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Syncing Data in

LeopardMichael E Cohen

v10

$10

TidBITS Publishing Inc

Check for Updates Make sure you have the latest information

Click here to buy the full 147-page ldquoTake Control of Syncing Data in Leopardrdquo for only $10

2

Table of Contents

READ ME FIRST 4 Updates 4 Basics 4

INTRODUCTION 6

QUICK START TO SYNCING 7

A BRIEFING ON SYNCING 8 The Four Ages of Syncing 8 Syncing Managed Information 9 The Sync Services Syncing Model11 Syncing vs Backups 14

WHAT YOU CAN SYNC 16 The Information You Can Sync 16 The Devices You Can Sync 17 Choose How to Sync 20

CONNECT YOUR GEAR 22 Connect over a Network 22 Connect with USB 27 Connect with FireWire 29 Connect with Bluetooth 29

SYNC AN APPLE DEVICE WITH iTUNES 33 Understand iTunes Syncing 33 Set General Syncing Options 36 Sync Personal Information 40 Sync Applications 47 Sync Music 48 Sync Movies and TV Shows 52 Sync Podcasts 58 Sync Photos61 Sync Games on an iPod 63

iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH PUSH SYNCING 65 Know Push Basics 65 Set Up Push on Your iPhone or touch66

SYNC A HANDHELD DEVICE WITH iSYNC 69 Know iSync Basics 69 Add Phones70


3

Add Palm OS Devices 71 Remove Devices 73 Configure Device Sync Settings 73 Reset Devices 75 iSync Preferences 76

SYNC YOUR MAC WITH MOBILEME 78 Meet MobileMe 78 Choose What and When to Sync with MobileMe79 Reset Information82 Sync Contacts and Calendars 85 Sync Mail Settings and Notes 89 Sync Keychains 95 Sync Dashboard Widgets and Dock Items 99 Sync Preferences 101 Sync Bookmarks103 Sync Other Stuff with MobileMe 104

THE CONFLICT RESOLVER 107 Resolve Conflicts When They Arise 107 Use the Syncing Status Menu to Resolve Conflicts 108

SYNC WITH THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE 109 Why Try a Third Party109 Sync Handheld Devices with Third-Party Software 110 Sync Managed Information without MobileMe 114 Sync Entourage 116 Sync Exchange Directly 121

LOST IN TRANSLATION 124 Compatibility Strategies Used by Leopardrsquos Sync Services 125 Compatibility Strategies You Can Use 126

THINK BEFORE YOU SYNC 130 Go with the Flow 130 Choose a Master130 Be Regular131 Clean Up after Yourself131 Play It Safe132 Start Small 132

APPENDIX A IF THINGS GO WRONG 133 Scrutinize Common Troublemakers 133 Practice Basic Troubleshooting Techniques 138

ABOUT THIS BOOK 143


4

Read Me First Welcome to Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard version 10

This book explains how Leopard ldquothinks aboutrdquo syncing and it shows you how to take advantage of Leopardrsquos syncing capabilities and how to go beyond them when they fall short It was written by Michael E Cohen edited by Don Sellers and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc

Copyright copy 2008 Michael E Cohen All rights reserved

The price of this ebook is $10 If you want to share it with a friend please do so as you would a physical book ldquolendrdquo it for a quick look but ask your friend to buy a new copy in order to read it more care-fully or to keep it available for reference Click here to give your friend a discount coupon Discounted classroom and Mac User Group copies are also available

UPDATES We may offer free minor updates to this book To read any available new information click the Check for Updates link on the cover On the resulting Web page you can also sign up to be notified about major updates via email If you own only the print version of the book or have some other version where the Check for Updates link doesnrsquot work contact us at tc-commentstidbitscom to obtain the PDF

BASICS

In reading this book you may get stuck if you donrsquot know certain basic facts about syncing or if you donrsquot understand Take Control syntax for things like working with menus or finding items in the Finder Please note the following

bull Menus When I describe choosing a command from a menu in the menu bar I use an abbreviated description For example the abbreviated description for the menu command that backs up your Address Book contacts is ldquoFile gt Backup Address Bookrdquo


