Some questions on using Bookends for syncing in a potentially unique case

[DrJJWMac]

I have a potentially unique use case and would appreciate some clarifications / recommendations on improvements toward best practices. First the background.

* My current main attachments folder resides in a location outside of the standard factory default (in my case ... /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Attachments)
* I have more than one library (located in /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Libraries)
* Each library has its own default attachments sub-folder in Attachments (e.g. .../Attachments/LibraryA, .../Attachments/LibraryB, ...)
* I am currently syncing most of the libraries and their attachments using Bookends WiFi sync (see below)
* I would now like to (test the option to) sync one library and its entire set of attachments with iCloud

I am using WiFi sync because doing so a) allows me to manage sub-sets of attachments that are shared, b) is typically more reliable than iCloud (limitations absolutely not due to BE), and c) assures me of having "hard-copy" sources of the attachments (one on macOS and one on iPadOS) versus having only one "hard-copy" and one "cloud-resident-copy" (personal preference here). To be clear, my preference to use WiFi sync is not due to a space limitation with my iCloud storage. I could at this point put all my attachments into iCloud storage with no limitations (but have reservations noted also further below).

Now, we get to the exception that I hope to test with success. I have library called "Inbox" that I use to collect citations for processing. When in the frame of mind, I open this rather than opening any specific library and do a "let me see what is new in the world" search, dropping interesting-looking references into the bin. I would like to put this entire Inbox library in iCloud to be always accessible to both macOS and iPadOS. Why the exception? Primarily because I do not intend to annotate the PDFs in my Inbox library, I intend only to collect (rapidly) into it. I am finding that the ability to collect citations rapidly is equally viable on either macOS or iPadOS.

The limitation is this: my current understanding of iCloud sync tells me that, in order to sync attachments into iCloud, I **must** point the default attachments location to Bookends iCloud. As noted above, I am currently pointing the Attachments to my special folder at /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Attachments. My root question becomes this ...

--> Can a user set up a configuration in Bookends to be able to use both iCloud and WiFi sync?

If I had to guess, I might presume (and hope) that I should simply switch to the Bookends iCloud folder and also set my /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Attachments folder as an ad-hoc location. Is this a workable (and supported) approach?

My remaining questions regard using iCloud sync itself. I am (perhaps unrealistically) wary of having my PDF files only in iCloud as a main site. I quite appreciate with WiFi sync having the ability by example to see PDF attachments stored locally both on macOS and iPadOS, even as I understand that sometimes both versions may be different (e.g. because I annotate the PDFs solely on my iPad and I process them solely on my laptop). I am practiced in this regard to maintain a robust sync ritual as I work. What holds me back from switching entirely to iCloud sync is that I am not exactly clear on the changes I may have to make to my work flow. Pardon that, even as I have read the manual and the on-line help thoroughly, I still cannot appreciate when using iCloud sync (between macOS and iPadOS) the answers to these questions.

--> When I work on my iPadOS to annotate, am I annotating on a local (iPad stored) copy of the PDF or am I annotating the iCloud copy?
--> When I work on my macOS to process, am I processing the local copy (e.g. stored in /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Attachments/...) or am I processing the iCloud copy?
--> Does the iCloud copy of an attachment sync to a local copy, or does the iCloud copy become the one true copy (and the local copy becomes equivalent to an "archival reference")?
--> How do the answers to the above change in working while being immediately on-line (WiFi or ethernet connected to iCloud) versus while being off-line (no internet access at all)?

Having a clearer understanding of the answers to the above questions will help me decide whether to switch Bookends sync entirely to iCloud or not.

Comments, insights, and recommendations would be appreciated.

[Jon]

I will answer your final questions. Know that you always work with local copies of your attachments, if it's on an Apple server only Bookends can't do anything with it. The copy on the server is just the intermediary that lets all of your devices have access to the same PDF. No PDF is "archival", if you mean by that it never changes. If you edit a PDF it has been changed.

1. When you open a PDF in Bookends iOS or Mac, it's local. If you make annotations, the PDF is uploaded to the cloud and then down to your other devices.

2. On the Mac, your local copy in /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Attachments/ is being edited, but it's not being synced to the cloud (at least not iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or most other services, which require a dedicated folder they control).

3. Assuming you are using Bookends cloud sync and syncing files via iCloud drive, you edit the local copy, which Apple moves to its servers (so both are identical) and downloads to your other devices that are using Bookends cloud sync.

4. If you have no Internet access at all the modified PDF will not be moved to the cloud (obviously), but will be when you have Internet access again.

P.S. You never need an unchanged "archival" copy of your PDF. Bookends has the option to remove annotations when exporting a PDF, in which case any changes you make in Bookends won't be included.

Jon
Sonny Software

[DrJJWMac]

I believe I see now the source of my confusion about using iCloud sync and working with attachments while maintaining a specific folder location for local copies. I have two settings to make.

* Bookends Settings PANEL: General->Folder Locations->Attachment folder ---- > set this popup to Bookends iCloud Folder as the default.
* LibraryA MENU: File->Set Default Attachments SubFolder ... ---- > set this to local /Volumes/Databases/Bookends/Attachments/LibraryA

I trust that I should have a comparable approach on the iPad to sustain its local copies in a specific location outside of iCloud.

I appreciate your response to make things clearer with regard to using iCloud for syncing. Coupling this with my above revelation (and with my move to the upgraded iCloud storage plan), I have far more confidence now to move to using iCloud sync in place of WiFi sync.

I'd still be curious about recommendations on combining WiFi and iCloud syncing?

