We recently released a new version of the BackupBob Desktop Software (version 1.8) and it is available to download now. Along with a number of performance and stability improvements, this version also changes the way that we handle file conflicts.

What are file conflicts?
File conflicts are quite rare. They occur when you change a file or folder on two computers at the same time. They’re especially common if you work offline regularly – for example if you change, rename or move a file or folder on two computers while they’re both offline, then when they come online again there may be a conflict. The BackupBob service has a large amount of technology to detect and deal with file conflicts.

What has changed?
In versions before today’s release, we showed a notification when a file conflict was detected, and gave you a number of ways to resolve the conflict – for example to keep the latest version from the server, or to keep the latest version from the local machine, or to create a second copy of the document. These notifications were complicated and also interrupted you as you work. In the latest version of the software we now handle all conflicts automatically and silently in the background. Often we just choose to accept the latest change – for example if you move a document on two computers. For conflicts where file contents have changed, we now just duplicate the file – adding a new file with a name such as “Your Document (2).docx”. This means that you can always be sure that you’ve got every copy of every file, regardless of where and when it was changed.

What else has changed in this version?
This release also includes a number of minor bug fixes and performance improvements. You should find that both the Windows and Mac versions are faster than they were before. The new version also doesn’t need to restart your PC when you install the Windows version for the first time – making it even easier to install BackupBob on other computers.

How do I get the new version?
The newest version is available to download now. To install it, simply log in to your BackupBob account online and use the software download links. You can install the newest version directly over your existing version – there’s no need to uninstall your existing copy first.

We hope that you enjoy the latest version of the software. As always, we welcome your feedback.