Recommendation: web sync alternative

[Crystal401]

To the community:

Found a good interim solution to synchronize my mio files
over the network with different PCs.

www.syncplicity.com

It works really well.

[wsp]

Thanks for the suggestion. There are a number of such syncing services (I hear good things about DropBox, for example), but what I would really like is the ability to sync files between a compatible program on my iPod, a Web service, and MyInfo on my computer. I don't need to edit files on the Web or even on my iPod, but I want very much to be able to have on my iPod whatever information is in my MyInfo files.

The way I achieve that at the moment is to copy text from MyInfo files and paste it into the Toodledo web client; then I move it over to my iPod by syncing Notebook (Appigo) on the iPod with the Toodledo server. But this is time-consuming (far too time-consuming for a large number of notes in MyInfo), and I lose all formatting in the transfer.

So it seems to me that what we need in MyInfo is the ability to sync with a web service that is able to communicate with some note-taking program on the iPod/iPhone.

Petko, do you have you any thoughts about this?

[Petko]

We are researching such options. Could you let me know, which web notes application do you use?

Is there a web app that is similar enough to MyInfo and provides developer API, so we can create export filter for it?

Springnote looks like a good web application. Did anybody try it?

[wsp]

Petko, everyone seems to have a different set of needs. As I said, my main priority is to be able to carry around information on my iPod, even if in read-only format. But here is what I have used for my own purposes:

(1) I've been addicted to Evernote since it was a Windows-only program, but -- especially after version 3 arrived -- I eventually realized it was very weak at organizing information, and I turned to MyInfo for note-taking for a book I'm writing. However, I still use Evernote for my bibliographies and for more casual notes such as Web clippings. Evernote synchronizes very smoothly between a (Windows or Mac) computer, the Web, and a mobile device. In a perfect world, I would like MyInfo to synchronize like Evernote, but I realize that is not going to happen.

(2) I use Notebook (Appigo) on my iPod for simple note-taking, because it has a nice interface. And it's easy to sync those notes with the Toodledo server. But I suspect that neither Notebook nor Toodledo could support the rather complex structure and metadata of MyInfo. As I said in my earlier post, I have been pasting some material from MyInfo into Toodledo>Notebook, but in a fairly primitive sort of way.

(3) I also use Readdle to transfer rtf documents, etc. to my iPod, but so far as I can tell, there is no way of editing those documents on the Readdle website.

Sorry, I haven't tried Springnotes yet. I'm weak on technical expertise (I know only on a theoretical level what an API is), but I think I have a fairly clear idea of what I, as a heavy user of MyInfo, want and need. Writing and editing on a website would be nice (and seems to be terribly important to some people), but my main preoccupation at the moment is getting my notes from MyInfo to my iPod!

[wsp]

P.P. -- Just one small further thought. If you could make MyInfo interact with Evernote (which has a published API), I would feel I had arrived in heaven. Then presumably you could use Evernote's Web and mobile-device synching capabilities.

[Crystal401]

Petko,

Evernote:
Developer API is quite mature.
Has a huge userbase although organization of data is weaker than Myinfo.

Linking to evernote will most likely add to your user base.

Toodledo:
Remember the milk is more well known, but
Toodledo is more intuitive and is gaining momentum.
Their API specs are also quite well developed (in my opinion)

Regarding dropbox:
Not as good as www.syncplicity.com
Give it a try. I tried them all.
Its the top of the line in terms of synchronization IMHO.

[jamal]

There are two issues here:

1. The issue of running MyInfo on multiple computers such as home PC, work PC and laptop, and keeping those multiple instances synchroinized: With the availability of MyInfo portable version and strong encryption, this problem has a solution. I can carry only one instance of MyInfo on a USB drive between home, office and travel. Sensitive topics can be encrypted. This is certainly less expensive than paying $100 or more a year to sync services such as the one mentioned in this thread. However, it brings up the question: what if I lose my USB drive? Unfortunately, MyInfo does not have a backup/restore feature. Now more than ever, MyInfo needs an easy backup & restore capability. It can be used not only to backup the data (topic files) on a central and personal computer (eg: home computer), but also to maintain and synchronize multiple instances of MyInfo at home, office, laptop etc.. That kills two birds in one shot. So, in my opinion, local backup/restore feature should be the first step in resolving sync issues and a top priority right now. It is also relatively easy to implement as it involves simply copying all topic files to a predefined backup folder.

2. Compatibility with PDAs: I am not sure this is a "sync" issue. MyInfo doesn't run on a PDA to begin with, let alone to sync with. These issues arise from the fact that MyInfo runs only on Windows PCs. Using an online sync service plus other third party software offers a convoluted work-around for exchanging info between MyInfo and PDAs. Yet it will not solve all compatibility issues for all users. In any case, this should not be confused with sync and backup issues that many users face.

We need a simple solution for the larger problems of syncing, backup and restore without requiring the users to pay up to sync services.

[net500cg]

I have used MyInfo for at least the last 9 years and the one thing I've wanted most is the abilty to sync my different computers running it, into ONE Master File.

