Sync ~/Library through the cloud?
As I was reinstalling my MacBook Air from scratch (too many migration assisted installs left me finding software still running that i thought i had removed 5 years ago!), I realised I was downloading almost everything from 'the cloud' and wondered how close we had gotten to being able to have 2 machines that are completely in sync.
I currently carry a MacBook Air to and from the office every day. Not complaining about the weight, but not needing to bring it means I can ditch my bag altogether and achieve the long-desired bag-less commute! For me to not need to bring the computer to and from work every day, I'd need to have the same installs on both machines, and I'd want them to be as similar to each other as possible.
That's why.
So ... thinking that through, a lot of data syncs through their existing servers such as iCloud, email, Evernote, etc. and me already syncing most of my home directory through the cloud, I figured all there was left would be a review of the ~/Library folder to see what would require syncing to get two very similar if not exact machines on both ends.
Accounts --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
Address Book Plug-Ins --- sync: plugins, update frequency seems low
Application Scripts --- sync: update frequency expected to be low
Application Support --- sync: may be some files with very frequent updates though, should check
Assistants --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Audio --- sync: unknown purpose
Autosave Information --- sync: purpose seems obvious, not sure what the update frequency is like as it's empty right now
Caches --- no sync: would probably not want to sync this
Calendars --- no sync: should be done through iCloud
ColorPickers --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Colors --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Compositions --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Containers --- no sync: not sure how this works, would probably not want to sync this
Cookies --- sync: would probably want to sync this
Dictionaries --- sync: would probably want to sync this
Facebook --- no sync: should be done through Facebook
Favorites --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
FontCollections --- sync: would probably want to sync this
Fonts --- sync: would probably want to sync this, although empty right now
Fonts Disabled --- sync: would probably want to sync this, although empty right now
Group Containers --- no sync: not sure how this works, would probably not want to sync this
IdentityServices --- no sync: security concerns and unknown purpose
Input Methods --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Internet Plug-Ins --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Keyboard Layouts --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Keychains --- no sync: expect iCloud will be doing this
Logs --- no sync: no need to have this synced
Mail --- no sync: should be done through mail servers
Messages --- no sync: should be done through iCloud servers
Mobile Documents --- no sync: should already be done through iCloud servers
PreferencePanes --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Preferences --- sync: sync: may be some files with very frequent updates though, should check
Printers --- no sync: no need to have this synced
PubSub --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
Receipts --- no sync: no need to have this synced
Safari --- no sync: no need to have this synced
Saved Application State --- no idea about this one, probably sees high update frequency but cross device state resume would be awesome!
Saved Searches --- sync: update frequency seems low
Screen Savers --- sync: update frequency seems low
Scripts --- no sync: folder seems depricated in more recent versions, ./Application Scripts is used instead
Services --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Sounds --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
Spelling --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
Sync Services --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
SyncedPreferences --- no sync: should already be done through iCloud servers
Twitter --- no sync: should already be done through Twitter servers
Voices --- sync: unknown purpose, empty
WebKit --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
iMovie --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
iTunes --- sync: unknown purpose, update frequency seems low
Would be curious about any thoughts any of the more nerdier among you would have on the above!
Sugarsync – Sync Folders Between Computers
Similar Messages
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Why do I have to redownload my whole library from the cloud?
I just logged into itunes for the first time in a little while, and I couldn't see my library because it was no longer downloaded to my computer. I understand that the cloud is omnipresent, even if you decide you don't want to use it, but I'm confused.
I automatically hide cloud purchases (it never mattered because I never purposely put things on the cloud), and so I now have to manually re-download my whole library from the cloud.
Does anyone know why this happened? Was it an update? This seems really silly-- I understand automatically keeping things on the cloud, but why would anyone think I don't also want my music on my computer?
And are there any quick fixes, or am I really going to have to sit here downloading for the forseeable future?I just want to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Make sure you back up your computer before installing any updates.
Installing an update should not delete files but from reports here it happens occasionally. We don't know why and given that probably only a very few people lose their libraries through updating versus millions of updates it is something you simply have to prepare against. I am not even sure what happened in your case because thgis presence of some files doesn't match anything I can think would happen. -
Once I upload my music library to the Cloud can I then remove it from my computer to free up space on the hard drive?
iTunes Match does not allow streaming to a computer.
If you want to utilize the media on the computer, it must physically be on the computer.
Also, if syncing media from the computer to an iDevice, the media must be physically on the computer to sync. Removing that media from the computer will remove it from the iDevice it is synced with.
iTunes Match is not a backup and should not be utilized as single storage for content. -
After moving to iCloud I can only get my email through the cloud, no new emails are making it to my home computer and .mac account. Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this issue?
Welcome to the Apple Community.
Which OS are you using. -
My storage is mostly full of a category labeled "other." I'm out of memory to the extent that it won't even allow me to update apps. I have moved all photos over to my computer and my music streams through the cloud. Any advice on how to fix this problem?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread/3418045?tstart=60
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I have just been listening to an album on my iphone through the cloud, and noticed that the album was playing in an odd order, and whe I tried to adjust to play the album from the beginning again it still took me to what seemed a random track next, and this happened consistently, seems odd heh? ANy clues?
Did the original songs that do not appear on the car player play in the Music app on the iPod? Sometimes glitches happen and they do not. Also, If y ohave a 5G iPod/iOS 7, purchase songs will show with an cloud icon by them if they are not downloaded if Shall All is turned on in Settings>iTunes and App Store
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When I delete a podcast in iTunes it is still on iPhone after sync; just in the cloud.
