INTRODUCTION
Microsoft’s ActiveSync
is a powerful synchronization tool when you have all
the information to be converted stored locally. What
happens, however, when you want to do a remote
File Synchronization, where the files are on a website,
for example. Up until now, the only real solutions
have been costly commercial products. Applian Software
has come to the rescue with a freeware product: WebSync.
It allows you to perform Internet synch’s of numerous
files in one shot. Is the product worthwhile?
SETUP
Just run WebSyncSetup.exe from
your desktop, and the little application is installed.
You’ll find a shortcut on your desktop as well as
a Start Menu group with the application and uninstall
program.
PROGRAM FEATURES
I’ll be straight with you: WebSync is a pretty basic
application, but if it fits a need of yours, it will
save you a great deal of time. Launch the program
by Start–WebSync–WebSync.exe.
Make
sure you enter a valid e-mail when you download
WebSync, or you’ll never receive the registration
code needed to unlock the software.
Here
is your main menu. From here you can add, edit, and
delete items to be synchronized. To add an entry,
click "Add Item."
Simple
stuff here. Just add a name for the synch settings,
enter a URL to either your server (especially useful
if you run host your own website that you can upload
files to; you can point to either a single file or
a folder. Type in the file name to be used when the
file is downloaded and then copied to your handheld.
Specify a new path if you’re dissatisfied with My
Documents as the source (like if you want to use a
Storage Card every time). You can choose whether you
want to download the file(s) all the time, or only
if their have been modifications to the file(s). Click
"OK" to save your entry.
After
adding several items, you’ll begin to notice that
manually downloading and synching the entries would
take quite a while! To do a batch update, click "Update
All."
The
files will be dropped onto your Pocket PC without
any signs of activity. If you launch File Explorer,
you’ll see the files have been placed/updated in the
My Documents folder. Neat! Click the "Reset
All" button to force download all entries in
case you damaged the local copy of one document.
What’s
cool here is the possibility to synchronization nifty
content, such as Today banners and desktop skins.
Check out the WebSync
page for some neat ideas and links to websites
who do weekly refresh of Pocket PC images and skins.
HELP SUPPORT
No help documents are
included, which doesn’t surprise me since you need
only to click a few buttons to fully utilize the program.
Applian has created a small FAQ
page for WebSync users, and you can send an e-mail
to the support department if you have questions.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
size=2>WebSync requires a desktop PC with ActiveSync installed and a paltry 250 kb of hard drive space on the desktop. No Pocket PC component is installed. The program runs on any Pocket PC, although I am not sure why handheld PCs couldn’t be supported, since they use ActiveSync, which acts as the desktop–>CE communication route.
BUGS AND WISHES
I’ll
be careful in making too many demands, since this
is freeware, and Applian was kind enough to release
a free version of an often sought-after commercial
application. It would be nice to be able to schedule
automatic Web Synchronizations (perhaps each time
ActiveSync is active).
DOWNLOADING
Grab
your free copy of WebSync today at Applian’s
WebSync page. For institution clients, Applian
charges $9.95 per seat for synchronizations. Details
can be found here.
PROS
Manual web
synching is a thing of the past!
Synch off
of your server
It’s free!
CONS
No automatic
synchronizations
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
Lots of people actively seek
intuitive ways to keep their Pocket PC up-to-date–Applian
recommends doing Web Synchronizations, and after using
WebSync, so do I!
