Iphone, iPad and Mac won't sync
Allan O'Byrne
I was having problems getting my 3 devices to sync. You suggested downloading the update to Moneydance 2015. That seemed to solve the problem temporarily. The same problem reoccured and I saw that there was Moneydance 2017 so I downloaded it. How do I get Moneydance 2017 for iPhone and iPad?
Allan O'byrne
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1 Posted by derekkent23 on Oct 24, 2017 @ 07:33 AM
I am not support staff, just a user.
Take a look at these articles http://help.infinitekind.com/kb/syncing-and-sharing-data
Hope this helps
2 Posted by Allan O'Byrne on Oct 24, 2017 @ 05:06 PM
Sorry, nothing new there. Still cannot get devices to sync
Allan O¹Byrne
3 Posted by derekkent23 on Oct 24, 2017 @ 09:19 PM
I am not support staff, just a user.
OK the devil is in the detail.
You are going to have to provide more information.
Can you confirm the version/build of Moneydance you are running? Check version/build under HELP – ABOUT MONYDANCE. Make sure you have the latest build, at time of posting 2017.5(1639). Download from https://infinitekind.com/download-moneydance-personal-finance-software
What version of the mobile APP are you running on your devices?
What syncing method did you set up under FILE – SYNCING.
At what point in the setup procedure outlined in http://help.infinitekind.com/kb/syncing-and-sharing-data/syncing-wi...
did you hit a problem? Provide as much detail as you can, including screen shots if possible.
This will help support or others to construct an answer that can help you.
Hope this helps.
4 Posted by rogermarshall on Oct 25, 2017 @ 02:25 PM
I am running Moneydance version 2017.5(1639) on my iMac Sierra 10.12.6 and on my MacBook Pro same OS and same Moneydance - also running the app on 2 ipads.
Using the iMac principally but cannot get the any of the other machines to sync - the file on the iMac is now in Local Documents now as the upgrade moved it there - Previously it was in Dropbox.
Do you have a solution?
5 Posted by derekkent23 on Oct 25, 2017 @ 04:44 PM
I am not support staff, just a user.
You ask “Do you have a solution?”, well not really you didn’t provide much detail.
The detail asked for included.
“What version of the mobile APP are you running on your devices? I think it should be 2.18. What syncing method did you set up under FILE – SYNCING.
At what point in the setup procedure outlined in http://help.infinitekind.com/kb/syncing-and-sharing-data/syncing-wi...
did you hit a problem? Provide as much detail as you can, including screen shots if possible.”
It could be that following a sync reset procedure would work, but without seeing the detail of the problem as you are seeing it I can’t tell.
Can you provide the detailed information asked for?
6 Posted by Allan O'Byrne on Oct 25, 2017 @ 04:49 PM
I get it to work. I had to go into applications and delete the old Moneydance 2015 then install 2017. Had to disconnect devices from Dropbox and then reconnect. Seems to all work now. Thanks.
Allan O’Byrne
Sent from my iPad
7 Posted by derekkent23 on Oct 26, 2017 @ 11:51 AM
I am not support staff, just a user.
Glad to hear you figured thing out.
Have Fun
8 Posted by rogermarshall on Oct 27, 2017 @ 11:51 AM
Hello Derek,
Thanks for the advice. I have managed to link all my computers, phones and ipads to Moneydance, but not without a lot of difficulty.
You can see from the attached screen shot that when I updated to 2017.5 the account file was moved to a local file from DropBox, However, it was not possible to link the other computers to this location as it was in icloud and buried in a Library file which was not accessible! The solution was to move the file back to DropBox and then establish the links. Ideally, the file should not be in Dropbox but in an easily accessible file which can be located via Dropbox. One day I might try to correct the location!
So, thanks again for your help.
Roger Marshall
9 Posted by rogermarshall on Oct 27, 2017 @ 11:54 AM
Sorry forgot to add the file
Hello Derek,
Thanks for the advice. I have managed to link all my computers, phones and ipads to Moneydance, but not without a lot of difficulty.
You can see from the attached screen shot that when I updated to 2017.5 the account file was moved to a local file from DropBox, However, it was not possible to link the other computers to this location as it was in icloud and buried in a Library file which was not accessible! The solution was to move the file back to DropBox and then establish the links. Ideally, the file should not be in Dropbox but in an easily accessible file which can be located via Dropbox. One day I might try to correct the location!
So, thanks again for your help.
Roger Marshall
10 Posted by derekkent23 on Oct 27, 2017 @ 04:35 PM
I am not support staff, just a user.
I am not a Mac user, my computers are windows, so am confused by what you are saying. Can you help me understand?
1. You have two computers on with you have installed Moneydance 2017.5(1639), correct?
2. Both of your computers have a local hard drive, correct?
3. Why can’t you use the default data set location on the computer’s hard drive that you have chosen to be your primary computer to store your data set?
