Dropbox and MLO: is it wise to use the same synced file? what do I lose if I have multiple files?

[kitus]

Hello,

I would like to know what would I lose if I used one different file in every computer I use on a daily basis? What configuration information (views, filtered views, custom colours, hotkeys, etc.) is stored in the ml file? I always end up with several conflicting copies and I'm considering only doing with cloudsync (which I already use because I have an iPhone and an iPad too).

Thanks in advance,

[kitus]

Nobody? Don't I deserve a response?? :(

[Mark]

Kitus,

As far as I am aware there is no configuration information in the mlo file.  If you want to transfer views etc then you need to do that separately.

The issue I see with using dropbox is that this is not synchronisation, its just copying of the latest version.  So if at anypoint you find yourself without a network connection, then changes in one version could be overwritten by another.  Which to me is why cloudsync makes sense.

As for the views etc, I use the portable version, and therefore it is not an issue...

[J Daniels]

Just came back to MLO after a couple years away.

I use DropBox for my files (home and work) and then use MLO Cloud to sync.

So far this setup seems to be working out fine.

I use the "C: drive" file location of Dropbox, so MLO-Windows is writing to that.

Offhand, it looks like the things I "lose" with this setup are the UI elements:

 

- Custom Views

- Workspaces

 

I can understand these design choices from the standpoint of each file is on a different device that may have different capabilities (# of monitors, screen resolution) and each device may also have a different "context", e.g., one at home, and one at work, where you want to see different things.

So the "Work" MLO file would be set up with the custom views & workspaces for work, and the "Home/Personal" MLO file would be set up with custom views for things you want to see and work on when at home.

 

 

[Marc Garcia]

Hello J Daniels,

Thanks for your response. Very interesting conclusions. What about custom views? are they kept across devices (aka, synced with CloudSync)? What about the rest of user customizations.

Thanks 

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[James D]

I'm speaking for the *Windows* version of MLO....

The answer to your question is NO, that custom views are NOT propagated to other files, in my experience.  Then I found the Import/Export functionality for Views...

In MLO there is a feature to save and export Views.  I thought I could use this to save views I created  If you right-click on a view, and select "Export View(s)..." MLO lets you "save" a view, e.g., from my "Work" MLO file.

However, when I then used the corresponding "Import View(s)..." feature in my "Personal" MLO file, the views did indeed import, BUT with the issue that the *filter* settings for the views did NOT come across into the new file.

This makes the Import/Export of views essentially useless.  So, I wind up having to recreate my custom Views in each separate MLO file.

If someone here knows how to export a view and save its filter settings so they get imported with the view, please share this info. (Or can confirm this is a known bug/issue)

James

[Andrey Tkachuk (MLO)]

>If someone here knows how to export a view and save its filter
>settings so they get imported with the view, please share this info.

Yes I know :)

Please make sure before the export that your current view is saved (not modified). As you know you can modify a view in each Workspace (tab) and as a result each tab could have own modified copy of the view. If a view is modified the asterisk singe is placed before the view name in the outline (i.e. "*All Tasks".  If you want this modified view to be available for all tabs you should Save it (a button in the bottom of filter pane) or you can reset modified view to the initial state ("Reset view").

When you export a view, only common saved copy of the view is exported. If view is saved all the settings you see for the view are exported to the XML and can be imported to other file. In this case the view will be exactly the same in the other file.

Import/Export views is the only way to share your views across different files. The views are not synced via wifi or cloud.

Please confirm if Import/Export of the views works for you now.

Thanks,
Andrey.

[James D]

Yes, this works.  The key missing step was the "Save" button at the bottom of the filter pane.

The need to explicitly save a named view seems counterintuitive from a UI standpoint.  Possibly it will make more sense to me as I get more experience in MLO.

From Andrey's response, it sounds like it is related to having conflicts with the same named view across tabs, where each tab could have a different setting for the view.  However, I would simply expect the current state of the view+filter to be saved to the export file, based on the tab I am right-clicking on the view from.  

Having it instead save an "empty" version of the view wasn't what I was expecting.  I've got it now...  

No immediate need to change this behavior, it is somewhere way, way below "IMAP email" functionality and "Calendar functionality" on my MLO wish list.  :-)

James