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How to use DirectSync

Launch DirectSync. You will be presented with 2 windows: An untitled document and a plugin palette. Add a synchronization plugin by dragging it from the palette into the main window. For now start with the iCalendar plugin. You select it in the plugin palette and drag it into the "Synchronization Operations" area of the document window. Choose the "configure" button that appears. In the bottom of the window that appears type a name for this synchronization plugin. Lets assume that you are synchronizing your "Home" calendar so you type home.

Now follow a similar procedure for the iCalendar plugin that you followed for the main document window. You locate the iCalendar files for your Home calendar for each of the Macintoshes and place them in their respective file wells. Close the iCalendar configuration window and save the synchronization document.

Hit index to initialize the plugin. You should see the little dot next to the plugin in the table turn to blue to indicate that indexing completed successfully.

Click on "View Modifications" to see the proposed modifications. There are lots of good options in there, especially when you are working with lots of files to be modified.

Now hit synchronize and wait a few seconds for it to complete. The calendars should now be composited. Thats it.

Tips and Tricks

• Right click (control click) on the toolbar in a document window to customize it. There are extra buttons that are not visible by default.
• You can watch the synchronization process in more detail by leaving the log window open while you synchronize.
• Mix and match sync plugins to create comprehensive sync profiles. You can have as many plugins as you like and you can have multiple of the same type of plugin (for instance 3 iCalendar plugins: 1 for home, 1 for work, and 1 for school, 2 mbox plugins: 1 for inbox and 1 for outbox).
• DirectSync is multithreaded and takes advantage of dual processor macs. You can configure one sync document while another runs or even run multiple synchronization documents simultaneously (though be careful not to have them modify the same files).
• Use the automatic plugin ordering feature to avoid having to exclude your files to be merged with other plugins explicity from the file sync plugin
• Use the folder sync plugin's Include/Exclude feature to avoid synchronizing those annoying .DS files by telling it to include all files except those that are worthless dot files
• Use the folder sync plugin's log mode synchronization to non-destructively merge the contents of folders whose files might have the same name, but you don't want them arbitrated by date. A good example of this is to synchronize your iChat logs between computers
• Double-click on a file modification in the modifications viewer to launch both the files involved so you can compare them