I typically use RM on a desktop. When traveing I use a laptop. Can I use the same data file with both machines from a cloud folder ? Only one system will be active at a time.
Yes.
Prevailing wisdom is to turn off any syncing when editing in RM. Turn on when finished.
Yes, if you turn off cloud syncing while using RM and turn syncing back on after after shutting RM down.
When switching from one computer to the other, be sure to allow sufficient time for the cloud and both computers to sync up before switching to the other computer. Because one of the computers is your home desktop and the other computer is your travel laptop, this is not likely to be a problem. But even when you are using the same computer over and over again for a while and not switching computers, by all means pause the cloud sync while you are using RM and resume the cloud sync when you are through with using RM.
I assume you want your media files available on both computers. If so, the cloud can do that for you. For example, make your RM media folder be a sub-folder of your cloud folder.
There is a possible minor glitch on Windows if your user name is not the same on the two computers. That’s because the Windows user name is a part of the file path to your files. If you are in that situation, you can adapt to by making RM’s folder settings on each computer match the folder names for that computer. I suspect that a similar situation might arise on a desktop Mac and a laptop Mac, but I’m not a Mac user so I don’t know for sure.
In case your cloud service of choice is OneDrive, it has a terrible feature where the default is not to keep your files on your computer and in the cloud at all times. The default is to keep your files on your computer only when you are using them and to keep your files in the cloud at all times. Contrary to popular belief, your computer is never using files while they are in the cloud. Your computer is always using a local copy. But I recommend keeping your files both on your computer and in the cloud at all times. The way to change the OneDrive option is:
- click OneDrive icon
- click settings
- scroll down to Advanced Setting and click on Advanced Settings
- scroll down to Files On-Demand and click on Download All Files.
Dropbox defaults to keeping files both in the cloud and on your computer at all times, so no settings need to be changed if your are using Dropbox. Those are the only two cloud services I have used. If you are using a different one, be sure to check how it handles this issue.
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might be a good idea turn turn off syncing on BOTH machines when working on RM on either computer. That said – timing could create an issue especially on larger db. Maybe someone has played with this in real world and advise .
Kevin
I have done this sort of thing very extensively. I prefer to have sync active on the machine I’m not using. It has no adverse effect whatsoever on the machine I am using nor on any files. And it means that that very quickly after I resume sync on the machine I actually am using, I have three copies of all my files. Copy #1 is on the machine I’m using. Copy #2 is in the cloud. And copy #3 is on the machine I’m not using.
For example, if I’ve been working a couple of hours, I will often take a break. During the break, I will close out RM, resume syncing on the machine I’m using, wait for the sync to complete, pause syncing again, and re-open RM. I don’t have to shut down any of the programs I have open that are not RM because none of them are doing the same kind of continuous save as does RM.
If I were traveling and using a laptop, very shortly after I resumed syncing the laptop, both the cloud and my desktop at home would be back in sync - even if the desktop at home were thousands of miles from where I was traveling.
Thanks for confirming – this is basically what I would have expected but I have not attempted in practice (so I would not suggested something to another user that could have potential or real consequences.)
I would imagine on the computer you are letting sync that RM is not open. That would be important to note for anyone that wants to try that.
Cloud syncing should not need to be shut off.
It is simultaneous usage that is problematic, since RM isn’t set up for that (locking database records etc).
You just need to close down RM before launching it on some other computer, and check sync status to make sure it is complete before shutting down computer 1 or moving to computer 2.
And on computer 2, check sync status to make sure it is up to date before launching RM there.
Cloud syncing absolutely does need to be shut off on the computer where you are using RM. There has been much discussion of this issue which I will not repeat again except to say that using RM while syncing is active can produce data corruption and certainly will produce excessive network activity. It may seem to work successfully for a while. RM users often post that they have done it for years with no problems. But it’s like running red lights on lightly traveled roads without looking for cross traffic and hoping that nobody is coming in the cross traffic. You may get by with it most of the time, but it is not safe.
As you say, simultaneous usage on two computers is even more problematic. For example, spouses sometimes want to use the same RM database on two different computers at the same time by using cloud syncing. That absolutely won’t work. There is no amount of lucky timing of the syncing that will avoid the destruction of your RM database.
Yes, corruption can happen. but my sense of the risk is that it is minimal, because I have never experienced it, and if it were common, nobody would use cloud services at all. Even if and when it does happen, recovery is straightforward: just restore a previous backup. It is not worth worrying about IMO.
I suspect most cloud users have no corruption problems because they are not using apps that save as they go as does RM. It’s really just save as they go apps that are risk with the cloud.
‘Save as you go’ can mean ‘updates a database file’. I use several such apps, all use SQLite databases (RM, Family Tree Maker, calibre). Never have had problems. And productivity apps like Word and Excel can auto-save changes every few seconds as you make them.
Evidently files open for write access can be synced, but I do not know if there are exceptions for certain types of files (e.g. SQLite databases).
It’s probably best practice to close apps like RM when you are done working with it, so sync can capture database file when it’s not open for write. But I’m kinda lazy about doing this with the ‘database apps’ that I use.
I’ve had my Mac crash when it was in Sleep mode (which I belatedly discover when I wake it up), so while that’s infrequent it might be potential source of file corruption, though again, I have not observed any.
I’m still not able to get started using RM11: none of my main databases will download from Ancestry. I filed a ticket and hope to figure out why.
With one of my trees, for more than a year, Ancestry kept generating ‘clones’ of some people that I had to keep finding and merging back together. So it’s possible that there is some sort of corruption of the trees there that keeps RM from downloading them.
FTM has no such issues, but its integration with Ancestry is of course an entirely different implementation.
I might try uploading tree copies from FTM to Ancestry, and see if those will download to RM. Mostly I want to use the DNA match features of RM that FTM lacks. I could probably also import GEDCOM of the trees to do this, but it would be nice if I could get RM to work with the Ancestry trees directly, hopefully with some update to RM after we figure out root cause of download failures.
Lots of users seem to report that for years they have kept their RM database in a synced folder such as Dropbox or OneDrive and that they have never had a problem. Please trust me on this one. Such users have only been lucky.
It truly is dangerous and your RM database can become corrupted as a result. It’s like driving without wearing a seat belt and never having been in an accident. That doesn’t make it safe. And if you don’t trust me, then trust the folks at RM who recommend against the practice. The danger with RM and syncing is specifically because it uses an SQLite database. SQLite is a very safe and reliable product. But an RM database cannot be synced safely while it is in use.
Thanks. The world is a dangerous place, there are risks everywhere you look.
But file corruption is nothing more than an inconvenience and can be caused in any number of ways. I’m comfortable in ignoring the risks associated with sync. It’s not gonna kill me. 