Answers in this category:
How can I sync (synchronize) my BioFS folders with my local computer?
How do I configure BioCoRE to automatically send me email when a folder changes?

I have a question regarding BioFS:  is there any way to be able to synchronize 
the content of a folder tree on BioFS with another computer (e.g., by using 
rsync or cvs or something similar). For example, when you store several 
subfolders in a main folder on BioFS with several large and many smaller files, 
it would be great if you could run a sync program to update your working 
directory instead of doing it manually (that is quite time consuming). 

WebDAV instructions for the BioFS are available to start accessing the BioFS via WebDAV. If you aren't doing this yet, it has many advantages above and beyond syncronization. Once you have verified that you have WebDAV access working properly from your system, you can start using it for accessing the BioFS.

Next, you will need to find a synchronization utility on your computer. On Windows, this might be a Briefcase program or possibly even a backup utility. On Linux or Unix it might be rsync. You should be able to configure the utility to syncronize the BioFS folder with another folder (a local one) on your system. For help with specific cases, please ask.

This is something that is particularly useful for Dropbox situations where a project team has set up a Dropbox folder where others can deposit files of interest. When someone else leaves you a new file(s) you will automatically be sent email a short time later.

This is a feature that you have to enable, though. It doesn't happen automatically.

To enable it, do the following (hopefully) simple steps:

1. Log into BioCoRE and pull up a BioCoRE webpage.
2. Go to the project that you are interested in monitoring: In the upper right corner of the screen, select the project from the dropdown box.
3. Select the BioFS Shared Filesystem link from the left menu column.
4. Navigate to the folder that you are wanting to monitor.
5. Once inside the folder, right above the filelist, you should see some text that looks like:

   ( Current Email Watch: Not Set [ edit watch ] )
   

   Click the edit watch link.
6. Select the timeframe within which you wish to be notified of change to this folder. For dropbox folders, I would recommend 15 minutes. For other folders you might want to have longer times.

   What this means:

   Every 15 minutes (on the hour, :15 after the hour, :30, and :45) BioCoRE will check and see if files have been added or updated in the previous 15 minutes. If so, you will get an email telling you about it. If you have a particularly active folder, you might want to choose a longer timeframe, so that you don't get an email every 15 minutes telling you that something has changed. Most people don't have that active a folder at this time, though.