SyncTime Contact

If you want to report a problem or suggest a new feature, please write a comment on this page. Every feedback is welcome!

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Kommentare

789 responses to “SyncTime Contact”

  1. Script email don’t work.
    When I select that one, after entering my email, I don’t get anything. And right after syncing, the setting returns to ‘no custom script’.

    1. The script to send an email is designed to work only for the option “Execute custom script” in the sync item settings, not for the “Once all syncs are completed” global setting. Would that work for you as well? I will see if I can make this clearer in one of the next updates to avoid confusion.

      1. Ooook! Now it’s clear, the email has sent.

        However, the email written like this doesn’t make much sense for me, it just tells me the operation completed with the time.

        It would be much more useful if you said the number of archived files, modified files, deleted files, time ect…

        I then use Airmail.app, I tried to change the script, putting Airmail instead of Mail and unfortunately I get an error (https://i.imgur.com/YE0hNPl.jpg).

        I thank you very much, the app is made very well, congratulations.

        Sorry for spam.

        1. Thanks for your feedback. I will see if I can change the information shown in the email.

          If you use other email clients, you should search if they support AppleScript. In your case this link seems like it could help: https://help.airmailapp.com/en-us/article/applescript-mac-18iu98m/

          By the way, you can simply reply to the email I sent you, it would make communication easier.

  2. PLEASE HELP!!! I have used this for years and I just got the message about files using the synctime tag. I tried to sync before changing anything and got this error “The operation couldn’t be completed. Invalid argument NSPOSIXErrorDomain 22” I then tried all the suggestions on the help section and exporting/importing, deleted the sync files among other things, even uninstalled and tried again. Still same message…

    What can I do?
    Thanks

    1. I was able to reproduce the error on macOS 11 and older, and it seems to have been fixed in macOS 12 and newer. I’m preparing an update right now.

      1. Thanks for the quick fix on this!

  3. Bob Larson Avatar
    Bob Larson

    I’m suddenly getting Error copying messages for all new files added to a folder sync I’ve setup. Been working fine for a couple of years, but now it won’t copy any new files. The error is “The operation couldn’t be completed. Invalid argument
    NSPOSIXErrorDomain 22”.

    1. I was able to reproduce the error on macOS 11 and older, and it seems to have been fixed in macOS 12 and newer. I’m preparing an update right now.

  4. Hans-Peter Scholz Avatar
    Hans-Peter Scholz

    Dear Mr. Kick,
    I have a problem with synctime: it s not working with MacOS Catalina. Whenever I will synchronise the documents of the MacOS to an USP stick (ExFat), which contains some same documents and other folder with documents, I get the message for all documents which are to be copy: error copying for all documents. The different folder has not be copied.
    When I use another Macbook wit macOS Monterey it works.
    Please what is wrong when using Catalina?

    Fehler beim Kopieren von „,1.Sein 2.Tun 3.Sprechen.docx”
    Der Vorgang konnte nicht abgeschlossen werden. Ungültiges Argument
    NSPOSIXErrorDomain22

    1. Thanks for mentioning your macOS version, that was indeed the issue. I was able to reproduce the error on macOS 11 and older, and it seems to have been fixed in macOS 12 and newer. I’m preparing an update right now.

  5. I’d like to hide the dock icon. I don’t see a setting for this unless I’m missing it. I leave SyncTime running all the time (launch at login) and the icon in the menu bar is enough for me. Can you please make a setting to remove the icon from the dock?

    1. You can hide the Dock icon as explained here: How can I hide the Dock icon or status item?

      1. Oh, my. Thanks. I’m so blind.

  6. Rob Hartzell Avatar
    Rob Hartzell

    I’m trying to sync a set of folders on my external hard drive to my NAS. It took me a few days to resolve all the conflicts SyncTime was originally having with some of the files — but now, even with those resolved, I’m still getting an error message for every file that has to be copied/deleted/updated:

    “Error [source file] to [destination]
    The operation couldn’t be completed. Invalid argument
    NSPOSIXErrorDomain 22

    This happens whether the source file is coming from the hard drive, or from the NAS. Manually updating the files allows the sync to complete successfully, but then it fails again the next time it has to sync any files.

