Praying for "hard sync only" option

[marieboyer]

OF would be a perfect solution for me if I could get my desktop and iPhone versions in sync. The cloud syncing is not working properly (or at least not reliably yet).

Can you give us an option to ONLY hard sync (and not "in the cloud" sync) between desktop and iphone? (Or is there a setting for this I have not seen?)

That would answer all my needs since I DO NOT HAVE any need for cloud syncing. I just want them to be the same at the end of the day, and I am happy to do it all once per day manually.

Thanks in advance.

[kidtreo]

This has been answered...and there are many threads about this already including:

http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=9081

[marieboyer]

That thread deals with folks who do not want WebDav/mobile.me syncing. Those folks are "praying for" (my words) WiFi syncing.

I am asking for something more basic.

I want a manual sync (no cloud whatsoever, WiFi or WebDav).

(a) Is this an option already?

(b) If not, can it be implemented (or is it impossible)?

I want to sync my iPhone OF just like I sync my iPod to iTunes. Daily, manually, and completely reliably.

Thanks again for your help and patience!

[Andrew]

I'm afraid that syncing over the USB cable, like iTunes does or as part of the iTunes sync, is not available to third-party developers.

[marieboyer]

I probably should have known that, but my geek credentials are not very impressive.

Thanks for responding. Bummer!

[braver]

But do you guys know that Markspace's Missing Sync for the iPhone uses the USB to sync SMS log and notes? I wonder how did they accomplish that feat!

[marieboyer]

I twittered about this issue. Here is the @omnifocusforiphone response:

http://twitter.com/omnifocusiphone/statuses/874859903

[Ken Case]

Just to be clear, that tweet from @omnifocusiphone is referring to the work we're doing on local Wi-Fi sync.

Missing Sync doesn't sync across USB itself; it just opens the data that iTunes was already syncing (but not displaying).

[marieboyer]

Thank you for that clarity. Wifi syncing does not address my problem as I lack Wifi at home and work.

It has been 5 full days now without syncing between my desktop OF and iPhone OF.

I just checked my iPhone OF and it still is missing all the material I have added to my desktop OF since July 30. I have the latest updates. I synced it using the Edge network. All my other iPhone apps are syncing with Edge (i.e., mobileme "push" is working).

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the product, but I cannot use it without reliable syncing between the desktop and iPhone. I am very bummed.

[kidtreo]

Marie,

It is likely that your desktop computer has wifi...and it is certain your iphone does. this is as close to a hard wired synch solution we are likely to see for a long while and will probably fill your needs. Check your desktop for wifi by going to System Preferences > Network - and see if there's an airport option there...or via Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info

[marieboyer]

I do have an Airport option there. I thought you had to have an Airport Express to be able to use that.

So, will this work for me? If so, I will jump for joy.

Might you tell me just a little bit more about this option? Where is the wireless signal coming from?

Thanks. This gives me some amount of hope that maybe I will get to keep OF.

[Lizard]

The Mac and iPhone can talk to each other over WiFi, even if there's no Airport Express (or other WiFi base station) to connect them to the internet.

[whpalmer4]

You can have the Mac act as the base station by using the Internet Sharing option in the Sharing pane in System Preferences. You don't actually have to share connectivity with your other, "real" network connection, either, if there's some concern about that at your workplace.

[marieboyer]

You guys are great. Thanks.

Is there a link or place where I could go learn the steps to make this happen?

I will confess that I am looking into switching away from OF. But this is making me rethink that.

Thanks so much.

[Ken Case]

You bet! Open System Preferences, click on Sharing, then click on Internet Sharing. You'll see a Help button (with a question mark) in the bottom right corner of the window: click on it, and it will tell you how to set up Internet Sharing.

[marieboyer]

Thanks so much.

[smudge]

are you really saying that I can sync OF on my iPhone with my desktop on local network without any of the webDav or mobileme stuff? I don't need to sync every hour away from my desk - just morning and evening at my desk would be great and would make OF perfect for me.

[whpalmer4]

are you really saying that I can sync OF on my iPhone with my desktop on local network without any of the webDav or mobileme stuff? I don't need to sync every hour away from my desk - just morning and evening at my desk would be great and would make OF perfect for me.
Uh, no, that's not quite what is being said, at least not for the current software. Eventually, that should be the case, but you can't do it yet.

What is apparently in the works is support in the desktop version so that an iPhone OmniFocus on the same WiFi network can sync directly without having to have a MobileMe (or other WebDAV server) account. There's been some interest in having iPhone OmniFocus sync directly over the USB cable like iTunes does, but Apple doesn't allow 3rd party developers access to that conduit, which is why Omni was forced to build the current WebDAV-based scheme. That road has proved bumpier than anyone expected, I suspect :) The good news is that presumably with everything under their control, Omni will be able to make the standalone WiFi sync server work well before it ships, instead of having to go through this painful discovery process again.

What the original poster and Ken and Lizard and I were talking about is how one would go about setting up this upcoming WiFi service if you didn't have a WiFi network already in place. Sorry to get your hopes up!

[marieboyer]

But if Smudge has a WiFi-enabled Mac (as I apparently do -- so I now know), then Smudge will be able to do exactly what Smudge is asking for -- when this updated OF sync process is available. Right?

[Lizard]

Correct.

[smudge]

so... is there any kind of route map as to when that will happen? This year, next year, never??? I'm not trying to pin you down just trying to work out whether to commit myself to OF or go away and forget the whole thing for 6 months?

[Lizard]

It's going into OmniFocus 1.1 for Mac. We've actually already written most of it, but we want to test it more before making it available. Our current guesstimate is that it will be available within a month.

[marieboyer]

Thanks for asking about that Smudge. Very good news!

Meanwhile, I will continue to print my to-do lists every morning before work.