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Setting up iCloud sync question

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tonyt

18 Apr, 2026 09:47 AM

Hi
I currently just use MD on one Mac with an encryption password set to open the file to protect the data.
When i looked into setting up iCloud sync to a second Mac I selected iCloud as tHe method and it then asked for a sunc passphrase / encryption password. Is this the same as the password set on my current file, or do I use another password for the sync encryption bit?
I hope that's clear and thanks in advance.
Cheers….

1. 1 Posted by dwg on 18 Apr, 2026 10:00 AM

   

   No it is another password, it is wise not to use the same one/

   So you have one password to open the local file and you have another for the syncing encryption. In fact each computer can have a different local password but the syncing password must be the same on all systems.

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2. 2 Posted by tonyt on 18 Apr, 2026 11:22 AM

   

   Many thanks dwg.
   Also, if I don't use the second mac very often, will that affect sync reliability?
   Also, also.. my data file is small, 15mb or so and I don't use attachments. How often do you reckon I should use Toolbox to delete unwanted sync files and shrink the data set?
   Cheers…

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3. 3 Posted by dwg on 18 Apr, 2026 11:36 AM

   

   The syncing data can become stale and that usually means there will be a lot of files waiting to be synced, this can impact performance and thus reliability. In such a situation it may be an idea to push a fresh copy of the syncing data from the master machine to the shared location. In the normal course of events no maintenance is being done on the shared data so it just continually grows and if you get a long way behind it can be problematic.

   I would think twice a year would be more than sufficient.to do the shrink process.

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4. 4 Posted by tonyt on 18 Apr, 2026 02:27 PM

   

   Thanks again. How do you push a fresh set of syncing data to the shared location please?
   Cheers…

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5. 5 Posted by dwg on 18 Apr, 2026 09:25 PM

   

   Toolbox

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6. 6 Posted by tonyt on 19 Apr, 2026 10:46 AM

   

   Thanks again

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