bsmith52 wrote:
Looking for a shortcut from having to create files, subfolders, and drag and drop photos from hard drive to external drive.
Do any of you use a software that you can point to a folder on your hard drive and then it will create (mirror) the folder plus copy the contents to your external without altering your C: drive folder(s)?
Open source would be fine. Thanks
No need to find anything else other than a function included in all versions of Windows going back in time.
Simply use the "SEND TO" function listed in the context menu when you right click on the folder you want to copy to the external drive.
First, FORGET drag and drop... this works much better, is safer, and menu driven. Ever had your finger slip off the mouse button doing a D&D?
First, make sure your external drive is hooked up, or it will not show in these instructions. This works in Windows 10 exactly as it has for most previous versions of Windows.
Navigate to the folder you want to copy in File Explorer. (Can be done at folder level or file level, including batching.)
Right click once on the folder
In the context menu, left click on Send To. (2/3 down list)
In the next menu, locate your external drive
Left click on the drive
A copy of the folder will be sent to the root of the external drive.
You may move it from there to another location on the external drive, OR..Bonus Tip:
It's possible to add new targets, ie folders and such to the Send To menu
This is a function that has been in Windows since every version of Windows since Win95. No cost, it's just one of the many wonders of Microsoft Windows.
Another BONUS TIP:
You can also make the copy be a "Move" instead by holding down the shift key on the keyboard as you click the target on the Send To folder.
So, bottom line, what you are looking for is already in Windows
It can be used to copy OR move (using shift) a folder, a folder and all it's contents or a lone file, or a batch of files by range or by random selection.
The search is over.
Teaching Windows for over twenty years reveals a lot about how well it's been built and configured.For "mirroring" I use TruImage by Acronis. What you described however is not truly mirroring, as most know it. I mirror drives... not files and folders.