iSync


With iSync, you can store your contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and other data on the .Mac synchronization server. You can also store your Keychain passwords, Mail accounts, rules, signatures, and Smart Mailboxes. Then with the click of a button you can synchronize this information to another Mac.

This process not only allows you to synchronize several Macs, but it also allows you to access certain data on other computers you might use along your travels. For instance, while using Internet Explorer on a pc in an Internet cafe in Bangkok, you can access your Safari bookmarks.

Also, you might add Address Book contacts and iCal information while traveling around with your laptop. You can synchronize that data with your desktop Mac or with family or co-workers back home, even while on the road.

Register Your Mac with the .Mac Server

The first step, while you're still at home, is to register your main Mac (either your primary desktop Mac or your laptop) with the .Mac server.

To register your Mac to the .Mac server ...

1.

Open the System Preferences: Either click its icon in the Dock, or go to the Apple menu and choose "System Preferences...."

2.

Click the ".Mac" icon in System Preferences (circled, below-left) to open the .Mac preferences (shown below-right).

3.

Click the "Account" tab (circled above), if it isn't already selected.

4.

If your .Mac member name and password are not in the fields, enter them; hit Enter or Return.

Sync Your Data

Once you sign in on the .Mac preferences, your Mac is registered to the .Mac synchronization server. Information that you choose to sync (see below) gets copied to that server.

To sync your data to the .Mac server:

(Skip Steps 1 and 2 below if you're still viewing the .Mac preferences from the previous page.)

1.

Open the System Preferences: Either click its icon in the Dock, or go to the Apple menu and choose "System Preferences...."

2.

Click the ".Mac" icon in System Preferences to open the .Mac preferences.

3.

Click the "Sync" tab (circled below) to show the Sync pane.

4.

Check the box to "Synchronize with .Mac." then from the menu choose how often you want your computer to sync the selected information.

Automatically: iSync will sync whenever a change is made to the selected file type.

Manually: iSync will wait until you click the "Sync Now" button.

5.

In the list of icons, check the data you want to sync.

6.

Click "Sync Now."

7.

When iSync starts, an "Alert" message appears for each of the selected data categories, as shown below.

From its menu, choose how you want iSync to handle the data, as described below:

Replace data on this computer: If there's existing data on the .Mac server, it will replace the data on your Mac.

Replace data on .Mac. This is the option you want to choose when you sync for the first time. It copies the data on your Mac to the .Mac server.

Merge data on this computer and .Mac: If there's existing data on the .Mac server, merge it with the data on your Mac. If the Mac finds conflicting data (like two different addresses for the same name), it will ask you what to do.

8.

After answering each alert message, click the "Sync" button.

Sync One Mac to Another

Many of us work on two or more Macsperhaps one at the office and one at home, or maybe multiple computers in one office or home. To synchronize all the computers so you have the same information everywhere you go, perform a Mac-to-Mac synchronization. In this procedure, the data on the .Mac server is synchronized to a different Mac. For instance, perhaps you synced your desktop computer to the .Mac server; you can then transfer all that data onto your laptop.

In the following steps, you are first going to register a second computer to the same .Mac account. All computers registered to a specific .Mac account are listed in the "Advanced" pane of .Mac Preferences, as shown here.

To sync the data to another Mac

1.

Make sure you've already synced your main Mac to the .Mac server, as described on the previous pages.

2.

On a different Mac, open the .Mac preferences (in the System Preferences).

3.

In the "Account" pane, sign in with the same member name and password of the .Mac account whose info you want to sync with.

4.

Click the "Sync" tab (shown on page 66). Put a checkmark next to data you want to sync.

5.

Click "Sync Now." You may need to resolve conflicts.

Resolve Conflicts

If iSync finds a conflict between a file on the .Mac server and a matching but slightly different file on your Mac, "Conflict Resolver" (shown below) opens.

  • Review Later. If you choose to "Review Later," then a new item appears in your iSync's status menu (see the following page) called "Review Conflicts Now...." When you're ready, choose that item from the status menu in the menu bar across the top of your screen.

  • Review now. Click this to see the conflicting files, as shown below. Click on the pane that contains the information you want to use in the sync, then click "Done." In the sheet that drops down, choose "Sync Later" or "Sync Now."

Show iSync Status in the Menu Bar

You can make iSync even more accessible if you put its icon in the menu bar where you can click the icon to open an iSync pop-up menu.

To place the iSync icon in the menu bar:

  • In the iSync pane of .Mac Preferences (circled below-left), check the box to "Show status in menu bar."

  • or while the iSync application is open, go to its application menu (just to the right of the blue Apple) and choose "Preferences...." Check the box to "Show status in menu bar" (circled below-right).

To use the iSync status menu:

  • From the iSync menu in the menu bar (shown below), choose "Sync Now." or you can directly open the Sync preferences.

    If you choose "Sync Now," your files are synchronized using the current settings in the .Mac preferences, but it doesn't open the iSync window. If you want to check the settings or change them, choose "Open .Mac Sync Preferences..." from the menu before you sync.




Macs on the Go!(c) Guide to Mobile Computing for Mac Laptops Using Mac OS X
Macs on the Go
ISBN: 0321247485
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 119

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