Very basic sync question

DEVONthink Tips
1

I tried to do some syncing today and did not get very far. I watched the video and that helped. I have read more forum posts than I can remember and they tend to confuse me.

At this point, all my DB’s are on a Mac Mini. About 38 gigs worth. I also have DevonThink Pro a MacBook Air but have been keeping the DB’s on a USB drive. I want to sync the two computers directly.

Getting sync set up on a local connection between my Mini and Air without DropBox etc. seemed easy, but I do not know the best way to proceed. I tried syncing a 4 gig database but nothing happened. Files started to get copied over…but I did not see the DB get larger. Perhaps I did not give it enough time to complete.

  1. Do I need to already have the databases on both computers first or will DTPO copy them over?

  2. Can I sync between a computer and USB?

  3. I really do not understand what a sync store is nor its purpose.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ryan

2

  1. No. You don’t want to have an existing copy on the receiving machine on the initial Sync or it will warn and ask if you want to merge it.

  2. You can Sync to a local syncStore on a thumb drive if that’s what you’re asking.

  3. A local syncStore is just a common file that more than one machine can Sync to and from. This contrasts with a Direct Connection where one machine acts as the host and the other Syncs to and from it.

3

Ok. Great. I’ve got it.

  1. Created a small test db and DTPO was able to sync it to my MB Air in seconds. Though, it didn’t Sync the first time. It created the database and copied all files overs.

  2. I made changes to the DB on my original Mac, saved it as a “SyncStore” on my USB. Then I moved the USB to another Mac. Opened the new DB that DTPO had already created. And then I Set-up a manual sync, “Sync with existing sync store.” And all was well.

From what I can tell, I can put all my DBs on the USB and sync each time that I plug it in. Though on my MacBook Air that only has 128 gigs, I may just run off the USB. I am assuming that I can sync to and from the USB, and leave the files there, though I have not tried yet.

This is all so very awesome. Looking forward to having my DTPO “on the road”!