The story: I recently started trying DropBox. After some fiddling, I found I could use an app, DropBoxFolderSync, to sync a folder with DropBox, leaving something called a "Symbolic Link" (which seems analogous to a pointer in programming) at the previous folder location.
Sounded good and I could always copy the real files back out of DropBox, so I used that on my programming projects folder - Always good to have offsite storage.
However, it's always good to have a local backup, too, so I had previously dropped my Projects folder on the C:\ partition to a Briefcase on the D:\ partition.
So, to sum up:
Projects folder backed up to Briefcase.
Did some work, decided to give DropBox a shot.
Projects folder synced to DropBox using DropBoxFolderSync; symbolic links left behind.
Then, I updated the Briefcase, because I had done some work since I last updated it. Some files were copied over.
A listing of folders:
Projects Folder: "C:*\Visual Studio 2010\Projects" (Contains symbolic links)
DropBox Projects Folder: "C:*\DropBox\Projects" (Contains the actual files)
Briefcase: *"Backups\Visual Studio 2010 Projects" on the D: drive (references the Project Folder)
Now, my question is: Will the Briefcase accumulate the symbolic links, or the actual files? That is, in programming speak (because it's what I know), will it copy the pointer or the referenced value?