Monitor local folders used for backups

I want to monitor several local folders and upload changed files using SmartFTP Home Edition v3.0.1022.6. I'm having trouble understanding monitoring and the settings on the Schedule tab of the Properties window. I viewed the tutorial but it doesn't cover these details.

The 3 folders to be monitored contain backups (10MB to an occasional 2GB) created nightly. Supose the the local folders are named A, B, and C and are contained in a parent folder called Backup. The ftp site has the the same folder structure.

Should I:

Monitor the local Backup folder or monitor each local folder: A, B, and C?

Select "Process and Monitor File/Folder" or "Monitor File/Folder".

Enable "Pause the item after it has been processed"?

Enable "Recurrence" and if so, what setting for "Process item every" X minutes.

Does SmartFTP need to be running for folder monitoring to occur?

If so, is scheduling a way to start SmartFTP so that it can monitor the folders after a backup happens?

Can Schedule bring a PC out of standby or must it be awake?

Thanks,

Phil

>Monitor the local Backup folder or monitor each local folder: A, B, and C?
Monitor the Backup folder (Parent of A,B,C)

>Select "Process and Monitor File/Folder" or "Monitor File/Folder".
If you want to process the item when the transfer queue is started then select "Process and Monitor". If you want to process after something changed in the folder select the latter.

>Enable "Pause the item after it has been processed"?
No

>Enable "Recurrence" and if so, what setting for "Process item every" X minutes.
If you want to do that yes. But the Monitor features should detect all changes automatically.

>Does SmartFTP need to be running for folder monitoring to occur?
Yes

>If so, is scheduling a way to start SmartFTP so that it can monitor the folders after a backup happens?
Start SmartFTP.exe afer the backup

>Can Schedule bring a PC out of standby or must it be awake?
It must be awake.

Regards,
Mat

"If you want to process the item when the transfer queue is started then select "Process and Monitor". If you want to process after something changed in the folder select the latter."

Mat,
Thanks for the prompt reply. I understood everthing except the meaning of "Process". I'm a bit slow on that one because I don't know what happens when SmartFTP processes. I'm guessing that I want to wait to process until the backup file is written to each folder and thus should select "Process and Monitor". Am I missing the explanation of all this in a manual or the Knowledge Base? If so, please let me know. If not, can you share what actually does happen in Process?

>Process and Monitor
All files/folders that are currently located in the folder you are monitoring are synchronized with the destination (server)

>Monitor
All files/folders that are currently located in the folder you are monitoring will be synchronized as soon as the contents of the folder change. For example as soon as an additional file is added to the folder.

Regards,
Mat

Mat,

I think the penny dropped.

I would use Process and Monitor if there were existing files in the folder not yet uploaded and I wanted them to be synchronized.

I would use Monitor if there were no files already in the folder or I had already uploaded them or I didn't want to upload them. If there are existing files they are ignored even though a new file is processed and synched.

Yes?

You said, "Start SmartFTP after the backup". Is there an easy to have Smartftp wake up to check on the folders? I'm thinking Windows scheduler but am unsure whether this will work. If I use windows scheduler to run SmartFTP.exe, can I somehow ask SmartFTP to close itself after processing the monitored folders? (I'm looking for a way to run the job unattended at 3AM or so.)

Hello ...

>I would use Monitor if there were no files already in the folder or I had already uploaded them or I didn't want to upload them. If there are existing files they are ignored even though a new file is processed and synched
Close. But the old files located in the folder will be processed as well just not immediately and only after the first change has been detected.

>Windows Scheduler
Add SmartFTP.exe to the windows Scheduler. Set the Transfer Queue Item to Process and Monitor or no monitoring is required and just set up a recurrent item. Schedule dialog. Set Recurrence to 1 Week for example.

>Auto Close
Set the On Transfer Complete action to Close Application in the menu: Tools->Settings Queue dialog.

Theoretically you can realize what you want with the SmartFTP SDK (see Transfer Queue samples) but you would need at least intermediate programming experience.

Regards,
Mat

Mat,

Thanks for clearing this up. I'll try it without the SDK and see how it goes.

Cheers,

Phil