They then upload the changed files to the web server so that the new contents are shown and delivered to everyone. But there are also times where it is necessary to update a local folder whenever files and folders change on a ftp server.

This can for instance be the case when multiple web developers work on the same project from different locations.

FTP Synchronize is a lightweight software program for the Windows operating system that automates the process by automatically syncing data of a ftp server with a local directory.

The program is easy to use and requires little configuration. A click on the Settings link opens the configuration screen where the ftp server details (host, username and password) need to be entered. The target folder can be specified by browsing the local computer system.

Options to automatically delete files from the target folder, to check for updates and to restore from tray in case files where updated are checked and can be unchecked if they are not wanted or needed.

The program will display a list of files that have been modified on the ftp server if the user clicks on the system tray icon.

FTP Synchronize if a free software program for the Windows operating system. Webmasters and users who want to synchronize a local folder with a ftp server can take a look at the ftp sync software FTP Sync instead.

Akira comes bundled with a server application called Latte. Installation and usage depends on the number of Dropbox accounts used. The user needs to place the Akira folder into the Dropbox folder on the local computer system. Other PCs that are linked to the Dropbox account can automatically use Akira. Other Dropbox user accounts need to be authorized first so that their users can make use of Akira.

Akira offers the following features once installed:

• 1. View contents of a drive.
• 2. View contents of a folder.
• 3. Run an application.
• 4. Open a file.
• 5. Delete a file.
• 6. Terminate a running process.
• 7. View currently running processes.
• 8. View a list of all available drives.
• 9. Generate a screenshot of the current screen of the server and receive it in your Dropbox.
• 10. Get a specific file from the server PC and receive it in your Dropbox.
• 11. Shutdown the server PC.
• 12. Open a website or any URL with the server’s default browser.

The program itself offers access to command line commands that activate the various functions of the program (not case sensitive).

• ABOUT – display details about the specified command.
• CLEAR – clears the screen.
• CAFELATTE – terminates the server (Latte)
• DELETE – delete the specified file.
• DRIVE – navigate to the specified drive letter.
• EXIT – terminate and sign out from the server.
• GET – get the specified file from the server machine.
• GO – navigate to the specified folder name.
• HELP – display help screen.
• KILL – terminate the specified process.
• LIST – list files and folders under the specified folder.
• LISTDRIVE – list all the available drives.
• LISTPROCESS – list all the running process.
• RUN – run the specified application, file, or website.
• SCREENSHOT – takes a screenshot of the current screen.
• SHUTDOWN – shutdown the server PC after 60 seconds.

The program can for instance be used to take a screenshot of the current screen, kill a specific process on the remote computer or display the files in a specific folder.

Akira can be downloaded from the developer’s website. It is a portable program. The only other requirement is at least one Dropbox account.

Goodsync provides the typical left / right interface that many file synchronization software programs use. One interesting aspect is that it can not only be used to keep files in sync but also to backup them. Both operations are started as so called jobs. A job consists of a few steps that the user has to configure.

A file synchronization requires the selection of two folders that should be kept in sync. This can be used to sync emails, documents, music and anything practically anything else that is needed in more than one folder.

The analyze button will scan both directories and display the folders, files, sizes and additional information of both sides. The program will also list the space requirements on both hard drives if the synchronization is started. All files and the direction that they are copied will be shown as well.

Goodsync can also change the display mode so that only conflicts, errors and other information such as the sync state will be displayed.

Users can finetune the process before starting the synchronization. It is for example possible to exclude folders or files from synchronization or change their direction. The default sync direction is a two-way sync but it is possible to change that to a one-way sync easily in the options.

Filters can be used to exclude certain files or folders from the synchronization. One of the most important aspects of a file synchronization software is the support of storage space. GoodSync supports synchronization and backups on local hard drives, network drives, ftp, sftp, Amazon S3, WebDav and WinMobile hardware. It is therefor no problem to sync files from ftp or sftp to the local computer.

Once everything has been configured according to your wishes you can the automatic options. It’s much like a scheduler. You can set the interval or event when the file synchronization software should analyze or sync files and what the software should do if conflicts are encountered.

The options are also the place to create global filters and to change other options like the buffer size or if locked files should be copied.

Experienced users will like the sheer amount of command line options that are provided by the file synchronization software. There is practically a switch for every option of the software to synchronize or backup files. It is possible to import or export the job list to run it on multiple computers.

Every user is able to create file synchronization or backup jobs with GoodSync in a few easy steps. Experts will love all the settings and options to tweak the software.

Five licenses of GoodSync are up for grabs. To win one simply leave a comment and tell us what you would sync or backup with it.

The software client basically uses one source folder on the hard drive where all the files and folders are stored in locally. Uploading files is just a matter of moving files and folders into the Dropbox zone on the computer or by creating and editing files already in that special folder.

When the Dropbox client is running the files and folders will get automatically synced with the online client which keeps the most recent copies of the files and folders including file revisions. The web client of DropBox can be used to download or view files without having to run the software client. The client can also be used to upload new files to the service.

Dropbox currently has a 2 Gigabyte limit for every user which is definitely enough for many purposes. One of the interesting features of Dropbox is being able to share a folder with another person. It pretty much works the same as sharing a folder between different computers.

It is possible to copy files to and from a remote location using sessions or synchronizing files to and from the local computer with the remote computer. You can define when the session that you created should be started. This can be either manual, a certain delay in seconds, when changes are detected in the directories that should be transferred / synced or by chaining the start with other sessions.

Files are either checked by checksum if you choose to synchronize the files on the remote computer with the local ones or by the last modified date if you choose to synchronize the local files with the remote ones.

You could for instance have one copy of bookmarks files, contacts, to do lists and documents on a computer at work and synchronize the files with the computer at home to always work with the up to date version of the file. Also great for backing up certain files regularly.

Auto Ftp 2 can be controlled with command line options as well making it a very powerful tool for batch processing. (Start the synchronization every time Windows starts for example)