Contents
The main window at a glance
The main window has three parts: the left folder, the comparison list in the middle and the right folder. Below them sits the log output. At the top you find the header bar with the tools and the central action and mode bar.
2.1 Choosing folders
- Above the left tree, click Browse (“Choose left folder”) and select the source or target folder.
- Repeat this for the right folder (“Choose right folder”).
The path history
Next to each browse field there is a drop-down list of the most recently used folders — one click takes you back to an earlier path without searching again. The history is kept separately for the left and the right side.
- The most recently chosen path is at the top; older ones move down.
- At most 5 entries are remembered — when a sixth arrives, the oldest drops out automatically.
- Remove a single entry with the small ✕ next to it (tooltip “Remove entry from history”). There is no command to clear the whole history — you remove entries deliberately, one at a time.
Use Swap paths to exchange the left and right side (◄ LEFT / RIGHT ►). Reload folder contents refreshes a tree, and Collapse panel hides one side to make more room.
2.2 The action bar
The centre controls the entire workflow:
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| ⟳ Analyse | Compares both folders and fills the comparison list — nothing is changed yet |
| ▶ Synchronise | Actually carries out the actions shown in the list |
| ✕ Cancel | Stops the running analysis or synchronisation |
| Reset | Resets layout, comparison list, log, performance index and partial copies |
| ⏻ Exit | Closes the program (cancelling running actions) |
2.3 The four synchronisation modes
The mode buttons determine in which direction the folders are reconciled. The direction modes decide how differences are handled:
| Mode | Meaning |
|---|---|
| → Left → Right | Files that exist only on the left are copied to the right; for changed files, left overwrites right |
| ← Right → Left | Files that exist only on the right are copied to the left; for changed files, right overwrites left |
| ⇄ Both directions | Reconciles both ways; for changed files the newer version wins |
| 🗑 Delete | Only combinable with ← or →: copy on one side, delete the files that exist only on the other |
The number on each mode button
Every mode button carries a number. It tells you at once how many files this mode would currently affect. Only selected (ticked) and still pending entries are counted — rows you have unticked or that are already synchronised do not count. Untick a file and the affected numbers drop immediately, so you see the scope of your selection in real time.
| Button | Colour | The number counts… |
|---|---|---|
| → | blue | files that would be copied or overwritten to the right |
| ← | yellow | files that would be copied or overwritten to the left |
| ⇄ | orange | all pending actions together |
| ✘ Delete | red | files that would be deleted (only with an active direction ← or →) |
| ✓ | green | identical files — information only, this button cannot be clicked |
When the delete mode is available
The ✘ Delete mode is deliberately clickable only when both conditions are met:
- exactly one direction is active — delete can only be combined with ← or →, not with ⇄ (both directions) and not without any direction at all;
- there really are deletable files — at least one file that exists only on the side being mirrored.
If one of them does not hold, the button appears greyed out (pale, without the hand cursor) and cannot be selected. Deletion can therefore never be switched on by accident without a target. If the number of deletable files drops to 0 while you work — because you change direction, say — SynQaiPro turns the delete mode off again automatically.
2.4 Tools in the header bar
The header bar switches the additional modules on and off:
| Button | Opens |
|---|---|
| Cloud synchronisation | Dropbox integration in every job (chapter 15) |
| Image modules ▾ | Menu with Image comparison (chapter 10) and ShotScope metadata (chapter 12) |
| File organiser | Sort files into categories (chapter 9) |
| File reconstructor | Recover deleted files — requires administrator rights (chapter 11) |
2.5 Log output and performance index
The log output at the bottom records every step. Before the first synchronisation, SynQaiPro automatically determines the optimal number of threads for the target drive (performance analysis) — the result appears as, for example, “4× threads optimal (120.0 MB/s)”. Details about the log are in chapter 16.