Syncing

ShoveBox for iPhoneNow you can wirelessly sync data between ShoveBox on your Mac with ShoveBox Mobile on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Setting Up Syncing

  1. Download the ShoveBox iPhone app to your mobile device. (insert link to app store here)
  2. Open up the Settings application on your mobile device and verify that your mobile device is connected to the exact same WiFi network as your Mac.
  3. Open up the ShoveBox application on your mobile device.
  4. On your Mac, open up ShoveBox's Preferences window and select "Syncing" from the toolbar.
  5. Click the "Set up syncing..." button.
  6. Choose your mobile device in the window that comes up and follow the instructions presented to you.

After setup is completed, ShoveBox will automatically sync with your mobile device whenever it sees it on the network. ShoveBox must be open on the mobile device for syncing to work.

If you delete ShoveBox from your mobile device and reinstall, you may need to complete the above steps again.

Using Sync

Once you've set up syncing, ShoveBox on your Mac will sync automatically when it discovers ShoveBox running on your mobile device. As noted, they must be on the same WiFi network for this to happen. So it's a good idea to allow your iPhone or iPod to automatically join the network your Mac is on.

When ShoveBox begins syncing, it brings up a window showing the progress of the sync and the current item being synced:

progress window

What exactly does syncing do?

Resolving Conflicts

Occasionally, if you've modified a folder, entry, or setting on both devices, ShoveBox will ask you to pick which you'd like to keep:

progress window

When this happens, just click on either box to choose which you'd like to keep, then press "OK." The version you chose will then be synced to both devices.

Troubleshooting Syncing

Oops! I just deleted an important document that I synced to my iPhone. It's still on my Mac, but will I lose it for good if I sync again?

Most likely. But you can change this by un-pairing your mobile device from the copy of ShoveBox on your Mac in Preferences. Then attempt pairing it again. When ShoveBox does its subsequent sync, it will attempt rather to non-destructively merge the contents of both devices.

ShoveBox on my Mac doesn't recognize my mobile device or begins to sync and then fails immediately.

First, verify that both your Mac and your mobile device are on the same wireless network.

Second, verify that the ShoveBox application is actually open and running (not merely installed) on the mobile device.

If both of these are true, and your mobile device is not shown when you attempt to pair your Mac with it in Preferences (see "Setting Up Syncing", above), it is possible that your network configuration is preventing them from seeing each other. Often times, this is the case with WiFi networks in coffee shops and corporate/government/military facilities.

To see if this is the case, you should create an ad-hoc wireless network on your Mac. To do this, select "Create Network..." from the Airport menu (Airport) in the top-left of your screen. Type in a name for the network, and keep it open. The menu icon should change to Airport Ad-Hoc Network.

Next, open up the Settings application on your iPhone or iPod touch and join the newly-created wireless network (not the old network that didn't work so well).

Attempt syncing again.

If this trick works, you should speak to — depending on the circumstances — your network/systems administrator, internet service provider, or barista about fixing the network problem. In the meantime, you can use this method to sync.

If this fails, you may want to verify that any firewall software running on your Mac is not preventing it from running.

If all else fails, contact support and we can try to help figure it out.