Frequently Asked Question

File Access: How do I use Qsync to synchronize files on my computers and NAS? (For Windows users)

Last Updated 7 years ago

Getting started

Qsync is a cloud-based file synchronization service empowered by QNAP NAS. Simply add files to your local Qsync folder, and they will be available on your QNAP NAS and all its connected devices.

Before using Qsync

Follow the 3 steps below before deploying Qsync.

Create user accounts on the NAS,
Install Qsync Client utilities on your computers and Qfile on your mobile devices.
Log into the NAS (serving as a Qsync server) from your computers or mobile devices (referred to in this document as Qsync clients.)

The minimum system requirements for Qsync Client are as follows:

Operating System: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista (SP3), Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2.
Processor: 1 GHz.
RAM: 1 GB (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit).

Create user account on the NAS

Please create user accounts for Qsync users.
As the NAS administrator, go to “Control Panel” > “Privilege Settings” > “Users” or go to “Qsync Central Station 2.0” >”Users”, and then click ”Create a User”.
Only NAS administrators can create accounts. If you are not an administrator, please have the system administrator create an account for you.

Install Qsync Client utility

Qsync will synchronize all of the chosen files on your computers or mobile devices.
Follow the instructions on the “Overview” page to download the utility (log into the NAS, and then go to “Qsync Central Station 2.0” > Overview.)
Or download the utility from the QNAP website: Support > Download> Utilities.
For computers, please download the Qsync Client utility for Windows.
For mobile devices, please download and install Qfile for iOS or Android.

Log into the NAS

After installing the utility, enter the user ID and password and specify the designated NAS as the Qsync server.
To locate the NAS within a LAN, click “Search” to find it or key in its IP address or name. (e.g. IP address: 10.8.1.20 or 192.168.1.100)
To connect to a remote NAS (over the Internet), please use your myQNAPcloud address to log in (e.g. andy@myQNAPcloud.com).

Please note: If the ports have been changed for the NAS connection, please append the port number to the IP address; otherwise, please only enter an IP address. (Default port number: 8080)

Create synchronization folder pairs on your PC

Synchronize folder pairs between your folders on a PC and your NAS. Click “Next” to proceed.

Click “Edit” to alter the sync folder location and configure Selective Synchronization:

Location: Choose the folder on your PC to sync with your NAS folder.

Selective Synchronization: Select only subfolders of the NAS folder to sync with PCs. This is useful when the size of the NAS folder is larger than the storage capacity of the PC.

Note: To sync with a NAS shared folder, make sure that the NAS administrator has enabled synchronization on this shared folder. This setting can be modified at “Control Panel” > “Qsync Central Station 2.0” > “Shared Folders” on the NAS. After synchronization is enabled, users who have read and write privileges of this shared folder can sync its content with other devices. If the user only has read privileges to the shared folder, every time they add/change/delete a file in the paired local folder, no changes will be made on the NAS.

Start using Qsync Client

Double click on the Qsync Client shortcut to open the Qsync local folder. Click on the Qsync Client icon on the taskbar to open the menu.

Now, just copy/move your files to the local Qsync folder and they will be synced with the NAS, and then copied to all the other connected devices with the Qsync Client utility installed.

Synchronization

There are a few methods you can use to synchronize your files. Qsync will automatically synchronize the files among your computers or mobile devices that have Qsync installed, and they will also be synchronized to the Qsync folder on the NAS.

For PCs, drag and drop files directly to the local Qsync Client folder.

For mobile devices (Qfile), copy or move files into the Qsync folder.
For the NAS, copy or move files to the Qsync folder via File Station (web-based file explorer)

Note:

If files are “dragged and dropped” into the Qsync Client folder, they will be moved to the Qsync folder, as supposed to being copied into the folder, if the files and the Qsync Client folder are located in the same disk drive. The behavior is the same as the File Explorer in Windows.
The maximum size of a single file that Qsync can transmit across a LAN is 50GB.
Qsync does not support SAMBA, FTP or AFP for files access. Please access files using File Station or Qsync.
Qfile can only synchronize the file list and does not download files to a mobile device. Please download the files when you need them.

Offline editing

You can browse and edit your files offline, and once your device is online Qsync will automatically sync the files you edited offline.

Sharing

Share files by download links

You can share files by sending download links to those who haven’t installed the Qsync Client utility.

