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Still Long Sync on iPhone... Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I have always updated to the latest Omnifocus on the Mac and on my iPhone. I sync via Mobile Me. I continue to have very long sync times on the iPhone, I would estimate around 60 to 90 seconds. It defeats the purpose if I have a quick idea I want to add on the phone and I have wait almost 2 minutes for syncing to complete.

I recently did a fresh install of Snow Leopard, new install of Omnifocus on Mac and on the iPhone. I still get long sync times. I really only have a few categories and maybe 10-20 tasks..no attachments..it does not make sense.

What can I do to speed up the sync..it is the one thing that has been a constant problem. Everything else, updates, etc..has been fine. I really need to figure out how to not get stuck in a long sync every time I open the app.

Thanks
Frank
 
Have you worked the issue with the support ninjas?

If the issue is that the app takes too long to start when you pull the iPhone out of your pocket to make a quick note of something, why not turn off Auto-sync? Then the app will only sync when you direct it to do so, at a time of your choosing. You can make your entry, start the sync and then push the sleep/wake button on the top of the iPhone to prevent any accidental input when you put it back in your pocket -- the sync will continue.

Another way to help keep database size and sync time down is to get your devices synced up whenever you switch from using one to the other. Don't make simultaneous changes on desktop and iPhone if you can avoid it, but rather use one, then sync both devices before switching to the other. It's easier if two people take turns editing a document, right? Same applies here, it's much harder to keep the changes straight if both people are making changes to a document simultaneously. It's also easier to get duplicates in your database if you are completing repeating actions in two places.
 
Thanks for the tips.

Turning off auto sync would pretty much negate the whole setup of Mac - iPhone - Mobile Me sync. I need to have everything in sync, so that is why I have it on, and why I purchased the programs.

I have my desktop version up pretty often and sync it from there..I never am updating both at the same time. If I am on my phone I am not usually near my desktop.

How long SHOULD it take? Whenever I boot up Omnifocus on my phone it starts to sync and it takes at least 60 seconds to complete. Then if I add stuff I need to sync again. Similar apps such as Pocket Informant sync to google calendar in seconds, the native calendar on my phone syncs via mobile me in seconds. I actually have more content on my calendars. Basically ever app that syncs to a source on my iphone happens very quickly, except Omnifocus.

Ideas?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankmcma View Post
How long SHOULD it take?
Definitely not 60-90 seconds; for me, it usually takes less than ten seconds. (According to my Settings screen, I currently have 193 projects and 1295 actions in 231 zip files. Usually I have fewer than 75 zip files, but I haven't synced my MacBook in a while. Syncing just now took ~5 seconds.)

That said, we did just track down a problem that can cause OmniFocus for iPhone to freeze for much longer than expected when integrating changes at the end of the sync process: instead of processing all of the downloaded changes at once, it's processing each change independently (recalculating everything, saving, then starting on the next change). This takes much longer than it's supposed to, and unlike the rest of the sync process the app will stop responding while this is happening, without even a progress bar to let you know what it's doing. That's definitely not intentional, and we'll try to get it fixed for the next release.
 
10 seconds would work for me. This seems to be taking a very very long time so perhaps that is the problem.

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?

Any tips would be great..thanks
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankmcma View Post
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?
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?

Last edited by Ken Case; 2009-09-29 at 08:03 PM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankmcma View Post
Are there any tips for now to speed up sync?
Just in case it helps, the "Make sure to use the Archive Old Data feature" tip on this page may help.

A lot of folks think that checking an item off removes it from the OmniFocus database, but that isn't actually the case. It just adds a "mark this action off" change to the database.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Case View Post
That said, we did just track down a problem that can cause OmniFocus for iPhone to freeze for much longer than expected when integrating changes at the end of the sync process: instead of processing all of the downloaded changes at once, it's processing each change independently (recalculating everything, saving, then starting on the next change). This takes much longer than it's supposed to, and unlike the rest of the sync process the app will stop responding while this is happening, without even a progress bar to let you know what it's doing. That's definitely not intentional, and we'll try to get it fixed for the next release.
I'm also experiencing this. And if I quit OmniFocus immediately after syncing then during the next launch the Optimizing Database process takes pretty long.

Syncing mostly takes around 90 seconds. Even if I sync and then re-sync it takes at least 30 seconds.

Hope these problems get solved soon.
 
Add me to the list; syncing is a tedious affair. It's interesting how some people can report 5-10 second synchronizations while others are stuck with unusually long sync times. I sometimes wonder if it is simply mobileme that's the bottleneck here, but who knows. I've see OF sync quickly, but lately it's very slow, despite all the typical synchronization tricks.

I haven't noticed anybody else mention this, but I've been off the boards for quite a while (got a new job recently). Anyway, my iphone app, after the sync, won't update the Nearby area. I've deleted & reinstalled the app, but I have to quit out and go back in for it to get updated. Likewise, going from the Info screen (where I'm silently urging the sync to go quickly) back to the Nearby list, then to the Home list in the app, causes the application to crash. I'm running 1.5.3.

I guess the point of my contribution is that I'm experiencing unusually long sync times too.
 
I'm also getting 60-90 second sync times, or longer. Latest versions of all software, syncing via Mobile Me. Syncing is nearly instantaneous on MBP, not so on my 3GS phone.

Some ideas:
  • The number of sync files shown on the phone pre-sync isn't a great measure of the sync time. The number doesn't include the number of files on the server which need to be downloaded and processed.
  • The desktop/laptop machines have a huge advantage in processor power. So as the number of changes to be processed grows, the iPhone will fall further behind the desktop.
  • My usual process is to sync my iPhone and MBP in the morning. I spend most of the day at my computer, so don't tend to sync the iPhone, or even touch OF on it during the day. I also use a bunch of checklist style template projects. It's not unusual for me to build up 100-200 zip files during the day. Long OF syncs result.

    I always switch to the info screen during long syncs and watch the status bar. If I let the sync complete, then do another sync after that, the second sync is usual very quick.
  • I wonder if there is a memory issue at play. How often are people power-cycling their iPhones? (I mean a full power down: 5 seconds on the sleep button, then slide the red slider.) Perhaps there's a correlation between rebooting the phone and sync time.

    Could people post their reboot frequency and whether they are having long/short syncs?

    I'm occasionally having long syncs and only reboot every couple of weeks.
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Cheers,

Curt
 
 


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