8.1   How can I access my library from multiple Macs?

There are several different ways of sharing an EagleFiler library among multiple Macs. Most of these techniques will also work for sharing your files with a Windows PC or iOS device. You can either create a new library in the shared location or close your library and then move the entire library folder.

Rules for Shared Libraries

• Always copy or sync the entire EagleFiler library folder. This will ensure that your files and notes, and EagleFiler’s database and search indexes, are all shared.
• Only open the library in one copy of EagleFiler at a time. Multiple copies of EagleFiler simultaneously using the same database can damage it. (If this does happen, you can easily rebuild the library.)
• It’s safe to use the Finder and other applications to browse and edit the files in your library from multiple devices simultaneously. Just make sure that you follow the rules for library folders.
• You can add new files to the library from any device, without having to open EagleFiler. Just save the files into the The To Import Folder or The Files Folder.
• Some of the cloud services below do not preserve metadata such as file creation dates, labels, or Finder tags. Lack of support for tags is not a problem for EagleFiler because EagleFiler has its own tag storage and will restore any Finder tags that were lost. If creation dates or labels are important to you, you should choose a service that supports them or use an encrypted library.

Ways of Sharing That Have Been Tested With EagleFiler

• You can store your library on a portable drive, e.g. a USB keychain drive, SD card, external hard drive, iPhone, iPad, or iPod. See also the How can I put my library on my iPhone? page.

• Dropbox is a free service for sharing files between Macs and accessing them from the Web or an iPhone or iPad. It is the recommended cloud storage for use with EagleFiler.

  After editing your library with one Mac, make sure that both it and the second Mac have fully synced with the Dropbox server (that is, the icon in the menubar no longer shows spinning arrows) before opening the library on the second Mac.

  We recommend not using Dropbox’s Smart Sync feature, which avoids downloading all the files to your Mac, as this can cause extra indexing and syncing.

  If you only want to put part of your library on Dropbox, see the Aliases and Symlinks part of the Library Folders section of the manual.

  Note: Dropbox does not preserve the colored labels or creation dates of files unless you are using an encrypted library. It also places limitations on which filename characters you can use. It does preserve Apple (but not third-party) extended attributes.

• Box is a Dropbox-like service. Like Dropbox, you must wait for it to finish syncing before opening a library or shutting down your Mac.

  Note: Box does not preserve file metadata such as colored labels or extended attributes. Box places limitations on the filename characters you can use.

• Google Drive (a.k.a. Google One) is a Dropbox-like service that also supports full-text searching. Like Dropbox, you must wait for it to finish syncing before opening a library or shutting down your Mac.

  Note: Google Drive does not preserve file metadata such as creation dates, colored labels, or extended attributes. Google does not document which filename characters you can use.

• iCloud Drive is a Dropbox-like service. Like Dropbox, you must wait for it to finish syncing before opening a library or shutting down your Mac. Unlike Dropbox, it is hard to know when syncing has finished because there is a separate progress indicator for each file, rather than one global menu. The iCloudStatus utility can help with this, but it is still possible to corrupt your library if you modify it before iCloud has finished syncing changes from another device.

  Note: On macOS 10.12 Sierra, iCloud Drive automatically syncs the contents of the Desktop and Documents folders, unless you disable this in the iCloud pane in System Settings. If you do not want your EagleFiler libraries synced, disable that feature or move the libraries to another folders. Also, you should make sure that Optimize Mac Storage is unchecked. (On macOS 10.15 and later, this located in System Settings ‣ Apple ID ‣ iCloud.) Otherwise, the system may delete the local copies of some of your EagleFiler files, leading to errors and EagleFiler thinking that they are missing.

  Note: iCloud Drive preserves file creation dates but not other file metadata such as colored labels or extended attributes (except for Finder tags). Apple does not document which filename characters you can use.

• Microsoft OneDrive is a Dropbox-like service. Like Dropbox, you must wait for it to finish syncing before opening a library or shutting down your Mac.

  OneDrive has severe path length and filename character limitations. We offer scripts to rename files with allowed characters and to shorten long filenames.

  Note: OneDrive does not preserve file metadata such as colored labels or extended attributes. Thus, it is not recommended for use with EagleFiler.

• OmniPresence is a Dropbox-like service that can also work with your own WebDAV server. Like Dropbox, you must wait for it to finish syncing before opening a library or shutting down your Mac.

  Note: OmniPresence does not preserve file metadata such as colored labels or extended attributes.

• OwnCloud and NextCloud are Dropbox-like cloud syncing services that you can host yourself.

  Note: OwnCloud and NextCloud do not preserve file metadata such as creation dates, colored labels, or extended attributes.

• Resilio Sync is a Dropbox-like service that can sync files between Macs without storing them in the cloud. It is recommended that you whitelist the com.c-command.eaglefiler.tags.sync-info xattr and set the folder Temporary Items.nobackup to be ignored.

  Note: Resilio Sync does support extended attributes.

• SugarSync is a free service for sharing files between Macs and accessing them from the Web or an iPhone or iPad. After editing your library with one Mac, make sure that both it and the second Mac have fully synced with the server before opening the library on the second Mac.

  Note: SugarSync currently has limited support for Mac files. It do not support resource forks, extended attributes, bundle bits, or other HFS metadata. SugarSync does not support filenames containing : at the Unix level (/ in the Finder). EagleFiler does not require support for this metadata. However, you should be aware that if you set file labels or custom icons, these will be lost when syncing with SugarSync. Additionally, if you use EagleFiler to organize files that contain resource forks (such as some sound or font files, old NisusWriter files, etc.) they will become unusable after syncing. If you have detailed knowledge of what kind of metadata your files have, and whether it needs to be preserved, you can decide for yourself whether or not this is a problem for you. If in doubt, you should use an encrypted library (see below).

• Sync is a Dropbox-like service with a focus on security.

  Note: Sync does not preserve file metadata such as colored labels or extended attributes.

• Transporter is a Dropbox-like service except that the data is stored on your own hardware. Like Dropbox, you must wait for it to finish syncing before opening a library or shutting down your Mac.

  Note: Transporter has many metadata and filename limitations.

• macOS’s built-in file sharing and Web sharing can be used to make your library available on other Macs. Just make sure that the library folder is stored in a folder that’s set up for file sharing (e.g. Public) or Web sharing (e.g. Sites) and that sharing is enabled in System Settings.

  Accessing a library over the network via file sharing is generally slower than using an Dropbox.

• You can use a non-cloud file syncing utility such as Synchronize! Pro X, ChronoSync, or SuperDuper. There is more information about this in the Syncing a Library Locally section.

Encrypted Libraries

If you use the New Library… command create an encrypted EagleFiler library, EagleFiler will wrap up your library and all its files into a disk image that preserves all the metadata. Be sure to eject the disk image after closing the library in EagleFiler. This causes the OS to save all the information to disk so that it can be synced properly. (You can use the Close & Lock command to do this in one step.)

Note: Encrypted libraries can only be accessed from a Mac, not from the Web or an iPhone or iPad.