For many years I used and depended on the Windows "Briefcase" function (widget/app/software/program/whatever the proper term) to back up my daily journal file. Then, suddenly, it went away (I guess with Win10.) I saw somewhere that a techie was able to restore the original function, but I'm nowhere near that level.

Surely there must be a third-party solution that will do what the original Briefcase function accomplished. I would think there would be several.



A separate question I would like the answer to is "Why discontinue such a useful element of the operating system?" This is, however, purely out of curiosity and has nothing to do with my primary question above.


Thanks for any help.
Rick Joslin

Microsoft used to have a free tool called SyncToy that was very useful for the sort of backups you describe. As it was, as I say, incredibly useful and free, Microsoft discontinued it. Now they push OneDrive or a more expensive alternative.

Would this work for you? FreeFileSync

Windows Briefcase was removed in Windows 10 because Microsoft shifted focus to cloud syncing tools like OneDrive and felt Briefcase was outdated. To get the same function, you can use FreeFileSync, SyncToy, or even OneDrive to sync your journal file across locations.

Thanks, Gunter
I found Free File Sync to be tremendously un-user-friendly. I'll check out sync toy and see if it's any simpler. I'm just after a quick and dirty program to copy file to a different location. I find Microsoft's desire to put my files in the cloud to be scary and intrusive.
Rick J