Continuously copy all file changes from one folder to another on change (Windows)

Solution 1:

I suggest FreeFileSync, which appears to have the ability to create a script that will automatically sync the two folders every few seconds. I haven't played with it personally, but it looks promising.

Solution 2:

Have you considered using RoboCopy? http://ss64.com/nt/robocopy.html

RoboCopy can be set to copy the data after a set period of time has elapsed and/or a number of changes to the datasets have occured.

/MON:n : MONitor source; run again when more than n changes seen.
/MOT:m : MOnitor source; run again in m minutes Time, if changed.

Solution 3:

You also might want to have a look at the (ageing) DeltaCopy client and server. Basically, it’s a Linux-like rsync implementation for Windows, scriptable (using the Windows scheduler, if wanted) and its main advantage is that only the changed parts of a modified file (yes, file!) are transmitted. This can save a lot of traffic on big projects. A disadvantage is, of course, that it has to build and transmit a file list before.

Also, there are some (small) caveats:

• As it is older software, you might have to replace cygwin1.dll on Windows machines. (If you sync files between Linux and Windows, only. It uses cygwin as the underlying framework which didn’t handle 16-bit Unicode/UTF-8 filename conversion correctly at that time.)
• It’s not exactly that user-friendly, you should have a look at Linux’ rsync manpage to exploit its full potential.
• On Windows, it requires a »client« and a »server« machine.
• If the server is a Linux machine, you’ll have to setup rsyncd correctly.
• No support for Windows’ Volume Shadow Copy (might not be needed, though).

Well, it also has advantages (that’s why I still use it daily):

• Fully compatible with *NIX rsync and rsyncd. A proven, well-known and highly efficient syncing system. Still.
• Keeps overhead small: Only the changed data (even inside files!) gets transported over the network. So it’s also very nice if you are teleworking or connect to your server via slow connections.
• Failsafe, apparently. I’ve rsync’d many many gigabytes of data over the years, and not one flaw happened when »patching up« the target files. Even if I found the concept a little worrying, at first.
• I still use DeltyCopy to backup files from Windows machines to both a central Linux server and a Windows 2003 server on a daily basis. Works extremely well and safe, if installed correctly.

Well, up to you. Have fun! (And let us know about FreeFileSync!)