How do I sync two Macs?

Sorry to post off topic, but I am a new user and apparently do not have ability to create a new thread.

My question is regarding sync, and this is the most recent sync related thread, so forgive me.

Is this database software capable of syncing between two Macs? I can’t find anything in the documentation on this, like how is sync implemented and what are the requirements? Is a server required, etc. Thanks for any insight or pointers to this information.

This does require Team Server. You can find the details documented here.

Thank you!

Another question.

Is there any plan to offer something like iCloud sync of a database. Or alternatively, is there any plan to offer hosting for a Panorama Server? I’d like to sync a database between my Macs but do not want to manage a server.

Thank you for your feedback :+1:

We don’t have any announcement at this time, but we are definitely glad to know there is interest if such a service were to become available.

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As long as you quit Panorama on one computer before using an iCloud file on another, there is no problem. But there are problems if a file is open on two computers at the same time.

There should be some Apple system stuff for this. After all, you can work on a Pages or Numbers document saved to iCloud on two different computers, or an iPad or iPhone.

That’s because of a huge amount of programming done by the iWork team. It’s definitely not a feature of iCloud or macOS/iOS.

Also, keep in mind that Pages and Numbers documents are linear. If you and I edit a Pages document at the same time, we’re going to see the same words in the same order. This is quite different from Panorama, where each user can sort, select and analyze the data completely differently. So I don’t think you’ll ever see a version of Panorama that supports database sharing without a server (though the server could be cloud hosted).

Jim, you seem to refer to the teamwork feature of Pages or Numbers, where two people can edit one file simultaneously. But I think Phillip’s question is about one user with several Macs instead.

It should be no problem for one user using several Macs with the same AppleID to give his Macs access to databases stored in a folder in iCloud Drive.

I would certainly not recommend to keep the Panorama X databases in iCloud only, but it would be an easy daily routine to put copies of the original Pan X databases on the first Mac into a folder in the iCloud Drive, where the user has access to on the second Mac.

For sure, there are many different ways to keep (folders on) two Macs synchronised, but for Mac users the iCloud Drive is an easy way.

I do keep Panorama files on iCloud, but they are single user, and I never have them open on two computers at once. However, it seems that it might be possible to have them editable on one computer, and available for viewing or printing on others, but not modifying or saving. This might be a useful intermediate step for using Panorama on iPads or iPhones, where the data would be portable for viewing.

I have a couple of Panorama databases that I’ve saved to DropBox. It has allowed me to make changes on any one of three computers and the others are updated. I do need to be sure that I don’t have them open on more than one computer at a time and sometimes I have to wait a short while before they are all in synch again.

Otherwise I’m using ChronoSync to automatically compare files on my computers and to keep each one updated with any changed files. As long as a particular file has not been changed on multiple computers between synchs it’s perfect. If there have been conflicting changes, it notes them, alerts me, and does not replace one with the other.

I can change different files on each computer and it handles that.
Mostly I use it so that I can work on one of my computers, then count on it to get the others caught up later, per the schedule I’ve set or by a manual initiation of the synch process.

Are you actually opening your db from iCloud, or are you opening them from your local drive and using Chronosync to sync the db to iCloud?

I’m trying to establish whether opening a db that is stored on icloud is a problem?

The “couple of Panorama databases” I’m referring to are in Dropbox, not iCloud. Similarly to iCloud though, it displays them in a folder that seems to be on my computer.

The vast majority of my databases are not handled similarly. They are on my computers in matching folders that I use ChronoSync to keep matched up. I can’t jump back and forth between computers while making changes to them and expecting it to keep up. It’s more like today while I’m at me desk I’ll work within the set of databases on my desktop Mini. When I’m done for the day, or about to take my laptop to work somewhere else, I’ll have TimeMachine backup the Mini, then have ChronoSync get the laptop up to date. When I get back to my desk I can similarly have ChronoSync get the Mini up to date with changes I made while away.

I also have ChronoSync scheduled to synchronize the two computers every evening after both TimeMachine and ChronoSync have saved backups to connected external drives. If I’ve changed a variety of files on each computer ChronoSync recognizes which have been changed since the last sync and copies those that are only changed on one computer to the other. If a given file has changed on both, depending on my preferences, it will alert me to the conflict and leave it to me to decide how to handle it.

Having suffered some severe losses in the past, I’ve very deliberately created a lot of redundancy in my backups. My most critical files are also backed up to a server 2,000 miles away and on hard drives that I periodically rotate in a safe deposit box.

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