[dgold105]

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for software I could use to sync my documents folder on my macbook to my documents folder on my idisk. I don't want to use the built-in sync as it will sync my whole home folder. I have tried chronosync which doesn't give me the best results. Can anyone recommend any other software?

[Hal Itosis]

Originally Posted by dgold105 

I have tried chronosync which doesn't give me the best results.

Can I ask where/how did ChronoSync fall short exactly?

[k2director]

I don't quite understand why you won't use iDisk's own synching features. I have an iDisk account, and I have it synch only my Documents folder (or just folders within the Documents folder) to my iDisk. It's very easy.

Go to your Documents folder for your Mac. Drag its contents to your iDisk's Documents folder. Now, remove the files from your Mac's Documents folder (since they're in your iDisk's Documents folder already...no need for duplicate copies).

Now, when you need to save a document or load one up, refer to your iDisk's Documents folder instead of your Mac's Documents folder.

For quicker access to the iDisk Documents folder, drag it to the Places section of your Finder window. Now you can quickly access it with one click from any Finder window.

[dgold105]

k2director - Your solution doesn't give access offline unless I'm missing something? Is there a way to set it up that it does?

Hal - am finding it is not updating some files and others it isn't deleting even though it is set to do so (ie a file is deleted on my laptop but when I sync it still leaves it on the idisk).

[Spheric Harlot]

There's an option to sync the iDisk with your computer.

It will leave a disk image as large as the iDisk itself mirrored on your machine, that you can then access to your heart's content while offline. It will be synched up the next time you go online.

[Hal Itosis]

Originally Posted by dgold105 

Hal - am finding it is not updating some files and others it isn't deleting even though it is set to do so (ie a file is deleted on my laptop but when I sync it still leaves it on the idisk).

If either of those happen in ChronoSync, it's likely a configuration problem.

ChronoSync has virtually every conceivable way of defining a 'trigger' (criteria to instigate an update, or not to.)
There are also different behaviors between a 'backup', a 'mirror' and a 'sync' when it comes to date-comparisons.
[i.e., handling rollbacks or rollforwards, where the original is older than before or the target is newer than before.]

As for syncing deletions, I have never seen ChronoSync fail at that (when properly set up).

Good luck finding a more thoroughly-designed, yet easy-to-use program.

[but i agree: the tools built into the OS are probably perfect for iDisk management.]

[JKT]

Originally Posted by k2director 

Go to your Documents folder for your Mac. Drag its contents to your iDisk's Documents folder. Now, remove the files from your Mac's Documents folder (since they're in your iDisk's Documents folder already...no need for duplicate copies).

Absolutely do not do this unless you are also backing up those files to something other than your iDisk at a regular interval. There is no guarantee from Apple that they can or will preserve your data if things go tits-up at their end.

[k2director]

Sure, back them up if you like somewhere, but remember, not only does Apple have a copy of your files on its servers, but you also have local copies on your Mac (even when the files are only in the your Mac's iDisk folder, they are stored locally on your hard drive). So without making a manual backup, your files are in two places at the same time...Apple and your Mac's hard drive....and that doesn't count any other Macs you have that sync up to iDisk as well. In other words: you already have a backup without even trying! I've been using iDisk for years and have never, ever had a data loss...

Dgold105-- My solution does indeed give you offline access to your files. I think you just need to understand how iDisk works a little better, and it will all be clear. Here's how it works, roughly:

1) You turn your iDisk Syncing ON via the MobileMe System Preferences box.

2) You copy files to your iDisk via the Finder.

3) Those files are **SAVED LOCALLY** to your hard drive, but they are also uploaded (automatically) to your iDisk account on Apple's servers.

4) You go to change a file in your iDisk (say, edit a Word doc).

5) The change is saved locally, but also uploaded to Apple's server, allowing the files on your hard disk's iDisk folder and your Apple server idisk to be identical....ie, they're in sync!

6) Suppose you're offline, and you open up a file from your iDisk in the finder, and edit it. You're editing the local copy, but your Mac can't send the changes to Apple's servers because you're off-line. HOWEVER, as soon as you go back online, the OS will try to do an iDisk sync, and send your revised document to Apple's servers. (You can also trigger a manual iDisk sync by clicking the little Sync icon next to your iDisk folder under the Devices section of the Finder window).

7) Let's say you have 2 Macs (desktop/laptop), and both have iDisk Syncing turned ON (so both computers and Apple's server have identical copies of the iDisk documents). You make a change on your desktop to an iDisk file and it's automatically uploaded to Apple's servers. Next time you open your laptop (provided you're online) it will realize that a new version of the edited document is on the Apple server (again, it was uploaded when you changed the document on your desktop), and your laptop will download the revised document to its own iDisk folder, ensuring you have the latest copy locally on the laptop.

Anyway, hope this helps. In theory, it's all pretty seamless and automatic, and you can indeed access your docs when offline, because your iDisk keeps local copies on your hard drive. In practice, iDisk syncing under Leopard has been a little spotty (get it? spotty? ha ha...), and sometimes gives you unnecessary and confusing Conflict Resolver messages asking you to select which version of a document is the most current (the one on Apple's server or the one on your Mac)....but these hitches seem to be getting less frequent....