In Windows, right click on a file you want to share in the local Qsync folder and click on “Share the link.”
Choose to send the link via email or copy the link to others.
Click “Advanced” to configure additional options for the link, such as creating an SSL link, the expiration date, or password.
For the NAS, using File Station right click on the file you want to share in the Qsync folder and click “Share.”
For mobile devices, launch Qfile to share the file in the Qsync folder by clicking the icon to the right and click “Share.”
File recipients can click on the link or copy and paste it to a web browser to download the file.

Share the folders with a group

You can share a folder with a group of users. If any member from the group shares the files in the folder, other members can receive the file.
Steps:

Create user accounts in the NAS for each group member.
Ensure that the Qsync Client utility is installed on each member’s device.
Right click on the folder you want to share in the local Qsync Client folder and click on “Share this folder as a team folder.
Select users from the list of local or domain users.
All members in the group will receive a file sharing invitation. Once accepted, the group members can start to access this shared folder.

Note:

The team folder will only take effect after users you send the invitation to accept the invitation.
Users cannot re-share team folders that are shared from others.

Remote access

Access the NAS over the Internet

To connect to a remote NAS (over the Internet), the administrator must first configure the NAS device name in “myQNAPcloud” (Log into the NAS> NAS Desktop > Click on the myQNAPcloud shortcut.)

Next, inform users about the myQNAPcloud web address for their remote access. You can then use the myQNAPcloud address to log into the remote NAS. ( e.g. andy@myQNAPcloud.com)

Notes:

The connection with the NAS over the Internet will be slower compared to a LAN environment.
As you switch back to a LAN environment, please connect to the NAS again through LAN, instead of using myQNAPcloud for better connection quality.
For better performance on file transmission, it is recommended to configure port forwarding on the router if possible.

Sync photos and videos automatically

Use the following procedure to automatically sync your photos and videos on mobile devices with the Qsync folder across all Qsync clients.
Steps:

Install Qfile on your mobile devices through the link in the “Overview” page of Qsync Central Station 2.0 on the NAS or download it from the APP Store.
Launch Qfile,
Click “Settings” on the bottom right side of the screen,
Scroll down and look for “Auto upload from photo gallery” and click on “Set up now,"
Select a NAS to upload the photos and videos to,
Select the folder on the NAS
Select “Use default setting” ( /Qsync/Camera Uploads) or select “Set up manually” to set the path,
Select if you want to upload all photos from photo gallery immediately,
You can check “Wi-Fi only” to upload files through Wi-Fi and avoid possible expenses associated with the 3G Network,
The uploaded files will be synced to the “Camera Uploads” folder under the Qsync folder on Qsync client devices.

Note: If files uploaded before are deleted from the Camera Uploads folder, Qfile will not upload those copies in the photo library again.

Synchronization Management

Click on the Qsync icon on the taskbar to see the management functions:

Open Qsync main page
Open local Qsync folder
Settings: Configure global settings such as proxy server and language preferences and advanced settings such as debug logging and desktop notification
View files using a web browser
Upload to NAS from QGenie
Share the file or send the shared link via email
Open containing folder
Show recently-changed files
Show files that are being synchronized
More::
1. Pause all tasks: Pauses all current synchronization tasks
2. Qsync help: Links to the Qsync help page
3. Check for updates: Check for newer versions of the Qsync client utility
4. Exit: Exit Qsyn

