Copy Methods

This setting defines which copy method AllSync uses when copying files. The following methods are available:

Copy Method A
Copy Method B
Copy Method C
Copy Method D

Properties of the Copy Methods:

Property	A	B	C	D
Show copy progress	-	✓	✓	-
Resume interrupted copy operation	-	-	✓	-
Abort copy operation	-	✓	✓	-
Change copy speed	-	-	✓	-
Limit copy speed	-	-	✓	-
Unicode characters in file name and path	✓	✓	✓	-
Copy file attributes	✓	✓	✓	-
Copy modification date	✓	✓	✓	-
Copy creation date	-	-	✓	-
Copy access date	-	-	✓	-
Enable NTFS file compression	✓	✓	✓	-
Disable Windows file buffering	-	✓	-	-
Use external copy program	-	-	-	✓
Delete source file	-	-	-	✓

Copy Method 'Automatic'

When selected, Copy Method B is used by default.

Copy Method A

This method performs the file copy operation using the operating system. The file is copied block by block from source to destination without AllSync intervention. No progress indicator is shown, and the operation cannot be aborted by the user. The copy runs in the background and is only reported as successful upon completion. This method is suitable for operations where no visual feedback or manual control is needed.

Copy Method B

With this method, the copy operation of a file is performed by the operating system. Die Datei wird dabei blockweise vom Quell- zum Zielpfad kopiert – jedoch ohne Einfluss durch AllSync. A progress indicator is displayed during the copy process. The operation can be aborted by the user at any time. This method is ideal when visual feedback is desired and no custom control over block size or pauses is needed.
Deactivate Windows file buffering
Files are copied without using the Windows file system cache. This can significantly reduce copy time for very large files.

Copy Method C

This method is directly controlled by AllSync. A blank destination file is first created with a temporary modification date older than the source file. This ensures proper retry behavior if the connection is interrupted. The source file is read block by block and written to the destination until complete. A progress indicator is shown during the process. The operation can be aborted at any time. After successful copying, the original modification date is transferred to the destination file.
Additionally, you can:

Define the block size
Configure the pause between reading blocks to manage network or disk load

Limit copy speed
Set the maximum data throughput in bytes per second.

Copy Method D

This method offers two alternative functions:

External Copy Program
Allows use of an external program to copy files. The operation is fully handed over to the specified program. You can define the program path and required command-line parameters. The following placeholders are available:
- %1 = Source file (Example: C:\Data\Info.doc)
- %2 = Destination file (Example: D:\Backup\Data\Info.doc)
- %3 = Destination folder (Example: D:\Backup\Data)
Example:
Program: C:\Tools\FileCopy.exe
Parameters: "%1" "%2"If the program returns a non-zero value, an error message is logged.
Delete Source File
This option deletes the source file and does not copy it. With the sub-option Secure Delete, the file content is overwritten with zeros and the file size is set to 0 bytes. See guide 'Securely Delete Files'.

Options for Copy Method C and File Comparison

These settings affect the following options:

Data Block
Defines the block size in bytes used to load data from the source file into memory and write to the destination file. The same block size is used for file comparison, but only for reading.
Note: Extensive tests with the Copy Method Benchmark tool have shown that a block size of 32.768 Bytes (32 KB) delivers the best average performance across various file sizes and storage media. Although other values may be faster in specific cases, 32.768 Bytes is a recommended default.
Pause
Defines the duration of the pause between reading individual data blocks in milliseconds. This option can be used to reduce network or disk load.