Synchronizing Datafiles
Between Two Macs

iData Pro lets you synchronize datafiles on two networked Macs (or in different folders on a single Mac). There are two ways to do this:

Sync Over a Local Network
Sync Via Dropbox

Creating a Sync File on Another Mac Over a Local Network

    1. Open the datafile to be synced in iData Pro. If this is a datafile that does not already contain a Sync ID, iData Pro will assume that you want to create a sync file to match it.

    2.  Choose Save As New Sync File... from the File menu, read the text in the dialog sheet that comes up, and click the OK button.


    3. The following dialog will appear. Click the Sync Locally button.



    4. When the Save dialog comes up, navigate through your local network and select the folder in which you wish to save the new sync file. iData Pro will remember this location for later syncing (which will work as long as you don't move or rename the sync file).

    5. Click the Save button, and iData Pro will save the sync file. Now you're ready to synchronize changes to either or both datafiles whenever you feel the need.

Synchronizing a Pair of Sync Files Over the Local Network

Once a sync file has been created on the other Mac, you can make changes to it and/or to the original. When you want to get both datafiles to match again, you can perform synchronization. The process is very similar to what you did to create the sync file in the first place.

   1. Open either of the previously synced datafiles in iData Pro. Because it will contain a Sync ID, iData Pro will assume that you want to synchronize this datafile (as opposed to creating a new sync file).

    2. Make sure that the other datafile is not open in any copy of iData Pro. Failure to do so could result in failure to synchronize properly. You will see the following alert, reminding you of this:


    3.  Choose Synchronize Datafiles... from the File menu. (If the current [frontmost] datafile does not have a Sync ID, then both the Synchronize Datafiles... and Remove Sync ID... items under the File menu will be disabled.)

    4. The following dialog will appear. Click the Sync Locally button.



    5. At this point, an Open dialog will appear. Navigate to the other sync file, select it, and click the Open button.

    6. You will see a Synchronizing... progress panel. When it closes, the synchronization process is complete.

    NOTE: If, for any reason, the file structure of the two datafiles does not match, you will see a notification, and iData Pro will not try to synchronize them.

See the section on Manual Synchronization, below, to learn how iData Pro allows you to resolve those cases where changes have been made to the same record in both datafiles.

Creating a Sync File on Another Mac Via Dropbox

    1. Open the datafile to be synced in iData Pro. If this is a datafile that does not already contain a Sync ID, iData Pro will assume that you want to create a sync file to match it.

    2.  Choose Save As New Sync File... from the File menu, read the text in the dialog sheet that comes up, and click the OK button.


    3. The following dialog will appear. Click the Sync Locally button.



    4. When the Save dialog comes up, navigate through your local network and select the folder in which you wish to save the new sync file. iData Pro will remember this location for later syncing (which will work as long as you don't move or rename the sync file).

    5. Click the Save button, and iData Pro will save the sync file. Now you're ready to synchronize changes to either or both datafiles whenever you feel the need.

Synchronizing a Pair of Sync Files Via Dropbox

Once a sync file has been created on the other Mac, you can make changes to it and/or to the original. When you want to get both datafiles to match again, you can perform synchronization. The process is very similar to what you did to create the sync file in the first place.

   1. Open either of the previously synced datafiles in iData Pro. Because it will contain a Sync ID, iData Pro will assume that you want to synchronize this datafile (as opposed to creating a new sync file).

    2. Make sure that the other datafile is not open in any copy of iData Pro. Failure to do so could result in failure to synchronize properly. You will see the following alert, reminding you of this:


    3.  Choose Synchronize Datafiles... from the File menu. (If the current [frontmost] datafile does not have a Sync ID, then both the Synchronize Datafiles... and Remove Sync ID... items under the File menu will be disabled.)

    4. The following dialog will appear. Click the Sync Locally button.



    5. At this point, an Open dialog will appear. Navigate to the other sync file, select it, and click the Open button.

    6. You will see a Synchronizing... progress panel. When it closes, the synchronization process is complete.

    NOTE: If, for any reason, the file structure of the two datafiles does not match, you will see a notification, and iData Pro will not try to synchronize them.

See the section on Manual Synchronization, below, to learn how iData Pro allows you to resolve those cases where changes have been made to the same record in both datafiles.

Manual Synchronization

When changes have been made to the same record in both datafiles, iData has no way of deciding which changes to keep and which changes to ignore. Therefore, you will be given a chance to compare all such records in both files and to manually update the local datafile however you wish.

After all automatic sychronization changes are completed, if any manual changes are required, iData will open the remote datafile for you. "-REMOTE" will be added to the file name in the title bar of the remote datafile, to make it easier to identify.

When the remote datafile opens, most of its toolbar buttons and menu items will be disabled, and its Find Box will be blacked out.This is because no changes can be made to the remote datafile. All changes must be made in the local datafile, then both datafiles will be updated on disk to match the local datafile. Furthermore, you will not be able to manually navigate among records in the remote datafile.



The way iData controls the manual synchronization process is by opening a Synchronize Records window, as shown below:


The text at the top of the dialog explains the process. Notice that record numbers may not match in the two datafiles. This is because records may have been reordered in either datafile since the last time they were synchronized. iData uses a unique identifier attached to each record, rather than relying on changeable record numbers.

    1. Select a pair of records in the list to cause those two records two be shown in the two datafiles.  You may click directly on a pair in the list, or you can use the Previous and Next buttons to move from record to record.

    2. Make any desired changes to the record in the local datafile, referring to the matching record in the remote datafile as necessary. When you are done, click the Finished With This Record button, and the record pair will be removed from the list.

    3. Continue with the process until no more records remain in the list.

    4. Click the Done button. The remote datafile will close, and both datafiles will be updated in their original locations.

You can abort the synchronization process either by clicking the Cancel button in the Synchronize Records window or by closing either datfile window.

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