Sync v2 and Separate iCloud Accounts

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paulbee
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Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:08 pm

Sync v2 and Separate iCloud Accounts

Post by paulbee »

I've been using the v1 iCloud sync in an unusual (and certainly unsupported) way. My sense is that this will probably not work with the v2 sync, but I wanted to check before deciding whether to upgrade, and how to proceed from here.

By way of background, I use Bookends on three devices: a personal computer, a personal iPad, and a work computer. It's the work computer that has led me to take this strange approach: to keep my personal iCloud files separate from my employer, I use a separate work iCloud account to sign into my work computer.

The v1 sync was useful for this purpose because I could sign into iCloud for Bookends separate from the iCloud tied to my user account. So, on my work computer, I tied my work iCloud account to my user account, but logged into Bookends with my personal iCloud account. In order to make attachment sync work, I created a subfolder within the Bookends iCloud folder (on my personal iCloud account), and then shared that account with my work iCloud account, and set that as the attachments location for Bookends on my work machine. That let me get around the problem that app folders can't be shared, and I had my full library and all my attachments available on all my devices, even though they had separate iCloud accounts.

Am I correct in my assumption that the v2 sync kills that approach, because it ties the iCloud syncing to the iCloud account associated with the computer's user account?

If I am correct in that assumption, a few further questions. (1) Can you think of any other way to achieve what I want here--library and attachments syncing seamlessly with one Mac and an iPad on one iCloud account, as well as an additional Mac with a different iCloud account? Any approach to sharing libraries between separate iCloud accounts? (2) How long will the v1 sync be supported in the iPad app? If I just try to delay the problem as long as possible by avoiding upgrading to Bookends 14, do you have a guess about how long it will be before I'm cut off from iPad syncing?

Thanks for any information or advice!
Jon
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Re: Sync v2 and Separate iCloud Accounts

Post by Jon »

You are correct, sync v2 requires that you use the iCloud account specified in System Preferences. So I wouldn't upgrade to Bookends 14 (yet).

iOS has always used native CloudKit sync and nothing was changed when Bookends 14 for Mac was released.

Finally, note that one reason we have adopted native CloudKit is that it should make it possible to add true database sharing via the cloud. This is something we are hoping to implement, but I can't be more specific at this time.

Jon
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paulbee
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:08 pm

Re: Sync v2 and Separate iCloud Accounts

Post by paulbee »

Thank you for your response and advice! I'm glad to hear that database sharing is something you're looking into, even if it may be a way off yet.
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