How to Sync My Documents with Network Folder Easily
"My Documents" or "Documents" is a Microsoft Windows folder, which is used as a default storage for saved documents, such as Microsoft Word, and the default location for this folder is C: drive (operating system included).
So all the documents stored on it are at risk of being lost when a system crash occurs or the disk collapse. To prevent this bad situation, you could consider sync my document with network folder.
Why not sync My Documents with network folder?
As you know, My Documents is located on the system drive and has a high risk of losing data. Why not sync my documents with network folder? Here are three ideas for reference only.
- Network folder is much safe. Compare with network folder, local disk is more vulnerable. Because it will be damaged owing to different reasons, such as, system crash, hard disk failure, virus attack, fire etc. But, in network folder, these issues are not a problem anymore.
- Save your local disk space. If you synchronize My Documents with network drive, you can get more space on local drive. Because this way will not occupy local disk space.
- Easy to access My Documents. After syncing, you can copy and view files at any time as long as there is a network connection.
Best way to sync my documents to network drive
In Windows 11/10/8/7, there is a built-in file sync software, named Sync Center, which can make network folder always available offline. So you can see it locally anytime anywhere.
But this is also a problem with this software, it's only limited to synchronize my documents folder with a network drive. The schedule settings are limited to a certain time or event. In addition, you may find Windows 7 offline files sync problems, offline files syncing pending, etc.
If you just want to sync documents folder to network drive or don't mind sync center problems, you could refer to this article: auto sync folder to network drive.
But if you have other sync needs, such as syncing files with multiple storages, running sync tasks in real-time, etc, you could consider using the best free auto sync software like Qiling Disk Master Standard.
With it, you can sync My Document to network folder automatically in Windows 11/10/8/7. It has rich schedule sync settings and options, which make it run easy and quick.
Sync My Documents to network drive automatically
Usually, users are willing to move My Documents to another drive to prevent data from being lost. However, they may still lose data owing to disk failure, virus, stolen etc.
So you still need to sync documents to network drive automatically with the best free auto sync software - Qiling Disk Master Standard. To sync My Documents folder to server, try Qiling Disk Master Server!
1. Download and install Qiling Disk Master Standard. Then, launch it, choose Sync and Basic Sync subsequently.
2. Click Folder > This PC and then select My Documents or Documents.
Tip: Optionally, you can click the Filter settings, displayed as a funnel shape, to include or exclude file extensions, just like backup files with certain file extensions.
3. Click Add Share or NAS Device, type the network path (IP address of the network drive), and select the shared folder to store your files and folders.
Notes:
- Only the shared folder on network drive is accessible as long as you have permission. If you don't have a shared folder, please share it and set full permissions to it.
- In addition to network drive, you still can choose to sync local folder to Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox or external devices like HDD, SSD, or USB drive.
4. Click Schedule Sync and enable Daily, Weekly, or Monthly settings. It depends on how often you modify the My Documents folder. Also, you can make a comment for clear distinction.
Tips:
- Both "Event triggers" and "USB plug in" are advanced features on the premium version, such as Qiling Disk Master Professional.
- If you want the fastest way to sync files, you could consider setting up hourly sync under Daily or directly using the File Sync method. It's available on the professional version or higher.
5. If everything is right, click Proceed to sync My documents with network drive.
Notes:
- Please remember not to change the source folder name, otherwise the software cannot sync it anymore.
- To view "My Documents" over network, go to Computer > Network > find the shared computer and "My Documents" folder.
- Except for File Sync, you still can File Sync feature to avoid any unwanted changes in the destination folder or keep changes in sync on both sides with File sync feature.
The sync method is a way to duplicate files or folders, so it ends up being a file or folder as well. So you can view, modify, edit at any time you want. To make it safer, try to perform automatic backup Windows to network drive with File Backup feature or backup files to Qiling Cloud with the Cloud Backup feature.
Summary
Speaking of syncing "My Document" with network folder, you may feel a little tricky. You can choose to move this folder, but there is still a possibility that you may lose data owing to various failures.
To avoid this issue, you have no choice but to sync "My Document" with a network drive or cloud drive like Google Drive. To sync files automatically, even in real-time, you need the help of sync software. Qiling Disk Master is worth trying.
Related Articles
- How to Sync Folder to Network Drive in Windows 7/8/10
Syncing local folder to network drive automatically is one of the best ways to protect data in the long-term. For easy access, you can choose to make network files available offline. - How to Enable Offline Files in Windows 10 and Sync it
You will learn the one-step-shop to use offline files properly, including enabling or disabling offline files in Windows 10 and syncing network files locally. - Top Two Ways to Synchronize Files between Windows Servers
You can synchronize files or folders between Windows Servers with DFS replication if you want a free solution. Instead, Qiling Disk Master Server for advanced features and ease of operation. - Backup is Disabled in Windows 10? Solved!
Want to create backups but find backup is disabled in Windows 10? Don't worry! Two proven methods are described in this article to help you solve this problem.