It is a trouble everyone is facing. We all have many computer files, and then we all have many devices that uses those files:

• Microsoft Office® files that has constantly been copies amongst your office desktop, your notebook computer, you home desktop, your 2½" external harddrive, your flash drive, and your company's network drive.


• New songs of your MP3 collection to be updated to your MP3 player, your desktop, your Media Center PC, you notebook computer, and your backup Harddrive or NAS.


• The latest photo of your vacation or your 3-year-old to be updated to your handheld media device, your notebook computer, your cellphone/smartphone, your PSP, etc


• The working files that you left on your office PC's Desktop and your Favorite links. You'd always need them at home, and vice versa.

In short, we repeatedly find that some files we need are not availale in the storage device in hand. And we keep spending time to recall and compare what and which is the latest changed/new files to be copy.

Yet, we still got wrong version of files overwriting new ones by mistake; or deleted/unwanted version of file keep haunting somewhere from time to time.

Bamboo File Sync and Backup is the file sync software designed to be the one *simple* tool for everyone of us who don't want to spend our precious time and effort to sync and backup files manually in every storage around us!

User features:

• Synchronization:
  Comparing “Add/Change/Delete” since last execution between two locations. “Add/Change/Delete” propagation to/from both locations could be fine tuned.


• Backup:
  Make backup copies of your important files.


• Merge and Tidy up:
  Consolidates files from two locations.


• Filters:
  Multiple inclusive and exclusive Filters by file/folder names, size, modified data, and file attribute. These Filters are designed to be both comprehensive in scenario coverage and intuitive in usage.


• Storage devices:
  Copy across network, local hard disk, different file systems, and removable storage devices.


• Batch execution:
  Group and sequence multiple copying actions for easy and controlled execution.


• Scheduled execution:
  Copy file unattendedly at any time you like.


• Always ready to go:
  Post execution actions like unplugging removable device and computer shutdown/suspension/hibernation.


• Traceability:
  Detailed execution log and history.


• Unicode handling:
  Multilingual (including Asian characters) file/folder name support.


• Robust:
  Sophisticated file analyzing algorithm and logic make use of all available info for file comparison.


• Efficient:
  High speed file analysis and copy engine.


• Control:
  Options for manual or intelligent automatic conflict resolutions.


• Intuitive user interface:
  Who want to learn to use a file sync software?! When you have an idea, Bamboo's UI will just lead your way to have the job done.


• No extra hidden file/folder left in your folder!:
  Bamboo's algorithm and program design would not generate and keep any hidden extra file/folder in the folders you synchronize.

All you need to know to use Bamboo are 1) Folder Pair; 2) Batch; and 3) Schedule.

• Folder Pair - This is where you specify what and how files are synchronized. The only basic information needed is the two folders involved. Then you can add one or more Filters to include or exclude the files and sub-folders from the two folders specified. You can opt to fine tune how the files/folders are copied, like how will they be overwritten, or the direction of changes propagate, ...etc. You can create a new simply right-click any folder in Windows Explorer to launch the Bamboo Folder Pair Wizard; or copy any similar existing Jobs of your own as a starting point and modify them to save your time and avoid going into the options details again.
• Batch - Batches could simply be described as "a bunch of sync or copy Jobs". These Jobs are put together for only one simple purpose: so that they could be executed one after another, in the sequence you specify, as a unit.
• Schedule - By using Windows' system Schedule Tasks, we can specify the Jobs/Batches we have defined to run automatically and un-attendingly at any time we like.

The following use-cases are just a very short selected list of common scenarios that computer users would find Bamboo File Sync and Backup helpful in automating and simplifying their routines.

   "My job is quite demanding and I need to take my work home from time to time. I used one of those USB flash drive or USB external hard drive to carry the working files back and forth. Those things really become handy and cheap nowadays. Problem is, I always need to recall what to copy, or which files are the latest. Browsing through folders and folders, and folders inside folders is pretty annoying when all you want to do at the moment is leaving the office! You know what I mean? If I just copy everything without thinking, it'd be too slow. Ah... and when you are really tired, accidents COULD happen! I've overwritten two days' work from the old copy in my USB once!"

With Bamboo sync software installed on both your office PC and your home PC, you can define a Folder Pair, say lets call it "Latest works to USB", in your office PC to automatically select the latest files from your usual working folder to the USB removable drive, run the Folder Pair before you leave your office and there you go! At home, you defined another Folder Pair in your home PC to copy "Latest works from USB". Work on those file and vice versa, run "Latest works to USB" in your home PC before you call it end of the day.

Now the only thing you need to remember is to put that USB flash drive in your pocket before you get out of the door!