4. Why do you have to use Dropbox to store your data set.
5. Where does the iCloud come into the picture?
6. You have a number of mobile devices on which you are running the Moneydance APP version 2.18, Correct?
By storing your data set in the cloud, including Dropbox, you are running the real risk that your data set WILL BECOME CORRUPTED and YOU WILL LOSE ALL YOUR DATA.
Perhaps at this point it would be good to review how the syncing engine in Moneydance 2017 works.
You have a number of options regarding the syncing method. In both cases you need a Dropbox Account, at least the free version. The best and most flexible option is called “Dropbox Folder”. However, if you did not purchase direct, but purchased through Apple, due to one of the restrictions Apply impose on Moneydance, you will have to use “Dropbox Connect” in the following steps. Dropbox Folder requires you to download and install Dropbox Client on all your computers.
The following is an explanation given by Sean the software developer regarding these two syncing methods, Dropbox Folder and Dropbox Connection.
“With "Dropbox Connection" Moneydance uses the Dropbox API to talk to the Dropbox service directly. So, you don't need to have Dropbox client actually installed on your computer, but you do need to be online when Moneydance is running in order for changes to be synced. With "Drobox Folder" Moneydance will just read and write files to your Dropbox folder on your computer, which means that you need to have Dropbox client installed and running, but you don't need to be online in order for Moneydance to read and write the changes.”
When syncing with 2017 you have a primary and a secondary computer. The data set is stored in the default location on the hard drive of your primary computer. See under HELP – SHOW DOCUMENT FOLDER. Your data set is a folder not a file. It contains other folders and files. The data set folder is named yourdatasetname.moneydance. In later build of 2017 you are prompted to allow Moneydance to automatically move your data set to the default location if Moneydance detects you have your data set in Dropbox or on another cloud server. If you don’t allow your data to be moved it may become corrupted! DON’T STORE YOUR DATA SET IN DROPBOX or any other shared drive.
Your second computer does not have the same data set as the primary computer. Its data set is created from data synced via Dropbox folder “.moneydancsync” created automatically by the primary computer. If you are using “Dropbox Connect” and don’t have Dropbox Client installed you can only view the folder Moneydance creates as part of syncing, by logging into your Dropbox account.
The folder “.moneydancesync” may be hidden, so if you are looking for it set whatever your file explorer is called to show hidden File/Folders. The data set has the same naming convention as the primary data set and is stored in the default location on the secondary computer’s hard drive, but it’s not a duplicate of the primary data set. They are not interchangeable. In normal operation Moneydance on your devices reads and writes to the Dropbox folder “.moneydancesync”, creating small transaction files (mdtxn files) in such a way that there should never be any conflicts (at least not to any important files). Filenames are unique and the data is encrypted using your sync key (“Encryption Passphrase”). All changes are recorded in this folder and if any of the changes cause conflicts then they are resolved by checking timestamps that are internal to the file (i.e. not the file modification date).
Moneydance 2017 has an automatic daily backup which you can set up under FILE – PREFERECES - BACKUPS and a manual backup “Export Backup” which you can perform at any time. You can set these backups to use Dropbox in case you have a hard drive failure. If you set a password under FILE – PASSWORDS these files will be encrypted. Don’t rely on external methods alone for backups. When Moneydance makes a backup and you use FILE - RESTORE FROM BACKUP as part of the process it sets syncing method to “Don’t Sync”. This allows you to start syncing afresh. In a backup of your data set made by other means syncing will still be ON. This could mean if the reason you wanted to revert to a backup was something to do with syncing you could be back in problems as it syncs with the data in the Dropbox ”.moneydancesync” folder, assuming it wasn’t deleted.
It a good idea to reset syncing if you have changed your syncing method or run into problems during syncing after checking you are running the latest build of 2017.
I can provide information on how to reset syncing if you let me know if you are using the syncing method “Dropbox Folder” or due to Apply restrictions are having to use “Dropbox Connection”.
Another word of warning.
I would recommend not having more than two devices running Moneydance at one time. My set up is two computers and one phone. I found if I have all three devices running Moneydance at the same time I could occasionally get syncing errors, be warned. I reported this the Sean the lead software developer but as far as I know, no fix yet.
You can set up as many devices as you like for syncing, but only run Moneydance on two devices at a time. For, example if you have Moneydance running on one computer and a phone shut down Moneydance on one of these before opening Moneydance on another device.
Hope this helps.
11 Posted by rogermarshall on Oct 29, 2017 @ 02:17 PM
Hello Derek,
Thanks for all your help. I have now been able to Sync all my computers, ipads and iphone. And I do note your advice - not to run more than one of these at the same time.
The problems with Syncing were caused by the automatic change of location to the account file on the initial load of the latest version. The file was moved into the Library which was not easy to access.
However, all is well now.
Roger Marshall
12 Posted by derekkent23 on Oct 29, 2017 @ 03:35 PM
I am not support staff, just a user.
Glad you got thing working and are using your hard drive to store your data set and thus not running the really real risk of corrupting your data set by using cloud storage.
Note your CAN have two, but no more than two, devices running Moneydance at the same time.
Hope this helps.
System closed this discussion on Jan 28, 2018 @ 03:40 PM.