The purpose of this thread is to share tips about using "templates" in Syncovery.
Why templates?
Syncovery is so rich in the Options department that if you create several profiles with similar purposes (backing up many small files vs. backing up a few huge files) you don't want to start from scratch and have to remember every little option that took you a long time to figure out some months back. You want to start your new Profile using a template.
Although I haven't found a dedicated template feature in Syncovery, I am sure many of us have found workarounds. Let's share our discoveries!
To get the ball rolling, I'll share where I am with it now.
Idea #1: Dedicated Templates Group
- Syncovery Templates.jpg (9.09 KiB) Viewed 676 times
On the screenshot, you can see a group of profiles called Templates, with two templates: "Huge files" and "Normal". To create a group like this,
[*] Create two profiles called Templates Huge Files and Templates Normal Files. Syncovery detects that these two profiles start with the word Templates, and organizes them into a group called Templates. Note that this could be any word.
[*] Fine-tune the profiles.
[*] Disable the profiles (bottom left of the Profile settings). The red "forbidden" icon appears. This is to prevent the profiles from running.
[*] To use a template, right-click the profile and select Duplicate.
Idea #2: One Folder full of Symbolic Links
Let's say you want to apply the same profile to several folders located in various places on your machine. On the left-hand side of a Profile, you can only select one folder, so normally you would have to create one profile per folder.
One way around this would be to create One Folder to Rule Them All. That folder would not directly contain files. Rather, it would contain symbolic links to the folders to be backed up. (How to create symlinks varies on each operating system. A good file manager takes care of that for you.)
For this to work, you have to activate these options:
[*] Advanced / Masks & Filters / General Filters / Follow Junction Points / Symbolic Links to Files
[*] Advanced / Masks & Filters / General Filters / Follow Junction Points / Symbolic Links to Folders
Your special folder is now a kind of "template". To create a profile following that template, you add a symbolic link to the folder.
Two drawbacks:
[*] Syncovery will follow ALL symbolic links. If you have other symbolic links with folders below the root, you may be backing up files that you didn't want to back up.
[*] All the folders will be on the same schedule.
Templates where Changes Trickle Down
What I haven't been able to achieve so far is a Template whereby if I change one little setting, all the Profiles based on that template automatically change.
If someone knows a trick to make that work, I'd be very interested.
Ideally, I could imagine right-clicking a Profile, and an option to create a template. A template would contain all settings except scheduling and left/right folders, which would be set directly within the profiles that use the template. Once a Profile is set to follow a template, any change trickles down.
Looking forward to reading other people's thoughts and tips on this question!