[aetrix9]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

You might try rebuilding your database by selecting "Rebuild Database…" from the File menu. This will rewrite the transactions on your USB drive into a single transaction, which should make it much faster to open.

I was able to rebuild (It took almost 2 hours!) and afterwards, I am getting much better times opening omnifocus on my different machines - I haven't timed it, but it's much closer to 45s-60s.

My question is: Should I continue to perform this rebuild at regular intervals to keep the start time shortened, or do you think it's a one-time solution that shouldn't need to be repeated?

[MarkSealey]

Thanks, Brian

[Lizard]

aetrix9: It's probably something you'll want to do periodically. Every change you make in Focus creates another little file, so over time these will pile up again, and you will want to rebuild your database to combine them all into one file again. How often? That totally depends on exactly how much data you have in Focus and how much you change it. Every day is probably overkill, but once a year is clearly not often enough.

[praffert]

I picked up a Time Capsule 500 G and I put another 500G on the USB port.
The drives work much better then the Airport.
I keep the database on the USB drive and it works great.
I have even tried it with Back to my mac with good success.
Pete

[yngtor]

Hey Omni,
I completely agree with Michal.
At present I'm trying to make this work on my own, with mixed results. It appears that if I put the OmniFocus db on the iDisk and attempt to open it at home when I created it at work the database is locked so that I cannot sync with iCal.
I'm about to try the USB key trick to see if this physical media moving with me will allow me the functionality I desire.

Is full sync planned at any point? I can always make due until then.
Ad Astra Per Aspera,
Kevin

Originally Posted by Michal Young

What I would really, really like is computer-to-computer synchronization (the one feature that has me still using Now Up to Date after all these years, despite its bugginess and general decrepitude) ... but I respect that Omni has made a rational choice to leave off true syncing in version 1, in order to get product out the door. So what I'm looking for is clear documentation on how to make do without true synchronization.

The forums have said you can mount OmniFocus data anywhere, and therefore it should work to carry it around on a USB key. This brings up two questions:

* Anywhere at all? So could I use a network mount and have OmniFocus running on a desktop computer at home, using the OmniFocus database on the computer in my office? And if I did that would I need to carefully shut down the copy of OmniFocus in the office before going home, and vice versa? I'm really afraid to try this without an all-clear from Omni.

* OK, let's say a network mount is a bridge too far ... so a USB key, however imperfect, is the answer. But how does one do that? There is no "open" command in the file menu of OmniFocus, and it seems to be hard-wired to use a database in Library/Application Support/OmniFocus. Am I supposed to copy the database back and forth from the USB key whenever I move location? Or maybe if I once make a copy of the database to a USB key and double-click it, OmniFocus will thereafter know that it should read and write to the key? I'm not sure where to start.

[Ken Case]

For OmniFocus 1.1, we're currently on full support for online synchronization between multiple systems (desktops and laptops, iPhones and iPod Touches). The plan is that you'll be able to synchronize through any WebDAV server, including .Mac.

[MarkSealey]

I've actually had very good results with ChronoSync and a Corsair USB flash drive.

I set synching to pull the OmniFocus files from their new location in ~/Documents on my Mac Pro at home onto the flash drive; synch them onto the corresponding location on my old G5 at work; then do the reverse each evening.

Since Perspectives seem only ever to be saved in Application Support, I have to do that manually. I also have to override the lock most evenings.

Otherwise it works fine. Rock solid in every respect :-)

[davidamis]

I wrote a UI and rewrote a script originally written by Ken Case to syncronize Omnifocus between machines. Instead of adding it to this thread, I created a new thread in Omnifocus Extras: here



It solves the syncing problem, including slow syncs and the locking problem. Syncs are fast (except the first one) because it uses rsync, and the locking problem is solved because it checks to see if Omnifocus is running before doing a push or pull of changes.

[rsailer@mac.com]

Originally Posted by Lizard

aetrix9: It's probably something you'll want to do periodically. Every change you make in Focus creates another little file, so over time these will pile up again, and you will want to rebuild your database to combine them all into one file again. How often? That totally depends on exactly how much data you have in Focus and how much you change it. Every day is probably overkill, but once a year is clearly not often enough.

This might be a good thing to automate or suggest via the software (like software update) on a regular basis or when some numeric counter is achieved (number of files, etc.).

Randy

[HowardP]

I have been using OF for several weeks and synching between my iMac and MacBook has been a rocky road. I was using my iDisk but as I keep adding projects that method has gotten very slow.
Last night I did some experimenting and came up with simple solution already built right into Mac OSX. I used the Network Server feature. Both computers must be on. Then after I closed out OF on my MacBook I clicked on the Network icon on my iMac and choose my laptop under servers. Entered the password for my laptop and there were all the files. Then, using Finder, I simply copied the OF data file from the laptop to to my iMac. It worked like a charm, and file copy was instant. BTW - to copy by dragging, hold down the option key. I tried this a couple of times going from one computer to the other and no problems.
So, for those of you want to synch up on a LAN this may be a good way to go.
Curious to see what someone from OMNI may have to say about this.