5

bull Path syntax I occasionally use a path to show the location of a file or folder in your file system For example Leopard stores most utilities such as Keychain Access in the Utilities folder The path to Keychain Access is ApplicationsUtilitiesKeychain Access The slash at the beginning of the path tells you to start from the root level of the disk

You will also encounter paths that begin with ~ (tilde) which is a shortcut for starting the path at a userrsquos home directory For example if a person with the user name joe wants to install iSync mobile phone plug-ins that only he can access he would install the plug-in files in his ~LibraryPhonePlugins folder which is another way of writing UsersjoeLibraryPhonePlugins

bull Finding the MobileMe sync preferences Some of the sync settings in Leopard are in the Sync view in the MobileMe System Preferences pane To access MobileMersquos sync preferences

1 Open System Preferences You can use the Dock icon or choose it from the menu

2 In the System Preferences window click the MobileMe icon (located in the Internet amp Network group if yoursquove organized your System Preferences by category)

3 In the MobileMe preference pane click the Sync button

bull Variable control labels Some of the labels that appear in windows and on menus have variations that depend on context For example the Conflict Resolver has a checkbox that may say Resolve All Similar Conflicts Using MobileMe if you click an item from MobileMe or it may say Resolve All Similar Conflicts Using Address Book if you click an item from your Address Book When I discuss such items I indicate the variable part with italic formatting like this Resolve All Similar Conflicts Using source name


6

Introduction

Once upon a time I wrote a book called Take Control of Syncing in Tiger The book that you have before you is the direct descendant of that one but like all children it is more than just a revised version of its ancestors The Tiger book described how to take control of syncing both files and other stuff in Mac OS X 104 This book though it incor-porates much information from the last one barely glances at file syncing and focuses just on the other stuff

ldquoWait whatrdquo I hear you exclaim ldquoSince when arenrsquot files datardquo Well yes files are data but the kinds of data I want to explain how to sync are those kinds of data that are not (for the most part anyway) nicely corralled in individual well-named user-created easy-to-drag-around files The kinds of data with which this book deals are stored in places on your Mac where it is perilous for users to tread and which may involve the contents of more than one file

Take a podcast in your iTunes library When you sync it with your iPod you sync not only the audio or video file itself but stuff like the number of times itrsquos been played its current play position and so on Some of this stuff is separate from the media file itself and is stored elsewhere on your Macmdashand is stored in inaccessible places on your iPod This is not a drag-and-drop-friendly state of affairs

In this book I call these kinds of data managed data They include your contacts calendars bookmarks application preferences key-chains iTunes songs and video Dashboard widgets and more They are the kinds of data you want to get at from other Macs and from other devices too such as your phone or your PDA or that annoying Windows machine that they shackle you to at work And theyrsquore the kinds of data you want to keep current on all of those devices when-ever you make a change on any of them

Leopard has a rich set of features that allow you to sync such managed data But because managed data is well managed itrsquos 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 Leopardrsquos syncing features with a minimum of fuss and confusion


7

Quick Start to Syncing Mac OS X 105 Leopard provides great synchronizing capabilities to help you share your information between devicesmdashunfortunately to a casual observer those capabilities may seem to be confusingly scattered all over In fact though therersquos 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 bull Learn basic syncing concepts with A Briefing on Syncing (next page)

bull Check out Syncing Managed Information (p 9) to find out what kinds of information Leopard syncs

bull Syncing vs Backups learn the difference (p 14)

Get your stuff together bull The Information You Can Sync (p 16) helps you choose what to sync

bull Learn about The Devices You Can Sync (p 17) and then Connect Your Gear (p 22)

Get synced bull Discover how to Sync an Apple Device with iTunes (p 33) Or learn

about iPhone and iPod touch Push Syncing (p 65)

bull If Apple didnrsquot make your gear read Sync a Handheld Device with iSync (p 69)

bull Sync Your Mac with MobileMe (p 78) to help multiple Macs think as one

bull Expand your syncing options when you Sync with Third-Party Software (p 109)

