Synchronize Mail Across Two Computers

Hey everyone!
I have two iMacs running 10.5.7 with Apple Mail set to download email from my own domain with a POP server. I have a gigabytes of locally stored mail that I would like to have synchronized to another, iMac also running 10.5.7. I don't have the option of IMAP, but even if I did, the gigabytes of saved mail would go over my quota.
I tried using Live Mesh, but it does not support files in the /library directories, and MobileMe does not support IMAP/POP accounts.
Any other ideas?
Thanks in advance!

there is no good way to keep POP mail synced across two computers. one time syncing is possible by exporting a mail archive and moving it to another computer but it's not something you want to do on a regular basis. the best i can suggest is to check the option in mail preferences->accounts->advanced to keep messages on the server after retrieval. this way you can download them to both computers.
Message was edited by: V.K.

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Technical question:
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Here's a little more information on what I am trying to do.
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Problems sharing across two computers on home lan

I must be doing something basic wrong. The instructions for sharing a downloaded digital edtion sound very easy in the help manual but following those directions I am not able to share a book across two computers on my home lan.
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You could put the pictures in the field on your laptop
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Problem syncing Mail between two computers

I know this is a well worn topic and I've read the posts on syncing mail between two computers. Overall, I've gotten it to work pretty well. Whenever I move from one computer to another, I copy my ~/Library/Mail folder to my thumbdrive and sync it w/ the same folder on my other computer before I fire up Mail on it.
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(CAUTION... do not run this script, experimental only!
set flashDrive to "FLASH"
tell application "System Events" to exists process "Mail.app"
if the result is true then tell application "Mail" to quit
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do shell script "rm -r /Volumes/" & flashDrive & "/Mail/"
do shell script "cp -r ~/Library/Mail /Volumes/" & flashDrive & "/"
do shell script "cp ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist /Volumes/" & flashDrive & "/Mail/"
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do shell script "cp -r /Volumes/" & flashDrive & "/Mail ~/Library/"
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Synchronize iTunes Library Across Two Computers

I have separate iTunes music libraries on my work and home computers. I would like to keep them synchronized, such that if I add a song, or change the rating/playcount/etc on one computer it is reflected on the other.
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I have been synchronizing iTunes between two computers by duplicating the following three files/folders from the "source" computer over to the "target" computer:
iTunes Library (file)
iTunes Music Library.xml (file)
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iTunes Music Library.xml
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<key>Music Folder</key><string>file://localhost/Users/Username/Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/</string>
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I use two computers: my MacBook Pro and an iMac. I'm pretty good about keeping the appropriate files backed and and/or synchronized on both machines. I have a problem with Mail, though.
Here's what I know:
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Suggestions?

Synchronization of local mail data between computers by means of a file synchronization utility is a really bad idea if more than one computer is allowed to access mail between synchronizations.
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Sync mail on two computers

i have two laptops and several email accounts - a mixture of POP and IMAP.
at the moment i use a macbook pro for email, but i'd now like to set up my macbook air to use with the same accounts when i'm travelling.
is it straightforward to duplicate all my accounts and messages on the MBA or are there any potential conflicts i need to watch out for that might run a risk of messages going missing or not being collected on both computers ?
any pointers towards how to do this would be much appreciated.

I'd use IMAP for all accounts. You already use IMAP for some of your accounts, so you should know the benefits of having synced mail across all devices. Can you switch your POP accounts to IMAP?

Syncing Mail between two computers

I use both a desktop and a laptop computer and need to sync my work files including my >10GB Mail folder between the two. For the most part I have been able to do this pretty successfully using Chronosync. I have a firewire drive that I plug in and sync the desired files, and this fire wire drive goes back and forth to work. For Mail I backup ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist and ~/Library/Mail.
The problem I'm having with my mail is that every so often the index gets corrupted and then Mail abruptly quits. I'm assuming this is the Envelop Index file stored in the Mail folder, but I'm not totally sure. To rebuild it I have to restart Mail so it can rebuild the Index. That would be fine if that's all it did, but actually it re-imports all my email messages again and now I have duplicate copies. After this happens, I have triplicate and even quadruplicate copies. I'm using a Mail script to remove these duplicates, but this situation is getting out of hand. For example, today it will take ALL DAY to remove the >30,000 duplicates.
Does anyone know the answers to the following:
1. Why does the index get corrupted sometimes but not others?
2. What can I do to keep this file from getting corrupted?
3. Where are all these email messages that Mail re-imports coming from? I have extensive filters to sort incoming messages; I delete junk; I empty my trash on a regular basis. Why can't the index be created based on the existing folders that have the messages sorted into them? WHy are a bazillion messages being reimported?
I am currently using POP servers. I played around this morning with IMAP because my employer provides it, but I don't see how this will solve my problem with my local nested storage of messages on my two computers that I wish to sync. And I think that IMAP is going to give me troubles in a short time because my employer only provides 250 MB of storage space. So storing messages on the server really isn't going to be an option for me.
Any ideas anyone? Right now I'm not syncing to anything mobile other than my laptop, so I don't need any of iphone fixes....