   "I work mostly on my Notebook PC. But I need to copy my latest works to the office network drive from time to time, and also copy some of my colleagues' works from the network drive. Ocassionally, when I work at home, I'd prefer my faster Desktop PC with bigger screen. I'd then need to copy the entire working folder from my Notebook 'cos I have no idea what file has been updated since the last time I worked on my home Desktop weeks ago. But then, half an hour later, I may find that I need some information I've found on the Web, but the link is in my IE Faviorite in my Notebook. I may ended up booting up my Notebook again..."

With Bamboo installed on your Notebook, you can set up a Folder Pair in the sync software to synchronize the folders between the working folder of your Notebook PC and selected folders of the office network drive. Everytime before you leave the office, just Run the Folder Pair and go! Now when you are at home, you can have seperate Folder Pair to sync your works, your IE Favorites folder, your MP3 music titles, your photos, ...etc, and group them all in a single Batch to execute easily. So, not only your Desktop PC could be updated with your office works, your Notebook PC could also be updated with your latest vaction photos!

In fact, if you are familiar with your daily favorite application softwares, you can also synchronize their data files/folders between different computers so that you email, IM messenger history, and other stuffs go with you everywhere! (Note: Individual application software have vary mechanism and logic on their own data files/folders. You are adviced to consult individual software's documentation and support to have a good understanding of your risk before tempering with their data files/folders. Bamboo is not responsible for any lost of information due to mis-usage of any third-party software data files/folders.)

"My files are all multilingual. File contents, and file names, folder names..."

Bamboo is designed, implemented, and tested with multilingual files/folders handling deep down in mind.

Bamboo file sync software never tempers with any file contents. They stays how they are.

For multilingual file and folder names, Bamboo would manage, compare, filter, copy, create, delete, show, and log them all as they are, that is, multilingual.

"I like to use modern technology to enrich my life. I like taking photos of my family and of the places I've been with my digital camera. I like to rip my CD/DVD collection as digital AV library in my Media Center PCs output to my big screen TVs, in my living room, and my bedroom. I have a few computers, USB flash drives, USB/eSATA/Firewire external hard drives, NAS, a lot of memory cards, a few cellphones/smartphones, PSP, PS3, XBox360, PMP, PocketPC, MP3 player, HD camcorder, and a few DCs and DSLRs. I have so many storage devices that, say, now if I got a new CD ripped as MP3 titles; or a few hundred photos shot over the weekend trip, these files are going to take forever to make their way to all my storage devices. When my friends come over by next week, it'd be nice if we can all sit down on the sofa to view our mountain trip photos on the big screen. But when the time comes, I must be spending 15-20 minutes copying those photos from my DSLR to the Media Center PC. Besides all that, I want to backup all these collections of mine but I never remember to do so."

Wooow! That is awesome. Since you have so many file sources and so many storages, the best way is first sort out a computer with Bamboo file sync software installed, defined all the Folder Pairs of what goes to where. According to your situation, there are too kinds of Folder Pairs: one kind of Folder Pairs for loading files form all sources like cellphone, DC, memory cards, or CD ripping software output folder, to that local computer; the second kind of Folder Pairs for distributing those files to all devices you would find them useful, including backup drives.

The distribution Folder Pairs could then be gathered together as a Batch. Schedule the Batch to be executed daily during non-peak hours.

Many computer end users, unlike corporate IT system administrators, usually prefer to backup their files as simple file copies instead of a bunch of packaged backup archive files whose contents has no easy way to be viewed or restored. Therefore, many users want their backup to be simply another copy of files on another hard drive or another computer, so that they could be viewed, examined, opened and used at any time. Bamboo, in this sense, makes a very powerful, user-friendly, and effective backup tool for general users.

   "I've just bought a new larger hard drive. Now I want to copy a selection of my files to it and get rid of the old one. I'm talking about many many files. Problems:

• If there is an error, Windows Explorer would just stop, and I'll have no idea what has been copied, what has not. I'll have to start it all over again. And again, and again, and again, if there are more problems ahead.
• Any dialog box for error, for overwrite, for confirmation, ...etc. of Windows Explorer may come up during the 2hrs copy and wait for my reaction to continue. I don't want to sit there watching the monitor for 2hrs. I want to go away and come back to it next morning.
• Windows Vista file copy takes literally forever.

Although Bamboo, as a file sync software, has never been designed to replace Windows Explorer's daily file copy usage, it's nonetheless an effective alternative to the Windows Explorer for certain heavy or complex file copy scenarios. You can ad-hoc set up a Folder Pair at anytime with complicated files/folders selection criteria and copy action options beforehand, rather than being prompted during the copy. You can Run the Folder Pair without attending to its execution.

When you come back to them, and if there is any problem, you will find Bamboo has already skipped to complete all other non-problematic files/folders. Only the problem entries will be left pending decisions. You can opt to resolve them in place or close Bamboo altogether, examine them, and come back in Bamboo to re-run the Folder Pair again later.

Since Bamboo does not use Windows Vista® Explorer shell to copy files, it is as fast as the good old days.