Avoid trouble bull Solve conflicts with The Conflict Resolver (p 107) keep your data

from getting Lost in Translation (p 124) and read Appendix A If Things Go Wrong (p 133) for simple steps to make things right

bull Finally always remember to Think Before You Sync (p 130)


8

A Briefing on Syncing The idea behind synchronizing or syncing is simple take information you collect on one device like the calendars and contact lists you keep on your MacBook or iPhone and combine it with similar information on other devices like your iMac or your iPod so that the two sets of information match Though the idea behind syncing may be simple putting syncing into practice requires coming up with reliable solutions to some knotty problems Here are the bigger knots

bull How do you get the information from one device to another

bull How can you guarantee that the most recently changed pieces of information replace the outdated ones

bull How do you resolve conflicts when the same pieces of information are changed in different ways on different devices

bull How do you translate between the internal storage formats that different devices may use for the information you want to sync

All tough questions but questions you donrsquot have to answer because the developers who create syncing applications already havemdashin fact Apple itself has answered those questions several times in several ways over the last few years The answers that Apple came up with in Leopard and the path they took to get there can help you better understand how syncing works (the first step in taking control of syncing) whether Apple or a third-party developer supplies the solution you end up using to meet your syncing needs

THE FOUR AGES OF SYNCING Applersquos first stab at a syncing solution came in 2002 in the form of iSync for Jaguar a one-stop syncing solution for portable devices and Macs Apple designed iSync to work with Jaguarrsquos new personal infor-mation applicationsmdashiCal and Address Bookmdashmaking it easy for Mac users to sync calendar and contact data with other Macs (via Applersquos Mac online service) and with mobile phones PDAs and iPods


16

What You Can Sync When you want to start syncing you must consider both the kinds of information you want to sync and the devices between which you want to sync

THE INFORMATION YOU CAN SYNC Managed information is what Sync Services was created to handle Table 1 lists many of the kinds of managed information that Sync Services syncs along with some of the applications on your Mac that can host it It canrsquot be a complete list because any third-party developer can take advantage of Sync Services and new sync-aware applications are introduced all the time

Table 1 Managed Information and Sync Services

Type Hosting Applications Bookmarks Safari

CalendarAppointments iCal Entourage SOHO Organizer

Contacts Address Book Entourage SOHO Organizer Yahoo and Google contacts

Dock items Dashboard widgets application preferences

Leopard itself various applications

Email settings Mail (only mail rules accounts and smart mailboxes)

Keychains Keychain Access

Notes clippings PDFs Web archives and URLs

NetNewsWire Yojimbo Entourage notes


22

Connect Your Gear Knowing what you can sync as described in the previous section is not enough of course you have to know how to hook things up so you can sync Whether you want to sync your Mac with an iPhone a PDA or another Mac at some point you must establish some sort of connection between themmdashor with an intermediary that can connect to both Fortunately your Mac loves to make connections

Thatrsquos not to say that all connection methods are simple matters of plug-and-play though some are others are more like plug-and-do-a-lot-of-other-stuff-and-then-play And then there are some connec-tion methods like Bluetooth that donrsquot involve any plugging at all In this section you can find the connection methods you need to sync your devices and where necessary the details of what you need to do to get them to play

CONNECT OVER A NETWORK Yoursquoll connect over a network either to use Applersquos MobileMe syncing capabilities to sync your Apple TV or to use some third-party syncing utilities

MobileMe To use Leopardrsquos Mac-to-Mac syncing capabilities with MobileMe you need two things

bull A network connection to the Internet

bull A MobileMe account

The first part is easy Leopard loves networks Boot your Mac and it will try to find a network any way it can and once it finds a connection it will try to connect to the Internet through it Your Mac needs the Internet connection for syncing managed information via MobileMe as described earlier in Syncing between Macs

The second part is also easy give Apple $9995 a year for a MobileMe account (or $17995 for a MobileMe Family Pack) With a MobileMe


