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Desktops <~> Laptops

One of the most popular uses for file synchronization software is the synchronization of documents between laptops and desktop computers. In a hypothetical scenario, work in the office is usually performed on a desktop computer, taking advantage of its greater processing power and additional resources. At the end of the day (or the beginning of that business trip), all the work performed on the desktop computer needs to be transferred over to your laptop.

Conversely, while at home (or on the road), changes are made to various documents. When returning to the office, all changes made to documents on the laptop will need to be copied to the desktop machine, in order to avoid accidentally modifying an out of date file.

The first step in providing a solution for this scenario is to establish connectivity between the two computers. This simply means that the two computers must be able to physically exchange information before synchronization can occur. There are usually several ways to do this, and the exact method you use depends upon your hardware configuration. Plugging into a network via an ethernet cable is probably the most popular. Some computers are also equipped with infrared ports that allow a wireless connection. A popular method of late is the use of Apple's AirPort device to achieve wireless connectivity.

Regardless of the physical connection method, one of the two computers will have to be setup to allow the other to share files. This is simply called enabling file sharing. Either computer can have file sharing enabled, but it is usually best to do so on your desktop machine. To enable file sharing, launch "System Preferences" from the Dock and choose "Sharing" from "Internet & Network" group.

The status of file sharing is displayed at the top of the File & Web tab panel. If file sharing is off, turn it on by clicking the "Start" button in the File Sharing group. You probably want to make sure your computer has a meaningful name before doing so. Note that once file sharing is turned on, it will remain on, even between restarts of the computer. The only way to turn it off is to revisit the Sharing preferences panel and turn it off.

The next step in achieving connectivity is to connect to your shared computer. In this example, you will be doing so from your laptop. To do this, switch to the Finder and choose "Connect to Server" from the "Go" menu.

A list of all available computers should appear in the "Local Network" group, among which should be your desktop machine. Select it and click "Connect". You will be prompted for a name and password. You should use the same name and password used on the desktop machine as your local user. This ensures you have access and privileges to your local documents. After doing this, a new icon will appear on your desktop. This icon represents the shared files on your desktop. You can open it and navigate the files, just as if they were stored on your laptop.

Now that connectivity has been achieved, it's time to setup a Synchronizer Document that will automate the synchronization for you. The first step is to decide which computer will be responsible for the synchronization. It is highly recommended that this computer be the one that has to connect to the other. Doing so will save you a step by automatically connecting to your shared computer (as we mention later). In our example, you should use your laptop.

Launch ChronoSync. A new Synchronizer Document will be automatically created for you. First, choose your local target by clicking the "Choose" button in the "Local" group of the Targets Tab Panel. Use the file selection dialog to locate the folder on your laptop that contains the documents you wish to synchronize.

Next choose your remote target. This will be the folder on your desktop with which you will be synchronizing. Click "Choose" in the "Remote" group and navigate to the folder on your desktop machine. You will likely have to scroll the file browser all the way to the left to see your desktop machine listed as a disk volume. Click it and begin your navigation from there.

The next step involves establishing the synchronizing direction. ChronoSync defaults to the "Upstream" synchronization direction. This is deemed the safest setting and hence it is used by default. For laptop <-> desktop synchronizations, however, you will usually want this to be "Bi-directional". This way, modifications made to files on either computer will get copied to the other machine. To enable bi-directional synchronization, simply click the "Bi-directional" radio button in the Options drawer.

You are now pretty much ready to perform your synchronization. Before you do so, however, you should save the Synchronizer Document. This document will save the settings you've just made, thus alleviating the burden of specifying them each time you need to synchronize. To do this, just choose "Save" from the Toolbar. Choose a location on your local hard drive where you can readily find it. The "Desktop" may be a good choice. Also, give it a meaningful name like "Sync with my desktop computer".

When this is all done, go ahead and click "Synchronize" in the Toolbar. An analysis begins, comparing all the files in your local and remote target. After it is determined what files need to be copied, synchronization will begin. Depending how many files there are, this may possibly take a long time. The good news is that, unless you make massive changes to documents when the two computers are apart, the first synchronization is the longest one you'll ever perform. This is because from now on, only the files that actually change will be synchronized.

After your first synchronization is performed, you will want to experiment and see how each successive synchronization will occur. This first step is to quit ChronoSync. Next, disconnect from the shared computer. This is called unmounting. To do this, select the icon of the shared computer on your desktop and choose "Eject" from the Finder's "File" menu. This can also be achieved by dragging the icon to the trash in your Dock (the trash can changes to an "Eject" icon when doing so).

Once you've performed these steps, your computer is basically in the same state it would be when you first come into the office. Locate the Synchronizer Document you created and double click it. If you disconnected from the shared computer as instructed, the first thing that ChronoSync will do is to try to reconnect to it. During this process, you will likely encounter the following dialog:

This allows you to enter your user name and password in order to gain access to the computer to which you are connecting. This security measure ensures that someone without authorization can't use your laptop to connect to your desktop machine. While security is good, in some circumstances, it really isn't important and becomes more of a burden. Luckily, you can circumvent this behavior by clicking "Options..." from the login dialog. The following appears:

From here, you would probably want to click "Add Password to Keychain". This will add the name and password you use to your local user's keychain. The behavior of your keychain can be controlled by using the Keychain Access utility that comes with Mac OS X. Usually you don't need to mess with your keychain configuration however. All you need to know is that by adding your name and password to the keychain, you will never have to type it in again.

Now that you've done all this, how will you actually use ChronoSync on a daily basis? Given the scenario we've been discussing, here's how: At the beginning of the day, you show up at the office and connect to your network using the usual means (ethernet, infrared, AirPort, etc.). Boot up both your laptop and desktop. After booting is complete, double click the "Sync with my desktop computer" Synchronizer Document on your laptop that you previously created. A connection will automatically be made with your desktop. After this, simply click "Synchronize". When the process completes, you can quit ChronoSync and proceed with your busy day.

At the end of the day, assuming your laptop is still connected to the network, just repeat the process - double click "Sync with my desktop computer" and click "Synchronize". Any changes made to documents on either machine will be synchronized. As long as you begin and end the day with this procedure, all will be well.

Synchronizing files between a laptop and desktop computer is essentially the same as connecting to a file server - the shared computer is simply acting as a file server. You thus may want to read the following sections to gain insight into the process.



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