Dropbox: Syncing between two machines?

[alexjholland]

Hey

I have an Imac i7 and a Macbook

Until Ableton offer syncing between machines, I want a solution to keep my projects updated perfectly between both machines, so I can start on one machine and finish on another - can dropbox do this?

I'm assuming I need to keep the relevant samples in exactly the same locations on both machines?

Any other anomolies or nuances?

How well does Dropbox handle this duty? Any other recommendations?

Many Thanks

[chapelier fou]

Collect and save.

[EnjoyRC]

Collect and save.

Precisely... That will bring all needed files together into the one work folder.

[alexjholland]

My concern lies in the cloud-based nature of Dropbox.

We've all run into problems with various 'sync' programs which have somehow wiped out data, or accidentally overwritten the wrong file or suchlike..

Do the files remain on my computer when using Dropbox? Is there a way they could be wiped accidentally by any kind of Dropbox failure/error?

And do I have to move them into my Dropbox folder on my iMac, or can I just register my Ableton folder as a Dropbox folder?

Cheers

[EnjoyRC]

My concern lies in the cloud-based nature of Dropbox.

Do the files remain on my computer when using Dropbox? Is there a way they could be wiped accidentally by any kind of Dropbox failure/error?

Yes, this is an issue. When using DropBox, you actually work on a Local folder on your workstation. It is sync'd to the DropBox environment. Then the other workstation syncs it's Local folder with DropBox and get's your updates.

If the other sync'd user deletes a file on their locally sync'd folder, it will sync with DropBox and you will sync with DropBox and the file get's deleted.

So what I do, is work on the session in a private (un sync'd) folder. When I'm ready to share, I copy it to my sync'd DropBox folder. It syncs, etc... When I'm read to work on the session again, I copy the latest from DropBox back to my private folder.

Was that kinda clear?

[llamaza]

Try Gobbler. It´s only for mac users.

[sporkles]

I wouldn't recommend using a real-time sync for this: you want to be able to consider the changes you've made before committing to a sync that could potentially erase forever files you wish you had kept.

Have you considered just using a small USB drive and a synchronisation app? Takes a minimum of manual work, and the actual data transfer will be faster than syncing via the cloud. I use a free backup/sync application called Syncback. I have three profiles: 1) "backup" - makes the copy on the portable identical to the folder on the computer I'm on. 2) "update" - does the inverse; updating this computer with all changes I've made on the other. 3) "sync" - does both of the above, but never deletes a file - if a file is missing in either version, it will be transferred from the other one.

When I want to do a transfer, all I do is plug in the hard drive, load up Syncback, and run a profile. If I've "cleaned up" my folder structure by deleting unused files, I use one of the first two profiles. If not, I'll choose "sync", just to be sure I don't lose anything.

In all three profiles, a newer file overwrites an older one.

This gives you a lot more control, and if you realise that you've cocked up and erased something you wish you hadn't, or if, all of a sudden, a Live set becomes corrupt, you can always fetch the file from your backup or roll back to the working version.

[agent314]

I just periodically copy the contents of my Ableton docs folder into my Dropbox sync folder (or more frequently if it's got something I want to work on immediately).

[javierf55]

I do use dropbox on a day to day basis and it's just fantastic.

It keeps sync copies in local files so you don't need to worry for Internet. But also it keeps the copies in the web and much better, it keeps copies of previous versions of each file so if you save a file by mistake, all you need to do is to go to the web and download the previous version.

Actually, all my Ableton projects are in the dropbox folder and I have never ever had any problem.

[fishmonkey]

deleted files are recoverable using Dropbox for 30 days. and you can pay extra to have unlimited history:

http://www.dropbox.com/help/11

[sporkles]

deleted files are recoverable using Dropbox for 30 days. and you can pay extra to have unlimited history:

http://www.dropbox.com/help/11

Cool!

Still, as far as I'm concerned, the hard drive route is preferable anyway; I sync my entire music folder, including all projects and samples, so 2 GB won't cut it, and I'm not forking out for the extra space.

[trommelmeister]

I guess I went even a step further and used Dropbox to share Live projects with a friend of mine who lives somewhere else. We both opened and changed the very same Live project. We both contributed to the same Live project. From my perspective it went quite well.

Of course you have to communicate with each other because Live will not be able to merge changes within the same project file. If you are not careful it can happen that one overwrites the changes of the other. So you need to have some organisational "write-lock token" in the form of a person saying "It is now my turn to change something in the Live project" and then saying "I am finished with my changes!".

Besides, you need to be a little bit patient until changes from the other person are available on your side.

What I found quite useful was the RSS-feed of all the changes to the shared folders. With this I could directly see at work that my friend had changed something in the Live project (obviously, he had a day off or so ...).

Conclusion: Dropbox is not a perfect and waterproof tool for such kind of collaboration, but it is way better that all the other tools I know of (sending emails with Live projects and wave files, sending CD-ROMs via snail mail.

Regards, Martin

[Ed Lektron]

Use SpiderOak!

I discovered it the other day and it's and absolutely brilliant for syncing, backup and sharing.

It 's similar to Dropbox (and also free) although it's got a much more configurable client. Choose folders to sync and away it goes. I use it to keep my work and home machines in sync and it's flawless. Not only this, its normal backup mode is fantastic and you can also share folders amongst friends and colleagues. Works on PC, Mac and Linux and also has iOS and Android Apps.

Use this link and promo code 'hurricanesafe' for 6Gb of free storage (instead of the normal 2Gb!)

https://spideroak.com/download/referral ... 1ee1120436

I know I sound like a salesman, but it's a really well executed product that I'm really impressed with!

[Ed Lektron]

And it's got version control! It saves the changes you make so you can roll back to previous versions.

No more MySong13-d-2ndVersion-draft.alp

[kent_sandvik]

Use DropBox as a read-only archive for sharing projects. Even better, use http://WeTransfer.info.