33

Sync an Apple Device with iTunes Ever since iTunes 20 came out Applersquos music player has offered at least one syncing capability albeit a narrowly specialized one the capability to sync music playlists to an iPod As both the iPod and iTunes matured iTunesrsquo sync capabilities became more power-ful and varied while still maintaining the original narrow iPod focus By the time the first video-capable iPod was released iTunes could sync music podcasts photo albums videos iCal calendars and Address Book contact lists

Apple has added several other types of devices to the iTunes syncing stablemdashthe Apple TV the iPhone and the iPod touchmdashand has provided sync capabilities tailored for each of these devices For example when you connect an iPhone or iPod touch iTunes adds the capability to sync Safari bookmarks and Mail account settings along with all the other things it can sync

UNDERSTAND iTUNES SYNCING Behaviorally iTunes divides how it syncs stuff with an Apple device into two different categories

bull Managed information and media metadata This category comprises not only the commonly synced managed information items like contacts and calendars but things like a songrsquos rating a songrsquos current playback position and the last time you played it Such items can flow both from iTunes to the device and from the device to iTunes (Naturally if you canrsquot change the information on the device the syncing is effectively one-way from iTunes to the devicemdashfor example the contact information on a click-wheel iPod)

bull Media This includes video audio and photos iTunes sends these items on a one-way trip from your iTunes or iPhoto library to the device


65

iPhone and iPod touch Push Syncing When the iPhone debuted some people asked why it couldnrsquot sync over the air After all the touchable glass slab had not one not two but three separate wireless transceivers cellular Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Nonetheless it could sync to the Mac only via a wired USB con-nection When the Wi-Fi-licious iPod touch came out it too synced over a USB cable connection It took both a major update to the mobile OS X that drives the iPhone and the touch and the meta-morphosis of Applersquos online Mac service into MobileMe before wireless syncing came to these devices It came in the form of push

KNOW PUSH BASICS Push syncing pushes your Mac if not out of the picture at least far off to the side Rather than use iTunes to choreograph the dance between Leopardrsquos Sync Services and your iPhonersquos or touchrsquos managed data your device uses its own Sync Services to sync data and it communi-cates wirelessly over the Internet to Applersquos MobileMe servers to do it This means that you need a MobileMe account from Apple to use push syncing But you still need your Mac if you want to sync music video applications or photosmdashpush syncing between your device and MobileMe only syncs three kinds of information calendar contacts and bookmarks (See Sync Your Mac with MobileMe for how your Mac and MobileMe sync)

Note Itrsquos not strictly true that iPhone and iPod touch push syncing only works with MobileMe Apple has licensed Microsoftrsquos Exchange ActiveSync and incorporated it into the latest version of Applersquos mobile OS X ActiveSync however works independently from Sync Services See Sync Exchange Directly

Every time you change your contacts calendars or bookmarks on your device your device sets up a sync session with MobileMe and pushes the change Similarly any time this information is changed


69

Sync a Handheld Device with iSync Originally the core of the Mac OS X syncing experience iSync now has a more focused mission to sync calendar and contact information between your Mac and your portable non-Apple devices When iSync syncs with a handheld device it uses the contact info managed by Address Book and the calendar info managed by iCal However that doesnrsquot necessarily leave contact and calendar data from other programs out in the cold if those other programs can sync with Leopardrsquos Sync Services their infor-mation can be included in the Address Bookrsquos and in iCalrsquos data collections and make its way from there to the device (for example see Sync Entourage)

KNOW iSYNC BASICS To use iSync with your device you have to do the following

bull Connect the device to your Mac (see Connect Your Gear)

bull Add the device to iSyncrsquos collection of known devices see Add Phones and Add Palm OS Devices (and see Remove Devices if you no longer want to sync that device)

bull Tell iSync what info you want to sync with that device (hint your Address Book contacts and iCal calendars are involved) Configure Device Sync Settings explains the kinds of options available

As you can see in Figure 4 each device you add to iSync appears in the iSync window Once yoursquove set everything up all you have to do is click the Sync Devices button and iSync syncs with all the connected devices

Warning Syncing the same device on multiple Macs according to Apple can cause the device to sync incorrectly resulting in data duplication or loss


