7.4   How can I access my library from multiple Macs?

There are several different ways of sharing an EagleFiler library among multiple Macs. The general guideline is that you should only open the library in one copy of EagleFiler at a time, although you can access the individual files in the library from multiple computers simultaneously. Most of these techniques will also work for sharing your files with a Windows PC or iPhone OS device. For more information, please see the How can I put my library on my iPhone? page.

Portable Drives

EagleFiler library folders can be stored wherever you want. You can take a library with you by keeping it on a USB keychain drive, iPhone, iPad, iPod, or external hard drive.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a free service for sharing files between Macs and accessing them from the Web or an iPhone or iPad. It’s somewhat like an iDisk, but much faster. After editing your library with one Mac, make sure that both it and the second Mac have fully synced with the Dropbox server before opening the library on the second Mac. To make sure that your files’ metadata is synced, use Dropbox 0.8 or later. File labels will not be synced with Dropbox unless you use an encrypted library (see below).

iDisk

Another option is to store the library on your iDisk. To do this, first go to the iDisk tab of the MobileMe/.Mac pane of System Preferences. Click Start to turn on iDisk syncing and make sure that it’s set to Manually.

Create a new EagleFiler library and save it on the iDisk. For greater speed, behind the scenes your Mac will store a copy of the library on your hard disk for EagleFiler to work with, and it will synchronize this with your iDisk. When you’re finished using the library for a while, close it in EagleFiler. If the library is encrypted, eject it. Then click the sync button next to your iDisk in the Finder’s source list:

To access the library on another Mac, click the sync button and then open the library in EagleFiler. When you’re finished, close the library and click the sync button again. In this way, multiple Macs can share the same EagleFiler library. Just remember to always sync before opening the library and after closing it, and only access the library from one Mac at a time.

Note: Apple’s iDisk syncing does not preserve your file’s creation dates or Finder labels; if those are important to you, you should use an encrypted library (see below).

SugarSync and Dropbox Prior to 0.8

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 and Dropbox prior to version 0.8 currently have limited support for Mac files. They 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 Dropbox or 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).

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.

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

Note: The more efficient sparse bundle disk image is recommended, although prior to Mac OS X 10.6 Dropbox only works with the sparse disk image format.

File and Web Sharing

Mac OS X’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 Preferences.

Note: Accessing a library over the network via file sharing is generally slower than using an Dropbox, iDisk, or SugarSync.