Dive Log Sync

2011-06-28T07:23:02Z

122.57.34.128:

== Initial Steps ==

Ensure that your iOS device is connected to a WiFi network, and that your Mac is also connected to the same WiFi network. You cannot sync without a WiFi connection.

When you've done this, you can click "iOS Sync" in MacDive, and enable syncing in Dive Log. You will then be presented with the sync summary screen.

== The Summary ==

Once you've fired up MacDive and enabled syncing on your iOS device, you will be presented with the summary. It is recommended that for your first sync, you enable the "replace all information" option that is presented to you.

[[File:ios_summary.png|200px|thumb]]

The summary tells you when you last synced, how many changes have been found, and provides you with some options.

== Options ==

=== Replacing Information ===

If you select this option, then no sync will be done. MacDive will simply copy all of its data over to your device, ignoring anything that is on there.

=== Backup ===

If you click this button, MacDive will ask you where you want to save the existing Dive Log data. You can save it anywhere you like.

=== Restoring ===

If you hold Option when you click Sync, MacDive will ask you for an existing Dive Log database. You can use this to revert to an older backup if you have any problems. Also note: the first time you plug in a device and sync it, MacDive will retain a backup in your application support directory. You can use this option to restore that backed up data file. Subsequent backups must be made manually.

== Playlists ==

You can choose whether you want to sync all of your dives, or just a particular playlist. Your choices here are remembered the next time this device is plugged in. This can be useful if you share your log with someone else and only want to sync your dives, for example. Any of your Smart Divelogs, plus the default ones, are available here.

== Changes ==

[[File:ios_dives.png|200px|thumb]]

When MacDive reads your Dive Log data, it will decide how it thinks it should perform the data sync. You can click on the "Dives" or "Equipment" tabs to review (and modify) any changes it is going to make.

=== Effective Syncing ===

[[File:sync_changes.png|200px|thumb]]

When you perform a sync, you can click on the Dives or Equipment tabs to see what changes will be made. The second screenshot shows you the difference between an existing dive that has a modification, and a new dive that has no match in MacDive, and will be added to your MacDive database.

Dives are initially matched from Dive Log if the dive time is within two minutes of the time of a dive in MacDive. So to effectively match up your data, you should ensure that the dive time on your dive in Dive Log is close to the time you have in MacDive. This will ensure a match is found and the dives can be merged together.

If you think that changes are not correct (eg, you need to fix the dive time or there is some other issue) then do not click sync. You can either fix the issue, or if it is something you think is an issue in the sync process, follow the instructions for reporting an issue - take a backup and contact support with your Dive Log data and MacDive database.

In order for dives to be merged, you need to download from your dive computer *first*. Dives downloaded from a computer will not be merged with dives that have come from Dive Log. So the ideal process is:

1. Download from your dive computer.

2. Plug in Dive Log and enable syncing.

=== Data Incompatibility ===

As Dive Log and MacDive are developed independently, there are of course some differences in how they each work internally. MacDive does its best to work the same way, but in some cases it's not possible. Here are a few notes about some of those items. You should be aware that MacDive treats itself as the master source of information, and as such you will potentially lose data if you treat Dive Log as your primary source. You should pay careful attention after the first sync to what data is and is not synced. If you require specific data that is *not* synced, please get in touch (support@mac-dive.com) and let us know what you absolutely cannot live without.

For the data itself, in some cases MacDive has a free text field - basically you can type in anything you like. This same piece of data in Dive Log, however, may be limited to a set of choices. Obviously this doesn't translate 100%. In these cases, MacDive will check your value, and if it is a valid option in Dive Log, things will work as expected. If it is not, MacDive will always keep its own value and not overwrite it. So your MacDive data won't get lost! These are covered below.

Whenever a sync is performed, MacDive will create a new database on your iOS device, based on what it thinks is the "master" set of data. You may lose information that is not supported in MacDive at this time. A backup will be made before you sync the first time, should you need to revert to it. Be aware that there are fields in MacDive that do not exist in Dive Log, and vice versa. Information will be lost between the two.

==== Visibility ====

As explained above, some fields in MacDive are free text, like visibility. In Dive Log, you have four options: Unknown, Good, Average, Bad. If you use one of these values in MacDive, everything will sync correctly. If you have anything else in your Vis field (for example "15-20m") your MacDive data will *always* be kept, but you will see a "change" whenever you perform a sync. You can safely ignore it, if you don't want to use the Dive Log way of describing visibility. You will not, however, get useful information in your Dive Log database.

Hopefully in future updates to both MacDive and Dive Log, we can smooth out some of these issues, so please let us know if you have any problems with this.

==== Water Type ====

See above for a more detailed explanation. The valid Dive Log values are: Brackish, Fresh, and Salt. So as before, if you have one of these values on your site then things should work as expected. If not, MacDive will retain its information.

==== Countries, Sites, Locations ====

Countries, sites and locations work very differently in Dive Log than they do in MacDive. At this time, they are only partially supported during the syncing process. MacDive does not record information about countries like the currency etc that Dive Log does, so this information will not be available.

Please also note: Due to the differences, Sites will only be synced with MacDive if they are attached to a dive in Dive Log. This means if you create a new dive site and don't add it to a dive (in Dive Log), it will not be synced.

==== Signatures ====

These are not currently supported in MacDive. They will potentially be in a future patch.

==== Weight ====

Weight is not currently supported in the sync, and will be added in a future patch.

==== Certifications / Personal Info ====

This information is not currently synced, but will be supported in a future update.

== Reporting Problems ==

If you have issues with syncing, then please contact support@mac-dive.com. Please attach your MacDive.sqlite file (found in /Users/your username/Library/Application Support/MacDive/MacDive.sqlite), and also please use the "Backup" button to make a backup of your Dive Log data and include that in the email. This will allow us to debug the data you are attempting to sync.

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Dive Log Sync