This tip explains how to set up a ChronoSync Synchronizer document to sync two Macs using a portable HD. The setup is rather basic — you sync from a Mac to the portable HD then you take the portable HD to another location and sync to a second Mac. This method works great if you have two Macs that you cannot connect directly or if the connection is too slow, like an internet connection. Furthermore, you get the advantage of having all your data backed up, not only on the two Macs but also on the portable HD.
There are some alternative methods you can use too:
- You can keep all the data on a portable HD and work directly off the portable HD with each Mac. You would not need ChronoSync if you use this method since all the data is always on the HD and not on the Macs. If you use this method just make sure you backup the portable HD since that is the only place your data is stored.
- You can keep all the data on a portable HD and sync to just one Mac. Using this method you would work directly off the HD on one Mac and then sync the data to the second Mac. This method works good if one of the Macs you are using is limited in space.
- Instead of a portable HD you can use internet storage like Apple's iDisk or Amazon's jungle disk. The advantage of this method is that you do not have to carry a HD back and forth. The disadvantage is synching over the internet can be slow while synching to a portable HD is extremely fast.
Before you get started:
Setup
You will need to purchase two copies of ChronoSync and install one on each Mac you are synching. The portable HD must contain all the data you plan on synching, not just the files that have changed. Why? Because ChronoSync scans all the files and folders inside a target and keeps two targets identical, or in sync.
Available Space
Make sure your portable HD contains more available space than the two targets you are keeping synchronized. That means if your target is your Documents folder which takes up 25 GB than the portable HD needs to be larger than 25 GB.
Format HD
Make sure you format your portable HD to Mac OS using Disk Utility so that the HD formatting matches the same formatting on your Mac.
Ignore Ownership for HD
Option click on the portable HD and choose "Get Info" and CHECK "Ignore ownership on this volume". If you are synchronizing more than one User then contact us with your setup before proceeding.
Let's get started:
The steps below will tell you how to set up two ChronoSync Synchronizer documents. One ChronoSync Synchronizer document will keep your first Mac and the portable HD in sync. The second ChronoSync Synchronizer document will keep your second Mac and the portable HD in sync. Note: A step denoted with a red label is an optional step. We recommend that you perform these optional steps but they are not necessary to complete the sync.
Step 1. Mount the portable HD.
After installing ChronoSync, you need to now mount the portable HD. You can do this by simply plugging it in.
Step 2. Set up the Synchronizer document.
Find ChronoSync in your Applications folder and double-click it to start it up. If a new, "Untitled" Synchronizer document does not appear, then choose "File-New-Synchronizer" from ChronoSync's File menu or use the shortcut keys Command-N.
Step 3. Set up your targets.
Note: Understanding the concept of targets is important to simplify the synchronization set up. We oftentimes will refer to the targets as the source and destination. The source target is the computer that ChronoSync is installed on while the destination target is the computer you connect to. The ChronoSync Setup panel refers to targets as "left" and "right". Choose either one for the source target and use the other for your destination target.
On the Setup panel, choose your targets. This is done by clicking the respective "Choose..." button for each of the targets. This will drop down a file selection sheet for you to choose a folder inside your Home folder. Easier yet, you can simply drag and drop each folder onto the target. For the left target, choose the folder you want to keep in sync. For the right target, create an empty folder on the portable HD and select it. You can interchange Left and Right targets if you wish.
Step 4. Change synchronizing direction.
Choose 'Synchronize Bidirectional' from the Operation popup menu. A bi-directional synchronization is performed by selecting the most 'up-to-date' file between the two targets and making sure that file is synchronized to the other target.
Step 5. Enable Synchronize Deletions.
In nearly all cases, you will want deleted files from one target to also be deleted from the opposite target. To do this, turn ON the “Synchronize deletions” checkbox. When this option is turned ON, ChronoSync will delete files in the opposite target whenever it detects a deletion, keeping the two targets identical. Please note that no files will be deleted during the first synchronization because ChronoSync does not yet have a past history of any deleted files.
Step 6. Activate Archiving.
To be safe, make sure that "Archive replaced files" is checked so that all of the deleted items will be moved to this folder in case a mistake was made and an emergency retrieval is needed. You can adjust your archive settings in the Options panel.
Step 7. Customize the Options Panel.
On the Synchronizer document's Options panel, there are several options that you can choose to customize your sync. Refer to ChronoSync Help for details on the options listed within this panel.
Step 8. Exclude Files or Folders.
Sometimes there are certain types of files you do NOT want synchronized. An example would be if you did not want to sync some personal documents to the other computer. To do this, highlight the particular folder or file in the Analyze view and choose "Exclude" from the Actions menu. An exclusion is denoted by an "X" in the status column and means that the file will not be considered during the synchronization process. When you exclude a file it will be ignored during the sync and when you select a folder, all of its contents will be ignored. For more information read our tip Excluding a File or Folder.
Step 9. Save the Synchronizer document.
One of the greatest advantages of ChronoSync is the usage of documents. Just like a word processing document, a ChronoSync document can be saved as a double-clickable document. Once you set up a synchronization, all the information that you specified in the document will be saved - even synchronizer options! Furthermore, this document not only stores all your settings, but it also keeps track of changes between every sync. That is how ChronoSync always knows what has changed since the last synchronization.
Note that for this example, you will need to create a separate ChronoSync document for each Mac. Make sure you give each ChronoSync document a unique name. For instance, you could call the Synchronizer documents on your work and home Macs "Work" and "Home", respectively.
A good idea to prevent syncing the Synchronizer documents to the portable is to EXCLUDE (see step 8) both ChronoSync documents via the Analyze Panel. By doing this they will not sync to the portable and will only be available on the correct Mac.
Step 10. Add it to the Container document.
A Container is a document that contains multiple ChronoSync documents. They allow you to control several ChronoSync documents as if they were one document. Running a synchronization on a container will execute each contained document in order.
We recommend that you do add your Synchronizer document to a Container document. You can choose not to, though.
If you are not going to going to add the Synchronizer document to a Container document then proceed with the next step.
Step 11. Run the synchronization.
Once you have all the above-mentioned settings in place, perform the synchronization. This can be done by choosing the "Synchronize" icon in the toolbar of the Synchronizer document.
Step 12. Repeat.
Repeat the process on the second Mac.
Typical Workflow
If you were synching a Home Mac with a Work Mac using a portable HD you would:
- When you leave work, sync using the "Work" ChronoSync document.
- When you get home, sync using the "Home" ChronoSync document.
- When you leave home, sync using the "Home" ChronoSync document.
- When you get to work, sync using the "Work" ChronoSync document.
- You always sync before and after switching Macs.
Make sure to always synchronize each time you switch over to the other computer. If you fail to do this, conflicts may arise. A conflict is when the same file has changed on both computers. Since you have to choose between one file or the other, you would lose the changes made to one of the files. If a conflict does arise, then choose the file from the computer you last used.
Scheduling
Since you need to synchronize every time you switch Macs, it is not practical to schedule your Synchronizer document. Instead, you should manually run the sync every time you switch Macs to ensure the two Macs always stay in sync. Doing this will take some getting used to, but it's a habit that should be practiced.
Errors or Problems
If you encounter any errors or have any problems you can contact us by using our support form.
That's it! The flexibility and ease of using ChronoSync has so many advantages. If you have any problems while using our products, contact us by using our support form. If you wish to share a tip with us, post it on our comment form.