Using Your iDisk


The iDisk is among the most useful things about having a .Mac account. The uses for an iDisk are almost limitless; the bottom line is that your iDisk is additional disk space that you access via the Internet. You can use this space to store any files you choose. It is also vital to certain .Mac services, such as HomePage, because you store all the files you use on your web page in the appropriate folders on your iDisk.

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Although your iDisk isn't likely to be large enough to perform system backups, you can use it to back up important documents. This keeps them separate from your computer and enables you to access them from any Mac. With your .Mac account, you can download and use the Apple Backup application to back up your files on your iDisk.


You can configure a Mac to create a local copy of your iDisk and keep it synchronized with your online iDisk. This is especially useful when you work with the same set of files from multiple locations, such as a work Mac and your home Mac.

When you purchase a .Mac account, the combination of iDisk and email storage space is 250MB. You can configure this to shift more space to the iDisk or to your email, and you can upgrade the disk space available to your account.

Dialing Up to iDisk

Using an iDisk over a slow Internet connection can be an exercise in futility. When you use an iDisk, you are usually moving a large amount of data from your machine to the iDisk. When using a dial-up account or other slow connection, this can be frustratingeven simple tasks such as opening the iDisk can seem to take forever. If you use a dial-up account to connect to the Internet, try to use the iDisk at less popular times of the day (such as early in the morning) so that the performance will be as good as possible. The speed might still annoy you, but at least you stand a better chance of being able to tolerate it. A good choice for dial-up users is to create a copy of your iDisk on your Mac and choose the manual synchronization option. Then, you can move files to and from the local copy of your iDisk. When you are ready to put those files on the Net, you can perform the synchronization. This might take a long time to do, but you don't have to be at your Mac during the process (unlike if you work with your online iDisk to move files).


Setting the Size of Your iDisk

In most cases, you should increase the size of your iDisk relative to the space used by your email account.

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Only email that you store on the .Mac server counts against the email portion of your .Mac disk space. Make it a practice to download your .Mac email to your Mac and to regularly delete your email to keep your disk use for email to a minimum so you can have more iDisk space.


1.

Open the Account tab of the .Mac pane of the System Preferences application.

2.

Click the Account Info button. You'll move to the .Mac website.

3.

Log in using your member name and password. You'll move to the Account Settings page.

4.

Click the Storage Settings button. You'll move to the Storage Settings page (see Figure 17.3).

Figure 17.3. Using this page, you can set the balance of storage space between your iDisk and .Mac email.


5.

Choose the split between disk space for your iDisk and email account using the pop-up menu. You can choose from various combinations such as "25 MB Email / 225 MB iDisk." The disk gauge to the left of the pop-up menu will show you the current allocations; the colored areas of these allocations will show you your current use.

6.

Click Save. Your .Mac disk space will be allocated according to your selection.

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As you have probably figured out, you use the Account Settings web page to configure various aspects of your .Mac account, such as changing your password, billing information, and so on.


Configuring Your iDisk

You can configure your iDisk for your Mac OS X user account by opening the iDisk tab of the .Mac pane of the System Preferences utility (see Figure 17.4).

Figure 17.4. Using the iDisk tab of the .Mac pane, you can configure your iDisk; here, you can see that I have 225MB of space available but am currently using only 145MB.


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If the iDisk tab doesn't reflect your most recent account changes, quit the System Preferences application and restart it.


The most important configuration you will do is determining whether you will create a local copy of your iDisk on your computer. If you do this, you can work with the local copy just like other volumes on your computer. Then, you can either synchronize the local version with the online version manually or have your Mac do it automatically.

If you use a dial-up connection, you should create a local copy of your iDisk because accessing the online version is too slow to be practical. When you make changes to your iDisk, you can synchronize it to move those changed files online.

If you have a broadband connection, this is less important because there won't be as much difference accessing your online iDisk compared to the local copy. However, if you are going to work on files while they are on your iDisk (as opposed to just storing them there), using the local version will improve performance.

To configure your iDisk, perform the following steps:

1.

Open the System Preferences utility and click the .Mac button to open the .Mac pane.

2.

Click the iDisk tab.

3.

Use the Disk Space bar to assess the status of your disk space. The total length of the bar represents the current size of your iDisk, and the colored portion represents how much of that space is currently being used.

