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ROBOCOPY GUIS: DRIVING ROBOCOPY WITH THE MOUSE

Published:15 March 2022 - 6 min. read

 * File Management

Edem Afenyo

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Table of Contents

 * Prerequisites
 * Mirroring a Directory with ChoEazyCopy as Robocopy GUI
 * Driving Robocopy with Robocop
   * Mirroring a Directory with Robocop
   * Copying in Restartable Mode
 * Mirroring a Directory with WinRoboCopy
 * Mirroring a Directory with RoboMirror
 * Conclusion

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Robocopy is an exceptionally versatile tool for robust copying using the Windows
command line. While an allure to some, all these versatilities can be daunting
to others. But have you heard a Robocopy GUI exists?

There’s more than one GUI way to enjoy Robocopy’s power in a user-friendly
package. And in this tutorial, you’ll get to explore a number of graphical
interfaces to Robocopy.

Read on and feel the mouse clicks when copying from time to time!


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PREREQUISITES

This tutorial will be a hands-on demonstration. If you’d like to follow along,
be sure you have the following:

 * A Windows PC – This tutorial uses Windows 10, but later Windows versions will
   work.
 * An account with sufficient privileges to perform copy operations.
 * A source and destination folder – This tutorial uses the E:\pics path as the
   source folder and the D:\pictures path as the destination folder.


MIRRORING A DIRECTORY WITH CHOEAZYCOPY AS ROBOCOPY GUI

The first out of a curated list of Robocopy GUI wrappers that you’ll examine in
this tutorial is ChoEazyCopy. The command-line Robocopy tool allows you to
mirror a directory using the /MIR switch. But ChoEazyCopy’s intuitive GUI
attempts to give you full access to all the functionality Robocopy has.

Related:Related: Leveraging the Power of the Robocopy /MIR Switch

1. Download and extract a copy of ChoEazyCopy from Cinchoo’s Github page. The
version used in this article is 1.0.0.23.



2. After extraction, double-click the executable to launch ChoEazyCopy. You’ll
be greeted with a screenshot similar to the one below.

Starting ChoEazyCopy


3. Select the Source Directory under CHOOSE FOLDERS section. You can either type
in the path or click the folder icon on the right of the text box. This source
directory is where ChoEazyCopy will copy files/directories from.

Setting ChoEazyCopy’s Source Directory

4. Next, select the destination directory as you did in step one. This directory
is where the files/directories you copied from the source directory will go.

Setting ChoEazyCopy’s Destination Directory

5. Enable the MirrorDirTree option from the RoboCopy Options pane on the
right-most side of the window. You can either scroll down to the corresponding
checkbox or search for it in the search field, as shown below.

The MirrorDirTree option tells ChoEazyCopy to mirror the entire source directory
you specified.

> ChoEazyCopy doesn’t give you access to the command line directly. The commands
> are constructed under the ROBOCOPY COMMAND section based on selected options.


Checking ChoEazyCopy’s MirrorDirTree option

6. Now, enable the CopyFilesRestartableMode option in the RoboCopy Options
panel, as shown below. This feature is known as restartable mode, which lets you
resume a copy operation should interruptions occur, such as impromptu shutdown
or network failure.

After enabling the CopyFilesRestartableMode option, you’ll see an additional
parameter (/Z) in the command.

Enabling the Restartable Mode for Copy Operations

7. Enter the path of the log file to the AppendOutputLogFilePath option to
enable logging in append mode, as shown below.

Enabling Logging with a Custom Log File

8. Finally, click on Run to start the copy operation.



> You can enable the Test Run option to see the effect of a set of switches
> without actually copying anything.

You’ll see the copy operation progress in the OUTPUT section, as shown below.

Executing a Copy Operation

Related:The Ultimate Guide to Copying Files and Folders Using Xcopy


DRIVING ROBOCOPY WITH ROBOCOP

Although you’re here to learn how to drive Robocopy with GUI tools, knowing that
Robocop lets you manually type in a Robocopy command may come in handy.

Robocop is also a worthy alternative to other Robocopy GUI you’ve discovered so
far. Robocop’s home page may look it’s missing a lot of options, but wait until
you see what’s in the Advanced Options window.


MIRRORING A DIRECTORY WITH ROBOCOP

Like ChoEazyCopy, Robocop also has a straightforward GUI that lets you mirror an
entire directory with a few clicks. The only difference is that Robocop creates
a script rather than generating a command to perform a copy operation.

1. Download and run a copy of Robocop’s executable from SourceForge. The version
used for this tutorial is 3.2.0.0.

You’ll see Robocop’s initial page like the one below.


Opening Robocop

2. Next, click on the text under Source to open a file explorer window and
select your desired source directory, as shown below.

Setting a Source Directory to Robocop

3. Like the source directory, click on the text under Destination to open a file
explorer window and set the destination directory.