When I delete a podcast in iTunes it is still on iPhone after sync; just in the cloud (it has a close and download icon). All I want to do is delete it. I Now I have to delete in manually from all devices. I have not listened to it either.
Also, I cannot use the selling to delete played podcasts, because I want to keep some of them.
I have IOS 8.1, iTunes 12.0.. and OSX 10.10.1. iPhones 4,5 and 6 and iPad Air 2
In the good old days, you deleted in iTunes and the next time you synced it, it was removed from the iPhone, iPods and iPads. Now, I have to update them all.
Note: Subscription takes place on my Mac, not the other devices.
Am I missing something, because this is a real pain?
Thanks
Tony..You aren't mssing anything. As far as I am aware, this is simply the process that you need to take to remove them.
-Broncos100 -
Getting my iTunes library into the cloud
Hi,
I have a large iTunes music library (about 280GB), much of it made up of rips from my CDs or transcriptions of LPs. Many of these items are not in the iTunes store. Is there some way to get my iTunes library into the cloud and have the cloud version be the iTunes target library on my MacBook Pro, my iPhone and iPad? What alternatives to iCloud are there that would work for this purpose?
Thanks!You didn't read the link I posted did you?
"iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 26 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are your music is already in iCloud.3 And for the few songs that aren’t, iTunes uploads what it can’t match (which is much faster than uploading your entire music library)." -
What is the best option for storing my iphoto library on the cloud?
I was curious as to what people are doing (other than backing up to external HD) for backing up the iphoto library? Anyone using any cloud solution out there for storage? What are some of the best options? I have around 30,000 photos in my iphoto library.
There is no good solution for storing the Library in the Cloud. The amount of data involved means that uploading or downloading is very, very slow. We do see posts on here from people trying to restore from a back up to the Cloud wondering if it's possible to speed up the download currently estimated in days. Running a Library from the cloud is just painfully slow - people have tried it and that is the consensus.
However, as part of a comprehensive back up plan there is a lot to be said for backing up your Photos to the cloud. Not as good as backing up the whole Library, but as a "last line" you at least have your photos. There are many options: Flickr, Picasa, SmugMug etc. However, check the terms of your account carefully. While most sites have free uploading, you will often find that these uploads are limited in terms of the file size or the bandwidth you can use per month. For access that allows you to upload full size pics with no restrictions you may need to pay. -
I just got a new IPAD and transferred everything through the cloud from my old IPAD 2. The new one says "this IPAD is currently being restored. It has been that way for over two hours. Also, I Books opens and then closes right away with no content. Does it take this long, or is there an issue?
I also tried manually underlining a few things on the new iPad and when highlighting a paragraph, it would skip a few lines and the line would go through a few as well. Looks like a major iBooks glitch needs to be addressed here.
-
HT1848 How do I get music files from my iphone that were priviously synced back to the cloud?
Previously my Iphone was synced with a cable and all my music files and apps were synced. Now that Icloud is synced wirelessly, only purchased music is synced back to the cloud. How do I get my other music files and apps exported to the cloud or to my computer?
Robert...
You can delete songs directly from the iPhone.
Tap the Music tab in the Dock.
Now swipe to the left or right once. You should see a red delete button. -
My 7-year-old iMac died. I don't plan to replace it. It is backed up to Crashplan. Is it possible to restore my iPhoto library to the cloud, i.e. iCloud or Dropbox, so that I can access the photos as needed from my iPad or iPhone?
Probably not - but that certainly does not involve iPhoto for the Mac - you need to look at Crashplan support for you options
And iCloud is not a place to store photos so that is certainly not a possibility
If you restore your masters folder out of the iPhoto library you will have all of your original photos to do with what you please
LN -
I just uploaded my iTunes library to the cloud using iTunes Match. When I buy a new song from iTunes, is it automatically sent to the Cloud or do I have to click on iTunes Match? I certainly don't want to start the whole upload process over again. Thanks
It should do so automatically, if not check it's staus this way.
In iTunes press "Command J" or select "View Options," under the view menu. In the popup window check iCloud Status. It will now appear as one of the columns in your main iTunes window.
This column will show which of your songs are matched, uploaded, ineligible, etc.
When you navigate to the song you downloaded you will see it's iCloud status.
If the status says, "waiting," and you want it available on Match now, then in the iTunes "Store," menubar pulldown, select "Update iTunes Match."
It will scan your drive, and update all status'.
You will not have to upload everything again.
Even if in iTunes you turn Match off, and back on again.
Match remembers you! -
I recently added my entire music library to the "cloud" for an annual fee. Now I can't listen to anything unless I have an internet connection. I want my library back on my laptop, the whole thing (original laptop got erased). How do I do this?
Hello ggjsa,
Congratulations on your new laptop! I understand that you have copied your old iTunes Library to your new computer, but you are still not seeing the music. I recommend reviewing Part 5 in the section titled "External drive" in the following article:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
If you are still having trouble transferring the library using this method, you may want to try using the Home Sharing method in the article.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M. -
HT4906 Can I back up my iPhoto library to the cloud?
Is it possible and / or wise to back up my photos to my iCloud account? They are saved to my time Machine, however I would like to have access to them from my other computers, and to have an additional back-up. Thanks
That's not a feature of iCloud.
You can upload your photos to any sharing site and that will allow you to access them from any computer and function as a back up. I use SmugMug for just that reason.
As to uploadng your Library to another cloud service - people have tried running a Library from the cloud and found it prone to corruption (as the servers are not appropriately formatted) and very, very, very slow. If you do upload to a cloud service remember to factor in the time to download again. iPhoto Libraries can be very very large and those kinds of data tranfers can take days to complete.
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