To synchronise the contents of two folders, so that both folders have a copy of the most recent version of their files, you first need to specify a source and a destination folder. These folders are selected by clicking the icon above the word “Source” (to specify the source folder) and the icon above the word “Destination” (to specify the destination folder). When you have successfully selected either the source or destination folder, the words “None selected” will be replaced with the pathname of that folder.
When (and only when) you have successfully specified both a source and destination folder, the “Backup” button will become enabled. Clicking the “Backup” button starts the synchronisation process. A status bar appears giving an explanation of what SwitchBack is currently doing. As the synchronisation proceeds, the status bar will grow until it finally reaches the right hand end, signalling completion. After the synchronisation is completed a chime will sound, if you have “Sound’ checked in the preferences dialog.
Of course, this is only one of the many uses of SwitchBack. Synchronising two folders (whether they be on the same or different computers) is easy — see above, but to harness the full power of SwitchBack you can make use of its many features as described in the next section titled Advanced Features.