    1. I was able to reproduce the error on macOS 11 and older, and it seems to have been fixed in macOS 12 and newer. I’m preparing an update right now.

  7. Jenson Finn Avatar
    Jenson Finn

    Hello, I use SyncTime, an excellent application. And my device is M1 Max MacBook Pro. However, I noticed that when it copies files, it causes high CPU usage, which will affect my daily use of my computer. To address this issue, I changed the settings to backup my files to a specific folder every morning at 5:00am. Unfortunately, after running for several days, I discovered that SyncTime consumes a significant amount of memory – around 6GB – which is even larger than my Pycharm IDE. When there is no task running, it will occupy around 2GB memory. Do you have any plan to optimise this problem?

    1. Could you specify what “high CPU” usage means? During my tests SyncTime reached CPU usage that is comparable to other copy tools, such as the Terminal cp command or the Finder, which is about 20-30%.

      SyncTime currently keeps all activity logs in memory as well as on disk, which I guess explains those 2 GB that you have even when it is idle. You can check how big your log file is by navigating to it in the Finder, as explained here: Logs. I will try to optimize this and remove logs from memory as needed.

  8. Steve S. Avatar

    Hi, app ,looks good. I’m trying light version first. Will a second backup take less time? I am trying to backup my Photo’s before taking them off my Mac and onto an external hard drive to create space.
    I’m backing up 1.6TB and it’s suggesting a day and a half to complete first back up.
    Ideally I want to access my photos from an external drive and have SyncTime back them up to an old Apple Airport drive on my network, so not sure if the network ethernet connection will continue to slow process.
    Cheers,
    Steve.

    1. After all the new files have been copied, the following sync should be much quicker. You can do the first few syncs with SyncTime Lite to check if everything works as you would expect, and if you decide to continue with the full version of SyncTime, since the files have already been copied, the syncs with SyncTime will still be as fast as the last syncs with SyncTime Lite.

      1. Steve S. Avatar

        Thanks for the swift reply, I will do that.
        Is it possible to do two backups to the same location on an external drive? When I started this one I had to clear the destination of everything.
        When I upgrade will the full version sun with the lite automatically?

        1. You can have multiple syncs to the same external drive, there is no need to delete everything.

          You can keep the synced files, but the sync settings will not be imported when you purchase SyncTime. There is a help topic on the website that describes how you can proceed: How can I upgrade from SyncTime Lite to the full SyncTime version?

  9. Hi,
    thank you for SyncTime. I am syncing against an internal SMB share. When I am in the office, the internal NAS cannot be reached. SyncTime is triggering endless SMB-connection issues and even stops responding, so I have to force-end it.
    Is there a logic not to proceed when the SMS is not available?

    1. You’re correct that currently SyncTime freezes while trying to mount a volume. I’ve never experienced myself that a volume takes more than a couple of seconds to mount, with physically connected ones mounting almost instantaneously, but you’re not the first one who reported that SyncTime freezes for quite a long time. I had tried once to change this, but since it’s not a trivial task I wasn’t sure how to do it. I’ve just taken some time trying to do it again and I think I have a working solution now, which I will be testing in the next couple of days.

  10. Bodo Folger Avatar
    Bodo Folger

    Hi, I am looking for the best settings in SyncTime for my video editing backups. I want the app to save only the changes, such as new files I’ve added or new extensions to the editing project. At the moment, SyncTime seems to save all the data incremental again and again in new folders. But all folders show the full project with lots of GB. This is way too much.
    I would like it to behave similarly to Apple’s TimeMachine.
    What settings would you recommend?
    Best
    Bodo

    1. I guess you selected the backup strategy „Incremental, link unchanged files“? That‘s what Time Machine does as well: it creates a new folder for each backup. In the Finder it appears like you have the same files multiple times, but the copies don‘t occupy additional space. I just updated the help topic with some additional info and a Terminal command which allows to find out the “real” size of a directory: Backup strategy. Unfortunately there’s no way that I know of to see the “real” size in the Finder.

  11. Hello,
    I miss the ability to exclude entire folders from backup in the filters.

    Warm greetings and a happy new year!

    1. In the Filters tab of the sync settings you can exclude regular files as well as folders.

  12. Hi,
    is it possible send a Mail after Backup? Content should be: Title & Start-/Endtime.
    Thanks in advance for your Support!

