iCloud, Dropbox, iTunes and Syncing 1PW4

kagy

I purchased 1PW4 through the App Store using my iPhone5. After reading numerous posts and how-to's I more confused about syncing than ever.



I still sync my iPhone and desktop successfully through dropbox. I suspect that when the desktop version of 1PW is updated to the 4th series, iCloud will become the standard, and it'll work just like dropbox does now. For now, however, am I missing something on iCloud "syncing?" As far as I can see, it does nothing between the desktop and iPhone??



As for iTunes "sync," I can't get my iTunes (version 11.0.1) to "see" my iPhone, as in the photo posted by khad:





After making sure that iCloud data and files is on, as it always has been, and selecting iTunes file sharing, no iPhone button appears in iTunes. What am I missing, and why do I want this option anyway, if I sync with dropbox?



Also, after purchasing through my iPhone, 1PW4 did not show up in my iTunes App window.

jhollington

[quote name='kagy' timestamp='1355513131' post='65304']I still sync my iPhone and desktop successfully through dropbox. I suspect that when the desktop version of 1PW is updated to the 4th series, iCloud will become the standard, and it'll work just like dropbox does now. For now, however, am I missing something on iCloud "syncing?" As far as I can see, it does nothing between the desktop and iPhone??[/quote]



iCloud syncing and Dropbox syncing effectively provide the same capabilities. Since you're still using 1Password 3.9 on the desktop, which doesn't provide any iCloud features, you won't be able to use iCloud syncing between your desktop and iOS device. You'll need to use Dropbox for that.



You can, however, still use iCloud syncing [i]between[/i] iOS devices. You can even do this in parallel with Dropbox if you like -- 1Password 4 will happily sync to any one, two or all three of the sync services listed, and will reconcile your data appropriately. There's probably little reason to use this[i] instead of[/i] Dropbox syncing on any of your iOS devices, but iCloud does have the advantage of providing a more background sync experience -- iOS transfers the data between iCloud and a local folder on your device, regardless of whether 1Password is running or not, and then 1Password simply syncs between the iCloud local file and its own database, regardless of whether you have a data connection when actually using 1Password.



[quote]As for iTunes "sync," I can't get my iTunes (version 11.0.1) to "see" my iPhone, as in the photo posted by khad:[/quote]



As for iTunes, the "sync" is simply part of the iTunes File Sharing service that's been around since iOS 4. You have to connect your device to iTunes, over either Wi-Fi or USB, and then you should see an entry for 1Password on the "Apps" settings, down below the actual list of applications (you'll likely need to scroll to see it). This isn't really a "sync" solution per se, however, as it doesn't let you reconcile changes made on both sides. At this point, at least, it's really just a way of copying your 1Password data file back and forth between your device and your computer.



[quote]After making sure that iCloud data and files is on, as it always has been, and selecting iTunes file sharing, no iPhone button appears in iTunes. What am I missing, and why do I want this option anyway, if I sync with dropbox?[/quote]



iTunes File Sharing has nothing to do with iCloud Documents and Data, so that's not a prerequisite.



The "iPhone button" in iTunes is simply what you see when you normally have your iPhone connected to your computer. This should also appear if you have enabled Wi-Fi sync between iTunes and your iPhone and they're on the same Wi-Fi network.