With the new sync for DTTG 2, is the Mobile Sync folder obsolete? I currently have all my folders replicated to Mobile Synch, but it does not seem to be necessary. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The Mobile Sync group is no longer needed as DTTG2 does not use it. If you have just replicated items into it, as of DEVONthink 2.9.1, you can delete the group.
Someone thought this was a good idea? To go from syncing the subset I want to syncing the whole mess? Why wasn’t this communicated clearly? The release notes make no mention of this at all. Why would I want to sync everything I’ve ever archived on the desktop onto my phone?
Is there any way to fix this, other than starting to make a database per folder I want to sync?
What is the proper way to proceed to only have parts of a database synced to a mobile device? Create a dedicated database of duplicated items only for those that need to end up on the mobile device?
jyh.
One possibility is to move the items to a dedicated database, another one to download items on demand so that only metadata gets downloaded. Afterwards documents can be downloaded on demand but it’s also possible to enable automatic downloading of contents for groups/databases.
This is only a “solution” in the sense that it gets the items on the mobile device, but this is nowhere near preserving the functionality of the old Mobile Sync folder, since it breaks the database’s structure (and if one duplicates the files instead, wastes storage space and increases risks of data conflict).
I have no idea what this refers to, and a good amount of time spent jumping through the help hyperlinks hasn’t brought me any closer to getting any idea at all of how database sync-ing is supposed to work with the new version. The old version worked just fine for my (limited) needs on iPad & iPhone and it seems like I’ll have to go through a lot of efforts to achieve something that kinda almost accomplishes the same as the old syncing, except not quite as well, and not directly usable on the mobile side.
Thank you for the reply, but I am just as perplexed now as I was before reading you.
This is a serious step back in usability. You’re suggesting that I choose one of the following:
- Sync everything (thousands of files measured in gigs) to my iOS devices. Pros: I have what I need on my phone. Cons: Tons of stuff I don’t want have to be synced to my phone and take up space I can’t afford to waste.
- Create a separate database and only sync that. Pros: I have what I need and only what I need. Cons: This breaks classification because for some reason, that doesn’t work across databases, even if they’re all open. Now I scan things and they go to the wrong place OR I have them all go to Inbox, and I can’t use classification to move them to other databases.
- Pay for pro features in order to sync only metadata, and then be stuck without actual data unless I have my sync source nearby. Pros: I honestly don’t know. Cons:
aka. “You don’t have what you want when you want it unless you went and clicked on everything ahead of time.” That’s just absurd. What’s the point of having data synced to my mobile if I need my desktop around for the data when I go to look at something?
Breaking useful features for an pro upsell (for something I already paid good money for, no less) that doesn’t even do the same thing is a painful step backwards.
In short: this change sucks every way you look at it.
Likely you did not follow the whiny threads about DTTG 1, where people complained about the limited options in DTTG 1. Is it now going to be the other way around?
Based on the feedback here, there are clearly many users that want a global sync among all computers and iOS devices, on equal footing. Hence it was entirely sensible to create a such a global sync and retire the MobileSync folder, which was a crutch to begin with. As far as I can see, the introduction of the “on demand” feature is a good way to let people limit the overall syncing. Plus, it can be done individually for different devices, because you determine the sync range on the device, not on a “master” on some computer. I have a 128G iPad and a 64G iphone, so naturally I might have to limit syncing certain things on the phone first.
I can’t dispute that this might have been communicated more clearly, but at least the forum gives good and quick feedback. Also, this was a major tour-de-force by the devs to push this out.
Many, many people did not find this useful. Indeed, many people didn’t get it at all. Others wanted to sync entire databases and said, “What should I do - work in the Mobile Sync folder, or replicate EVERYTHING INTO THE MOBILE SYNC FOLDER!?!!?$(#^&$(@&#$@#*&”
Yeah, it was something like that.
And again, review the post I linked to for the proper way to mimic this behavior.