[Jon]

I know you can switch between them, but I'm not sure if there can be unintended consequences in edge cases. Serge may have a more definitive answer for you.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Serge]

Bookends for iOS works this way with attachment folders:

If your library is cloud synced the path is automatically set to the iCloud Bookends Folder.
- if you were using a local folder with some files already in it they will be moved to the iCloud Bookends Folder automatically.

If your library is local or synced via Wi-Fi then all your files are stored in the local folder and can be viewed via Files.app -> on my device -> Bookends/Attachments.

If you set a Subfolder in Settings, it will be library specific.

For the cloud library:
iCloud Drive/Bookends/Subfolder

For the local library:
Local/Bookends/Attachments/Subfolder

So, you can have both library types in Bookends for iOS: local and cloud and their attachments also will be separated by different folders.

[DrJJWMac]

To summarize what I have learned ...

* The iCloud sync method works on macOS and iPadOS by accessing attachments stored only in the iCloud folder (or presumably a local cache mirror of that iCloud folder as needed). Neither platform uses a truly local attachment folder-one that a user can access independently of having anything to do with going into iCloud. Even when macOS or iPadOS work on a "local" copy, this is only local to the invocation of the app at the time. Once the app is closed, a user never has access to that local copy outside of opening the app again or finding the attachment in the iCloud folder.

* The WiFi sync method works by transferring attachment files directly between the separate local storage locations on the separate apps on macOS and iPadOS. No attachment file is ever stored in any cloud service before, during, or after the sync.

After testing and review to reach the above finding, I will defer on using iCloud sync. The approach taken does not offer the level of security on file storage that I prefer. By example, I will be more inclined to use iCloud sync in Bookends after I find an app that will allow me to sync the attachment files between an iCloud folder and a local storage folder on my macOS.

This is simply my own personal preference. I am just not comfortable with keeping all attachments for a library only in a cloud location. I must also have them stored (and properly synchronized) in a local folder.

Thanks for the insights and help. I've got what I need to move forward for now.

[Jon]

If I understand your summary of how cloud sync works, it's incorrect. When you use a file sync server (iCloud, DropBox, whatever) there are multiple copies of your PDFs that exist in multiple places. In your example, there is a copy in your iCloud Drive folder that is local (usually) -- and you can tell it's local because Bookends can't open it if it's not. There is a second copy on Apple's servers. And there is a third copy on your iPad. When you edit your local copy on the Mac, a copy of that is created on the server. When you open Bookends in iOS, that edited copy is downloaded to the iPad. On the Mac, any third party app can access your local copy, including AppleScripts you write. Dropbox works the same way, but of course has its own servers.

Do this simple experiment. Disable wifi so that you don't have Internet access. Go to iCloud Drive in the Finder, open the Bookends folder, and double click on a PDF. If it is only on a server in the cloud, nothing will happen. If it's a local copy on your HD, it will open in Preview, Acrobat Reader, or whatever your default app is.

Maybe you meant this and I misunderstood, in which case sorry and you can ignore this post.

Jon
Sonny Software

[DrJJWMac]

> Maybe you meant this and I misunderstood, in which case sorry and you can ignore this post.

No apology needed. Your description is exactly as I understand. You conveyed the approach taken with iCloud sync in Bookends on both platforms much better than I did. Indeed, the description you've just given would be a useful part of the User Manual and/or Web statements/FAQs about using iCloud sync.

To be clear, I want to use iCloud sync instead of WiFi sync, especially because I have updated my iCloud storage plan. But I also want to have a local copy of all my attachments that I can find directly in the Finder through traditional means. Call it irrational paranoia but, I fear the edge case where not only does my internet go out but also I am fully blocked from any access to my iCloud storage for an unreasonably long period of time. I want to trust that I know where the "truest" copy of a given attachment resides, and that the one "truest" copy is in a local location that I can access transparently through the Finder _sans_ going through the intermediary of iCloud (within the bounds of latency issues for sync between iCloud folder<->local folder).

In essence, I expect that, once I have a trusted automatic method to sync document files between an iCloud folder and a traditional Finder folder, I will revisit using iCloud sync in Bookends in place of WiFi sync.

Finally, relative to my opening post about using both WiFi and iCloud sync, I've concluded that this dual approach, while fully possible with Bookends, is simply too confusing to manage without serious care. The clarifications from you and Serge are greatly appreciated for this primary question. I might follow up off-line with some thoughts so as not to belabor this thread further.

Again, I appreciate the responses to help me figure out what is and is not happening between the two sync methods. Let's close this thread on that note.

[Jon]

I want to trust that I know where the "truest" copy of a given attachment resides, and that the one "truest" copy is in a local location that I can access transparently through the Finder _sans_ going through the intermediary of iCloud

But that was my point. Your iCloud Drive folder is local. The PDFs there are local. There is no "iCloud intermediary" to go through. Do the experiment I suggested. Turn off your WiFi so there is no iCloud server involved. Now access your PDFs. They are there, on your HD, just like with any file and you can access it in the Finder (the iCloud folder is special in a number of aspects, but in the end it's just a folder).

Try it, it will only take a few seconds, and you'll see there is no need to keep two copies of the same PDF locally. The PDF is already local.

Sorry to keep the thread alive, but I had to address that comment.

Jon
Sonny Software

[DrJJWMac]

Ah! Light bulb moment!!! My understanding of iCloud was ... wrong.

Simply put, the iCloud Drive is akin to having a distinct volume on the local HDD or SSD, with the added benefit that anything stored in the iCloud Drive "volume" is automatically synced to an iCloud cloud storage location. You can only gain Finder access to documents in the iCloud Drive "volume" through Apple's iCloud Drive service (or the Files app on the iPad).

I appreciate the final clarification. I believe everything is now resolved. Thank you.