9.2 Overview of iSync

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Like most of the iApps, iSync is fairly small application with an intuitive interface. This section serves as a quick overview of iSync's interface so you can start pushing bits of data around. But first, let's take a look at the type of data you can sync, and to where you can sync that data.

9.2.1 What You Can Sync

There are only three types of data that you can synchronize from your Mac with other devices:

  • Bookmarks from Apple's web browser, Safari

  • The contact information stored in your Address Book

  • Calendars and To Do items from iCal

To select which items you will synchronize, simply click on the checkboxes next to the desired item under the This Computer section, as shown in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-3. Select which items you can sync from your Mac by clicking on the checkboxes under the This Computer section.
figs/idm_0903.gif

Now let's discuss each of these items individually.

9.2.1.1 Syncing Safari's bookmarks

One of my most prized possessions (well, at least on my computer) is my bookmark list. If you're like me, you probably have hundreds of bookmarks that you've painstakingly categorized. However, the big problem with bookmarks is that they're typically available on one computer only. If you have more than one computer, the only way you can ensure that your bookmarks make it from one Mac to the other is to physically transfer the bookmark file. But that only solves one problem and creates another, because there really is no way to ensure that someone else didn't add bookmarks to the Mac while you were away.

Safari bookmark syncing was introduced with iSync Version 1.1 (released June 2003). If you are running an earlier version of iSync, you should download a newer version from Apple's web site (http://www.apple.com/isync). To see which version of iSync is installed on your Mac, launch iSync and go to iSync About iSync.


Unlike other web browsers (such as Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator) that store their bookmarks as an HTML file, Safari's bookmarks are saved in the form of a property list (or plist ) file. A plist file is nothing more than an XML file that contains data. Safari's bookmark file is located on your Mac in ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist . If you know a little about XML and Schemas, it's fairly easy to interpret the Bookmarks.plist file, as well as any other plist file on your Mac. However, unlocking the secrets of a plist file is beyond the scope of this book.

If you've installed Apple's Xcode Tools, you can use the Property List Editor (found in /Developer/Applications/Utilities ) to open , view, and edit plist files.

The Xcode Tools are available on CD, and can also be downloaded from the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) web site ( http://developer.apple.com ). The disk image containing the Xcode Tools weighs in at around 350 MB, so you'll need a high-speed Internet connection (cable, DSL, T-1, etc.) to download the package.


You can use iSync to place a copy of your Bookmarks.plist file on your iDisk, where it can be synced with another Mac, or to web-enabled PDAs and cell phones.

9.2.1.2 Syncing data from Address Book

When you add or change a person's contact information in the Address Book application, that person's information is stored in a set of files found in ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook . The files you'll find in that directory include:


ABPerson.index

This file is used to build the index of the contact information you've stored in your Address Book.


AddressBook.data

This file contains all of the contact information for the entries you've made to your Address Book.


AddressBook.data.backup

As the name implies, this is a backup file of the AddressBook.data file. The AddressBook.data.backup file is created automatically by the Address Book application whenever you make a change to the contacts.

If your Address Book has gone haywire and you need to restore its data, this file will be used to rebuild the AddressBook.data file. As such, you should regularly make a backup of your Address Book's database, not just by using the Backup application (see Chapter 5), but also by using one of the methods described here.


AddressBook.data.beforesave

This file is similar to the AddressBook.data.backup file in that it contains the information in your Address Book. The difference is that this file is created automatically when you quit Address Book; whereas, you need to actually do something to create the AddressBook.data.backup file. The AddressBook.data.beforesave file contains the information stored in your Address Book just prior to quitting time.


AddressBook.data.previous

Like the AddressBook.data.beforesave file, this file contains the information found in your Address Book, both past and present. This means that the .previous file also contains contact information for people whom you've deleted from your Address Book. This file is regenerated whenever you finish adding, deleting, or making changes to records in the Address Book application. This is also regenerated just prior to when the AddressBook.data.beforesave file is created.


