Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get started?

There are five easy steps to start sharing files with colleagues:

  • Download and install Syncura
  • The first time you run Syncura, you will be asked to create a username
  • Create a team and specify where files for that team will be saved
  • Invite your teammates
  • Copy files to the shared folder. That’s it!

Files will be sent to each of your teammates as soon as they respond to the invitation.

How do I add new files to be shared with my team?

There are a few different ways to add new files to Syncura:

  • In Windows Explorer, drag the files into the shared team folder.
  • Drag the files onto Syncura. They will be copied to the shared folder for the currently selected team.
  • Save the file directly to the shared team folder, or to one of it's subfolders

Important Note

Only files in a shared team folder are synchronized. Dragging a file onto Syncura copies the file to the shared folder for the selected team, and it is this file that is synchronized, not the original file location.

Treat the team shared folder as a virtual folder on a server. Any changes made to this folder are mirrored with your team.

What if some or all of my teammates are from a different organization or are on a different network?

Syncura is designed with this situation in mind. As long as each user has an Internet connection, they can join your Syncura team and share files with you.

How does the Binary Difference transmission work?

Syncura determines the minimum amount of data that needs to be sent to a teammate when you edit and save a file. For example, if you add one page to a one hundred page document that is 200 KB in size, on average, only about 20 KB of data needs to be transmitted in order for your team to reproduce the latest version of the file.

What operating systems does Syncura work on?

Syncura requires Windows 2000 or higher.

What happens if I change a shared file while offline?

Syncura does not restrict you to being online to edit your files. It is designed to allow you to work on your documents at any time. When you come back online, Syncura will detect that you changed one or more files and will automatically send your changes to your team.

What happens if two users change the same file while one is offline?

Whichever teammate is online first will have the master version. Syncura will notify you of the conflict, your file will be renamed to have “User’s copy” appended to the filename, and the master version will then be downloaded and saved with the original filename. You never lose your changes.

How many people can I invite to my team?

Syncura is designed to scale as your team or organization grows. Although there is no limit on the number of users per team, more than 50 users on the same team may cause a decrease in performance.

How many teams can I create?

You can create an unlimited number of teams.

Can I install it on all my computers?

Yes. Each license key allows you to install Syncura on up to three computers. If you have more than three computers you can buy additional keys. For example, if you have five computers you would like to keep in sync, buy two keys, and you can use the same account on all five computers.

After I edit a document and save it, how is it distributed to my team?

  • Syncura notifies a Collaboration Relay Server of the fact that the file changed
  • Relay Server notifies each Syncura client on your team that an updated version of the file exists
  • Each Syncura client randomly chooses an online teammate and asks if they have the latest version of the file. (The server does not inform each client which client has the new version of the file so that all users do not connect to your computer at the same time.)
  • Each Syncura client continues to choose teammates until they find a winner

This is called the Random Peer Selection algorithm. It was designed by Syncura and has proven to be an efficient method for distributing file changes.

How many files can I share?

You can share an unlimited number of files.

Can I remove a user from one of my teams?

Yes. Right-click on the user and click remove.

Some of my teammates that I want to join one of my teams does not have Syncura. How do I invite them?

Ask them to install Syncura and create an account. Once you know their username, you can invite them directly from Syncura. After you invite them, they will see a message asking if they would like to join your team. If they accept, they will have access to all shared files.

The reason that a person must be first invited to a team is to ensure security. The only way that someone can be added to a team is to be directly invited via Syncura.

How fast is Syncura?

In a word, fast. Updated documents are propagated within seconds using the Random Peer Selection process outlined above. Combined with the Peer-to-peer Binary Difference algorithm that only sends the portions of the file that changed, Syncura is extremely efficient at keeping your files in sync.

It is also faster than traditional browser-based collaboration strategies because every time you want to view or edit a file you must first download it from the Internet. With Syncura, the latest version of your documents is always right on your computer.

What network port does Syncura use?

Syncura uses port 27015 when syncing files directly between team members This port can be changed under the Tools... Options dialog. Syncura connects to the Collaboration Relay Server on port 44300.