I'll just update to mention that I just noticed that the "Remove Duplicates" script isn't actually removing all the duplicates. I'm down from 3-4 copies of everyting to just two, and now I need a way to get rid of this one extra duplicate. Anyone know of any other ways to do this?

Sync Mail between two computers

After Leopard upgrade, I switched from Entourage to Mail.app, so I'm new to it.
I use two Macs and POP accounts. How can I sync Mail.app between two computers in Leopard? The Sync Service of Smart Folders is not enough for me.
May I use a sync app like Folders Synchrnonizer?
Thanks
Stefano

Both my wife and I have multiple macs and work at home and on the road - we've tried all sorts, and there are 3 approaches that work:
1) IMAP
I know you think this isn't the ideal solution for you, but it is unbelievably simple and rock solid once you get it working.
Set your POP mail addresses to forward all mail to your IMAP address (I use .mac which is brilliant, I don't know about Gmail).
Your mail is server based, so your laptop, desktop, iPhone, webmail from a PC etc. are all always in sync.
You will still get your mail from your old accounts.
You can set rules on any of your machines to filter your mail into folders according to which address they were originally sent to.
HOWEVER the mail you SEND will be FROM your IMAP address, so your clients / friends may get confused if you don't want them to use your IMAP address as your main address.
2)
Leave POP mail on the server.
In Mail preferences, highlight your POP account and click on the "Advanced" tab.
Select "Remove mail from server" to a 1 day if you come home each night.
If you are away for longer, make it 1 week or Never.
This way, if you download mail on your Laptop, when you get home that evening, your desktop will download the same mail again, as it has been left on the server.
It's sort of fake IMAP.
The downside is you can end up with a full mailbox at the server very quickly as you are now leaving messages on it, and you may have to empty the server yourself sometimes (in the same menu you just adjusted).
Also, if you are away from your laptop too long, you may download and later delete-from-the-server messages on your desktop, leaving your laptop out of date.
Use Mac Sync to keep your rules, mailboxes and preferences synced up.
This is the way it's designed to work, so it should work fine.
3)
Drag the Mail folder.
Assuming you're only using one Mac at any one time, you simply move the main mail folder to whichever machine is current.
Quit Mail on both machines.
On your target mac, go to youruserfolder/Library and rename the "Mail" folder to something else like "Mail Old". This is just so you have a backup.
On your source mac, go to youruserfolder/Library and copy that entire folder (not just the mailboxes) either to a drive to transfer to your target mac, or straight to it if you have it networked.
When you start up mail you will find the messages, folders, mailboxes etc. are the same as they were on your source mac.
Now you use your target mac (say your laptop) for a while.
When you are going back to your original source mac (e.g. your desktop), you now repeat the process in the other direction, replacing your desktop's mail folder with your newer laptop's version.
It's really important you use one mac at a time and swap the folder each time you switch.
If you rename the previous version before you overwrite it, you know you have a backup if things get out of sync.
It works really well if you only take the laptop out occassionally, or if you use it exclusively for days at a time (i.e you go away) and you only need to do the transfer every so often.
Also, it helps if you don't have thousands of emails - if your Mail folder is under half a gig, you can do this quickly using a USB keyring or similar. Any bigger and the transfer can get a bit slow.
I use option 1, and felt it was worth changing my email address for.
My wife uses option 2 when she is using her laptop in the day and she can run her desktop each evening the download the mail left on the server.
But she sometimes gets trouble with her popmail server filling up (she gets lots of video and audio attachments) so if she's going away or not planning to use her desktop in the evenings, she reverts to option 3 and removes messages from the server "right away", updating her desktop's mail folder at the end of the week and just using her laptop until then.
Good luck!

