• File Sync For Mac
• Free File Sync For Mac

Click to view If you work and play on multiple computers in the course of a week, keeping your important files in sync can be difficult. The day may come when you've got access to all of your files and data straight from the cloud, but until that day, a solid file syncing application is just what the doctor ordered. On Tuesday you shared your favorite file syncing tools, and now we're back with the five most popular answers. Read on for a closer look at the five best file syncing tools, then cast your vote for the app you like best.

4Videosoft iPhone 4 to Mac Transfer is designed to copy and backup and sync all your music, movie, photo, ringtone on iPhone 4/iPod to Mac fast and smoothly. It fully supports iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, iPnone 4, iOS 4.3 and all the iPod versions. Possessing this tool, you can backup iPhone 4 to iTunes, you will never worry the losing file affairs while device crashed. 4.GoodSync for Mac. This macOS synchronization software can sync, backup and restore data. Accounts/Devices supported: Computers, mobile devices, FTP, S3, GDocs, SkyDrive, DAV, etc It has the option to automatically sync any file on your Mac with any computer, drive, or portable mobile devices. Alternatives to Folder Sync for Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, Android and more. Filter by license to discover only free or Open Source alternatives. This list contains a total of 25+ apps similar to Folder Sync.

Best File Syncing Tools?

1. ChronoSync is a complete, all-in-one solution for file synchronizations, backups, bootable backups and cloud storage. In use by thousands of photographers, video editors, filmmakers, musicians and other data professionals.
2. Hi guys, Just bought my first MBP, and I really, really need an app that can do the following: I need to be able to sync folders on the mac with folders on an external.
3. I use this to sync a folder on my Mac, with a folder on an SD card. One way sync only, copy files from target to source, delete any files not on source. That's about as simple as you can get,.
4. On the Sync Files from Your OneDrive screen, you can choose the folders you want to sync to your computer, and click Next. This conserves space on your computer, and reduces bandwidth needed for the sync processes.

UPDATE: Check out the five best file syncing tools for the results of this Hive Five. Computers are …

File Sync For Mac

Advertisement

Dropbox (Windows/Mac)

Advertisement

Dropbox is a free, cross-platform syncing app that boasts quick, instantaneous syncs and file versioning through your desktop and their web-based interface. Currently Dropbox is in a private beta (we handed out invites a few weeks ago), during which the application is free and offers 2GB of storage space. Once Dropbox leaves beta, premium accounts will be available if you need more space than the free 2GB default. Currently Dropbox's biggest drawback is that you can't define sync folders, so you have to move everything you want to sync to the main Dropbox folder. Read more about Dropbox>>

Dropbox Syncs and Backs Up Files Between Computers Instantaneously

Windows/Mac only: Freeware application and web service Dropbox instantaneously backs up and syncs…

Advertisement

Syncplicity (Windows)

Advertisement

Syncplicity is a free and premium, Windows-only tool for seamless, instantaneous file syncs. Like Dropbox, Syncplicity offers 2GB of free space and helpful icons to help keep track of the sync status of your files. Unlike Dropbox, Syncplicity can add any folder to your Syncplicity syncs, it has more advanced sharing features, and it already has pricing in place for premium accounts if you need more than 2GB (40GB for $10 per month or $100 per year). It's also available now, so if you've been waiting on a Dropbox invite, you might want to skip it and head over to Syncplicity. The biggest drawback to Syncplicity right now is its lack of a Mac client, but one is in the works and slated for September.

