More Mobile Software

FAQ
Look below for commonly asked questions. If you don't find what you’re looking for here, please contact us!

General

Syncing
Downloading
Importing

General

All these programs have "dive" in the name which makes it confusing. What does what and who makes it?
Very true. But if it wasn't called "dive something" you wouldn't know what it was for! Here's a list for you to refer to:

  • Dive Log from More Mobile Software (us) - is an iOS application which means that it only works on iOS devices which means iPhone's and iPad's etc. It is a Universal application which means that you buy it once and it works on all your iOS devices, including iPads.
  • Dive Log Manager from More Mobile Software (us) - is a macOS application which means that it only works on macOS devices like your Mac laptop or your iMac desktop. There is a free version, or you can buy a license to get additional features.
  • DiveLogDT from More Mobile Software (us) - is exactly the same as the paid version of Dive Log Manager, only the name is different. We had to have a different name because the Mac App Store does not allow 2 applications with the same name.
  • Diving Log 6.0 from Sven Knoch - is a Windows application that will do everything except make the Mai Tai's. We all use the same database so It is completely and fully compatible with Dive Log and will sync your PC logbook via WiFi.

Where can I purchase your applications?
  • Dive Log is only available in the iOS App Store. It is a "Universal" application that will run on both your iPhone/iPod Touch devices as well as taking advantage of larger screen iPad devices. You only purchase it once for all your devices.
  • Dive Log Manager is available in two places:
  • DiveLogDT is only available in the Mac App Store.

I bought a license from your website and double clicked on it but it won't install?
  • Unfortunately, due the different versions of Dive Log Manger, this can happen. It likely means that you downloaded the free version of Dive Log Manager from the Mac App Store (version 3.x.x), which doesn't know about licenses from our website. (Apple has it's own licensing scheme so we are not allowed to include it in this version). If you instead download the free version of Dive Log Manager from our website (version 2.x.x), it knows about the license and will install correctly. If you would prefer to get your applications from the Mac App Store, please contact us for a refund so that you may purchase Dive Log DT from the Mac App Store instead.

How can I have different logbooks or set the name of my logbook?
  • Both Dive Log and Dive Log Manager use the name entered in the Personal information section. We suggest that you at least enter that information at a minimum, even if you don't want to fill out the rest of the section. We use this name in other places to identify this particular logbook.
  • Dive Log stores each of the downloaded logbooks based on the name in the Personal section. If there is no name entered, the"Active" logbook shows up as "Unknown Name" under "More->Settings". If you put a name in, you can more easily choose between all the logbooks currently available on your iOS device.
  • Dive Log Manager uses a regular MacOS file as your logbook file on the hard drive. You can name this file anything you want. Our suggestion is is have a folder named "Logbooks" in your "Documents" folder. The Personal name will show up in the logbook information section in the lower left hand area of the application.

I just bought a new iPhone. How do I make sure not to lose my existing logbook?
  • There are a few things that you can do before and during your upgrade to make sure that your existing Logbook data from Dive Log (and applications data from most iOS applications) makes the move to your new iOS device. There is a post on our (old) blog available here that goes into a fair amount of detail about the things you can do to ensure your data is transferred.
  • The summary is that when you set up your new iPhone you want make sure that you have backed up your previous iPhone via iTunes and/or your Dive Log logbook data through one of the available desktop applications that support syncing with Dive Log.
    • If you set up your new iPhone using the "Restore from backup" option in iTunes, your existing logbook will be restored along with the Dive Log app. (It would be prudent however to also have a backup on the desktop "just in case")
    • Otherwise, if you setup your new iPhone using the "Set up as a new iPhone" option, you will need to restore your logbook data from one of the compatible desktop applications after you reinstall the Dive Log app, as there is no mechanism this way for it to get transferred automatically.


Syncing

 
What are the different methods of sync'ing my logbook?

  • You can synchronize your iOS device and your macOS or Window's desktop using WiFi. Or, you can synchronize using a cloud service such as Dropbox. You can synchronize your iOS and macOS devices using iCloud.

How can I sync via WiFi when there is no WiFi supplied?
  • Somehow, there is always WiFi! Scuba Diving often takes place in areas far removed from technology areas and sometimes even on a boat in the middle of the ocean. In order to sync your logbook between your laptop and your mobile device, you need to setup something called an "Ad Hoc Network". This is essentially a WiFi network just between your laptop and any devices in WiFi range and does not require an external router. It very easy to do and just takes a moment. The Apple and Microsoft links to how to do this have not been stable and change with each release. So here are our instructions, but if you are looking for more details, simply search for "Ad-Hoc Network" in your favorite search engine. Instructions are also available on the "SYNCHRONIZE" panel of our macOS Applications.
  • Once your Ad-Hoc network has been setup on your laptop, then connect your iDevice's WiFi to it. Voila! Dive Log can now connect and sync to your laptop.
  • You may want to do this even when there is a public WiFi already available to you. Sometimes the WiFI network is not completely setup right or has additional security settings and you can have connection problems. The Ad-Hoc network will give you an easy and secure way to connect your iOS and MacOS and Windows devices together.

I'm getting a "Network Error" when I start to sync - why?
  • There are many ways in which a WiFi configuration can interfere with WiFi connections between 2 devices. Sometimes it's on purpose, and sometimes it's by accident.
  • All of the applications involved use "Bonjour" to find out about each other. Your firewall "should" allow these requests to go back and forth, but you might want to turn your firewall *off* to see if that makes a difference. In the majority of cases of connection problems with PC's, it's the firewall.
  • Remember to check that all the applications are connected to the same WiFi network. Sometimes one of them can get (accidentally) connected to your "guest" WiFi if your router has that functionality.
  • Take a look at our network trouble shooting guide here for tips on things to check. If everything seems like it's setup correctly and it really should be working, use the advanced technique of rebooting your WiFi router. Then, if all else fails, contact us and we'll try to help as best we can.

