Unlike traditional synchronization tools, Synk scripts aren’t things that you run once or on a schedule. A Synk script is simply either off or on. You may toggle between these modes using the switch in the dark gray control bar at the bottom of the window.
When off, you can configure the script how you like, and nothing is actually happening to your data.
When turned on, however, the script brings your data into sync, and then automatically syncs any future changes to your data when they happen. You don’t have to do anything more. As long as the script remains turned on, your computer automatically notifies Synk when it changes your data, which then immediately syncs the changed file as necessary. You don't even need to leave the main Synk application open.
For instance, if you had a script set up to synchronize your Documents folder on a desktop and laptop computer, if you saved a slideshow document into the Documents folder on the desktop, it would automatically appear on the laptop moments later. If you then opened it on the laptop, made some changes, and saved it, those changes would automatically be copied back to the desktop.
Working live not only helps prevent conflicts from the different copies of file getting out of sync over time, it also means that your other locations are always ready to go. For example, if you’re synchronizing a desktop and a laptop, it means that if you suddenly need to grab your laptop and walk out the door, it’s already ready; you don’t have to wait to run a time-consuming synchronization before you can leave. Your backups also will always be very up-to-date, and the amount of data you’ll lose in a failure is minimized—it’s unfortunate to lose a week or a day of work, or even an hour, because your data is only periodically backed up.
We've really optimized Synk a lot, and in almost all cases haven't even been able to measure any system slowdown at all as a result of this live synchronization. For those rare instances where live synchronization needs to not happen for a while (like when doing really time-sensitive audio processing or the like, or working with really large files), Synk offers a number of controls for automatically pausing synchronization.