ChronoSync™ v3.2.0 - Release Notes

Welcome to ChronoSync, the automated file synchronization program for Mac OS X. 

What's New in v3.2

Version 3.2 is a significant update, bringing several new features and enhanced functionality to ChronoSync. These include:

• Universal Binary. ChronoSync will run natively on PowerPC and Intel based Macs.
• New "Parent Path" rule. Allows or disallows synchronization based on the full or partial pathname of files & folders.
• New "Finder/Spotlight Comment" rule. Allows or disallows synchronization based on Finder/Spotlight comments for files & folders.
• Finder/Spotlight comment preservation. Any Finder/Spotlight comments associated with files & folders are optionally retained during synchronization.
• New mail bridge allowing integration with the GyazMail email client.
• Enhanced "Creation Date" rule. It may now be applied exclusively to files, folders or both.
• Enhanced "Modification Date" rule. It may now be applied exclusively to files, folders or both.
• Enhanced "Finder Label" rule. It now displays color swatches next to each label.
• Optimized Trial Synchronization performance. Handles large sets of files more quickly and efficiently.
• Numerous bug fixes.
•	... and much more!

What is a Universal Binary?

A Universal Binary is a program that is capable of running natively on either a PowerPC or Intel based Macintosh. Regardless of what processor your Mac has, a Universal Binary will take advantage of the full performance it has to offer. Now that ChronoSync is a Universal Binary, you don't need to worry about what kind of microprocessor your Mac has. As long as you are running Mac OS X 10.3 or later, ChronoSync will run just fine.

Many Mac users have wondered what the Intel transition means for application support for older Power PC architectures. While we can't speak for other companies, we can say that Econ Technologies has no immediate plans for dropping support of PowerPC based Macs. Now that the initial engineering is behind us, maintaining ChronoSync as a Universal Binary will be relatively easy. In fact, maintaining compatibility with older versions of Mac OS X is far more difficult than maintaining a Universal Binary. So, as long as the minimum OS version that ChronoSync requires (currently 10.3) runs on a PowerPC, ChronoSync will continue to be compatible with your computer.

Phasing Out the '_Deleted Items' Option

Older version of ChronoSync offered the ability to synchronize deletions by moving deleted files to the '_Deleted Items' folder. This option is still available in ChronoSync v3.2.0, but it is being phased out in lieu of the new "Move to Archive" option. The old method is still being offered for backwards compatibility, but we strongly encourage you to switch to the new archiving method. Archiving is functionally similar to moving files to '_Deleted Items', except ChronoSync now tracks information regarding versions of duplicated files and their original location prior to deletion, which allows for efficient restoration of deleted files.

Archiving Files Consumes Disk Space

The archiving feature introduced in version 3.1 is a great way to maintain older versions of documents that may get replaced due to incremental changes or removed due to file deletions (accidental or otherwise). However, maintaining an archive of older versions of files comes at a cost - disk space! When a file is archived by ChronoSync, it is essentially making duplicate copies of the file and storing it elsewhere on your hard drive. This can quickly add up to a lot of disk space consumed. ChronoSync offers several archive management options in the Options panel of your synchronizer documents. These options can help curb the size of your document archives. Future versions of ChronoSync will offer file compression as well as the ability to specify the location of archives so they can be stored on other devices.

Your Initial Synchronization

If you begin by synchronizing two targets that are already in a synchronized state (or semi-synchronized), your first synchronization with ChronoSync may take longer than expected. In such situations, ChronoSync still needs to record information about every file in both targets so that it can better detect future changes to those files. Thus it will behave as if it is synchronizing every file when, in fact, it is merely collecting information on all the files. This only happens on your initial synchronization, since all the collected information will be recorded in the synchronizer document. 

Evaluating The Demo Version

If you are evaluating the demo version of ChronoSync, we suggest you begin with two folders, one containing files and the other empty. You can then experiment performing synchronizations between the two. If you begin with two folders that are already mostly synchronized, the demo will whiz through the 500 file limit in no time, probably resulting in no files getting synchronized at all.

If you find the 500 file limit too restrictive, a special, time-expiring version can be obtained by requesting one from sales@econtechnologies.com.

Synchronized Deletions Are Powerful Yet Can Be Dangerous

The purpose of synchronizing deletions is to maintain two targets in a "mirrored" state with each other. Thus if you delete a file from one target, the corresponding file will be deleted from the other target. This behavior also extends to moving and/or renaming files. The old copy of the file will be deleted from the opposite target but the new copy will automatically be placed in its new location. This is very handy and works quite well. 

The problem is, if you accidentally delete a file from one target, it will get deleted from the other target when the next synchronization takes place. For this very reason, ChronoSync offers 'safe' deletions, where deleted files aren't actually deleted, but moved to the trash or even an archive maintained by ChronoSync. We recommend that you use the "Move to Archive" technique to prevent accidentally deleting precious documents. If you do find that some files are suddenly missing, look in the "Archive" panel of your synchronizer document window. There you can locate deleted files and restore them to their original location or any specific folder on your hard drive.

Your Feedback Requested

The enhancements and fixes included in v3.2.0 would not have been possible without your feedback and suggestions. Not everything that was suggested to us has been incorporated into v3.2.0, but we're still working on them. As usual, we urge you to contact us should you have any question, problem, concern or suggestion by using our online support form at http://www.econtechnologies.com/tsindex.html. We pride ourselves in being responsive to your needs. We'll put every possible effort into making this product as complete, solid and useful as it can be.

Thank you for supporting our products,

The Econ EZ Team

February 8th, 2006