Images

The Address Book application lets you add an image to individual records; this directory contains the data for rendering those images. The filenames for the images appear as a generic alphanumeric string, such as 8DF28640-B112-11D6-AB3C-00039398D26E . Each of these files contains the raw TIFF image data for the image associated with an individual's Address Book record.

Also within this directory is the CachedMacDotComPhotos directory. This directory contains TIFF image files for the people in your Address Book who have a photo associated with their record. The image filenames resemble that person's email address, but with a .tiff extension; for example, chuckdude@mac.com.tiff or x180@mac.com.tiff .

Extracting Address Book's Images

You don't have to worry about resizing images when you drag a photo of a person into their record in your Address Book. Address Book takes the imageregardless of its original size creates a smaller version of that file, and then assigns that image to that person's record in the Address Book.

When that image icon is created, Address Book saves one version in the /CachedMacDotComPhotos directory and assigns it a filename based on the person's email address, and another version in the Images directory with an alphanumeric filename, as mentioned earlier, but that isn't necessarily clear. The alphanumeric filename, as well as the data within that file, is very cryptic, but you can view the image by doing the following:

  1. Open a new Finder window (File New Finder Window, or -N) and navigate your way to ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/Images .

  2. Click on one of the alphanumeric filenames in that directory and select File Duplicate ( figs/command.gif -D) from the menu bar. A duplicate of the file is created in the same directory with "copy" added to the filename as a way of letting you (and the system) know that it's a copy of the original file.

  3. Click on the "copy" file and hit the Return key; this selects the filename and allows you to give it a new name.

  4. Type in a new filename, and give that file a .tiff extension (for example, chuckdude.tiff ).

  5. Press the Return key again to accept the new filename. You'll notice that the file's icon changes from a blank, generic icon to whatever application you've chosen as the default for viewing TIFF files. Most likely, the default application for viewing TIFF files will be Preview ( /Applications/Preview ).

To view the image file, simply double-click on its icon. If the application required to view the image isn't running, that application will launch and the image will be displayed in a window for your viewing pleasure .

Now you have a separate image file for that user , which you can then use for other purposes, including use in iChat.


9.2.1.3 Syncing data from iCal

When it comes to synchronizing your iCal data, iSync looks in ~/Library/Calendars for any .ics files. Files that end with a .ics file extension, which are the only type of files saved in the ~/Library/Calendars directory, are the calendar files you've created or subscribed to using iCal.

When your iCal calendars have been synced with your iDisk, the synchronization and backup files are stored in ~/Library/Application Support/SyncService . There will be two folders in the SyncService directory:


Backup Data

This directory contains three folders ( AddressBook , Calendars , and Safari ), which contain the backup data created by iSync the last time Devices Backup My Data was selected. Also within this directory is a copy of the com.apple.iCal.sources.plist file; which is the property list file that contains the preferences information for iCal.


LastSync Data

This directory contains three folders ( AddressBook , Calendars , and Safari ), which contain the a copy of the Address Book, iCal calendars and To Do items, a copy of Safari's Bookmarks.plist file, and a copy of the com.apple.iCal.sources.plist file from the last time iSync was used to synchronize this information with any device.

The com.apple.iCal.sources.plist file found in ~/Library/Application Support/SyncService/Backup Data and ~/Library/Application Support/SyncService/LastSync Data is sourced from the original file, which can be found in ~/Library/Preferences .

Address Book's property list file, located in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist , is not backed up or synchronized by iSync. Safari's main property list file is located in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist .


While it might sound like the Backup Data and LastSync Data folders contain the same information, they can be completely different, depending on when you last performed a sync or backed up your data using iSync. If you don't use iSync's Backup My Data option from the Devices menu often, the information in that directory can get stale-dated. Meaning, if you haven't backed it up with iSync, the files are probably old and somewhat unreliable if you're hoping to recover recent changes from them.