Windows Live FolderShare (Windows/Mac)

Advertisement

Windows Live FolderShare offers 2GB of (UPDATE: FolderShare only limits you to 10 libraries and 10,000 files, so it can sync much more than 2GB) free file sync between the FolderShare web site and Mac and Windows computers. Unfortunately the Mac version is ancient and reportedly has bugs with case-sensitive volumes, but either way it's a strong utility for both Windows and Mac syncing. In fact, it's what I used to sync Firefox extensions across Mac and Windows computers. Read more about setting up and using FolderShare>>

Sync your Firefox extensions and profiles across computers

Click to viewSince the dawn of time, humanity has longed for a simple way to sync Firefox…

Advertisement

SyncToy 2.0 (Windows)

Advertisement

SyncToy 2.0 is the go-to application for many a Windows user looking to keep files in sync locally—either over your home network or with a USB thumb drive. The new SyncToy boasts several impressive features, most notably a smart drive letter detection that recognizes your thumb drive even if it's assigned a different letter each time. What's more, SyncToy is the tool I use to sync my iTunes library between PCs. SyncToy is freeware, Windows only. Read more about setting up and using SyncToy>>

Hack Attack: Share your iTunes music library over your home network

by Adam Pash

Advertisement

SyncBack (Windows)

Advertisement

Free File Sync For Mac

The only cross-over from our Hive Five Windows Backup Tools, both the freeware and shareware versions of SyncBack offer options for synchronizing files between computers on a local network. Like many of the others, this backup favorite is Windows only, but it's more than up for the task if you need to copy and synchronize files between computers. Read more about setting up SyncBack for automated backups>>

Five Best Windows Backup Tools

Click to view Your data is your life, and if you're not backing it up regularly, you're…

Advertisement

Now that you've seen the best, it's votin' time.

Which Is the Best File Syncing Tool?
( surveys)

Advertisement

Big ups to this week's honorable mentions: Microsoft's hyped Live Mesh and the venerable command line classic, rsync. Did your favorite make the list? Let's hear more about it in the comments.

Live Mesh Connects Folders and Desktops Across Windows PCs

Windows only (for the moment): Microsoft has thrown open the doors to a 'tech preview' of …

Advertisement

Today's Best Tech Deals

Picked by Macworld's Editors

Standard Shipping is always complimentary on MAC Gift Cards. Privacy controls programs for mac.

Top Deals On Great Products

Picked by Techconnect's Editors

Whenever I set up a new Mac, I install a number of utilities that make me more productive, that save me time, or that protect my data. I bought a new MacBook recently, and, as with every Mac, I installed some essential utilities. I’ve been using some of these apps for many years; others are recent additions to my roster of essential software. Here’s a look at my 10 essential Mac utilities.

LaunchBar

The first two apps I install on a new Mac are the ones that help me get everything else set up on my computer. LaunchBar is one of the rare apps that has consistently garnered 5-mouse reviews here on Macworld. I use it to launch apps without needing to rifle through my Applications folder, to move and rename files from the keyboard, to search the web, and to search contacts, calendars, and much more. And I do all this from the keyboard, with just a few keystrokes.

LaunchBar does so many things that it’s hard to summarize this app’s features. Calling it a “launcher” only scratches the surface. If I use a Mac without LaunchBar, I feel like I have two left hands.

1Password

Next I install 1Password. With the need for secure passwords to protect your data and your identity, this password manager is as essential to me as a keyboard and a trackpad. It stores all my passwords, and when I need a new one, I use it to create secure, random passwords.

But 1Password does a lot more. It’s a repository for software serial numbers, so it allows me to install other apps, those not purchased from the Mac App Store. I also keep a number of secure notes in 1Password, containing essential banking information, and and other personal information. The app’s integration into web browsers, using an extension to quickly fill in your login and password on websites, makes life much simpler and more secure.

TextExpander

When you write a lot, anything you can do to save keystrokes saves time. TextExpander saves me a lot of time by allowing me to set up abbreviations that the app, working in the background, expands to longer bits of text.

I have dozens of “snippets” set up in TextExpander, for quick replies to email (“Please remove me from your list,” for example, for all the junk I get from PR people), app names I type often (iTunes, iTunes Match), my address, my phone number, bits of HTML code, and more. TextExpander also reminds me when I type something frequently and suggests that I create a snippet to save even more time.

SpamSieve

I get lots of email, and much of it is spam. I’ve tried using server-side spam filters, but there are too many false positives; messages marked as spam that aren’t. To tame my email, I use SpamSieve, a simple utility that works in the background to filter all my email as it arrives, and sort the wheat from the chaff.

