Backup

File management is an easy operation and Windows provides enough tools for basic task handling. However, advanced task might involve moving large quantities of data from one location to the other. This practice is known as synchronization, which is easily performed with specialized applications like Backup.

Just to be sure no functionality issues are encountered, it’s best to check whether or not Java Runtime Environment is already installed on your computer. On the other hand, the application itself skips you the setup process, and can even be launched on other computers directly from a USB flash drive.

The visual design is intuitive, with different sections fitted with their own color for easy identification of info panels like backup options, status of the operation, and overall statistics. There’s also a large output log panel which fills up in real time as the process runs, with the possibility to copy text to clipboard.

Drag and drop is not supported as a method of loading the two required directories, so you need to use the built-in browse dialogs. It’s best to select an empty folder for the destination, because existing files are overwritten without warning.

Unfortunately, the application is only capable of carrying out one way synchronization, which means files from the source are copied to the destination. There’s no possibility to set up file filters or other ways to sort data. What’s more, data needs to be configured with every new process, and it would have been useful to see a folder monitoring feature, not to mention options to schedule sync processes for multiple directories.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Backup comes with good intentions, but it doesn’t really save time in the process. Synchronization options are poor, with no filters to apply, and only one way copying of files. With no scheduler or folder monitoring feature, practicality has a lot to suffer.