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Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard
Learn how to sync your data with another Mac, iPhone, iPod, mobile phone, or PDA!
With clear directions and a humorous touch, expert Michael Cohen walks you through exactly how to sync managed data from a Mac running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard with a variety of devices and services. Whether you want to sync phone numbers between your Mac and your mobile phone, share calendars and keychains between Macs, or move only new podcast episodes to an iPod, you'll find useful advice and directions. ("Managed data" is data that you can't usually see as separate files in the Finder—data such as iCal events, Address Book contacts, Safari bookmarks, and anything you store in iTunes.)
You'll also learn how syncing works under the hood and get troubleshooting advice in case your sync engine throws a rod.
"It offers a great in-depth look at syncing on your Mac." —CNET Reviews
More Info
Contents & Intro
FAQ
Blog
You'll learn about syncing managed data on a Mac running Snow Leopard with:
Another Mac
Microsoft Exchange
The cloud (i.e. MobileMe or Google)
An iPhone, iPod, or Apple TV
A non-Apple mobile phone
A PDA (i.e. a Palm or Blackberry, specifics are brief)
Types of sync data covered include:
Calendar items stored in iCal, Entourage, Google, and Yahoo
Contacts stored in Address Book, Entourage, Google, and Yahoo
Data on Exchange servers
Data on MobileMe
Dock items and Dashboard widgets
Apple Mail account settings, Safari bookmarks, and application preferences
Apple Mail and Entourage notes
Keychains (user names and passwords)
Items from software that uses Mac OS X's Sync Services, such as Yojimbo
Audio, video, photos, apps, and associated metadata from iTunes
Types of devices covered include:
Macs, with details on MobileMe and overviews of popular third-party options
The iPhone and iPod touch, via Microsoft Exchange, MobileMe, or iTunes
Old and new iPods via iTunes, with details on USB and FireWire connections
The Apple TV via iTunes
Mobile phones, smartphones, BlackBerries, and Palm OS PDAs via iSync and/or third-party utilities
Connection technologies and software examined include:
Bluetooth, USB, FireWire, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet
MobileMe, iTunes, iSync, IMAP (IMAP discussion is limited to Apple Mail), Exchange
Third-party products from BusyMac, Feisar, Mark/Space, Nova Media, PocketMac, and Spanning Sync
Includes a coupon for 50% off any product from PocketMac, makers of sync solutions for Mac and Windows.
Sampler of special questions you'll find answers to:
What is the truth database? And what should I do if I think it's lying?
When a sync occurs, what's going on behind the scenes?
What is push syncing and how does it work?
What is the difference between syncing and a backup?
What does Bluetooth "discovery" mean, and what should I do about it?
Can I control exactly which audio and video files sync to my iPod?
How do I override automatic syncing when I connect my iPod to iTunes?
How does iTunes decide if a video file is a movie, TV show, or music video?
How does the Apple TV figure out what to sync if it fills up?
How do I sync everything possible to my iPhone—calendars, contacts, Safari bookmarks, the works?
How do I sync a mobile phone that Apple doesn't support?
Argh! Snow Leopard's iSync doesn't support the Palm! What third-party software can I use instead?
I want to sync directly with an Exchange server... what do I need to know?
What's the smartest way to sync keychains between Macs?
I have a syncing feeling about my data—what should I do?
Free sample with Table of Contents, Introduction, Quick Start, and section starts.
About the Author
Michael has worked as a teacher, a programmer, a Web designer, a multimedia producer, and a certified usability analyst. He's the author or co-author of several books, including The Xcode 2 Book and AirPort and Mac Wireless Networks for Dummies.
This book explains how Snow Leopard “thinks about” syncing, and it shows you how to take advantage of Snow Leopard’s syncing capabilities, and how to go beyond them when they fall short. This book was written by Michael E. Cohen and edited by Tonya Engst.
Introduction
This the third time around for Take Control of Syncing, so let’s get you synced up to date.
The first edition was called Take Control of Syncing in Tiger, and it described how to take control of syncing both files and other stuff in Mac OS X 10.4.
The next edition got a longer title: Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard. Although it incorporated quite a lot from the first edition, it barely glanced at file syncing and focused just on the “other stuff.” Why? Because that other stuff was the stuff that it was hardest and most confusing to take control of. That stuff comprised the kinds of data that usually didn’t exist in single, easy-to-find files, but that instead were kept in databases of various kinds that were stored in hard-to-find (and dangerous-to-alter) places on your Mac.
Take something as seemingly simple as a movie in your iTunes Library. When you sync it with your iPod touch, you sync not only the video file itself, but stuff like the number of times it’s been played, its current play position, and so on. Some of these data are separate from the video file itself, and live elsewhere on your Mac, often as entries in various databases. The movie file is only one part of the movie data that you sync.
