Reunion for iPhone and DropBox

[colinc]

I currently share Reunion between an iMac and a MacBook via DropBox. This is fine as long as I remember to quit before I leave home, otherwise I can end up with a conflicted file as Reunion was obviously not designed to be multi-user.

But how does it work with the iPhone version? If I keep the Reunion file in a DB folder shared with my daughter can I give her Reunion for iPhone and have her Sync her iPhone to it and use it concurrently with me on my Macs?

Or have I got this quite wrong and is this a complete no-no?

Cheers, Colin

[Gregg]

But how does it work with the iPhone version? If I keep the Reunion file in a DB folder shared with my daughter can I give her Reunion for iPhone and have her Sync her iPhone to it and use it concurrently with me on my Macs?Sorry, this won't work.

The family file that's put on the iPhone is not the same as file on the desktop version of Reunion. You need to use Reunion to put the family file on the iPhone and then again to get the changes back from the iPhone version to the desktop version.

I currently share Reunion between an iMac and a MacBook via DropBox.

We don't have much experience with Dropbox here -- but, as you pointed out, Reunion is not multiuser so the end result of having 2 copies of Reunion working on the same family file at the same time could be tragic.

[colinc]

Sorry, this won't work.

The family file that's put on the iPhone is not the same as file on the desktop version of Reunion. You need to use Reunion to put the family file on the iPhone and then again to get the changes back from the iPhone version to the desktop version.
Thanks for that Greg - I assumed that the iPhone version simply uploaded the .familyfile


We don't have much experience with Dropbox here -- but, as you pointed out, Reunion is not multiuser so the end result of having 2 copies of Reunion working on the same family file at the same time could be tragic.
So far I have avoided disaster and it is worth the risk to have the details available when I am on the move.
Actually the main problem is the odd habit that Reunion has of not having a File/save menu and auto-saving even if you make no material changes. It is the only app I own, of hundreds that I have had for more than 20 years on the Mac like this. An auto-save option in Prefs is always welcome, but this Reunion feature means that a conflict can occur because one copy of the app has had new info added, but the other copy with no changes has done a save so has a newer modified date and Reunion thus considers it conflicted...

Cheers, Colin

[Frank Mitchell]

Actually the main problem is the odd habit that Reunion has of not having a File/save menu and auto-saving even if you make no material changes. It is the only app I own, of hundreds that I have had for more than 20 years on the Mac like this.
AFAIK all database type applications auto-save.
An auto-save option in Prefs is always welcome,
This might be a good idea, but I don't see how it will stop two copies of the same family file becoming different if worked on at the same time. Both files will have to save any changes or lose them.
The only way to avoid the problem is to work on only one copy at a time and "lock" all the others until they are synchronised.

[Kathy C]

I currently share Reunion between an iMac and a MacBook via DropBox. This is fine as long as I remember to quit before I leave home, otherwise I can end up with a conflicted file as Reunion was obviously not designed to be multi-user.

But how does it work with the iPhone version? If I keep the Reunion file in a DB folder shared with my daughter can I give her Reunion for iPhone and have her Sync her iPhone to it and use it concurrently with me on my Macs?

Or have I got this quite wrong and is this a complete no-no?

Cheers, Colin

I use Dropbox on both my computers and keep my entire Surname file, my iPhoto library, and all my Reunion family files on it. It works beautifully .....as long as you quit Reunion on one computer before you open it on the other computer or iPhoto, also. That's not really so hard to do. For me, it has become a habit to quit the programs on one computer that are shared in Dropbox when I leave that computer. If I'm not sure I did and I'm sitting in front of my iMac, I use Screen Sharing to check out my MacBook and quit Reunion if it is running on the MB.

I also use Reunion and Dropbox on my iPhone. But, they do not rely on each other but work independently. In other words, the Reunion on my iPhone does not rely on the Reunion family file that is in DB. Reunion on the iPhone is there because it was synced from the DB version ..... but , from the sync on, the iPhone Reunion is independent.

Personally, I think sharing a Reunion file between more than one person is a big mistake. It is difficult enough to keep the DB sharing working well with one user and two computers. Having two different users is a setup for disaster, especially if they are on different computers.

Perhaps a better solution is to give Reunion for iPhone to your daughter. Make a copy of your most current family file and send that to her. Then, she could sync that from her copy of Reunion to her iPhone. This would work well if she only wants it for reference. If she plans to make changes to the file ....... that's going to create problems, especially if you make changes to the file on your end. Both would be valid copies, but they would not contain the same data.

[oldjim]

Beginner with DropBox.
I can load usual files (pdf, jpg, etc.) to DB and retrieve them on my iPhone.
Any Reunion family file that I put on DB has all the text characters but no sign of the format usual to Reunion. Useless.
What am I doing wrong??

[Kathy C]

Beginner with DropBox.
I can load usual files (pdf, jpg, etc.) to DB and retrieve them on my iPhone.
Any Reunion family file that I put on DB has all the text characters but no sign of the format usual to Reunion. Useless.
What am I doing wrong??

I keep my Reunion files in my DB which I can then open on my computer. That is where I run Reunion from on my computer. I also use DB on my iPhone and iPad. I can open MOST files in my DB from within my iPhone or iPad. But Reunion is not made to work that way. If you try to open the Reunion file that is in your DB on your iPhone, it IS different because it uses different versions of Reunion on your iPhone and your computer. Reunion for iPhone is a different program than Reunion for your Mac. That is why you are getting that unreadable text on your iPhone. You are doing it wrong, LOL!

The ONLY way to get your Reunion files into your iPhone or iPad is to have Reunion that is specifically for those devices on the device. Then follow these steps:

1)Turn on wifi on your iPhone and join the same network via wifi as your Mac
2) Open Reunion on your iPhone and choose the family file you want to sync
3) Click on little wrench icon in upper right of the window
4) Click Sync button. It will tell you to go to Reunion on your Mac.
5) On your Mac, go to File menu > Mobile Device > Put Family File on Device (or Get .......)
6) Select the options you want (all people? etc)
7) When everything is right, you will see a blue button, Proceed.

In summary, the ONLY way to get your Reunion files from your Mac (DB or in another location) is to have your computer and iPhone BOTH connected to the same network via wifi. That's why I said that Reunion on the iPhone does not rely on the DB version of Reunion. It uses it to sync the file from the computer to the iPhone..... it comes from DB originally, but it runs independently on your iPhone. It will not sync automatically ..... you have to manually do it using the steps I outlined above.

I hope that explains it better for you.