Using .Mac to Synchronize Important Information on Multiple Macs

You can also use .Mac to keep important information synchronized on all the Macs you use. For example, you can make sure you have access to the same set of Safari bookmarks on each Mac you use. Similarly, you can keep the same set of information in the Address Book on each of your Macs. To synchronize your Macs, perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Sync tab found on the .Mac pane of the System Preferences application (see Figure 17.9). Figure 17.9. Use the options on the Sync tab to keep information on multiple Macs synchronized.
2.	Check the "Synchronize with .Mac" check box.
3.	Choose the frequency at which you want information to be synchronized on the pop-up menu. To have information synchronized constantly, choose Automatically. Other options include Every Hour, Every Day, Every Week, and Manually.
4.	Check the check box next to each type of information that you want to be synchronized. For example, to synchronize your Safari bookmarks, check the Bookmarks check box. To synchronize your contact information, check the Contacts check box.
5.	Click Sync Now. The synchronization process will start and you'll be prompted to choose how you want information to be synchronized.
6.	When prompted, choose the synchronization option you want to use from the pop-up menu. The "Merge data on this computer and .Mac" option adds new data on your Mac to that stored in your .Mac account and adds data stored in your .Mac account onto the Mac. The "Replace data on .Mac" replaces all the related data in your .Mac account with information on the Mac. The "Replace data on this computer" option causes data on .Mac to replace the data currently on your Mac.
7.	Click Sync. The data you selected to be synchronized will be moved to and from the Mac and .Mac until it is synchronized according to the option you selected. From this point forward, it will be synchronized according to the option you selected on the pop-up menu.
8.	Repeat steps 17 for each Mac you want to keep in sync.

The time and date of the last synchronization will be shown under the .Mac icon.

If you configured the sync with something other than Manual, you don't need to bother with it anymore; your Mac will keep its information in sync with what is on your .Mac account. If you chose Manual, you'll need to click the Sync Now button to synchronize your Mac's information.

If you check the "Show status in menu bar" check box, the Sync menu will appear in the Finder menu bar. On this menu, you can see the time and date of the last synchronization, choose the Sync Now command, or open the Sync tab.

You can manage the Macs being synchronized using the Advanced tab of the .Mac pane (see Figure 17.10). On the list, you'll see each computer that is being synchronized via .Mac. The computer you are currently using will be indicated by the (This Computer) text. In addition to the computer name, you'll see the time and date of that computer's last synchronization.

Figure 17.10. The Advanced tab of the .Mac pane provides information about all the computers you are synching via .Mac.

You can remove a computer from the synchronization list by selecting it and clicking the Unregister button. In the resulting prompt, click Unregister. The computer will be removed from the list and will no longer be available for synchronization.

If you want to reset how data is being synchronized on a computer, select it and click the "Reset Sync Data" button. In the resulting sheet, you can configure the reset (see Figure 17.11). On the Replace pop-up menu, choose the kind of information you want to reset; choose "All Sync Info" to reset all the information you have chosen to sync. Click the left or right arrow to determine the direction in which you want to do the reset. To replace the data on the Mac with data on .Mac, click the left arrow. To replace the data on .Mac with data on the computer, click the right arrow. Then click Replace. The data will be reset in the direction you indicated.

Figure 17.11. Use this prompt to reset the synchronization options for a computer.