Syncovery Support Forum

Hello

For a new project, we are looking if the following is possible with Syncovery:

Copy the files from a local NAS to a S3 bucket which would only be temporary: that destination is not the final destination but a watchfolder from where our cloud application would "consume" the file and move it somewhere else.
That means that from Syncovery the file would disappear from the right-side destination but should not be copied again from the the left side unless it is modified on the left-side.

So it requires to have a "memory" (database ?) of files that have already been copied (fpath, size, date) instead of relying on the right side directory.

Is there an option for such behavior ?

Note that I don't know yet if the host would be Linux/Windows or Mac. I'm asking there because our latest projects were Linux based.

Thanks

Hello,
yes, you can use the SmartTracking mode, which defaults to not re-copying deleted files. It uses a database.

Even better could be using checkmarks under "Filters". On Windows, you would use the two archive-flag checkmarks.

On Mac/Linux, Syncovery can mark copied files as copied and not re-copy them.

It depends on whether the NAS implements these file system features.

You can also install Syncovery on many NAS types directly.

Hi Tobias

So it looks like I could use the following :
SmartTracking options:
Detection of moved files: Off
Deleted files: Ignore
Conflicting: Do nothing (although this should not happen)
Options: nothing checked
General options
Masks/Filters: General filters: [X] Copy Only Files That Have Not Previously Been Marked As Copied (or Have Changed Since)

What do you mean by "marking the files as copied" ?
Are you talking about the Syncovery managed database ?
Or something on the filesystem layer such as the "Archive" bit on Windows (which I wouldn't consider as super reliable)
In that project, the NAS cannot host Syncovery so we need to rely on a separated computer on which the NAS is mounted.


A question: what happens if we have a problem with Syncovery database such as:
- database get damaged for any reason (not necesseraly by Syncovery)
- we have to re-install on another computer
How can we export the history of files already copied and re-import that ?

Thanks

Hello,
yes, your SmartTracking settings are good and will do the job.

The other stuff is an alternative. You should either use the SmartTracking mode or the marking mode. Not both.

The marking mode uses two checkmarks, not one.

Here's the complete section and explanation from the dialog:

Syncovery can Use Extended Attributes to Mark Files on the Source Side After Copying
Them to the Destination (similar to clearing the Archive Flag on Windows):

* Copy Only Files That Haven't Previously Been Marked As Copied (or Have Changed Since)
* Mark Copied Files With an Extended Attribute

The archive flag on Windows is super reliable, but on Linux, Syncovery uses Extended Attributes, which are also super reliable.

Whether the extended attributes work with your storage is something you would need to test.

If the database is damaged, you should add a date/time filter to be sure to copy only files modified after XX.YY.ZZZZ.
You cannot re-import a list of historic files.

But you could possibly copy the database to another computer.

In such cases, I would recommend emptying the source and starting fresh - unless you are using Archive Flags or Extended Attributes.