In a previous article, I encouraged you to consider Windows Live Mesh for your folder synchronisation needs. Today I will share how to actually use Windows Live Mesh to synchronize folders between computers, or between computers and the cloud. I will also show how to stop synchronizing folders, when needed. But enough talk... let’s get to “business" and see how things are done.

Start the Synchronization Wizard

No matter if you want to sync a folder with another computer and/or the cloud, the procedure starts the same in both scenarios. Therefore, I will first show you how to start the synchronization wizard and then separately show the details that differ between scenarios.

First, open Windows Live Mesh. In its main window, you can see your computer’s name and, below it, a link called "Sync a folder". Click on it.

Windows Live Mesh asks you to select the folder you want to sync. Browse through your computer until you find it and then select Sync.

Now you are asked where you want to sync the selected folder. Here, you have as options other computers where Windows Live Mesh is installed and logged in with the same username and password, plus SkyDrive synced storage - the cloud solution offered by Microsoft.

This is where your options start diverging. Therefore, we will treat each scenario one by one. If it is the first time you are using Windows Live Mesh, I highly recommend you read all the sections below.

Synchronize Folders with Other Computers

One of the things I love Windows Live Mesh, is the fact that it allows you to synchronize folders directly between computers, without going through the cloud service offered by Microsoft, which has a 5 GB space limitation. Therefore I can sync between computers folders as large as I want to. Enough digressing... let’s get back to the procedure.

At the screen where you are asked to select the devices with which you want to sync the folder, you might be tempted to select the computers you want it synced with and press OK.

If you do that, that’s fine but there’s also a catch which you might not like. The default behavior of Windows Live Mesh is to sync folders on the computers you selected and use a very similar path on each computer. See the screenshot below for an example: on the source computer, the folder I synced was placed on the desktop. Therefore, Windows Live Mesh placed the folder on the desktop of the computers where it is synced.

This behavior might be okay for many but for me it isn’t. I have a very different partition and folder structures on the computers I manage, and I want granular control when it comes to the location of folders I sync between them. If you want the same control, then, when you are asked to select the devices/computers where a folder is synced, simply select no device and click OK.

Windows Live Mesh will not raise any error messages and it will simply show you that the folder you selected does not yet sync on any other device. However, it has become available for sharing and can be seen on other computers.

Now open Windows Live Mesh on the computers where you want to sync the folder you just selected. You will see that it has a gray icon and that there is a "Sync this folder" link beneath it. Click on it.

Now you can select the location where you want to place the folder and press Sync. It can be a location which has nothing in common with where it is located on the source computer.

As you can see, the folder is now synchronized between computers, but it has a very different location between computers.

For more information on the limitations you have for synchronizing folders between computers, check out this article: What is Windows Live Mesh & Why You Should Use It.

Synchronize Folders with the Cloud (SkyDrive Storage)

If you want to sync folders with the cloud storing service offered by Microsoft, when you are asked to select the devices with which you want to sync a folder, make sure you check SkyDrive synced storage. Then, press OK.

The contents of the folder is now uploaded to SkyDrive and it can also be accessed from your Internet browser.

For more information on the limitations you have for synchronizing folders with SkyDrive, check out this article: What is Windows Live Mesh & Why You Should Use It.

How To Stop Synchronizing Folders

If you want to stop synchronizing a folder with any of your computers, or with SkyDrive, the procedure is pretty simple:

In Windows Live Mesh, expand the folder you want to stop sharing. A simple click on it does the trick. For that folder, you now see its location and all the devices where it is synchronized. Click on the "Select devices" link, highlighted below.

Now you see the list of devices logged in to Windows Live Mesh using the same username account and password. You can deselect the devices you no longer want it synced with. If you want to completely stop sharing that folder, deselect all devices, including the computer from which you are doing the operation.

You are asked to confirm the choice you just made. Simply click "Stop syncing" and you are done.

The folder is no longer synchronized.

NOTE: The procedure to stop syncing a folder can be started from any of the computers where is synchronized. From other computers, you need to synchronized it with them first and then stop the sync with all (or other) computers.

Conclusion

As you can see from this tutorial, Windows Live Mesh is a pretty flexible tool, which allows you granular control on where you synchronize folders and how. For more interesting articles about this tool, check out the list of articles recommended below.

Related articles:

Windows Live Mesh - How to Sync Folders with Other People
Sync Internet Explorer Favorites with Windows Live Mesh
How to Manage Your Windows Live Mesh Synced Devices
Connecting to Remote Computers via Windows Live Mesh