# What's New in Synk 5.0?

This page tells you about the new features in Synk. To learn more about how to set up, use, and solve problems with Synk, click the Home button above to take you to the main access page for Synk Help.

## Complete Rewrite

The old codebase of Synk 1 through 4 dated back to the mid-90s, and was growing difficult to maintain and to add the types of features expected of modern applications. As such, Synk 5 is a complete and total rewrite of the application, using all of the most up-to-date technologies provided by Mac OS X, and designed for easy future addition of features. Below are just a few of the more noticeable differences between Synk 4 and Synk 5.

## Expanded Filesystem and Networking Support

Unlike Synk 4, Synk 5 supports any and all filesystems and networking protocols that the Finder can mount. You are no longer limited to HFS+ and AFP. Learn more about compatibility.

## Integrated Scheduling

You can now schedule your documents to run at regular intervals automatically directly within Synk. No more mucking around with cron jobs. Learn more about scheduling.

## Run as Root

If you wish to back up areas of your hard drive beyond your own user folder, you can now run Synk as the root superuser to override the default permissions scheme of Mac OS X. Learn how to run as root.

## Powerful Rules

The basic " exclusion string " feature of Synk 4 has grown into a powerful, full-featured rule system, allowing you to include and exclude files based on many attributes. Learn more about rules.

## Improved Preview Window

The new Preview window gives you even more control over what actions Synk will take when it runs. The new design also makes the directory structure clearer, making it easier to understand.

## Before & After Actions

You can now define a variety of actions for Synk to take before and after a document is run, such as running a script or shutting down the computer. Learn more about before & after actions.

## Alias Resolution

You can now specify how you want Synk to handle aliases and symbolic links which it encounters. Learn more about aliases.

## And many more...

These are just a few of the changes made. Synk 5 is a tremendous update, so explore around the application and these help files, and see what other great improvements there are to find.