7.4   How can I access my library from multiple Macs?

There are several different ways of sharing an EagleFiler library among multiple Macs:

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, 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. It’s somewhat like an iDisk, but much faster. When using Dropbox, make sure that each library is only open on one Mac at a time. 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 all of your files’ metadata is synced, use Dropbox 0.8 or later.

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).

Additionally, MobileMe lets you view the contents of your iDisk from an iPhone or Web browser. This is another way to make the files in your EagleFiler library accessible from other Macs, and even from Windows PCs.

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. Make sure that each library is only open on one Mac at a time. 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.

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.

Note: Prior to Mac OS X 10.6, Dropbox does not support the more efficient sparse bundle disk image format for encrypted libraries, so you must use the sparse disk image format instead.

File and Web Sharing

If you choose to keep the library on your Mac, Mac OS X’s built-in file sharing and Web sharing can be used to make its contents available on other Macs. Make sure that only one Mac has the library open in EagleFiler at a time. Accessing a library over the network is generally slower than using an Dropbox, iDisk, or SugarSync.