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Cloud Considerations


Download DiveLogDT on the Mac App Store!

Dive Log Manager/DiveLogDT for MacOS and Dive Log for iOS use an open source based logbook format called sqlite. There are many open source and commercial tools that you can use to export your logbook into another format or view. It is not proprietary and is well documented. Contact us if you need more information about it.

Your logbook file is portable between the Mac, an iOS device, and a Windows PC. The same logbook format is used with Dive Log for iOS and Diving Log 5.0 on the PC.

Why you need to care about "The Cloud"

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Cloud technology like iCloud Drive and Dropbox and others are a modern technology miracle and help to make our multiple device, completely interconnected world manageable and possible.

But with that power comes responsibility.

Looking at the diagram here, you can see that different devices are all updating the same file in the Cloud. If the Application and file format support coordinating this, it works out just great.

But in the case of an sqlite database file, (used by DiveLogDT and all our products), updates are not coordinated and those changes could potentially overwrite each other, also potentially causing corruption of the file itself. While corruption is rare, it is unrecoverable when it happens, This is an artifact of how sqlite database files (which DiveLogDT uses) as well as some other file types interact with cloud drive systems.

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In this scenario, all devices have their own local version of the Logbook file and are "synchronizing" with the Cloud file, therefore all changes can be properly coordinated in the sqlite database Logbook file. In this scenario, all changes are coordinated and synchronized so that nothing is lost and nothing get's corrupted.

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If you only have 1 device using the Cloud storage, updating your Logbook directly in the Cloud is fine. When Synchronizing with your iOS devices, you are using either one of our other 2 synchronization methods, "WiFi" or "AirSync". Both of these synchronization methods can be used at any time, but are also useful when you are not connected to the internet.

I'm happy with the way it was - How do I fix it?

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First, if you feel you understand exactly the scenario of how your logbook get's updated, you can override the "Read-Only" status by clicking the "Continue Anyway" button and the application will be fully functional. There will be a "cloud" icon in the lower left corner to indicate you're working on a cloud file. If you want this to be your default, then check the "Do not show this message again" checkbox first.

I want to keep my Logbook locally on my Mac - How do I fix it?

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1) Start DiveLogDT and dismiss the popup (Click OK)
2) Choose File->New from the menu and choose a location in your local file system (i.e. one that is not automatically synchronized with the cloud server)
3) Choose the “Cloud” panel under the SYNCHRONIZE item in the sidebar
4) Click on the “Import/Restore Logbook FROM Cloud” Button and select the original logbook file you were just using from the cloud

Now you are working locally and can continue to SYNCHRONIZE with that same Logbook in the Cloud using this same "Cloud" panel.

I subscribed to Apple's "Optimize Mac Storage" program to keep everything in the Cloud - How do I fix it?

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A new feature in macOS allows you to select to have your Desktop and Documents folder also synchronized with iCloud. This is an option that Apple “suggests” during an upgrade to macOS and it defaults to “On”. If you made that decision, then both your Desktop and Documents folders will also be synchronized with iCloud Drive. So you will need to make a copy of your logbook in a folder that is not in either your Desktop or Documents folder. One easy folder to find and use is the Downloads folder so you can verify that things are working and make progress.

You can also create a new folder in your “home” directory. Your home directory is not shown in Finder by default, but you can use the Preferences for Finder and turn on your “home” folder so it is displayed (in my case that is the “gregm” folder).

We suggest making a new folder inside your home folder called "Logbooks" so you know what it contains and can be more organized.

Once you have your logbook stored locally you can continue to synchronize it with the one in iCloud using the "Cloud" panel under the SYNCHRONIZE item in DiveLogDT.