[JKT]

Originally Posted by k2director 

Sure, back them up if you like somewhere, but remember, not only does Apple have a copy of your files on its servers, but you also have local copies on your Mac (even when the files are only in the your Mac's iDisk folder, they are stored locally on your hard drive). So without making a manual backup, your files are in two places at the same time...Apple and your Mac's hard drive....and that doesn't count any other Macs you have that sync up to iDisk as well. In other words: you already have a backup without even trying! I've been using iDisk for years and have never, ever had a data loss....

...until Apple inadvertently wipes your data off their server and your next synch does it on your local disk too... oops.

While it might not be likely, it doesn't make it impossible, and the way that .Mac/Me operates means that Apple does not have any way of restoring data lost in this fashion, and you are solely responsible for your own data (which you agree to when you sign up for the service).

Backup. Often.

[jmiddel]

JKT, if .Mac/Me is not so reliable, is there any affordable online backup you recommend as better?

[JKT]

I'm not saying it isn't reliable, just that it can't (and shouldn't) be considered perfect. You are risking your data if you rely solely on Apple to preserve it. As far as I am aware, MobileMe is one of the most affordable packages (for all features included), but you can certainly get cheaper online disk storage if that is all that you need. Virtually any web hosting service would be and there are WebDAV services as well.

[jmiddel]

Thank you, JKT, that helped a lot

[dgold105]

Thanks K2 director.

I have it all working now.

David

[basworth]

Originally Posted by k2director 

Sure, back them up if you like somewhere, but remember, not only does Apple have a copy of your files on its servers, but you also have local copies on your Mac (even when the files are only in the your Mac's iDisk folder, they are stored locally on your hard drive). So without making a manual backup, your files are in two places at the same time...Apple and your Mac's hard drive....and that doesn't count any other Macs you have that sync up to iDisk as well. In other words: you already have a backup without even trying! I've been using iDisk for years and have never, ever had a data loss...

Dgold105-- My solution does indeed give you offline access to your files. I think you just need to understand how iDisk works a little better, and it will all be clear. Here's how it works, roughly:

1) You turn your iDisk Syncing ON via the MobileMe System Preferences box.

2) You copy files to your iDisk via the Finder.

3) Those files are **SAVED LOCALLY** to your hard drive, but they are also uploaded (automatically) to your iDisk account on Apple's servers.

4) You go to change a file in your iDisk (say, edit a Word doc).

5) The change is saved locally, but also uploaded to Apple's server, allowing the files on your hard disk's iDisk folder and your Apple server idisk to be identical....ie, they're in sync!

6) Suppose you're offline, and you open up a file from your iDisk in the finder, and edit it. You're editing the local copy, but your Mac can't send the changes to Apple's servers because you're off-line. HOWEVER, as soon as you go back online, the OS will try to do an iDisk sync, and send your revised document to Apple's servers. (You can also trigger a manual iDisk sync by clicking the little Sync icon next to your iDisk folder under the Devices section of the Finder window).

7) Let's say you have 2 Macs (desktop/laptop), and both have iDisk Syncing turned ON (so both computers and Apple's server have identical copies of the iDisk documents). You make a change on your desktop to an iDisk file and it's automatically uploaded to Apple's servers. Next time you open your laptop (provided you're online) it will realize that a new version of the edited document is on the Apple server (again, it was uploaded when you changed the document on your desktop), and your laptop will download the revised document to its own iDisk folder, ensuring you have the latest copy locally on the laptop.

Anyway, hope this helps. In theory, it's all pretty seamless and automatic, and you can indeed access your docs when offline, because your iDisk keeps local copies on your hard drive. In practice, iDisk syncing under Leopard has been a little spotty (get it? spotty? ha ha...), and sometimes gives you unnecessary and confusing Conflict Resolver messages asking you to select which version of a document is the most current (the one on Apple's server or the one on your Mac)....but these hitches seem to be getting less frequent....

That works if you want to sync your home folder and additional folders, how do you activate syncing (which syncs your entire home folder) then add other specific folders you want, then stop the syncing of the rest of the home folder

[turtle777]

Twin (formerly known as Persistence.

• fully preserves file metadata: creation and modification dates, Finder info (e.g. label or Spotlight comments), UNIX permissions, ACLs, extended attributes...
• supports WebDAV (over HTTP or HTTPS), AFP, SMB, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, Amazon S3 (over HTTP or HTTPS), Apple iDisk
• on-the-fly top-grade AES-256 encryption
• uses efficient bzip2 compression to reduce the size of the backed up data, but is also smart enough not to waste time trying to re-compress already compressed files (JPEG images, movies, Finder archives…).

If you don't want to spend money, you can try Mathusalem.
It's an abandoned Google app, but still works ok.
Similar features as Twin, just not as refined and polished.

-t

[Vistaclara]

Some of these answers are so convoluted! Chronosync is so simple to use and very stable, very effective. I can't understand how it didn't work for you (dgold105). I would recommend giving it another try. It has worked perfectly in syncing two computers and backing up to iDisk.