4.

To create a copy of your iDisk on your Mac, click the Start button. This causes your Mac to download a copy of your iDisk so you can access it directly from your desktop. If you want your Mac to keep the local copy and the online iDisk synchronized at all times, click the Automatically button (this option should be selected only if you have a broadband connection to the Net). If you prefer to manually synchronize your local and online iDisks, click the Manually button (this option should be selected if you use a dial-up account).

5.

To control whether others can input information to the Public folder on your iDisk, use the radio buttons in the "Your Public Folder" section. Click the "Read only" button if you want users to only be able to read files in the Public folder on your iDisk but not be able to change any information there. Click the "Read & write" button if you want them to also be able to change files there. If you chose the latter option, you should protect your iDisk with a password.

6.

To protect your iDisk with a password, check the "Password protect your Public Folder" check box and click the Set Password button.

7.

In the resulting sheet, enter the password you want to use, confirm it, and click OK.

Working with a Local Copy of Your iDisk

If you chose to create a local copy of your iDisk, you can open it from the Finder by clicking its icon in the Places sidebar. You can also select Go, iDisk, My iDisk or press Shift-"-I (see Figure 17.5). In the resulting Finder window, you will see the folders on your iDisk. At the bottom of the window, you can see the current space being used along with information about the last synchronization that was performed (or the progress of the current one if it is still being performed). While the local copy of your iDisk is being created, you'll also see the synchronization symbol rotating next to the iDisk icon in the Places sidebar.

Figure 17.5. You can access your local copy of your iDisk by clicking its icon in the Places sidebar of a Finder window.


NOTE

The local iDisk is actually a disk image file called Previous local iDisk for username.dmg, where username is your member name.


If you set the local copy of your iDisk for manual synchronization, you can perform the synchronization by clicking the "Synchronize now" button located to the right of the iDisk icon in the Places sidebar (refer to Figure 17.5). The two versions of the iDisk will be synchronized; a progress bar at the bottom of the Finder window will inform you about the status of the process.

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If you click the Action button or the contextual menu for a Finder window showing your iDisk, you can select the Sync Now command to perform synchronization or the Automatic Syncing command to set your iDisk to be synchronized automatically.


Working with Your Online iDisk

If you choose not to create a local copy of your iDisk, you can still work with your iDisk from the Finder. However, when you move files to and from the iDisk, you will actually be moving those files across the Net rather than just between locations on your hard drive. In most cases, you should use a local copy instead. However, you can directly access your online iDisk to work with it.

To do so, click the iDisk icon on the Places sidebar and the contents of your iDisk will be shown in a Finder window.

If you have set your desktop preferences so that mounted disks appear on your desktop, you will see a disk with an icon of a hard disk in front of a globethis is your iDisk. If your mounted disks don't appear on your desktop, open the Computer directory and you will see your iDisk there.

To learn how to set the preference for disks being shown on the desktop, p. 135.


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Look for the Synchronize symbol to the right of the iDisk volume in the Places sidebar of the Finder window to tell the difference between the online iDisk and a local copy of your iDisk. If you don't see any symbol, you are working with the online iDisk. If you do see the Synchronization symbol, you are working with a local copy.


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If you use more than one .Mac account, you can download and use the iDisk Utility application to make working with multiple .Mac accounts more convenient. You can download this application from the .Mac website.


Working with an iDisk

After your iDisk is mounted on your Mac (whether it is a local copy or the online version), you can work with it just like the other volumes and disks on your machine. Open your iDisk and you will see the following folders:

  • Backup The Backup folder is where your data is stored if you use the Apple Backup application to back up your Mac via your iDisk.

  • Documents, Movies, Music, and Pictures These folders contain elements for web pages you might want to add to your .Mac website using HomePage. For example, if you want to include a Pictures page on your site, you can store the images you want to include on the page in the Pictures folder.

  • Library The Library folder contains files that support use of the iDisk, such as application support files.

  • Public The Public folder is where you can store files you want other .Mac users to be able to access via .Mac or those you want to publish via a files web page so anyone can download them.

  • Sites The Sites folder is where you store your own HTML pages to be served from the .Mac website (rather than using the HomePage service).

