Keeping multiple copies of files stored on separate media or separate
machines up to date whenever a change is made to one of the copies is
an old problem. Recently with the proliferation of PowerBooks and the
rising popularity of home computing, it has gained a new urgency. In
order to ensure that the most recently modified version is duplicated
on all machines, there is a recurring need to update files. Since the
files may be located in many different folders this chore can be both
tedious and time consuming. ShuttlePilot, a folder equalizer, was
designed to make this process quick and simple.
ShuttlePilot addresses this need by allowing the user to set up a
scrolling list of links connecting folders whose contents are to be
equalized. These folders can be anywhere, on local hard disks,
floppies or on shared volumes accessed by AppleTalk. If the folder
contents of a linked folder-pair are not equivalent, the pair is
marked with a Check button. Selecting that folder-pair link will
display in the lower field a list of the files that need to be copied
or replaced. A click on the Copy button initiates a process during
which files are shuttled bidirectionally until all folder-pairs become
equivalent.
Unlike other file synchronizers, ShuttlePilot has many built-in safety
features that will prevent catastrophes if the user makes changes in
the folder names or locations. ShuttlePilot's interface design
emphasizes "transparency" to allow the user to check what is going to
be equalized. During equalization itself, continuous animation
provides feedback about what is being moved so that the process can be
interrupted at any time before mistakes become catastrophes.
