Performing Your First Sync


The first time you synchronize your computer to your .Mac account is different from other synchronizations. Before your first sync, you must make some choices about how things will proceed during the synchronization. Mainly, you have to decide whether information will be merged or replaced.

In a merge synchronization, the information stored on your computer is combined with any information stored on your .Mac account (such as information copied from another computer or from an earlier synchronization of the computer you're currently using). In a replacement synchronization, all the information on one side of the transfer (your computer or the .Mac account) is erased and replaced by a copy of the information stored on the other side. If you choose to do a replacement synchronization, you must therefore specify which set of information will be kept and copied, and which will be discarded.

To Perform Your First Sync

1.

In the .Mac Sync System Preferences pane, set up a sync and click Sync Now (Figure 8.7).

Figure 8.7. Clicking the Sync Now button causes a synchronization to happen immediately.


An alert dialog opens, asking what you would like to do for this first sync (Figure 8.8).

Figure 8.8. The first time you perform a synchronization, an alert pops up asking you how you want to handle the data transfer.


2.

From the pop-up menu, choose one of the following (Figure 8.9):

  • "Merge data on this computer and .Mac." This choice, selected by default, does its best to consolidate the information on your Mac with that in your .Mac account, leaving the sum total of all information on both sides of the transfer.

  • "Replace data on .Mac." This choice replaces the information in your .Mac account with the information on your Mac. Choose this when you want the information on your computer be the starting point for all synchronizations or if there is no information in your .Mac account in the first place. Remember: Choosing this option will erase all of the synchronized information in your .Mac account for the category listed in the dialog.

  • "Replace data on this computer." This choice replaces the information on your Mac with the information in your .Mac account. Choose this when you want to use the information in your .Mac account as the starting point for all synchronizations. This is especially useful when you want to set up a new computer with your .Mac data without having to reenter contact information, Safari bookmarks, or Mail accounts.

Figure 8.9. From the pop-up menu, choose whether you'd like to merge data or replace it in one place or another.


3.

Click Sync.

Your Mac begins synchronizing its information with your .Mac account. If you're merging information and there is conflicting data, the Conflict Resolver dialog opens, and you're given the choice of reviewing information now or later (Figure 8.10). The dialog also tells you how many data points conflict, so that you have some idea what you may be getting into if you choose Review Now.

Figure 8.10. If you're synchronizing conflicting information when merging datasuch as two contacts with the same name but different addressesthe Conflict Resolver dialog appears.


4.

Click Review Now.

The Conflict Resolver dialog expands to show the "Select the correct information" section, where the two pieces of conflicting information appear side by side (Figure 8.11).

Figure 8.11. When you have to choose between two conflicting bits of data, the choice is presented clearly in the Conflict Resolver dialog. Simply click the side with the correct information.


5.

Click the side with the correct information to resolve the conflict.

If there is more than one conflict, the next one loads in the dialog. Choose the correct information for each by clicking the proper side. When you've gone through all of the conflicts, the "Save conflict choices" dialog appears, noting that the changes will be applied the next time you perform a synchronization (Figure 8.12).

Figure 8.12. After you've made your selection in each conflict, the "Save conflict choices" dialog opens, asking you to synchronize your information again. Click the Sync Now button to perform another sync.


6.

Click Sync Now.

Your Mac synchronizes its information with your .Mac account, resolving the conflicts as you directed.

Tips

  • If you want to investigate the Conflict Resolver, you can induce a conflict by synchronizing your data, making two separate edits to one of your contacts; and then resynchronizing.

  • If you have more than one conflict to resolve, a checkbox appears allowing you to apply the same rule to all conflicts specifying that the local versions of all contacts should be used instead of those on the server, for instance, or vice-versa. You can also review each conflict separately and decide which to use on a caseby-case basis.

  • When you perform a .Mac synchronization for the first time, you may be shown the "first sync" alert dialog a few times asking you to specify different rules for handling Address Book contacts, Mail accounts, iCal calendars, and so on.

  • If you see the Conflict Resolver dialog open, don't panicit often means minor adjustments. Conflicting information can be as major as entirely different phone numbers and addresses for a given contact, or it can be as simple as having different user images associated with an account.





.Mac with iWeb Visual QuickStart Guide Series
.Mac with iWeb, Second Edition
ISBN: 0321442288
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 113

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