  • Software The Software folder contains software you can download to your Mac. Apple stores system and application software updates here so you can easily access and download them. To see what software is available, simply open the Software folder. To download any of the files you see to your Mac, drag the file from the Software folder to a folder on your machine. For example, a folder called Mac OS X Software contains applications you can download to your Mac by simply dragging them from the folder to your hard drive. The contents of the Software folder do not count against your iDisk storage space.

Accessing iDisks from the Go Menu

The iDisk commands on the Finder's Go menu are the following:

  • My iDisk This command opens your own iDisk.

  • Other User's iDisk When you select this command, you see the Connect To iDisk dialog box. Enter the member name and password of the user's iDisk that you want to access and click Connect. That iDisk is mounted on your Mac and you can work with it just like the iDisk that is configured as part of your .Mac account. For example, if you have two .Mac accounts, you can configure one iDisk as part of your Mac OS X user account and use this command to access the iDisk that is part of another .Mac account.

  • Other User's Public Folder When you select this command, the Connect To iDisk Public Folder dialog box appears. Enter the member name of the user whose Public folder you want to access and click Connect. If the user has not selected the option to protect the Public folder with a password, that user's Public folder on her iDisk is shown in a Finder window. If the folder is protected with a password, enter the password and click Connect when prompted to do so.

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When you need to enter a password to access someone else's Public folder, your username is Public, which is entered for you. If you add the password to your keychain, you don't have to enter it again. The Public folder will be unlocked for you automatically when you access it.


Sharing Information on Your iDisk with Others

One of the most useful things about an iDisk is that you can place files in the Public folder and then share them with other users. You can do this in a couple of ways.

If the people with whom you want to share files are Mac users, they can access your files via the commands on their Mac's Go, iDisk menu. All you need to do is place the files you want to share in your iDisk's Public folder and then provide your .Mac member name to the people with whom you want to share files. If you protect your Public folder with a password, you need to provide the password to them as well.

NOTE

If you use a local iDisk and chose the Manual synchronization option, remember to synchronize your iDisk after you place new files in your Public folder for others to access.


You can also publish the contents of your Public folder so others can access it using a web interface. This means you can share files with anyone, whether they use a Mac or not.

To learn how to create a .Mac website, p. 506.


Upgrading Your iDisk

You might need to have more space available than the 250MB that is provided as part of a standard .Mac account. In fact, if you want to create a website with lots of movies, music, and photos on it, 225MB might not be enough for you even if you've allocated most of your space to your iDisk. If you will be using the .Mac backup application to back up your data, you are also likely to want more .Mac disk space.

At press time, you could increase the total storage space for your .Mac account to 1024MB for an additional $49.95/year.

To add more space to your .Mac account, go to the iDisk tab of the .Mac pane and click the Buy More button. You'll move to the .Mac website. Log in and you'll move to the Buy More page. Follow the onscreen instructions to add more space to your .Mac account.

After you have added more disk space to your .Mac account, allocate the portion you want to make available to your iDisk.

To learn how to allocated disk space between your .Mac email and iDisk, p. 499.


Using Your iDisk to Work with the Same Files on Multiple Macs

If you regularly work on more than one Mac (such as one at work or school and one at home), you can use .Mac to make sure you can access the same files on each Mac you use. To do this, perform the following steps:

1.

Configure each Mac to use your .Mac account.

2.

On each Mac, configure your iDisk so you use a local copy and choose the synchronization option.

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You don't need to choose the same synchronization option on each Mac. For example, if one Mac connects via a broadband connection, you could choose the Automatic option. If another uses a dial-up connection, you could choose the Manual option for that Mac.

3.

Store the files on which you are working in a folder on your iDisk. (Don't use the Public folder unless you want other people to be able to access these files.) As you save files, they will be saved on your iDisk.

4.

When you are done working on a Mac for which the Manual synchronization option is active, synchronize the iDisk. The files on which you are working will be moved to the online iDisk.

5.

When you get to a different Mac, synchronize the iDisk (if you have configured that Mac for automatic synchronization, you don't need to do this step). The files on which you work will be available in the Mac's iDisk folder.

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After you have finished working on files and no longer need to access them, move them out of your iDisk so they no longer impact your available space.




Special Edition Using MAC OS X Tiger
Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger
ISBN: 0789733919
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 317
Authors: Brad Miser

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