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Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:46 pm
by Glyphman
Hi. Now I worked with MainType for about 4 month, organizing, arranging main type folders, groups, tags etc. Then rearranged main folders and groups because they were too big and slow from the beginning.

Frequently during this project I've had to backup "MainType" and copy the physical font folder from the PC I did the work in, delete and replace it in my notebook and office PC, so I could work with the same projects in all occasions and places. It has been hard work :D

So now I wonder if High-Logic has any plans to add a sync function that you can have on for example "One Drive, Google Drive or your own NAS server?? So when you connect with the PC you use for the moment it will sync so you have the latest updates and changes?

Great software though :D

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:04 pm
by cpking
I have found MainType7 (just upgraded to 8) to be very good with managing fonts overall. I used to manage a graphic design department and handled much of the IT because it's so much more intricate that typical IT/server management. The subject of fonts and groups has always been an issue - particularly in workgroup settings.

I, too, would like to see the ability to either synchronize or export groups so that multiple PCs could be in synch. Quite often (VERY often) I start a project on my desktop, then pick it up from dropbox on my laptop, and then again on my desktop. Keeping the font groups sync'd is a challenge.

I had hoped when i saw the upgrade notes that version 8 would include this ability; I noticed there's a tag export function. Unless I missed it, though, groups are not exportable/sync-able.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 3:12 pm
by Erwin Denissen
Have you tried to add the Dropbox folder as a keep-in-sync folder?

MainType can be used to easily add fonts to several computers. You can use a shared network folder, a Dropbox folder, or Google Drive folder. For each computer add this folder to MainType, and make sure the "Keep in sync" option is checked. Set a synchronization interval so MainType will continue to automatically scan the folder and add all fonts to the MainType font library. You can also check the "Automatically install all fonts..." option. That ensures all team members have the same set of fonts installed. If one person updates fonts in the shared network folder, all team members will get the updates automatically installed.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 1:49 pm
by cpking
I've had my font files on dropbox for a long while now. However, unless I'm missing something, MainType's files are all local and the tags & groups remain on the computer.

So as near as I can tell, there's no built-in facility to keep libraries in sync on multiple computers, other than having the same physical folder layout on multiple computers.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 5:24 pm
by Erwin Denissen
True, but you can now manually export your tags and ratings, and import them in your other font library.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 9:35 pm
by cpking
I've been trying to work with that all day and apparently am doing something wrong. When I choose Tools|Import and Export|Export Tags and Ratings, and then enter a filename, nothing seems to happen. It doesn't create the xml file. I've tried selecting a few fonts to see if this was the problem, but I can't seem to get it to work.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 9:53 pm
by Erwin Denissen
It exports the tags and ratings of all fonts.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 9:54 pm
by Bhikkhu Pesala
What is your MainType version in Help, About?
Version Number.png
Version Number.png (2.68 KiB) Viewed 14892 times
It works for me.
Export.png
Export.png (23.42 KiB) Viewed 14892 times
Import.png
Import.png (26.75 KiB) Viewed 14892 times

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:46 am
by nabsltd
cpking wrote: Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:04 pm I had hoped when i saw the upgrade notes that version 8 would include this ability; I noticed there's a tag export function. Unless I missed it, though, groups are not exportable/sync-able.
Just back up the database (Tools|Create and restore backups...), copy the backup directory to someplace the other PC can see it, then restore. This will copy Groups, Views, panel layouts, tags, ratings, etc. It even copies tags that are not in use (which the Tag export/import does not).

It also includes all the fonts (stored in the vault), so the second PC doesn't need the fonts available anymore, but if they are, and in a "sync" group, then MainType will associate the database entries with the font files on disk.

Re: Synchronize MainType between PCs

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2018 7:02 pm
by cpking
This is likely what I'll end up doing. Unfortunately, this is time intensive as I have over a gig of font files, so obviously, restoring is a length process...