78

Sync Your Mac with MobileMe MobileMe is Applersquos entry into the software-as-a-service sweep-stakes and the particular service that MobileMe provides is a personal information sharing and exchange center Included with MobileMersquos many features (which would take an book like Joe Kissellrsquos Take Control of MobileMe to describe) is the capability to sync all the stuff listed in Table 1 (such as Safari bookmarks and application settings) between your home Mac and office Mac and any other Macs you happen to have handy

Although you can replicate just about every information sharing and exchange feature that MobileMe offers some other way the part of the MobileMe service you canrsquot replicate is how well integrated it is with Leopard

MEET MOBILEME

The integration begins with how you obtain a MobileMe subscription as noted in Connect over a Network you can purchase a MobileMe subscription from the Account view of Leopardrsquos MobileMe System Preferences pane You also use this pane to choose the managed information types that you want to sync and when you want to sync them (see Syncing Managed Information for more about managed information) You also use the pane to reset synced information read Reset Information

In addition to syncing information between Macs MobileMe gives you access to some of your synced structured informationmdashspecifically calendars and addressesmdashfrom any Web browser on any computer (even non-Macs)


107

The Conflict Resolver Both iSync and MobileMe syncing can occasionally encounter conflicts in the information being synced that exceed the capability of the sync engine and the truth database to resolve automatically Such conflicts can occur when you change the same item of information on two different devices between syncs for example suppose you change a contactrsquos phone number on your phone and also in your Address Bookmdashbut by mistake you make a typo in the Address Book entry Because both changes happened between sync sessions the sync engine cannot ascertain which change takes precedence when you finally do sync Thatrsquos where Sync Servicersquos Conflict Resolver takes over

RESOLVE CONFLICTS WHEN THEY ARISE Whenever sync conflicts arise Sync Services presents a Conflict Resolver dialog asking you to resolve the conflicts You can choose to resolve the conflicts immediately or wait until a later time to resolve them

The Conflict Resolver displays each set of items that conflict and requests you to select the right one Click the item with the correct information and then click Continue to resolve the conflict You can choose to fix all conflicts manually stepping through them one by one with the Previous and Continue buttons or you can select the Resolve All Similar Conflicts Using source name checkbox ldquoSimilar conflictsrdquo are those that have a similar cause such as a different timestamp When you select the checkbox and click Continue the Conflict Resolver uses the information source you picked for resolving the similar conflicts

When you finish stepping through and resolving your conflicts a Conflict Resolver alert tells you that it will act upon your decisions during the next sync If you donrsquot want to wait you can click the Sync Now button in the alertmdashor if you suddenly get a case of cold feet you can click Cancel in the alert and go through the conflict resolution process again at some later time when yoursquore feeling more confident


109

Sync with Third- Party Software Leopardrsquos Sync Services is smart and powerful but it doesnrsquot offer syncing support to meet all contingencies When it runs aground you may have to abandon the Apple mothership and board a third-party rescue vessel

WHY TRY A THIRD PARTY There are many reasons why you might want to ahem sync different

bull iSync shortcomings Although iSync can sync Address Book and iCal information with lots of mobile devices it canrsquot handle every mobile phone on the market If your device falls into the iSync ignorance zone flip ahead a page to Sync Phones with Third-Party Plug-ins for help finding an iSync plug-in for your phone

And even when iSync provides device support it only supports Address Book and iCal syncing The Palm for example has capa-bilities far beyond iSyncrsquos narrow focus on addresses and calendars Sync Palms with Third-Party Software can help you unleash your Palmrsquos power

Whatrsquos more no iSync plug-in can open the syncing door for Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices Read Sync Blackberries with Third-Party Software and Sync Windows Mobile Devices with Third-Party Software for help with those handhelds

bull MobileMe deficiencies MobileMe syncing pushes data back and forth between your Mac and the Internet cloud which seems a long way to send your stuff when all you want to do is to sync it between two Macs on the same local network Or you may want to use an online calendar or contact service other than MobileMersquos such as Google or Yahoo Sync Managed Information without MobileMe gives some ways to fly beyond the MobileMe cloud


