Synchronizing Datafiles via WiFi

Synchronizing Datafiles
via WiFi

iData Pro provides two methods for synchronizing datafiles on the Mac with datafiles in iData Mobile Plus on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. (To keep things simple, we will just refer to the iPhone below.)

The simplest method is via a local WiFi network, created using a wireless router, such as Airport Extreme. This is the method of choice for a single individual who just needs to keep datafiles on both platforms in sync.

The Mac and the iPhone must both be on the same WiFi network.

NOTE: The old iData Mobile app has been discontinued. It is recommended that users of iData Mobile switch to iData Mobile Plus (which is free). To learn how to convert existing .idm datafiles to .id3 format, click here.

Creating a New Sync File on the iPhone Over a Local WiFi Network

A datafile that was created on the Mac must first be moved to the iPhone using the Save As New Sync File function.

1. Open iData Mobile Plus on the iPhone. Be sure that WiFi is turned on, and a WiFi network is selected in the iPhone Settings application.

2. Tap the icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the Datafiles window.

3. In the next window, tap the WiFi Synchronization button. This will bring up the following window.

4. Note that the top line in this window says, "No WiFi Connection". If you see this line, it means that your iPhone does not have a good WiFi connection. Once the WiFi connection is good, you will see that it now says "Starting Connection". At that point, you can proceed with synchronization.

5. Leave this window open until you finish creating your sync file. (You can create as many sync files as you wish while this window remains open.)

6. 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.

NOTE 1: This datafile must be in the correct format, as explained in the NOTE above.

NOTE 2: Memory is extremely limited on the iPhone. We strongly recommend that you do not try to use datafiles any larger than 5 MB in size. If you start to create a sync file that is larger that 5 MB, you will see a warning notice, and will have a chance to cancel the process. Then you can try to reduce the size of the datafile. iData Pro provides a function to split a datafile into two smaller datafiles, but if you are creating datafiles from scratch, you are probably better off just being careful not to exceed this file size.

7. 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.

8. Next you will be asked how you want to create the sync file. When the following dialog appears, you can enable the Always use this synchronization method checkbox to avoid this dialog in the future. (This option can be changed at any time in the Special tab of the iData Pro Preferences dialog.)

9. When you are ready to proceed, click the Sync Through WiFi Network button.

10. If you have multiple active WiFi devices, you may see the following dialog. In it, select your iPhone, then click the OK button.

NOTE iData will remember the name of the iPhone that you select, and will use it in the future if it is available. If it is not available, this dialog will appear again.

11. At this point, an "Uploading" progress sheet will open at the top of the datafile window on the Mac. When the sheet closes, the WiFi Synchronization window in iData Mobile Plus will say, "File Uploaded". At this point, you can tap the Close button in the WiFi Synchronization window in iData Mobile Plus, and your datafile will appear in the Datafiles list.

Synchronizing a Pair of Sync Files Over the WiFi Network

Once a sync file has been created on the iPhone, you can make changes to it and/or to the original on the Mac. 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 iData Mobile Plus on the iPhone. Be sure that WiFi is turned on, and a WiFi network is selected in the iPhone Settings application.

2. Tap the icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the Datafiles window.

3. In the next window, tap the WiFi Synchronization button. This will bring up the following window.

4. Note the address beginning with http at the bottom of the window. As explained in the previous section, if this window says "No WiFi Connection, you will have to make sure that you have a good WiFi connection before proceeding.

5. Leave this window open until you finish syncing on the Mac side. (You can synchronize as many datafiles as you wish while this window remains open.)

6. Open a previously synced datafile in iData Pro.

Note: 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.

7. Choose Synchronize Datafiles... from the File menu. When the following dialog appears, click the Sync Through WiFi Network button.

8. If you have multiple active WiFi devices, you may see the following dialog. In it, select your iPhone, then click the OK button.

9. At this point, a "Downloading" progress sheet will open at the top of the datafile window. The message will briefly change to "Synchronizing". If there are no cases of the same record having been modified in both datafiles, the message will then change to "Uploading". When the sheet closes, you can tap the Close button in the WiFi Synchronization window in iData Mobile Plus, and your datafile will be identical on both platforms.

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