What's the difference between "Copy To/From Device" and "Two-Way Sync”?
  • Think of the difference between "Copy" and "Merge". If you "Copy" your logbook to or from your iOS device, it will completely replace the logbook at the destination. So if there were changes in the destination that you wanted, they will be gone. A "Two-Way Sync" is like a merge. First the active logbook is transferred from the iOS device to the desktop, then it is reviewed record by record to see if any changes were made to it since the last time you sync'd. All those changes are then incorporated into the desktop version, and the new desktop version is copied back to the iOS device replacing what was there before.
  • NOTE! Both Dive Log Manager and Dive Log take a backup of their respective logbooks before a "replacement" is done. If you find that you've done something you shouldn't have:
    • Under Dive Log, touch the "Restore Previous Logbook" on the Synchronization page
    • Using Finder under MacOS, navigate to the folder that contains your logbook file and look for a version with the correct timestamp in the filename. Copy/Duplicate this file and rename it to be your "true" logbook file.

How do I get my logbook from my iPhone to my iPad (and back)?
  • Dive Log for iOS supports iCloud syncing so that you can keep your logbook up to date on multiple iOS devices. Remember that you need to have a good internet connection to do iCloud syncing.
  • Dive Log for iOS, like ALL iOS applications, will be backed up when you backup using iTunes.
  • We recommend that Dive Log for iOS users ALSO backup their logbooks onto a desktop machine as well for safe keeping. There are free versions of the desktop software available to do this so there is no additional purchase required. Remember that the Apple iTunes backups are there for your ENTIRE iOS device. So if you want to restore your old logbook from an iTunes backup, you must restore your ENTIRE device to get it. So, also backup regularly to your Desktop so that you don’t have to do this unless you really need to.
    • If you're on a PC, download the free version of Diving Log 6.0 and you can sync your logbook back and forth from the desktop to any number of devices.
    • If you're on a Mac, you can download a free version of Dive Log Manager either from our website, or from the Mac App Store. Once you "Enable Sync" on your iDevice, you can transfer your logbook TO the desktop.
    • You can also "Enable Sync" on another iOS device and transfer your logbook FROM the desktop to the device. Two-Way sync is available in Dive Log Manager if you have made changes to your logbook on both devices and want it all merged into one place.

Downloading

 
Can I download my dive computer directly to my iPhone?

  • Perhaps! Check this page to get the details of what is currently supported.
  • You can download some Bluetooth Low Energy (aka Smart Bluetooth or Bluetooth 4.0) enabled dive computers directly to your iOS device. We support downloading from some ScubaPro, Shearwater Research, and Heinrichs Weikamp dive computers.
  • A third party company, DiveNav, has created a new product called DCbuddy. This device has a serial port on one side, and a Bluetooth LE port on the other. It connects to your dive computer via the serial port, and sends the information via Bluetooth LE to Dive Log. Check here for the list of DCbuddy supported dive computers. Note that we do not necessarily support downloading all the Dive Computers that DiveNav does. We only support what we have tested ourselves. Also note that you must purchase this additional functionality using the In-App purchase inside Dive Log.

What dive computers do you support on the Mac?

What if you don't support my dive computer?
  • Supporting a dive computer is a lot of work and there are several great programs out there that do a great job. Because of this, we have put a lot of effort into *importing* the dive computer information from these programs. So, until we support your particular dive computer, you can use another program to do the download, and then use Dive Log Manager/DiveLogDT to import from it. It's a 2 step process but it get's the job done!

Can I use a different IrDA/USB Adapter for my ScubaPro/UWatec dive computer?
  • We don't know, but you probably can. Since there are so many different makers of IrDA USB dongles out in the market worldwide, we can not test them all and therefore can't *support* them all. So we chose to support the original ScubaPro model. Dive Log Manager/DiveLogDT does not require you to install any "device drivers" and so all the work that would normally be done in a device driver is done in the application. When we looked into it, it appears that there were only 2, and now just 1, different chipsets used in the making of various IrDA/USB Adapters. And ScubaPro used them both and so we have to have code to support both of them. And it looks like a lot of the other dongle makers use(d) one of the 2 chipsets as well and so they seem to work by default. So there is a good chance that the one you have will work, and a small chance that it won’t. But since *we* haven’t tested it, we can't *support* it.
  • But here are other models that we’ve tried or our users tell us work just fine for them:

Importing

 
How do I get all my "old" dives into my new logbook?

  • If you have a logbook format that we support, you can use Dive Log Manager/Dive Log DT to import the data from it directly. In addition, some of these other logbook applications will *export* your data into a particular transferable file format. An example of this would be UDCF or UDDF. If your old logbook application supports exporting to these formats, you can use Dive Log Manager to import from the UDCF or UDDF files.
  • If you have recently switched from a PC to a Mac and you need to convert your "old" logbook into a Dive Log/Dive Log Manager logbook as a "one time thing", then please contact us. We have the software available and would be willing to do a "one time conversion" for you.
What if I don't yet have everything in my new digital logbook?
  • You can start logging your dives digitally at any time. If you've done 42 dives so far, just number your first Dive Log Manager/DiveLogDT dive #43. There is a place in the logbook (Under Statistics for both Dive Log Manager and Dive Log) where you can enter a value for "Prior Dive Time" for bottom time not yet accounted for in your current log. This will give you an accurate "bottom time to date" number for your statistics. You can renumber a dive at any time.