14 DAY TRIAL // Not a single day goes by without a handy utility being created, regardless of the field of activity, utility designed to improve the current state or to help the user get the job done a bit faster. Copying your files from one location to another is a simple job, but if the locations are on two different devices, like your computer and a removable storage device, things get complicated a bit, but still can be addressed automatically with the use of the proper application.
With the new applications hitting the market, automatically synchronizing an FTP account can be a piece of cake, if you have the right instruments, of course. Centiware released a software strongly related to the aforementioned issue. Just as the name suggests, FTPAutoSync, the application is designed to work with FTP accounts and automatically keep the remote folder synchronized with a directory on the local computer. The software is capable of handling up to 64 folders at once and unfortunately works in one direction only: from your computer to the FTP account.
The price for the little contraption is $20 and the only limitation imposed is that the program will close after 30 minutes have elapsed. Other than this, there is no restriction that might interfere with a proper testing of the program.
Installing the software on the system is a piece of cake, thanks to the installation wizard that guides you step by step. Launching the app will allow a dialog to appear, letting you know about the limitations of the trial version. OK-ing this starts the program. It is quite difficult to pinpoint on the screen as it simply consists in an icon sitting in the system tray and doing all the work in the background. You will not feel the application at all due to its unobtrusive qualities that carry all the jobs in the background.
There is no interface available as only the configuration window is present in the software. After everything is set up, FTPAutoSync from Centiware will run in the background constantly monitoring the defined folders, both from remote location as well as on the local computer, for any changes. Provided that there are modifications in either of the folders, the program should apply them immediately.
Making the necessary settings for establishing the connection with the remote location is not too much of an effort, considering that all you need to do is provide the right access credentials and define the folders (both remote and local) to be monitored. You can add as many as 64 locations to be supervised by Centiware's FTPAutoSync.
Before actually starting the synchronization, you can test to see whether the software can connect to the FTP account. Once the test is passed, there is nothing left to do but to start the monitoring task. All connections in the panel can be removed, started, stopped or forced to disconnect (it will force any file transfers for the selected directory to terminate). By default all entries are stopped, so you will have to manually start the monitoring procedure.
If you want to see the current state of the software, take a peek in the Current Status box in the lower right hand corner of the Settings panel. You will be provided with the file that is copied to the FTP server or the waiting status. Either closing Settings screen from the top right hand button or using Close option will always minimize the software to system tray.
Centiware FTPAutoSync is extremely small and unobtrusive, providing a simple, but very handy option if you constantly need to update a FTP folder. It is low on resources and configuring it is a walk in the park. However, from time to time there are some glitches related to its functionality. During our testing, we experienced problems when we tampered with the FTP folder and deleted some files there. Upon starting FTPAutoSync, the application announced that it could not sync the local folder as it could not delete the files and crashed. In addition, the synchronization was only one way as the data in the FTP folder was never copied to the local machine. When it came to reversing the process (populating the local folder for the files to be copied on the remote one) everything ran smoothly in the background with absolutely no problems (on both Vista and XP). Sometimes the application took a while before starting the sync process, but it always carried out the job.
All in all, Centiware FTPAutoSync makes for a good FTP server synchronizer, but works only one way as it will only update the remote location with the local new files, but not vice-versa. Considering the price, it would be nice to have it starting with Windows automatically. Fixing the issues and providing more options, such as pausing the transfer or defining the process priority would greatly increase its functionality, flexibility and get it closer to the $20 price.
The Good
The application is extremely easy to work with and the help document in the installation folder is comprehensive enough to answer all your questions.
It will monitor the local folder and the moment some new file is added it will automatically upload it to the FTP server, without bothering the user, as it will carry out the job in the background.
The Bad
For the price of $20, it sure provides a skimpy list of features. Besides making the settings for connecting to the FTP server and providing the folders to be synchronized, there is little you can do.
We could not synchronize a local folder with the remote one, as the software would crash.
The Truth
Centiware FTPAutoSync works fine, but it seems that there is plenty of work to be done and I hope more features will be added as what is currently available sure does not raise to the 20$ price.
During our testing, the software worked flawlessly only when it came to syncing the remote folder with the local one. Otherwise it would crash.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