If for some reason your Address Book, iCal information, or Safari's bookmarks gets lost or corrupt, and you haven't backed them up to your iDisk, you can recover your data from iSync using either Devices Revert to Last Sync, or Devices Revert to Backup.


9.2.2 What You Can Sync With

Before you set off to start using iSync, you'll need to think about what you're going to sync your Mac with. There are five different types of "devices" that you can sync your Mac with using iSync:

  • Your .Mac account

  • iPod

  • Another Mac

  • A personal data assistant (PDA), such as a Palm Tungsten or the Handspring Treo

  • A cellular phone, such as the Ericsson T68i or Nokia 3650

iSync 1.3 supports a wider variety of cellular phones and services, and handheld devices. For a complete list of devices you can sync your data with, go to http://www.apple.com/isync/devices.html.


The most obvious place to synchronize your Mac with is with your .Mac account. By synchronizing your data with your .Mac account, the data is used to provide various web-based services offered through your .Mac membership, such as:

  • The contacts in your Address Book can be used with .Mac's web-based Mail service (see Chapter 4), and can also be synchronized with other Macs

  • Any calendars you create and publish with iCal, including To Do items, are stored on your iDisk, and can be synced to another Mac

  • The bookmarks you save with the Safari web browser can be accessed online (see Section 9.6, later in this chapter) and shared with other Macs

If you were wondering if iSync could be used to duplicate the information on one Mac's hard drive and place that on the hard drive of another, in effect giving you one cloned system based on another Mac's digital DNAthink again. iSync cannot be used to synchronize entire hard disks between Macs on a local network. But don't worry, all hope is not lost.

To clone one Mac's hard disk to another, you'll have to resort to other tools, such as the rsync Unix command-line utility for remote synchronization, or Mike Bombich's Carbon Copy Cloner (http://software.bombich.com). Both of these utilities allow you to clone the data stored on one hard disk and place that on another. However, use of rsync and Carbon Copy Cloner are beyond the scope of this book. For more information on rsync , consult its manpage (via man rsync in the Terminal, or visit its web site at http://rsync.samba.org).

9.2.3 Where the Sync Goes

Now that you know what gets synced with iSync, you're probably guessing at where all that data goes. If you are using iSync to sync data with your .Mac account, the information is stored on your iDisk in the /Library/Application Support/Sync directory. Depending on what you've synchronized, there can be three subdirectories within the Sync directory:


BKMK

This directory contains the data for your Safari bookmarks.


CONT

This directory contains the data for the contacts stored in your Address Book.


ICAL

This directory contains the calendar and To Do items from iCal.

When syncing data with an iPod, Address Book data will be stored in the Contacts folder as iSync.vcf , and any iCal calendars and To Do items will be stored in the Calendars folder. The files placed in the Calendars folder by iSync will all begin with iSync- as part of their filename; for example, iSync-Work.ics , iSync-Personal.ics , etc. Since the current breed of iPods aren't Internet-enabled devices, Safari bookmarks will not be synced to your iPod.

When you use iSync to synchronize the data from your Mac with other devices such as a cellular phone or a PDAs, the data is stored on those devices in a format that can be interpreted and displayed by that device.

9.2.4 iSync's Preferences

Keeping true to its form, iSync's preferences are pretty simple. You can access iSync's preferences window, shown in Figure 9-4, in one of two ways: from iSync's application menu (iSync Preferences), or by using its keyboard shortcut ( figs/command.gif -,).

Figure 9-4. iSync's Preferences window offers two simple options.
figs/idm_0904.gif

As mentioned earlier, selecting the checkbox next to "Show iSync in menu bar" will place an icon for iSync in the menu bar. This "menulet," shown in Figure 9-5, gives you easy access to open or use iSync to synchronize your data. It also lets you know the date and time that you last performed a sync of any kind.

