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Re-instigating sync with desktop

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martin.j.lowe

22 Jul, 2010 10:04 PM

I've been away for a couple of days, entering transactions into the iPhone. Now that I've got home, sync no longer works.

I've deleted the entry from Network Sync Settings and want to re-enter it, and Moneydance on the Mac can recognise the iPhone but is asking for the Access Key - which the iPhone isn't supplying.

I don't want to have to delete the app from the iPhone and reinstall it because of all the transactions I've entered. How do I get round this?

1. 1 Posted by Ben Spencer on 24 Jul, 2010 02:59 PM

   

   Hi Martin

   The is currently no way to get the iPhone app to show you the access key after it has been connected to the desktop app. This is for security reasons. There are two possibilities.

   1. If you have a backup of you data file form before you removed the device, I can give you some non-trivial instruction that can be used to extract the access key from that backup file. This would definitely be my preferred solution. If you do have a backup file do not open it while you have the iPhone app running as the may cause a sync to occur. Let me know if you have the file and I'll give you the instructions.

   2. The developers are willing to write a special version of the iPhone app just for you that will show the access key. However it will take a bit of time because we'd need their device ID to send oyu an ad-hoc build of the app or they'd have to wait until the app update went through the apple review process.

   If you have a backup file that would definitely be the preferred method.

   Sincerely
   Ben Spencer

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2. 2 Posted by martin.j.lowe on 25 Jul, 2010 09:31 PM

   

   Ben

   Thanks for the response and the offer of help.

   On reflection, I would rather effort be expended in making re-synchronisation a standard feature of the product as this isn't the first time the iPhone app and the desktop have decided to stop synchronising.

   It does seem rather extreme to delete the app from the phone and get iTunes to re-install it every time synchronisation stops working, so if the next version can offer a method of re-synchonisation I'd feel happier.

   Regards,

   Martin

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3. 3 Posted by Ben Spencer on 26 Jul, 2010 02:28 PM

   

   Hi Martin

   We believe that the vast majority of syncing problems are caused by the way the personal firewall on the mac identifies and blocks Moneydance. The developers tell me that they made a modification to the way Moneydance is packaged for the mac such that this firewall problem is avoided. Even if you have build 751 already I recommend that you download and install the latest build from our website.

   Sincerely
   Ben Spencer

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4. martin.j.lowe closed this discussion on 03 Aug, 2010 09:41 PM.

5. martin.j.lowe re-opened this discussion on 16 Aug, 2010 08:24 PM

6. 4 Posted by martin.j.lowe on 16 Aug, 2010 08:27 PM

   

   This has now happened again - the iPhone app has stopped synchronising with the desktop app.

   Given that I tried the last suggested action and it still hasn't worked, can the developers look at either making synchronisation more reliable, or offering an option to reset the sync between applications that doesn't involve deleting the iPhone app and having to enter everything again?

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7. 5 Posted by Ben Spencer on 19 Aug, 2010 03:11 PM

   

   I am sorry for the trouble this is causing you. You are not alone. The number one priority for the developers is currently to implement an internet based solution that will allow much more reliable synchronization.

   Sincerely
   Ben Spencer

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8. 6 Posted by bart Ricci on 08 Sep, 2010 01:45 AM

   

   I deleted my finance file for moneydance on my mac is their anyway to restore it using the data from my ipad

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9. 7 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 08 Sep, 2010 03:29 AM

   

   Bart,

   The first thing you should do is look for backups. Moneydance automatically stores backups in the same folder as your data file, but you may have changed these settings. The backup settings are available in Moneydance-> Preferences-> Backup. By default, backup files are stored in the same folder as the data file that you are using. Backup files have the same name as your data file with the date of the backup appended to the end of the file name. For example if your file name is “myaccounts.md” the backup file will be called “myaccounts.md-2010-01-01.” Renaming a backup file to have the extension ".md" will allow you to open the file directly from within Moneydance.

   I do not believe it is possible to restore your file using the data from your iPad, as the Moneydance app syncs with a single data file. If you want to sync the device with a new data file you will need to uninstall and reinstall the app so that you can see the new access key and set up a connection between the device and your new data file. This would cause you to lost the data you currently have on your iPad.

   Please let me know if I can be of further assistance in attempting to retrieve your backups or data,

   Angie Rauscher
   Moneydance Support

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10. martin.j.lowe closed this discussion on 18 Nov, 2013 10:05 PM.