SpamSieve has a slew of settings that let you determine how sensitive it is, and what it does to your email when it finds spam or ham (good emails). SpamSieve also learns from every new email that you mark as spam or ham, so, over time, it becomes more efficient as it learns the type of email you receive.

iStat Menus

As I work with my Mac, I like to keep an eye on some system information to make sure everything is running smoothly. iStat Menus keeps me appraised of some important data, such as how much RAM my Mac is using, how busy its CPU is, how much data is entering or leaving my Mac over the network, and more.

iStat Menus is always visible in my menu bar, but its display is small and unobtrusive. Whenever I want to check something, a quick glance shows me what’s happening. Clicking any of these graphs displays more information. For example, if I see that my Mac’s CPU is running hot, or there’s a lot of network throughput, I can click to view a menu and find which app is the culprit. iStat Menus also offers better menu extras than Apple’s for my MacBook’s battery status and for the date and time.

Sizzling Keys

I listen to music a lot while I work, and iTunes runs all day on my Mac in the background. When I want to pause music, change the volume, or skip tracks, I don’t like to have to switch to iTunes and click its buttons; I prefer doing it more quickly. I’ve never cottoned to using the media keys on Apple’s keyboard, since they’re just a bit too far too reach easily. Sizzling Keys lets me use a number of custom keyboard shortcuts to control iTunes, rate tracks, and even display a floating window showing what’s playing. There are lots of other ways to do this, but I find Sizzling Keys the easiest and most flexible iTunes controller.

Airfoil Speakers

Another utility I use with iTunes is Airfoil Speakers, part of Airfoil. Airfoil is designed to let you stream audio from a Mac to all sorts of devices, and it is an essential tool for doing this task. But Airfoil Speakers works in the other direction: it turns any Mac into an AirPlay receiver. This allows me to stream music from my MacBook or iPhone to my iMac. This is very useful, because I only use Apple Music on my MacBook, and I manage podcasts on my iPhone using Overcast.

Airfoil Speakers stays dormant in the background until I need it, but when I want to stream any audio to my iMac, it lets me do so transparently. I just select it as an AirPlay device from another Mac, or from an iOS device, and the sound goes through my iMac.

Dropbox

When you have key files you want to be able to access on multiple devices—computers or mobile—the cloud comes to the rescue. Like many people, I use Dropbox, which allows me to not only access important files on my iMac, MacBook, iPhone, and iPad, but also to share files with others. I work on a number of collaborative projects, where shared folders allow me and others to work on the same files.

And Dropbox’s Public folder allows me to share large files with friends and clients, sending them a link they can use to add the file to their Dropbox folder, or download it from the web. Dropbox is an essential tool for much of my work.

BitTorrent Sync

I work with two Macs: a 5k Retina iMac and a MacBook. There are a number of files I like to be able to use on both of these computers, and, while I could use Dropbox to sync them, it’s not the fastest solution for local syncs. I use BitTorrent Sync to keep a few folders in sync across my two Macs. Set up the app, add a couple of folders, and every time you make a change to one of them, BitTorrent Sync transfers the new files and deletes the ones you’ve trashed.

In addition, my MacBook is my test machine, and I often take screenshots on that Mac to use in articles I write. So I put my screenshots in a dedicated folder, which syncs from the MacBook to my iMac. It’s nearly instantaneous, and it makes my life easier; I no longer have to mount network shares to transfer files from one Mac to the other. And it’s a whole lot more reliable than that AirDrop thing, which never seems to work.

Carbon Copy Cloner

Last but not least is the tool that keeps my files safe: Carbon Copy Cloner. There’s nothing more important than backups, and I have a complex strategy where I run two Time Machine backups, as well as several backups of my startup volume, my media disk, and other files. Carbon Copy Cloner handles all this, allowing me to set backups to run overnight, to copy key files to external drives, and to clone my entire startup volume.

If anything happens to my Mac, I can always boot from that clone, and even restore it to the Mac. The app can mount external drives automatically before backups, and eject them when it’s finished. With Carbon Copy Cloner, I can be sure that my files are protected.