Portable EF AutoSync

It's always a good idea to keep an extra copy of important files in case unexpected events occur. In this regard, synchronization and backup utilities can be found all over the Internet, fitted with more or less helpful features. As such, you'll find that Portable EF AutoSync isn't just a lightweight safety plan for files and folders, but has a lot more power stored under the hood.

As the name suggests, you don't need to install this edition on your PC for proper functionality. For a backup utility, this is a major advantage because at least one target folder can be kept along with the application itself on a USB flash drive so you can synchronize data with multiple computers.

You might be a little confused when first running the application, with a simple, compact main window greeting you and a small toolbar holding several buttons. Most of the space is empty, but it's used to display all created tasks, which you arrange as you see fit and equip with menus or separators.

Oddly enough, a task can be created out of any element present in your list, namely menus, separators, as well as the jobs themselves. This provides some degree of flexibility, as no space is wasted whatsoever.

The creation process is incredibly thorough, but easy to set up. You can add multiple pairs of folders to a single task, with the possibility to pick whether or not it's part of a removable disk drive with a fixed drive letter. You can edit a task and temporarily exclude specific folders from the process.

A fair number of synchronization methods are bundled up in a drop-down menu. Below you find a list of actions that literally define the task. So whether you pick mirror, augment, refresh, update, consolidation or bidirectional, corresponding actions are ticked. Another advantage is that you can fine-tune each process, because options are not locked, regardless of your choice.

The application lets you apply custom filters to better define each job. With a few mouse clicks, folders and files are only managed if date / time, length or attributes like archive, read only, system or hidden are met.

When not defining jobs, the application quietly sits in the system tray not to take up precious desktop space. The dedicated icon is fitted with various controls for quick access, trigger and editing. Moreover, a built-in in scheduler gives you the possibility to create planned tasks according to time, add delay or make them recurrent.

Bottom line is that Portable EF AutoSync deserves a seat at the winners table. Although simplicity might cause some confusion at first, you quickly manage to find your way around. The abundance and diversity of conditions you can apply make it possible to create tasks that meet any demand. To further add to practicality and flexibility, this edition doesn't waste any time with deployment, making it a must-have after a fresh install of Windows.