Figure 9-5. iSync's menulet gives you quick and easy access for using iSync or for seeing when you last synced your data.
figs/idm_0905.gif

You can also view iSync's options from its Dock menu, as shown in Figure 9-6. To open iSync's Dock menu, simply click on its Dock icon and hold the mouse button down; after a few seconds, the menu will appear. The main difference between iSync's menulet and its Dock menu is that the Dock menu includes "Show In Finder" and Quit (or Force Quit, available by Option-clicking iSync's Dock icon) options.

Figure 9-6. iSync's Dock menu.
figs/idm_0906.gif

The other option available in iSync's preferences is for displaying the Safeguard panel. As you can see from Figure 9-4, there is a pop-up menu that has four options for choosing whether the Safeguard panel will be displayed if "any," "more than 1%," "more than 5%," or "more than 10%" of the data on your computer or any device will be changed. You can't miss the Safeguard panel when it appears because its titlebar will have a black and yellow construction zone-style pattern. For more information about the Safeguard panel, Section 9.4 later in this chapter.

To close the Preferences window, either click on the red close window button or use the keyboard shortcut figs/command.gif -W; any changes made in the Preferences window will be saved when the window closes .

9.2.5 Adding and Removing Devices

It's actually quite simple to add and remove devices to and from iSync's list of devices with which to synchronize data. There are four possible device types that you can add to iSync:

  • .Mac account

  • Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones

  • Bluetooth-enabled PDAs

  • iPods

The .Mac "device" is actually your iDisk, and is available by default and cannot be removed from the list of possible devices to sync with. Any other devices either need to be connected or within range of being detected via Bluetooth. For example, if you want to synchronize data from your Mac to your iPod, your iPod needs to be connected to your Mac with its FireWire cable (the data can't get there by itself, now, can it?).

What Is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth, which is not Bluebeard's ugly step-cousin, is a short-range (up to about 30 feet) wireless technology, primarily used by small devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, and the next generation of mice and keyboards for personal computers.

For more information on Bluetooth, you can either visit Apple's web site at http://www.apple.com/bluetooth, or the main Bluetooth web site, http://www.bluetooth.org (but keep in mind that the information you find on that site is mostly for propeller-heads).


For wireless syncing over Bluetooth, the first thing you need to do is make sure that your Mac supports Bluetooth. The easiest way to see this is to open the System Preferences application by clicking on its icon in the Dock and looking in the Hardware section. If your Mac supports Bluetooth, the first icon on the left of that section is for the Bluetooth preferences panel, as shown in Figure 9-7.

Figure 9-7. If your Mac supports Bluetooth, look in the Hardware section of the System Preferences window; if you see the Bluetooth panel listed on the left, you're good to go.
figs/idm_0907.gif

If you do not have a Mac with built-in Bluetooth (such as one of the new Aluminum PowerBooks), you can purchase a Bluetooth adapter that plugs into one of your Mac's USB ports.

Most any Bluetooth adapter can work with older Macs running Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) and above; however, Apple recommends and stocks the adapters from D-Link (http://www.dlink.com) in their online Apple Store (http://store.apple.com) and in the Apple Stores (http://www.apple.com/retail) scattered around the globe.


Likewise, if you have a Bluetooth-enabled device such as a cellular phone or PDA, and if you have one of the newer PowerBooks or a Bluetooth adapter, you can use iSync to synchronize data between your Mac and the device.

9.2.6 Quitting iSync

While this might seem trivial, there are few ways you can quit iSync:

  • By selecting Quit iSync from iSync's application menu.

  • By issuing the Quit command's keyboard shortcut, figs/command.gif -Q.

  • By closing iSync's window, either by clicking on the red close window button in iSync's titlebar, or by using the standard Close Window keyboard shortcut, figs/command.gif -W.

Of course, you could always use the Force Quit option from the Apple menu, or open a Terminal window, issue the top command, and then find and kill iSync's process from the command line, but that would be overkill. You should reserve those options for when iSync is frozen and unresponsive .

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Inside .Mac
Inside .Mac
ISBN: 0596005016
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 132
Authors: Chuck Toporek

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