124

Lost in Translation A special edition DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail has a clip from the movie first dubbed into Japanese and then subtitled with an English translation of the Japanese dubbed dialogue not surprisingly the English subtitles donrsquot quite match the original English dialogue The result is hilarious

During a sync when managed information (see Syncing Managed Information) moves from one program to another similar-but-not-quite-identical program the same kind of thing can happen contact info may come back missing pieces or with items mislabeled or cal-endar events may be set for a different time zone However hilarity (usually) doesnrsquot ensuemdashnot at least if itrsquos your data Address Book and iCal are the programs most prone to this problem and for at least one good reason iSync is all about exchanging Address Book contacts and iCal calendars with handheld devices and each of the many dozens of different handheld devices that iSync syncs with has its own phone book and calendar function each with its own ways of storing and labeling contact and calendar information

But itrsquos not just iSync alone that can lose things in translation Sync Services makes it possible for other applications to use the sync engine and your data can experience lost-in-translation issues when syncing between two different programs on your Mac (see Entourage Calendar Syncing Quirks for an example) Although you canrsquot always avoid this annoyance you can develop strategies to work around it At the very least you can figure out what kinds of information get lost or changed and avoid surprises

The following sections use contact managers and calendar programs as examples because yoursquore most likely to encounter the problem when using them but the strategies I describe can be adapted to most other programs that might lose things in translation


130

Think Before You Sync The preceding sections of this book have dealt with the software the hardware and the underlying concepts involved with syncing in Leopard Therersquos but one piece of the syncing puzzle left to put in place you the user How well Leopardrsquos syncing capabilities work for you depend in part on how well you can align your syncing needs and your computational habits with the tools that Leopard and third parties provide I am not you I donrsquot know what you wish to sync or why But I can offer some short bits of advice based on my own syncing needs experiences and habits

GO WITH THE FLOW As yoursquove seen Sync Services makes various assumptions about what yoursquoll sync and how yoursquoll sync Managed information syncing (see Syncing Managed Information) works best with various small bits of information that can be stored in and managed by a databasemdashsuch as contact information passwords or preference settingsmdashrather than large undifferentiated blobs of binary informationmdashlike image files movie projects or novels in progress A case in point although you can use a sync-enabled application like Bare Bonesrsquo Yojimbo to sync large chunks of data via MobileMe thats not the best use you can make of MobileMe syncing Your sync sessions with MobileMe will certainly take longer than youd like and the amount of free space on your iDisk will begin to plummet

Remember that Sync Services and the programs that work with it are designed for individual use and may not scale to enterprise-level use Donrsquot expect Address Book for instance to handle the contacts for an entire business or iCal to manage the schedules of dozens of people

CHOOSE A MASTER

Although the whole point of syncing is to make the same information available everywhere you need itmdashon your phone your PDA your Mac laptopmdashthat doesnrsquot mean that those locations are interchangeable


133

Appendix A If Things Go Wrong If this were the philosopher Gottfried Leibnizrsquos best of all possible worlds I would have nothing to put into this appendix However experience has shown me that the philosopher Murphy trumps Leibniz things will go wrong in any given situation if you give them a chance This appendix describes some common syncing problems and my advice for conquering them

SCRUTINIZE COMMON TROUBLEMAKERS Syncing requires different programs and devices to all work together Any one of the actors in this syncing drama can metaphorically forget or flub a line or miss an entrance when that happens syncs wonrsquot work right Here I describe the general causes of miscues that make syncs go wrong and offer some tips on how to fix them

Check Connections To sync two or more devices you must connect them so when a sync fails the connection is one of the first things I check As I describe in more detail in Connect Your Gear connections can be wired or wire-less and they can be direct between devices or established over a net-work Adapt the following advice to the way you connect your devices

Is Everything Plugged In Cables whether Ethernet USB or FireWire sometimes magically pull loose just enough to cause all sorts of havoc Even when you know in your heart of hearts that everythingrsquos plugged in take the time to check the cables sometimes your heart can be wrong