Qsync main page

Right click on “Qsync” for options to log out the NAS, pause syncing, or to sync with the NAS now.
Add another NAS for file synchronization. You can add multiple NAS to be synchronized with different Qsync folders on the local device. Click “+” to add another NAS and assign a local folder to be the Qsync folder. Then the connected NAS for synchronization will be displayed on the left side of the Qsync main page.
Pause all synchronization tasks.
File Update Center. View the logs of updated files and folders. Logs can be filtered by file name or update action.
Global Settings: Configure a proxy server, personal preferences such as preferred language, launching Qsync at startup, automatic import of photos and videos from USB external devices and the default folder for import, and advanced settings such as desktop notifications and debug logging.
1. Proxy Server: Set a proxy server for NAS connection. Choose to manually set a proxy or to let Qsync automatically detect proxy settings.
2. Personal
  Startup Settings: Choose to launch Qsync at startup or not.
  Language: Choose your preferred language.
  Import Photos and Videos: Import photos and videos when an USB device is connected. This feature only applies to photos and videos located under the DCIM folder in the root directory of the USB device.
  Default Folder: The default folder for uploading videos and photos from USB devices or QGenie.
3. Advanced
  Notifications: Show desktop notifications when there are file sync activities.
  Debug log: The system will record all synchronization activities between your computer and the NAS for diagnosing technical issues.
Help: Provides links to the Quick Start page and the Qsync tutorial page.
About: Check the Qsync Client version.
Edit Connection
You can modify NAS connection information such as the IP address or the login name and password without logging out first.
Test connections
If you experience problems connecting to the NAS, you can use the Connection Test tool. In addition, you can obtain the upload and download speeds of the NAS.
NAS Settings
You can configure the preferences for synchronization here. If the Central Configuration Mode (only administrators can configure the preferences of client utilities) is enabled in the Qsync Central Station 2.0, settings that have been restricted by an administrator cannot be modified by individual users.
1. Sync
  Smart Delete: Do not remove any files on the NAS when synchronizing: You can remove files within the local Qsync folder, and files deleted from your computer will not be synchronized with the NAS. The NAS still keeps copies of the deleted files.
2. Policy:
  Conflict Policies: How name conflicts between the NAS and clients will be handled after returning online from a disconnection:
  1. Let me decide for each file by notifying me when a conflict occurs,
  2. Rename the local files,
  3. Rename the remote NAS files,
  4. Replace local files with files on the NAS file, or
  5. Replace files on the NAS with local files.
  Sharing Policies: The policies of team folders when other Qsync users share them with their local computer:
  1. Always reject sharing,
  2. Automatically accept sharing, or
  3. Notify me once sharing occurs.
  Filter Settings: During file synchronization, Qsync will not sync the file types specified in the filter settings.reate picture thumbnails: Create picture thumbnails on the local device before uploading pictures to the NAS. This helps save NAS system resources.
3. Mail:
  Set up an email account for sharing files. You can use the NAS SMTP server settings (administrators only), the email account on your PC, or you can configure a new SMTP server
Open Qsync Folder
Open the local Qsync folder.
More
Log out of the synchronized NAS, pause syncing, or sync with NAS now.
Link Status
Displays synchronization status, synchronized devices, NAS information, and NAS space usage.
Sharing Center
Team folder: View shared team folders. If it is a team folder shared by other people, you can choose to accept or reject this team folder. If it is a team folder shared by you, you can modify its sharing settings or unshare it.
Share Link: You can click “copy link” to share a previously shared item again using the same link. Or click “Delete” to delete an item.
File Update Center
View the logs of updated files and folders.
Browse and manage paired folders:
Manage synchronization paired folders to add, delete, or modify your synchronization tasks.
View files by the web browser
Access File Station in your web browser.
Network Recycle Bin
Browse and recover files deleted from Qsync.

Manage or monitor Qsync status via web browsers

Log into the NAS via a web browser and click the Qsync Central Station 2.0 button.

Overview: This page shows the mode of use management (User Customization Mode or Central Configuration Mode) and the total number of online users and devices. It also provides links to File Station and for installing Qsync. In addition, you can enable or disable the Qsync service (for administrators only).

Management settings: This provides a centralized management for administrators to edit default settings of Qsync client utilities.
Users: List information of online users. You can manage the users for using the Qsync service here (for administrators only).
Devices: This table lists the status of connected devices. It also provides options for you to manage each device, allowing you to edit their settings, block them, or remotely erase them.
1. If users log in from their PC, the name of the device will be shown as their computer name.
2. If users log in from Qfile, the name of the device will be shown as Qfile-Android or Qfile-iPhone.
3. If users move or copy files to the Qsync folder in File Station, the name of the device will be shown as Qsync-File
Event Logs: List the activity details by each user.
Team folder: Users can share their folders. The table lists the information about team folders, including folders that you shared and folders that people shared with you.
Shared folder: Administrators can decide which share folders to be synced with client devices. If a user has RW or read-only privilege on a shared folder, this shared folder can then be synced with his client device. However, if the user has read-only privilege to the shared folder, every time he or she adds, changes or deletes a file in the paired local folder, no changes will be made to the NAS.
Shared File Links: List the status of shared links.
Version control: You can set the maximum number of versions for your files and check the space used for Version Control.