Some questions on using Bookends for syncing in a potentially unique case
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 2:58 pm
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.
* 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.