Merging Files (Accounts?) Across Two Computers

For the past 6ish years, my mom has used both an iMac G4 and iBook G4. Both are running 10.4.11. She has accounts on both computers with similar folder structures (i.e. Documents folder is organized the same way). However, although many the files within her folders are similar, some vary (i.e. The laptop might have a newer version of one file and another file might exist on the iMac but not the iBook). She is trying to collapse these two similar accounts down to just one account on the iBook.
Simply put, what is the best way to merge the two accounts onto the iBook so that the newest files are preserved but files are not deleted if they don't exist on the iMac?
I was thinking about trying to use migration assistant (but I don't have any experience with it and don't know if it can accomplish this). I am also wondering if it would work to use some sort of backup software to "backup" the iMac onto the iBook account but I'm afraid I'd run into problems with permissions.
Bonus question: Is there a way to merge the iPhoto libraries? I imagine this needs to be done separately from the general merge - she is just worried about losing photos and the computers have different pictures in their iPhoto libraries.
Message was edited by: Jake1016

Hi Jake, and a warm welcome to the forums!
I was thinking about trying to use migration assistant (but I don't have any experience with it and don't know if it can accomplish this).
MA will copy everything, but to a new Account if the name is the same.
Is there a way to merge the iPhoto libraries?
For that one I'd use Import on one from iPhoto's File Menu.
For Mail I'd also use Imprt.
For Address Book, Select all or the ones not on the other one, Eport/Save as vCard, Import that vCard on the other one.
However, although many the files within her folders are similar, some vary (i.e. The laptop might have a newer version of one file and another file might exist on the iMac but not the iBook).
I use Tri-Backup...
http://www.tri-edre.com/english/index.html
Which has Synchronization as one of it's many options for just such a purpose, it can do it both ways or one way or the other way.

I am looking to change my apple ID because my e-mail is changing. How can I do this? or Can I have the same e-mail for two computers?

I am looking to change my Apple Id (changing my internet profider), which is my e-mail, How do i do this? or, can i have two computer using the same gmail e-mail as a apple id ? thanks!

My iTunes appleID is an old defunct e-mail address - it does not have to be functional.
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Syncing Pop Mail across two Macs

How can I sync my POP Apple mail folders on my work computer (Macbook Pro) and Macbook Air? I need to be able to read and download them on both computers but make sure the messages I've downloaded are on both computers. I can't switch to an IMAP account as I have 20,000 downloaded emails organized in folders that I need access to. Thank you for any help!

If you want to stay with POP rather than IMAP, make sure your mail account is set up to NOT remove messages from the server (Mail>Preferences>Accounts>Advanced).
Then, set up your account to automatically BCC yourself on messages you send. (Mail>Preferences>Composing).
Now all messages you receive and send will be available from either machine.
Another alternative is to periodically simply copy the whole Mail folder (<home>/Library/Mail) from one machine to the other.
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Mirror mail on two computers

I have a typical situation, with a desktop computer in my office, and a lap top that travels with me.
I need my mail to be identical on both machines. I'm trying to use Mail, but haven't figured out how to get this to work. Ideally, the sync feature would sync not just accounts, but actual mail. (Which I thought it would do by the way, initially!) Having sync only sync my accounts, which basically never change, but not my emails, which change all the time, seems very non-intuitive.
I have a POP account, and do not want to use IMAP for this process, for various reasons.
I had hoped I could find a solution similar to iCal and Address Book, where I could make changes on either computer anytime, and once the computers are synced, changes from both would be seen on both computers. (Is this a planned upgrade for the future??)
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Mike,
Thanks for the suggestion, but that doesn't actually work for me. I need all sent and received email to be the same on both computers, and I don't think the sent mail would be the same on both with your suggestion.
The other problem is that I get enough mail that my mailbox would clog on my server, and I don't really want to pay for more space, since I have the space on both the local computers.
Previously, I was copying all my Entourage files from one computer to the other, which worked, although not convenient. One of the reasons I switched to Mail (at least for now), is to make this process more convenient for me. I do like Mail better, as far as the interface is concerned. If I were to do it "the brute force way", like I used to, do you know what files I need to copy from one computer to the other? Is that my only option, to have an identical copy?
By the way, I don't use both computers at the same time. I use one while in town, and one while out of town, so I just have to do this when I leave and when I come back.
Thanks for any suggestions!

How do I get mail on two computers using OSX 10.5

how do I get my Mail on both my computers. MacBook and iMac

You can choose to leave mail on your ISP's servers. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3228
That way if you get mail on you MacBook, it's still available to get the same messages on your iMac.
 Cheers, Tom

Synchronize Mail Across Two Computers

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