Mon Écrin on Windows

Install Mon Écrin

1. Download the "monecrin-sync-setup-<version>.exe" installer with the button above.
2. Open the downloaded file. It installs for your Windows account only: no administrator password is required.
3. Follow the assistant: accept the licence, keep "Desktop shortcut" and "Start Menu shortcut" ticked, then choose the installation folder (by default %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\MonEcrin).
4. At the last step, leave the "Launch Mon Écrin now" box ticked, then click "Finish".

The installer and the app are digitally signed. Mon Écrin installs just as well on a Windows account without administrator rights.

First launch

1. Click "Sign in with Mon Écrin". A tab opens on monecrin.com: sign in as usual (password, Google or two-factor authentication), then come back to the app. Your password never goes through the software.
2. If the browser doesn't open, click "Copy link" and paste it into the browser on this computer. You have 5 minutes to sign in.
3. The "Welcome to Mon Écrin" assistant guides you: "Get started", choose your folders, then "Finish and sync". You can then add or remove folders at any time in the "My folders" tab.
4. Does your account already have a computer? Choose "Take over a computer" to replace the old one (it will be disconnected from the service) or "Set up as new".
5. Maximum number of devices reached? Use "Replace with this PC", or remove a device from "My devices" in your Mon Écrin account, then sign in again.

What you can do

• Mon Écrin lives in the taskbar, near the clock. Its icon menu offers, among other things, "Open the dashboard", "Sync now", "Pause for 1 h" or "Resume syncing", "Settings…", "My vault online", "About" and "Quit" (which stops syncing). Closing the window offers to "Minimize to taskbar": sync carries on.
• "Start with Windows" (turned on by default from the first launch) starts Mon Écrin minimised to the taskbar every time you sign in.
• Windows notifications let you know when the installation or an update is complete, when an update is ready, or when something important happens while the window is closed (session ended, computer locked…).
• Add a folder: "➕ Add a folder…" in the "My folders" tab, or "🔍 Scan this computer" so that Mon Écrin suggests the photo, video and document folders it finds.
• Choose the direction: "To the vault ↑" sends the folder's contents to your vault; "Two-way ↕" keeps the folder and the vault identical in both directions. Each folder becomes an album in your vault, filed under "This PC". To change direction, remove the folder and add it again.
• Deletions: in "Settings", the "When a file is deleted" section offers "Add only", moving a file deleted on the computer to the vault's trash (recommended, the default choice) and "Mirror", which also carries deletions made in the vault over to the computer ("Two-way" folders only, once it is turned on): the file then goes to the computer's trash. When the system trash can't be used (Linux, network drive, USB stick), Mon Écrin replaces it with a hidden ".monecrin-corbeille" folder, emptied after 30 days.
• Automatic sync: a new file is usually sent within a minute of arriving in a protected folder. On top of that, a full check runs every 6 hours (adjustable: 3, 6 or 12 hours, or once a day at a time of your choice).
• Send right away or take a break: "Check and sync" on the dashboard, "Pause" for 1 hour, 2 hours or until you turn it back on, then "Resume".
• Mobile data (Windows and Linux): by default, sync pauses on a metered connection (4G/5G, hotspot) and resumes on its own on a regular network. Tick "Sync over mobile data too" to allow it. On a Mac, this automatic pause doesn't exist.
• Follow the progress: the dashboard shows how many files are "safe", until "Everything is safe". The "Duplicates & ignored files" tab explains why a file wasn't sent (duplicate, size, OneDrive "online-only" file…).
• Get your files back: "Download my entire vault" brings a copy of your vault to this computer, organised by original folder or by date, after checking the free space.
• Remove a folder: "Remove", then "Stop protecting". No file is deleted from the computer, and what is already in your vault stays there.
• Language and appearance: French, English, Spanish or German, light, dark or system theme, in "Settings".
• Lost, broken or stolen phone: the Mon Écrin icon menu offers a direct link.

Updates

• Updates are automatic. Mon Écrin checks for a new version about 5 minutes after it starts, then every 6 hours.
• Every version is signed by Mon Écrin: it is only installed once its authenticity has been checked. An unauthenticated version is never installed.
• When a version is ready, click "Install now" or "Later". If you do nothing, it installs itself within 24 hours, never during a backup in progress.
• You can also click "Check for updates" at any time.
• During an update, Mon Écrin closes for a moment, installs itself, then restarts on its own in the taskbar. Your shortcuts and settings are kept.

Uninstall

1. First quit Mon Écrin (icon menu › "Quit"). Then open Windows Settings › Apps › Installed apps ("Apps & features" on Windows 10), look for "Mon Écrin", then choose "Uninstall".
2. The uninstaller removes the app, its shortcuts and automatic startup.
3. The "Also delete this information from this computer" box (unticked by default) also erases Mon Écrin's settings and local key. Even with the box unticked, you'll need to sign in again after reinstalling; your folders will be found again. Your photos, your files and your online vault are never affected.

Common problems