    1. I’m going to publish an update very soon that will allow to install a script that sends an email when a sync completes.

  13. Marc Brouns Avatar
    Marc Brouns

    I have installed the synctime app on two macbooks and it has worked flawlessly for the past six months. Since Dec. 11, it has not been working on either macbook (independently). When I start a sync I do get the first pop-up window shortly later asking “confirm changes for …..”. After “OK” the program runs for a few seconds and then the program window closes and the program ends. No backup is made.

    1. It seems that the crash is caused by the option “Track moved files”. If you disable it, you should be able to run a sync without crashes. I was able to reproduce the issue and will publish an update soon.

  14. Jean-François Ménard Avatar
    Jean-François Ménard

    Hi, could it possible to create a job to sync a only a file, or a list of files, not a folder ??

    1. A workaround to sync a single file would be to select the parent folder, then in the Filters tab of the sync settings exclude the folder itself and include the desired file again.

  15. Michael Baker Avatar
    Michael Baker

    Hi, love the app, great job. One enhancement request would be to be able to adjust sync times. Instead of kicking off 20 syncs all at midnight, would be nice to slate them at different times (and not midnight).

    Thanks!!!! Keep up the great work!

    1. In the popup button where you can select the sync schedule, have you tried selecting Custom? There you should be able to adjust the sync times as you suggested.

  16. Daniele Marchi Avatar
    Daniele Marchi

    Kind Sirs, I tried to purchase the product from the App Store but I receive an error message… is it my problem? I’m using macOS 10.14.6.
    Thank you in advance for your help.

    1. If you get an error when trying to purchase an app, then it’s most likely not an issue with the app itself but in this case with Apple or your account. To be sure, I would need to have a look at the error message.

  17. There a couple dozen sync errors with the title ‘Conflicting source files’. The instructions are to make sure that the files ‘are the same’ before trying to sync again. What does that even mean and why does SyncTime think the files are different in a way that a two-way-sync cannot resolve any differences? It’d be helpful if the program would tell me what it thinks this mythical difference might be.

    1. A conflict in a two-way sync means that both file sizes or modification dates changed since the last sync, so that SyncTime doesn’t know which file you want to keep. This is briefly explained in this help topic: https://desairem.com/wordpress/synctime-sync-errors/

      Have you tried comparing the size and modification date of the conflicting files? Have you noticed any difference? Could it be that the size or modification time of both files has changed since the last sync?

  18. Christhart Bork Avatar
    Christhart Bork

    Hi,
    I have an intern HDD and an extern HDD and I wand to synchronize the data in both ways, e.g. if the extern file is newer than copy and overwrite the intern file et vice versa. It doesn’t work with the tool, because if I click both ways, I can not tell him overwrite the older. In the log the program gives me an error.
    Or is there another mistake?

    1. Do I understand correctly that you already selected the sync type “two-way sync” in the Destination tab of the sync settings? I don’t know what error you’re getting, but if it’s a conflict and this is your first sync, then SyncTime doesn’t know which file should overwrite the other one. In your case the file with the newer modification date should overwrite the older one, but this is not always the case. I just expanded the section about two-way syncs to make this clearer: Sync types.

  19. Nicolas hi!
    I found your app the best for syncing during work. But I need sync times less than a minute. Can you please add the ability to sync every 10-30 seconds? Would be really helpful.

    1. Sure, I could add seconds besides minutes in the next update. May I just ask what your scenario is so that I can better understand the need for such a low sync interval?

  20. Peter Alexander Avatar
    Peter Alexander

    hi again…. very weird situation here. i have a new mac studio since about 10 days. i have not been able to get time machine to work at all since day one. it keeps saying it cant bakcup because files are syncing. even apple enineering level seems to be unable so solve this. so my quesiton to you… is there a way to get synctime to essentially do the same as time machine?

    thanks

    peter

    1. In the Destination tab of the sync settings you can set the backup strategy to “Progressive, link unchanged files”, which will behave exactly like Time Machine. You can read more here: Backup strategy. The only caveat is that you can only use it to sync your home folder. SyncTime, just like all App Store apps, is not allowed to access system files, so it cannot do a backup of the whole Macintosh HD.

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