Sync across several Macs and iOS devices using iCloud

[JamieHatzis]

I just added a new Mac Book Pro to DT3 which I will use at work and I have an iMac at home. I have also an iPad and an iPhone. Previously, I was syncing via a bonjour connection between the iMac and the iOS devices, but I would like to start syncing everything using iCloud sync. I have read the guide about syncing the iMac first, the adding the MBP, then the iOS devices ( I think) in this order. Do I need to do anything with the original bonjour sync (e.g. uncheck it, anything else??)

[BLUEFROG]

You could uncheck it, if you’d like. It doesn’t help or harm in this case.

[nm1]

I’m having a rather strange (or at least unexpected for me) experience with iCloud-synchronized databases.

In preparation to upgrade from DTPO2 on an older laptop to DTP3 on a new laptop, I synchronized all of my databases from DTPO2 to iCloud. On the new laptop, I have tried to pull them down one by one for use with DTP3. Some of them have worked out just fine but one of them, which is ~3 GB, seems not to actually download to the new laptop.

I have gone into Preferences > Sync within DTP3 and have selected iCloud on the left and then the corresponding database name on the right in the ‘Remote’ section. (Interestingly, according to the icon, this database is recognized as a DTP3 database rather than a DTPO2 or DTTG database.) By selecting the Import button (square with downward arrow), the database begins to download and ultimately is available for my use in DTP3.

In between sessions, I have closed DTP3 and when I have re-opened it and expected this database to be available to me, it is nowhere to be found. It is also not stored at ~/Databases/databaseName (though the databases that I have imported and which were originally DTPO2 databases are stored at that path and all have the dtBase2 extension). I cannot find where the DTP3 database that I downloaded has been saved, if anywhere, on my local machine. The database is also not available from the File > Open Recent menu. Any ideas?

Also, I just noticed that there is a new item in the ~/Databases path; it is called Current.dtSparse. I have never seen this before and I do not have a database with this name. I mention this in case it is somehow related to the problems I am experiencing. FWIW, Current.dtSparse appears to be only 33 MB so doesn’t seem likely that it is storing anything from my ~3 GB database.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[cgrunenberg]

@nm1

Also, I just noticed that there is a new item in the ~/Databases path; it is called Current.dtSparse . I have never seen this before and I do not have a database with this name. I mention this in case it is somehow related to the problems I am experiencing. FWIW, Current.dtSparse appears to be only 33 MB so doesn’t seem likely that it is storing anything from my ~3 GB database.

This is an encrypted database. What was the name of the imported database? And did you definitely use the Import button in Preferences > Sync? Because in this case the database should be imported as a regular database (dtBase2).

[nm1]

The imported database is called Authority (filename: Authority3.dtBase2). I am certain that I used the Import button because I was actively navigating the database on the new laptop and don’t know of a way that I could have done that without having imported the database through iCloud Sync on the new laptop.

Here’s another detail that might be relevant now that I am thinking of it:

Authority3.dtBase2 is technically stored on a NAS and consists of both imported and indexed items. When I imported Authority3.dtBase2 using the Sync preference pane, I vaguely remember that at some point I saw something about the imported database merging with a local copy. This is perhaps more confusing because still there is no ‘local’ copy of the Authority3.dtBase2 database on the new laptop. However, maybe it could be explained if somehow the imported version has a directive that tells DT3 to look for the source database, which it was able to find at the NAS path since I was on the network at the time I tried to import. Does this make sense to you, knowing the architecture of the application and what is involved in syncing?

I have now copied the Authority3.dtBase2 database to the new laptop so that it is stored locally–but I haven’t opened it in DT3 yet. Should I open it and then sync from iCloud so that this is truly a “sync” rather than an “import”?

How can I avoid this situation for other databases that I have stored on the NAS (since I use them infrequently but have to retain them for archiving purposes)?

[cgrunenberg]

@nm1

Authority3.dtBase2 is technically stored on a NAS and consists of both imported and indexed items. When I imported Authority3.dtBase2 using the Sync preference pane, I vaguely remember that at some point I saw something about the imported database merging with a local copy. This is perhaps more confusing because still there is no ‘local’ copy of the Authority3.dtBase2 database on the new laptop. However, maybe it could be explained if somehow the imported version has a directive that tells DT3 to look for the source database, which it was able to find at the NAS path since I was on the network at the time I tried to import. Does this make sense to you, knowing the architecture of the application and what is involved in syncing?

Databases are merged if their internal identification is identical, neither the name nor the path of the database matter. Did you ever copy databases in the Finder and continue to use both copies?