Is Everything Turned On Yes this is a no-brainer Check anyway I once spent half an hour wondering why I couldnrsquot sync my Mac with my mobile phone until I realized that I had turned Bluetooth off on my Mac a few days earlier (Yes the Bluetooth status menu was visible no I didnrsquot notice it was dimmed)


143

About This Book Thank you for purchasing this Take Control book We hope you find it both useful and enjoyable to read We welcome your comments at tc-commentstidbitscom Keep reading in this section to learn more about the author the Take Control series and the publisher

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In no particular order Michael has been a teacher a programmer a short-order cook a postal employee a Web designer an editor a multimedia producer and a certified usability analyst Hersquos the author or co-author of several books including The Xcode 2 Book Airport and Mac Wireless Networks for Dummies and Apple Training Series iLife rsquo08 He lives in Santa Monica California where he sometimes draws truly awful cartoons (httpwebmecom lymondCartoonsCartoonshtml) when he has nothing better to do

AUTHORrsquoS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Don Sellers for once again signing on to edit my lunatic ravings to Carter Crain Adam Engst Ken Freeman Joe Kissell Diane Ross William Smith and Carolyn Yoshida for sanity checking and to Tonya Engst who despite her crushing workload believed a new edition was not complete madness


144

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Publishers Adam and Tonya Engst have been creating Macintosh-related content since they started the online newsletter TidBITS in 1990 In TidBITS you can find the latest Macintosh news plus read reviews opinions and more (httpwwwtidbitscom)

Adam and Tonya are known in the Mac world as writers editors and speakers They are also parents to Tristan who thinks ebooks about clipper ships and castles would be cool

PRODUCTION CREDITS Take Control logo Jeff Tolbert

Cover design Jon Hersh

Editor Don Sellers

Editor in Chief and template master Tonya Engst

Publisher and Grep automation master Adam Engst

Thanks to the Sciencenter and the Earth Arts day camps in Ithaca NY for excellent summer programs and thanks to Michael and Don for providing the synchronicity for the first edition of this book to happen

Thanks to Julie Kulik for general support your efforts are much appreciated


145

Copyright and Fine Print

Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard

ISBN 978-1-933671-51-2 November 2008 Version 10


TidBITS Publishing Inc 50 Hickory Road

Ithaca NY 14850 USA httpwwwtakecontrolbookscom

Take Control electronic books help readers regain a measure of control in an oftentimes out-of-control universe Take Control ebooks also streamline the publication process so that information about quickly changing technical topics can be published while itrsquos still relevant and accurate

This electronic book doesnrsquot use copy protection because copy protection makes life harder for everyone So we ask a favor of our readers If you want to share your copy of this ebook with a friend please do so as you would a physical book meaning that if your friend uses it regularly he or she should buy a copy Your support makes it possible for future Take Control ebooks to hit the Internet long before yoursquod find the same information in a printed book Plus if you buy the ebook yoursquore entitled to any free updates that become available

Although the author and TidBITS Publishing Inc have made a reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions The information in this ebook is distributed ldquoAs Isrdquo without warranty of any kind Neither TidBITS Publishing Inc nor the author shall be liable to any person or entity for any special indirect incidental or consequential damages including without limitation lost revenues or lost profits that may result (or that are alleged to result) from the use of these materials In other words use this information at your own risk

Many of the designations used to distinguish products and services are claimed as trademarks or service marks Any trademarks service marks product names or named features that appear in this title are assumed to be the property of their respective owners All product names and services are used in an editorial fashion only with no intention of infringement of the trademark No such use or the use of any trade name is meant to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this title

This title is an independent publication and has not been authorized sponsored or otherwise approved by Apple Inc Because of the nature of this title it uses terms that are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc to view a complete list of the trademarks and the registered trademarks of Apple Inc you can visit httpwwwapplecomlegaltrademarkappletmlisthtml


146

Featured Titles Now that yoursquove seen this book you know that Take Control books have an easy-to-read layout clickable links if you read online and real-world info that puts you in control Click any book title below or visit our Web catalog (httpwwwtakecontrolbookscom cataloghtml) to add to your Take Control collection