I have done this on my network ... even running it from a secure server online, with access from anywhere. But I still, invariably get to working and end up with data on one installation that is superior to the rest. And it's NOT the Master. ". \

So, having the ability to Sync all installations - as well as mobile devices - is, in MNSHO, an imperative addition to this already fine and essential product.

My only other complaint I have with MyInfo - one that is shared by many PC users, is that is is not being ported to Mac or Linux. I run all three major OS's and it would be an amazing accomplishment in streamlining my work, to have MyInfo available on all OS platforms.

There are 'other' similar software offerings for Mac and Linux that provide PIM ... but NOTHING is as easy -nor as powerful - as MyInfo.

Thus, I - along with many others, continue to hold out hope that one day, the folks at Milenix will finally decide it's time to provide their software on the other major OS's .

I look forward to full Sync capability in a near release!!!

There are two issues here:

a) the issue of running MyInfo on multiple computers
b) compatibility with PDAs

We need a simple solution for the larger problems of syncing, backup and restore without requiring the users to pay up to sync services.

[jamal]

Leslie, until the folks at Milenix come up with a solution for syncing multiple computers, I am using a simple script which I wrote to sync any changes from USB drive (using portable version between computers) and maintain a master backup copy on the home computer. Let me know if you like to try it; I'll be happy to share it.

[net500cg]

Jamal ..

Sure. I'd be happy to take a look at and engage a test run of your script for syncing files between MyInfo installs.

I currently use an SD disk to carry the 'common files' between computers.

I'm game to try anything that will make this easier to keep 'common' !!

Thank you for your offer.

les

[jamal]

Sorry for the delay. I was traveling on vacation and had only infrequent connection to the net.

Here's the code. Copy & paste it in Notepad, edit as necessary, and save it as a .cmd file. I call it backupMI5.cmd. Should work without any editing. Works on Windows XP and Windows Vista. The portable drive is defined as E: If it is not E, you will be prompted to enter the drive letter. The backup is incremental, that is only the changes since the previous backup are copied. The backup folder is C:\Backup. After saving on the desktop, double click to run it.

@echo off
:: variables
set dest_drive=C
set dest_folder=Backup
set source_drive=E
set source_folder=MyInfo 5 Portable
set backupcmd=xcopy /s /c /d /e /h /i /r /y

echo ... MyInfo Backup

IF EXIST "%source_drive%:\%source_folder%\My Topics" GOTO BACKUP
echo "%source_drive%:\%source_folder%\My Topics" does not exist...
Set /P source_drive=Enter the source drive letter:
IF EXIST "%source_drive%:\%source_folder%\My Topics" GOTO BACKUP
echo "%source_drive%:\%source_folder%\My Topics" does not exist...
echo Backup Failed!
set source_drive=
@pause
EXIT

:BACKUP
echo ... Backing up MyInfo
%backupcmd% "%source_drive%:\%source_folder%\My Topics" "%dest_drive%:\%dest_folder%\%source_folder%\My Topics"
set source_drive=
echo Backup Complete!
@pause
EXIT

[wsp]

I'm now using DropBox for syncing and backup, and it works smoothly.

However, my latest scheme for getting MyInfo files loaded on an iPhone/iPod is to export a single rtf file from each topic, then massage it a bit in OpenOffice (in particular I increase the left and right margins, which later has the effect of enlarging the font on the iPhone) and export a PDF file from OpenOffice. Then I move that file over to my iPhone with an app called GoodReader, which is capable of displaying very large PDF files. GoodReader of course is able to search and bookmark those files as well.

My plan is to do this about once a month, and that means I will always have a reasonably up-to-date set of read-only files on my iPhone. These files will reflect whatever I have in my MyInfo files at that time.

[Crystal401]

WSP,

Thanks for the idea.
I was using syncplicity for file backup.

However, I will try the goodreader approach for the iphone.
I suppose you use the pdf export because its faster than to use
Quickoffice or DocumentsToGo that can read doc, rtf, and pdf files?

Cheers,

[wsp]

I suppose you use the pdf export because its faster than to use
Quickoffice or DocumentsToGo that can read doc, rtf, and pdf files?

I've played around with Docs-To-Go, but it didn't really seem suitable for my needs. I can't see much point in editing -- or adding to -- an exported file from MyInfo, because (a) I rarely write anything longer than a three-sentence e-mail on my iPhone, and (b) if I modified that file, I would then have to get the revisions back into my MyInfo topic later on. (And it would be tricky to figure out which parts of the file are new or changed.) In other words, a read-only PDF file is better for my purposes than an editable Word or rtf file. I really just want to be able to consult my notes occasionally when I am away from my computer.

GoodReader has several attractive features, the most of important of which (to me) is its ability to handle very large PDF files. (I think the biggest one I've tested was about 55 Mb.)

[Crystal401]

WSP,

question:
Can you export your topics properly to rtf?
I use MI 5.04 and when I try to export 10-20 MB mio files,
it freezes... only small subbranches work...which is frustrating.


Idea:
Once you have an exported rtf,
I found out about this one:
Nitro PDF professional

* It lets you create pdf bookmarks automatically...
With some manipulation, I could preserve the tree structure.