Cloud Support
Restricting MoneyDance to use only DropBox for syncing with the mobile app versions is to ignore customer requirements and their ability to choose.
While I understand InfiniteKind's concerns about network and cloud drives, this is 2020. Network and cloud drives have matured such that those concerns just are no longer relevant. As long as the mobile device's operating system allows apps to access network and cloud drives, MoneyDance should be able to use whichever drive they desire for syncing.
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1 Posted by dwg on Apr 24, 2020 @ 09:19 PM
I'm a fellow user.
It is more a matter of having cloud services that support all the Operating systems that Moneydance uses, i.e. Windows, MacOS, Linux, IOS and Android and providing the services that Moneydance used like having an API to access those services. A lot of cloud services only support a subset of the listed Operating Systems to start with.
2 Posted by ronmelzer on Apr 24, 2020 @ 09:48 PM
I disagree because that approach is archaic. Don’t rely on an API for any off device storage. Use the file manager for each OS to access on or off device storage. If an OS doesn’t offer a file manager that has that capability then oh well.
I have Dropbox and Google Drive and have installed their apps on my iPad to access. With the latest iPADOS, current apps can view/access all my on or off device storage. (See image)
Support Staff 3 Posted by Ethan on Apr 25, 2020 @ 03:41 PM
Hello,
We have been looking into other options besides Dropbox for some time, but I can't give a timeline on when or if those options will be released. The previous comment is correct in that cross operating system compatibility is one of the main issues. We're simply not willing to say "oh well" to solutions that exclude operating systems that some of these cloud systems won't support. (Another way to look at the situation is that the 'restriction' to only use Dropbox actually gives users much more options with regards to the operating systems they can use with Moneydance and syncing their data, since they've consistently provided support to almost all OSes.) This has become less of an issue in the past few years as these services have expanded, which is why I mention that we have started looking into other options.
Ethan
Infinite Kind Support
4 Posted by ronmelzer on Apr 25, 2020 @ 04:04 PM
> Thank you Ethan.
Presently, Moneydance is supported on multiple platforms and I believe that Infinite Kind makes every attempt to ensure that the look, feel, and function is the same or very similar between platforms. However, I am sure that you cannot simply take the base code and recompile for each platform without accommodating the uniqueness of each platform. To expand Moneydance file support the key would be to change the program logic to leverage file support for each platform. In other words why should Infinite Kind care about API from a particular cloud solution, let the platform deal with it. Should a platform’s file support fall short, then you could use the existing Dropbox API solution. An example would be from the iPadOS platform; when the app is opened I am greeted with a panel that has the Dropbox icon. Just add the icon for iPadOS’s file manager and make it my choice.
5 Posted by GBO323 on Apr 25, 2020 @ 06:07 PM
What I did to resolve Cloud support was on my laptops(one Mac, one Win10 PC), I use DropBox Connection and not the sync app. On the iOS mobile app I use DropBox syncing app.
This helps me to use all my devices without exceeding the free tier DropBox 3 device limit. The DropBox Connection option is a direct API so it doesn't count toward the 3 device limit.
Hope this helps.
Pretty awesome I should say. ;)
6 Posted by ronmelzer on Apr 25, 2020 @ 06:23 PM
> GBO323,
And that works for you. Fantastic.
Here’s the thing. My household is Apple centric and as such I would like to use iCloud for Moneydance as I use iCloud for most of my storage. Our daughter’s family is Android centric and they prefer to use Google Drive. Windows users will use whatever they use for other things. I am also a Linux user, not that I would ever run Moneydance on that platform but if I did I would probably prefer a network drive.
It’s a matter of Infinite Kind balancing customer retention and potential new business to the cost of development.
7 Posted by GBO323 on Apr 25, 2020 @ 06:57 PM
>ronmelzer,
Howdy...and I hear you. I'm an Apple centric family as well. As much as I hope Siri grows into being more utilized like Google Assistant, I'm very happy with my MacOS/iOS homefront. But that's another discussion.
One thing to consider is the simplicity of DropBox vs folder sharing(giving permisions, etc) is on iCloud...which btw, IT'S ABOUT TIME, APPLE!. Anyways, I see from a support standpoint how it better utilizes resources to use one cloud service like DropBox for everyone instead of the fragmented options that different users could use(iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, etc). That would be a nightmare scenario.
Bottom line for me is there is an envelope finance software I used before and when they went back to the drawing board over two years ago, they pulled all sync off the table and stranded their mobile users back to using only the computer version...and if you use a Mac, you may know which software I'm referring to...but not the point here.
So I'm very glad I can use MoneyDance via DropBox. Would I like iCloud to be supported? Sure! Would I rather have something to sync my data vs being bound to only the computer? Heck yes! Better yet, would I want to experience the growing pains of TechSupport to roll out a new syncing platform and inadvertently allow US to be the beta testers? No thanks. Been there, done that.
Hope this helps...sometimes a change of perspective is a beautiful thing.
8 Posted by derekkent23 on Apr 25, 2020 @ 07:20 PM
I started using Moneydance in 2016. I use and sync it between Window, Linux and Android with a free Dropbox account, without any issues.
I would much prefer Moneydance developers to spend their time developing Moneydance for computers or expanding the features on the free Mobile app to include reminders, reports etc, rather than reinventing the wheel for something that already works great.
Perhaps one day the Moneydance sync method, which can only be used with computers, Shared Folders, employing OneDrive, Google Drive, pCloud, Box.com and iCloud etc, will be extended to mobile devices.
However, for me with all the other features that can be worked on duplicating something that already works would be a low priority.
9 Posted by dtd on Apr 26, 2020 @ 02:30 AM
And Dropbox is free if this is all you use it for.
Consider it a simple extension to Moneydance.
Not optimal, not what you want, but just a signup, and you are done.
ronmelzer closed this discussion on Jun 22, 2020 @ 08:34 PM.