Setting the Destination Directory

4. Now, check the MIR (Mirror) checkbox to set an action to mirror a directory.


Enabling Directory Mirroring in Robocop

5. Finally, click on Build Script, and you’ll be greeted with a prompt to agree
to run your script immediately. Select Yes to start the copy operation.

Building Script to Perform Copy Operation


COPYING IN RESTARTABLE MODE

Robocop does not give you access to most available options on the welcome
screen. So what if you prefer to do something apart from the default options
presented?

Thankfully, Robocop allows you to build your command by typing in the exact
switches you want or selecting from a list of options.

1. Select the settings icon shown below to bring up the Advanced Options window
(step two).


Accessing Advanced Options

2. Select the Copy Options tab, and check the /Z option to enable restartable
mode, as shown below.

Enabling the Restartable Mode Option


> If you prefer to log copy operations, click on the Logging Options tab, check
> the /Log+.file option, and type in the log file path (E:\cplog.txt) as shown
> below.

Enabling Logging Copy Operation

3. Finally, go back to the home page of Robocop and click on Build Script to run
the copy operation based on the options you selected.

Building and running Robocopy script

The copy operation should begin as in the screenshot below.

Viewing Copy Operation Progress


MIRRORING A DIRECTORY WITH WINROBOCOPY

Next on the list of Robocopy GUIs, you’ll be working on WinRoboCopy, version
1.3.5953, to be more specific. WinRoboCopy does not present you with a simple
check box to turn on mirroring, unlike the other Robocopy GUI tools. But
WinRoboCopy is no less than the other ones you already worked with.



Unlike the other showcased Robocopy GUI tools, which are portable, you’ll need
to install WinRoboCopy on your machine.

1. Download, install and run WinRoboCopy on your machine.

2. Next, input the source and destination folders in the From and To text
fields, respectively.

> You can also click on the browser folder icons beside the text fields and
> select the source and destination folders.

Setting Source and Destination Directories

3. Specify the list of files you want to copy in the Files field. Or input *.*
to copy all files in the source directory, as shown below.

Specifying the List of Files to Copy

4. Now, type /MIR in the Other text field to set directory mirroring as the copy
operation.

> You can manually enter switches not covered in the default list of options
> under the Other text field.

Setting Directory Mirroring as the Copy Operation

> Additionally, enable the Copy files in restartable mode (/Z) option to set the
> restartable mode.


Enabling Restartable Mode in WinRoboCopy

5. Finally, click on Robocopy! to initiate the copy operation.

WinRoboCopy comes with a visual progress bar for each folder and file being
copied, as you see below.

Initiating the Copy Operation

> If you prefer to have copy operation logs, you’ll manually enter the switches
> in the Other text field since logging is not in the list of default options.
> Add /LOG+:D:\cplog.txt into the text box, where D:\cplog.txt is the log file
> and + implies append mode, before initiating the copy operation, as shown
> below.

Enabling Logging in WinRoboCopy


MIRRORING A DIRECTORY WITH ROBOMIRROR

The final GUI tool you’ll explore is RoboMirror, created primarily as a
user-friendly wrapper for Robocopy. Unlike the other Robocopy GUI tools,
RoboMirror lets you perform multiple copy operations simultaneously by creating
an individual backup task for each copy operation.

Similar to WinRoboCopy, you’ll first have to install RoboMirror on your machine.

1. Download, install and launch RoboMirror on your machine.

2. In RoboMirror’s home page, click on Add task, and a pop-up window appears
where you’ll configure the copy operation as a task (step three).


Adding a Backup Task

3. Next, provide the Source and Target folders as shown below.

RoboMirror will not purge any files in the target folder unless you check the
Delete extra files and folders option.

> RoboMirror supports the Volume Shadow Copy mode by enabling the Use a volume
> shadow copy option if you’re copying files that may be in use.

Adding the Source and Target Directories

4. Enable the Custom Robocopy switches option, type in /MIR for mirroring, then
click OK to accept the settings.

Setting Directory Mirroring for the Copy Operation


If you prefer to go with the restartable mode instead, change the /MIR switch to
/Z, as shown below, and click OK to accept the changes.

Supplying Restartable Mode Switch

Although RoboMirror keeps a log of copy operations and a history of tasks,
perhaps you want to have your custom log file for the copy operation. If so, add
the /LOG+: switch to the Custom Robocopy switches field, as shown below.

Setting Custom Copy Operation Log File

5. Now, click on Backup to initialize the copy operation.

Starting a Copy Operation in RoboMirror

6. Finally, review the summary changes to be applied to your system, as shown
below, and click on Proceed to continue the copy operation.

Viewing Pending Changes


Below, you can see that RoboMirror displays visual progress of the copy
operation based on the options and switches you set.

Copying files with RoboMirror


CONCLUSION

Throughout the article, you’ve learned ample ways to backup your data by driving
Robocopy with the mouse using different Robocopy GUI tools. You can now
comfortably use any Robocopy GUI tools to copy files and directories from and to
different locations.

Most of Robocopy’s power comes from its extensive feature set. So why not make
your next step getting further acquainted with Robocopy?

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