Have you ever wanted to sync files between your computers? With ViceVersa, you can. It comes in two flavors: Plus ($34.95) and Pro ($59.95). This review will cover the Plus version, which is perfectly suitable for most users’ needs. The Pro version is extra powerful and features real-time synchronization.
Pros
- Syncs your files and folders across computers and any storage media
- Low price ($34.95) compared to other software
Cons
- Confusing sync methods (unlike the Pro version)
- No easy way to do incremental backups
The Bottom Line
ViceVersa Plus is a powerful, budget-friendly file synchronization program. However, users looking purely for a backup solution should look elsewhere.
Installation
The installation file is a small, 1.1 MB zip file. The installation is very easy. Just click next through the menus, accept the licence agreement, and you’re done.
Backing Up
The main screen shows the source and target (aka destination). Clicking compare for the first time, a comparison window will pop up.
Compare your files before, and after you sync
ViceVersa features several different synchronization methods. The names are confusing, but the manual describes what they do pretty well. I won’t go over all of them, just the most important ones.
- Align Source and Target – This is your basic sync method. Files in the source and target will be synced. Newer files in either source or destination will overwrite the other. It will not remove files that no longer exist in either. It doesn’t delete! Only overwrites files.
- Update Target – Copies files from source to target. Also overwrites older files in target with newer files in source.
- Update and Prune Target – Same as the above, except it also deletes files in the target that no longer exist on the source.
There are others, but I think the above three cover most users’ needs.
ViceVersa Plus also supports powerful filters using Regular Expressions. So if you want to exclude certain files or directories, you can.
For backing up data, I would recommend setting “Create backup copies of delete/replaced files…” to ON under Settings > Synchornization. That way you’ll effectively be doing incremental backups/syncs. No data will ever be destroyed, only moved to another folder. However, you’ll have to manually prune these backups every now and then, since there is no version management.
Restoring
Restoring is pretty easy. Say you accidentally deleted some files from your computer. Assuming you’re using the Align Source and Target sync method, you could simply run the synchronization process and your files would be restored.
Features
Scheduling
ViceVersa Plus supports powerful scheduling via Windows Task Scheduler. You can choose to run your projects anytime you want, with a myriad of options.
Lots of options in the ViceVersa Plus scheduling window
Visually Compare Source and Target
This will let you preview a job before it’s run. That way you can ensure everything is going to sync just like you want it to.
CRC File Verification
CRC is a type of “hash” that verifies one set of data matches the other. It’s much smaller than the data it represents. You can use the CRC file to verify that your data hasn’t changed. Pretty neat.
Copy Locked and Open Files
This includes Outlook PST files, Outlook Express, QuickBooks databases, Word and Excel documents, SQL databases.
Support
Technical support is available via email. I emailed their support and was responded to the same day. There’s also a forum, which is fairly active at the time of this review. TGRMN Software responds to most of the posts for support requests. There’s also a help manual and “Tips of the Day”, which I found useful.
| Specifications | |
| Product Name | ViceVersa Plus |
| Version | 2.4.2 |
| License | Shareware |
| Price | $34.95 |
| Operating Systems | Window |
| Backup Types | |
| Files and Folders | |
| Full Disk Image | |
| Incremental | |
| Differential | |
| Backup Destinations | |
| Hard Drive | |
| Removable Media | |
| Network Shares | |
| Blu-ray | |
| CD/DVD | |
| FTP | |
| SFTP | |
| Online Storage | |
| Features | |
| Compression | |
| Encryption | |
| Email Notifications | |
| Error Handling | |
| File Versioning | |
| Priority Setting | |
| Scheduling | |
| Speed Limiting | |
| Synchronization | |
Geoff Akerlund
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