Keeping two Macs in sync via symbolic links and DropBox


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So, I have been wanting to do this for a while to try it out. I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner.

As the main example, I have an Address Book database that is often painful to keep up to date between my Mac Mini and my MacBook Pro, and I am not going to pay $99 a year for MobileMe. So here is what I did.

In my DropBox root folder, I have a bunch of other docs that I keep in sync, I created a new subfolder named '_Library', inside that I created 'Application Support' and 'Preferences'.

I did this first on the Mini:

1. Move the entire 'AddressBook' directory from ~/Library/Application Support to ~/Dropbox/_Library/Application Support

2. Move the following files from ~/Library/Preferences to ~/Dropbox/_Library/Preferences:

com.apple.AddressBook.plist

com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist

AddressBookMe.plist

3. Now, from the Terminal:

cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/

ln -s ~/Dropbox/_Library/Application\ Support/AddressBook/ AddressBook

cd ~/Library/Preferences

ln -s ~/Dropbox/_Library/Preferences/AddressBookMe.plist AddressBookMe.plist

ln -s ~/Dropbox/_Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist

ln -s ~/Dropbox/_Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist com.apple.AddressBook.plist

Now, on the MacBook Pro, I simply purge the 3 pref files and the Address Book directory, then run the 4 ls-n commands. Ensure Dropbox has fully synced, then launch Address Book.

It works like a champ! Keeping folders in sync is fairly easy provided they aren't too big in size, otherwise it can lead to slow syncs as any change needs to be moved up to the cloud. The important part is to make sure that you also grab any dependency files such as plists. The benefits of this on Leopard or Snow Leopard is that you also have multiple Time Machine versions in addition to version control on the DropBox cloud.

Let me know if this works for you or if you have other ideas. I plan on doing iWeb and Mail next. Mail should be easy since it is one folder and three preference files. iWeb stores everything in one big file from the perspective of a Mac, but it is just another folder if you view it in Windows.

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As the main example, I have an Address Book database that is often painful to keep up to date between my Mac Mini and my MacBook Pro, and I am not going to pay $99 a year for MobileMe. So here is what I did.

You can get MobileMe for $61.00/year through Amazon Marketplace (don't be fooled by the [OLD VERSION] tags, because it is identical to the "2009" version). You can probably find it cheaper than that.

If all you need is syncing then it IS probably overkill and too expensive for you. I'm 100% windows now (although use to run Mac), and I still like MobileMe for syncing Outlook and my iPhone. I've also found iDisk to be very handy (although Windows' WebDav support not so much...thank god for NetDrive). Push email is also a bonus for me.

If you take advantage of all the features, $60/y isn't that bad.

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You can get MobileMe for $61.00/year through Amazon Marketplace (don't be fooled by the [OLD VERSION] tags, because it is identical to the "2009" version). You can probably find it cheaper than that.

If all you need is syncing then it IS probably overkill and too expensive for you. I'm 100% windows now (although use to run Mac), and I still like MobileMe for syncing Outlook and my iPhone. I've also found iDisk to be very handy (although Windows' WebDav support not so much...thank god for NetDrive). Push email is also a bonus for me.

If you take advantage of all the features, $60/y isn't that bad.

I know I can get MM cheap, but if this helps with my current needs, then so be it.

Also, MM doesn't keep each and every app in sync, my process can.

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While using Symbolic Links can be great - I use it extensively myself, be careful.

I use MobileMe myself for Syncing Contacts/Calendars/Bookmarks/Keychain across my computers and iPhone.

However, I have pulled a couple of tricks with SymLinks within my Home Directory.

I am planning on going a little further shortly.

I use Mobile Home Directories to keep my laptop (File Vaulted) & desktop (Mini) - via a Second Mini running OS X Server.

Sure its more expensive - but its a once off purchase compared with an ongoing MobileMe, but as a Technician it has added advantages.

Some programs will work correctly with SymLinks - others will not.

For Instance - a quick look at the Home Dir on my Laptop

As you can see I have linked the Large Directories where I don't care about encryption on a portable computer outside of my Home Directory.

Now depending on which links - Quicktime X cannot record a movie under this configuration, as it doesn't handle the symlink correctly.

Other applications from various vendors also have complications as well.

Applications
Desktop
Documents
Downloads -> /Volumes/Data/Downloads
Library
Movies -> /Volumes/Data/Movies
Music -> /Volumes/Data/Music
Pictures -> /Volumes/Data/Pictures
Public
Scripts
Sites

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While using Symbolic Links can be great - I use it extensively myself, be careful.

I use MobileMe myself for Syncing Contacts/Calendars/Bookmarks/Keychain across my computers and iPhone.

However, I have pulled a couple of tricks with SymLinks within my Home Directory.

I am planning on going a little further shortly.

I use Mobile Home Directories to keep my laptop (File Vaulted) & desktop (Mini) - via a Second Mini running OS X Server.

Sure its more expensive - but its a once off purchase compared with an ongoing MobileMe, but as a Technician it has added advantages.

Some programs will work correctly with SymLinks - others will not.

For Instance - a quick look at the Home Dir on my Laptop

As you can see I have linked the Large Directories where I don't care about encryption on a portable computer outside of my Home Directory.

Now depending on which links - Quicktime X cannot record a movie under this configuration, as it doesn't handle the symlink correctly.

Other applications from various vendors also have complications as well.

Applications
Desktop
Documents
Downloads -> /Volumes/Data/Downloads
Library
Movies -> /Volumes/Data/Movies
Music -> /Volumes/Data/Music
Pictures -> /Volumes/Data/Pictures
Public
Scripts
Sites

Thank you for the insight. I don't plan on going nuts with this, but it's a cool way to save 60-100$ per year and get a nice wow factor out of it.

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I know I can get MM cheap, but if this helps with my current needs, then so be it.

Also, MM doesn't keep each and every app in sync, my process can.

Almost every app. :p Dropbox doesn't have Resource Fork/Extended Attributes support yet, so trying to sync something like CandyBar or some fonts results in problems. Also, some programs like Yojimbo (which is a pain to remember to keep closed on when machine when using another machine) aren't meant to have two instances of the app accessing its database at the same time.

It's a little expensive per year, but I actually pay for both Dropbox and MobileMe. Dropbox is faster than the MobileMe iDisk, so I use it to keep files and some apps (like 1Password) in sync. MobileMe keeps all the basics, Yojimbo, Transmit, and Snippet in sync. :D Works really well for me.

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