In that book and in this one, I call these kinds of data managed data. They include your contacts, calendars, bookmarks, application preferences, keychains, songs, movies, iPhone apps, Dashboard widgets, and more. Some of them are the kinds of data you want to get at from other Macs, or from other devices like an Apple TV, or from another computer that isn’t a Mac. And they’re the kinds of data you want to keep current on all of those devices, whenever and wherever you change that data.
Snow Leopard has a rich set of features that allow you to sync managed data. However, it’s not always clear just which data are being managed, and how and when it happens. This book attempts to dispel those mysteries, and to help you exploit Snow Leopard’s syncing features with a minimum of fuss and confusion.
Quick Start to Syncing
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard has great synchronizing capabilities that help you share information between devices—unfortunately, to a casual observer those capabilities may seem to be confusingly scattered all over. In fact, though, there’s order in the chaos: to take control of syncing you need to learn a few simple concepts; make a decision or two; and, usually, follow a few short steps.
Understand what syncing is:
Take A Briefing on Syncing (next page) to learn the history of Mac OS X support for syncing, why a sync is not a backup, the three main syncing approaches available in Mac OS X, and how syncing works behind the scenes.
Get your stuff together:
Read Sync By Device to get started with the device you want to sync.
Read Connect Your Gear for help with networks, cables, and Bluetooth.
Get synced:
Discover how to Sync an Apple Device with iTunes. Or, learn about iPhone and iPod touch Push Syncing.
For non-Apple gear, read Sync a Handheld Device with iSync.
Sync Your Mac with MobileMe to help multiple Macs think as one, or to sync some data to an iPhone or iPod touch.
Expand your syncing options when you Sync with Third-Party Software.
Avoid trouble:
Solve conflicts with The Conflict Resolver, keep your data from getting Lost in Translation , and read Appendix A: If Things Go Wrong for simple steps to make things right.
Finally, always remember to Think Before You Sync.
Does this ebook explain how to sync an iPhoto library between two Macs?
Sorry, no, it does not. It talks about syncing iPhoto photos to an iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV, but not to another Mac. However, the Blog for the ebook has an informal article about syncing iPhoto photos between Macs.
Are there older editions of this ebook, for older operating systems?
Feel free to ask us if you have a question about this book!
Send Us Your Comments!
How could we not publish such kind words? If you'd like to send us your comments (good or bad, though we hope they're all good), just click the Feedback link on the cover of your copy of the ebook. Be sure to let us know if we can publish your comment. Thanks!
Take Control reader J.S. wrote in, asking if Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard explains how to sync an iPhoto library between an iMac and a Mac laptop. Although the ebook does not explain how to achieve this feat, the email exchange about the topic has some good suggestions. The suggestions build on one another, so read to the end before trying anything.
Syncing data from your Mac to various different devices is easy in theory, but often troublesome in practice, and truly annoying when something goes wrong. Whether you'd like to figure out how to sync contacts to your non-Apple smartphone, get your head around how your Apple TV syncs, help your father sync his Palm after upgrading to Snow Leopard, sync a particular set of podcast episodes to your iPod, or make it so you can update your calendar on any of six devices and have changes reflected on all of them, the $10 Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard has the answers you need.
Written by Michael E. Cohen, the 162-page Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard explains how to sync managed data from a Mac to another device or service. "Managed data" is data that you can't usually see as separate files in the Finder, including things like iCal events, Address Book contacts, Safari bookmarks, and anything you store in iTunes or iPhoto. This ebook looks at how you sync data on a Mac running Snow Leopard with various devices and services including:
Another Mac
Microsoft Exchange
The cloud (i.e. MobileMe or Google Calendar)
An iPhone or iPod
A non-Apple mobile phone
A PDA like a Palm or Blackberry (specifics are brief)
An Apple TV
Michael details how Sync Services and the all-important truth database work under the hood (fascinating stuff!), helps you get set up properly, and offers advice for what to do if you run into syncing conflicts or other problems. You'll especially like this ebook if:
You're just getting started with syncing
You've always wondered how syncing works behind the scenes
You're already syncing, but want to add complexity or solve problems
You need to be able to answer a wide variety of syncing questions from clients or curious family members
If you own a previous edition of this ebook, you should have already received an email message with an upgrade discount; if not, open your PDF and - on page 1 - click the Check for Updates button.
Michael has worked as a teacher, a programmer, a Web designer, a multimedia producer, and a certified usability analyst. He's the author or co-author of several books, including The Xcode 2 Book and AirPort and Mac Wireless Networks for Dummies.