restoring files to and from a cloud service is something we know of and most of us are probably doing that as a part of their daily routine. A simple backup and restore is good enough for almost all the tasks, but today I will talk about a better way using which you can backup saved data of application and games you use, on all the connected computers without copying files manually all the time. Dropboxifier is a simple tool that eases that task for you. So let’s see how the tool works and how we can use it to copy application and game data.
How Dropboxifier Works
Dropboxifier works on the concept of symbolic links and whenever we sync a folder using the tool, we actually create a symbolic link to the folder before moving all the data to the clouds. Later when you restore the data to another computer, instead of restoring the files, it creates the missing symbolic links. The tool uses an XML file to store the link information on the cloud itself. Symlinks are basically shortcuts to a folder but contain the reference to the parent folder. So when Dropboxifier creates the symlink to the folder in the clouds, it’s actually fooling the program into believing that the data is available on the computer while it’s actually available online.
Scope of Dropboxifier
Basically, Dropboxifier was designed to work on Dropbox (hence the name), but you can extend it to SkyDrive, Google Drive and any other similar cloud backup services that come with a desktop application and create a virtual folder on your hard drive. I tested the application with Google Drive and it worked like charm.
Using Dropboxifier
Step 1: Download the Dropboxifier portable executable file and copy it to the root of the backup folder. For e.g. C:\Users\Dropbox. This will sync the tool to all the devices you have linked to your account. Also create a subdirectory in the folder and give it an appropriate name. As I will be backing up my saved games, I named it Saved Games. Step 2: Now run the tool and when it asks for the Dropbox folder, point it to the new folder that you have created for the task. The tool will then create a new symlink XML file in the folder and make it ready for use. Step 3: Now simply use the Add New Link section to add the directory that contains the saved data for the application or game and click on the button Dropboxify. The tool will move all the data to the cloud and create a new symlink to the folder. Note: You might want to first take a backup of the folder you are trying to sync. Step 4: Now when you run the tool on another linked computer, you will see a red exclamation mark next to the folders that are not in sync. Select all these entries and click on the button Resolve. You will now have three options with you. You can merge the data, overwrite the data or delete the symlink altogether. Make your choice and that’s all. Of course, all this after you run Dropboxifier on this other computer too.
Don’t Delete Folders Directly
If you don’t want to sync the configured folder anymore, don’t just delete it from the Dropbox folder. As the tool moves the data in the source computer and creates a symlink, you will lose the data forever. The right way to do it would be selecting the folder in the tool and then clicking on the button Undropboxify Selected. This will restore the folder before deleting the symlinks.
Conclusion
Dropboxifier is great concept put together as a stable tool which works perfectly for most of the online backup services. The only thing that I am concerned about it is the administrative access that the program requires. As most of the public or office computers do not provide admin access, we can only use the tool on our personal computer.
