Quote:
Originally Posted by frankmcma
Are there any tips for now to speed up sync? I am not totally clear on the zip files, are they just backups? If I did less frequent backups (once a day rather than twice, no backup when quitting) will this help?
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No, it's not related to backups; and I apologize, "zip file" isn't the clearest of terms, since it tells you how the file is stored on disk rather than what data it's actually storing. A better way to refer to those files would be to simply call them "change files".
(Warning: this response is probably a little long and technical; feel free to skip to the end for the quick summary.)
Each "change file" represents a set of changes to the database; each time you edit your database (enter a new action, add a due date, edit a note, complete it, etc.) OmniFocus creates a new change file with the edits you just made. Those change files are synced up to your sync database where your other copies of OmniFocus can download them, applying those changes to their own copies of the database. Once all your databases get in sync, they can create a new reference database (by "compacting" all the change files up to that point) which becomes the starting point for a new chain of changes.
The most common problem most people experience is caused by never getting all their databases into sync, so OmniFocus is never able to compact its change files into a new reference database. The change files build up into a bigger and bigger chain of changes, making sync and load times slower and slower.
If you don't plan to sync a device for a while and you know it doesn't have any local changes, it's best to unregister it. In fact, if you want to force your database to compact all the way down to just a single change file representing the reference database, you can go into Sync Preferences on the Mac, click the Show Clients button, and unregister every single thing on the list (including the local machine)—then Close the clients list and click on Sync Now. Just remember that
unregistering a client will break synchronization with it, so the next time you sync that client you'll be prompted to replace its local database with a fresh copy of the database from the sync server (losing any changes you may have made on that device before you synced).
In summary: each change you make creates a new change file; those change files build up until all your devices get back into sync so they can agree on a new reference database. Syncing all your OmniFocus devices regularly (and unregistering them when you're not using them) is the best way to keep your sync and load times fast.
Does that help?