto the text directly beside the top 窶彜elect...窶 button. Drop the second folder on the text beside the second 窶彜elect...窶 button.
Drag and drop only works if you are running System 7.5 or later. For System 7, you can click the 窶彜elect...窶 button as you did in the previous tutorial.
6. Your folder definitions should now appear much like the following illustration. The only potential difference will be the volume and folder names.
Synk works by comparing file modification times, replacing the older file with the newer one.
窶｢ What if clock times are different on computers across the network?
Though not important to the second, the date and time of two computers containing files being synchronized must not be different enough to 窶徙verlap窶 so that a modified file on one computer will appear to be unmodified on the other.
窶｢ What if a file in both folders has been modified independently of one another?
There is a potential problem which arises when both files have been modified since the last synchronization was performed. This is called a 窶廚ollision窶.
Synk copies the oldest file of the two into a folder on your desktop called 窶廚ollisions窶. This way you can check to see if there is any data you still wish to keep from the older file. It is a handy way for PowerBook users to 窶徭ync and dash窶, without worrying about possessing the wrong file on the road, but also not having to sit and check each collided file as it is encountered.
窶｢ What if I delete a file or folder from only one of the synchronized folders?
At the moment, Synk has no accurate way of determining whether a file has been removed from one folder or added to the other. You must remove both files or folders or it will be copied back the next time the Synk document is run.
A future version of Synk will likely address this issue by storing a catalog of the folders after synchronization.
Selecting Files
Selecting Files Using Aliases
Aliases can be used to select specific files and folders. Uncheck the checkbox 窶彜kip Aliases窶 to instruct Synk to resolve any aliases found in the defined folders.
You can instruct Synk to ignore files that have certain common characteristics.
File creators are the operating system codes representing the application that created a file. For example, PageMaker 6 files have the creator code 窶連LD6窶.
The Finder uses creator information to determine which application should open a document.
To define a file creator to skip, click on the 窶廡ile Creators窶 list box. The list box will become hilited by a dark rectangle.
Click the 窶廸ew...窶 button and locate the file you wish to skip.
Remember that all documents created by and related to the same application will be skipped as well. For instance, if you write a letter in a word processor and save it as both a text file and a normal document file, both files would be skipped by Synk.
It may take a bit of experimentation to understand which files are skipped using a creator. In general, files related to an application will be skipped by selecting the application in this file dialog.
To remove an item from the list box, select the item with a click and then click the 窶廛elete窶 button.
To be more specific about which files are skipped, use the file types option.
...File Types
File types are the operating system codes representing a document窶冱 content. For instance, a raw text file that contains no formatting information has a type of 窶狼EXT窶.
The Finder determines which file types an application can open by reading this information from a special resource from the application窶冱 file.
To define a file type to skip, click on the 窶廡ile Types窶 list box. The list box will become hilited by a dark rectangle.
Click the 窶廸ew...窶 button and locate the file type you wish to skip.
Skipping file types differs from creators in that all files of this type will be skipped, regardless of creator. For instance, many applications can create 窶狼EXT窶 files. If you select one of them, all text files will be skipped by Synk.
...File Endings
Naming conventions provide a powerful way of skipping files and folders that contain data you don窶冲 want compared or copied. For instance, ending unimportant folders with the text 窶.nb窶 could indicate 窶從o backup窶.
Click on the File Endings listbox and then click the 窶廸ew...窶 button. Enter in the text you wish to be compared with file and folder names and then press return or click OK.
Synk Preferences
Synk supports the do script alias filename command. This will automatically run the document specified by alias 窶彷ilename窶. This action will take place regardless of Synk窶冱 preference settings.
tell application "Synk 2.4 (PPC)"
copy (choose file) theFile
activate
do script theFile
end tell
tell application "Synk 2.4 (PPC)"
activate
do script alias "backup"
quit
end tell
You can specify the complete path of the document you wish to run by separating the folder hierarchy by colons, beginning with the name of the volume. In the case of "Duomonger:Documents:backup", Duomonger is a volume, Documents is a root level folder and backup is the document name... replace these with the specific path to your document.
For more information on AppleScript, buy the book "The Tao of AppleScript" by Derrick Schneider and published by Hayden Books. Applescript is cool.
Legal Stuff
Use of Synk is the sole responsibility of the user and is provided 窶廣S IS窶, without warranty of any kind. Raja software and the author of Synk expressly disclaim all warranties and/or conditions, express or implied. Raja software and the author of Synk are not responsible for any damages resulting from the use of this software.
