[jaybeanddar]

Desktop Version: 1.6.1 (v77.16.6.0.112316)
iPod Touch Version: 1.5.2 (v77.29.0.115824)

I have been using OmniFocus Desktop and iPod Touch since it first launched without any issues. Within the last month my desktop version and iphone version have reporting more and more errors when syncing to my iDisk.

I usually tell it to use the iDisk version and things return to normal. About two weeks ago however my iPod Touch version (1.5.2) all together stopped syncing and when I forced the issue it just crashed during the sync process.

I spent today trouble shooting it but with no luck.

I have done the following:

- turned idisk syncing off on my desktop
- completely rebuilt database on desktop
- archived old posts
- completely resynced my idisk with a new database. I deleted all the Omni files on the idisk and forced the desktop version to upload a new database
- reboot ipod touch
- uninstalled iPod Touch version and reinstalled
- When OmniFocus starts up I have entered all the correct info and it says it is starting to download. Then it crashes. Usually 3 or 4 minutes in
- I have even tried syncing via bonjour but it still crashes

Any suggestions?

[whpalmer4]

It sounds to me like you might have accumulated way too many zip files, based on your comment about how long the sync takes. You can check this by going to the directory in your iDisk where you've told OmniFocus to find your database (by default, the Documents directory), selecting the OmniFocus.ofocus file, and right-clicking on it to bring up the contextual menu where you will choose Show Package Contents. My guess is that the number of files in that directory is going to be very large.

If that turns out to be the case, and you are confident that the desktop version's database contains all of your data, you can force a compaction by following these steps:

1. Go to the Sync preferences pane in OmniFocus
2. Show clients
3. Unregister all of the clients
4. Set the sync method to none
5. Close the preferences window
6. Do File->Compact Database
7. Go back to the Sync preferences and set them up again as before
8. Click the sync button. If asked which version of the database to use, you want to use the local copy.
9. Now go sync your iPod. When asked which version of the database to use, be sure to specify the server version.

Another possible cause for crashing during sync is if you've got some large attachments in the database which are causing the iPod to run out of memory. You can check on this in 1.6.1 as above, doing the Show Package Contents on the OmniFocus.ofocus file on MobileMe. Most of the transaction files you'll see will be small, 1 KB seems to be typical. If you see multiple files of 100 KB or larger, you've probably got some embedded files (there will be 1 large file with a name starting with "00000000" but that is expected). Unfortunately prior to the 1.7 Sneaky Peek releases it is a bit tedious to track down the large attachments; you can either send your database to omnifocus@omnigroup.com and ask for their help, or see my posts here for instructions on how to attempt it yourself.

If you have any doubts about how to do these steps, by all means contact the support ninjas at the address given above, or by telephone (see the Omni website) and they'll help you out, but they don't currently work on the weekends, or outside of normal business hours in the Pacific time zone.

[jaybeanddar]

Thank you... I will check into this... I do attach email alot to my OmniFocus events and they often have attachments so I suspect this is the case. Is there a way to not sync with attachments?

I have also upgraded to the current sneak peak version.

Let me know. Thx.

[jaybeanddar]

Not much luck on my end... I compacted the database per your instructions and resynced with iDisk. Stats are:

Package size: 21.1MB
13 Items
Biggest file was 21MB

I suspect that is that attachements. Is there anyway to search and remove all attachements? or not sync them?

On my iPod it still says sync currently in progress. and then crashes after about 2 or 3 minutes.

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by jaybeanddar

Thank you... I will check into this... I do attach email alot to my OmniFocus events and they often have attachments so I suspect this is the case. Is there a way to not sync with attachments?

I have also upgraded to the current sneak peak version.

If you are using 1.7, there's the Window->Attachment List command which will show you the attachments in your database (click on the header of the size column to sort by size), and delete them for you if desired.

As for syncing without attachments, no, there is no means to do that at present, once you've actually embedded the attachment in your database. For better or for worse, everything goes everywhere. I think this is a reasonable choice, especially for an initial sync implementation, as it means any copy of the database can be used to reconstitute the others if there is a problem, but one can make a case for the ability to lose that option if some of the sync clients aren't able to effectively utilize large attachments, too. If you are manually attaching files on your desktop and don't need the contents actually embedded, you can instead put links in which would eliminate the overhead. Edit->Attach File offers the option of embedding the file or just a link.

As always, if you have a enhancement request or suggestion, use Help->Send Feedback to get it to the developers.

[jaybeanddar]

Thank you. Delete all the large attachments seems to have worked.