Take Control of Apple Mail in Leopard (Joe Kissell) Go under the hood with the new (and old) features in Apple Mail 3 Joe gets you going and helps you get the most out of Mail $10

Take Control of Customizing Leopard (Matt Neuburg) Come up to speed on new features of Leopard that require customizing plus get a road map to customizing Leopard so that itrsquos right for you $10

Take Control of Easy Backups in Leopard (Joe Kissell) Devise a rock-solid backup strategy so you can restore quickly and completely no matter what the catastrophe $10

Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac (Joe Kissell) Find a common-sense approach to avoiding problems and ensuring that your Mac runs at peak performance $10

Take Control of MobileMe (Joe Kissell) This ebook helps you make the most of the oodles of features provided by a $99-per-year MobileMe subscription $10

Take Control of Your 80211n AirPort Network (Glenn Fleishman) Make your AirPort network flymdashget help with buying the best gear set up security and more $15

Take Control of Your iPhone (Ted Landau) Find out about the App Store syncing via MobileMe solving pesky problems and more $10


Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction

Quick Start to Syncing

A Briefing on Syncing

The Four Ages of Syncing

What You Can Sync

The Information You Can Sync

Connect Your Gear

Connect over a Network

Sync an Apple Device with iTunes

Understand iTunes Syncing

iPhone and iPod touch Push Syncing

Know Push Basics

Sync a Handheld Device with iSync

Know iSync Basics

Sync Your Mac with MobileMe

Meet MobileMe

The Conflict Resolver

Resolve Conflicts When They Arise

Sync with Third-Party Software

Why Try a Third Party

Lost in Translation

Think Before You Sync

Go with the Flow

Choose a Master

Appendix A If Things Go Wrong

Scrutinize Common Troublemakers

About This Book

About the Author

Authorrsquos Acknowledgments

About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

2

Table of Contents

READ ME FIRST 4 Updates 4 Basics 4

INTRODUCTION 6

QUICK START TO SYNCING 7

A BRIEFING ON SYNCING 8 The Four Ages of Syncing 8 Syncing Managed Information 9 The Sync Services Syncing Model11 Syncing vs Backups 14

WHAT YOU CAN SYNC 16 The Information You Can Sync 16 The Devices You Can Sync 17 Choose How to Sync 20

CONNECT YOUR GEAR 22 Connect over a Network 22 Connect with USB 27 Connect with FireWire 29 Connect with Bluetooth 29

SYNC AN APPLE DEVICE WITH iTUNES 33 Understand iTunes Syncing 33 Set General Syncing Options 36 Sync Personal Information 40 Sync Applications 47 Sync Music 48 Sync Movies and TV Shows 52 Sync Podcasts 58 Sync Photos61 Sync Games on an iPod 63

iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH PUSH SYNCING 65 Know Push Basics 65 Set Up Push on Your iPhone or touch66

SYNC A HANDHELD DEVICE WITH iSYNC 69 Know iSync Basics 69 Add Phones70


3








ABOUT THIS BOOK 143


4






BASICS




5









6

Introduction







7
















8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

3








ABOUT THIS BOOK 143


4






BASICS




5









6

Introduction







7
















8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

4






BASICS




5









6

Introduction







7
















8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

5









6

Introduction







7
















8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

6

Introduction







7
















8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

7
















8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

8









16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

16














22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

22










33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

33







65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

65






69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

69









78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

78



MEET MOBILEME




107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

107






109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

109








124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

124






130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

130




CHOOSE A MASTER



133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

133







143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

143


ABOUT THE AUTHOR





144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

144





Editor Don Sellers






145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

145













146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

146










Cover

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Updates

Basics

Introduction




What You Can Sync


Connect Your Gear





Know Push Basics


Know iSync Basics


Meet MobileMe





Lost in Translation


Go with the Flow

Choose a Master



About This Book

About the Author


About the Publisher

Production Credits


Featured Titles

Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard (1.0) · Welcome to Take Control of Syncing Data in...

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