[missing-sync-palmos-talk] Treo 650 and a Mac OS 10.4.7 using iCal

Tue Sep 12 05:46:09 PDT 2006

John,

On Sep 11, 2006, at 9:36 PM, John Romero wrote:

If you're trying to reset the sync data so that Missing Sync works  
better, you're approaching it from the wrong angle. I'll explain  
better below.

> I have a similar issue.  This is what I did - but it STILL does not
> work - but works the very first time you use iCal - then when you quit
> and restart - it doesn't work....
>
> 1) Use Finder - Search for anything iCal in your USER directory (ie
> John if you are John) and delete it.
> 2) Use Finder to find all .ics files and delete them.
> 3) Sync with your Treo (make sure that you had the settings set to
> "sync" and not use desktop or something crazy like that)
> 4) After sync, start iCal - watch as the HOME and WORK show up, then
> in about 5 or more seconds - all of your stuff "appears".
> 5) Check it over - wow - it looks great and you are happy it is
> working again - whew.
> 6) Quit iCal and open iCal again - ... oh.. it's all blank again - but
> not really...  Click on the to-do's.  Then you will see your calendar
> start to show up - sort of.. but there are no categories on the left,
> etc.
>
> SCREAM and yell because it's all screwed up AGAIN.
>
> Repeat steps 1-6 - and NEVER quit iCal and it all seems to work  
> just right...
>
> Seriously.. it appears that "something" happens when we close iCal - a
> data-cache or something - and that is when it get screwed up again.
>

iCal, Missing Sync, .Mac, Address Book, etc. are all "sync clients"  
of Sync Services, Apple's system-wide sync engine. All the data goes  
into the sync engine in a well-defined and documented format (the  
schema) and Sync Services takes care of the rest. The problem you're  
fining with iCal acting wacky is not in the ics data, but rather in  
the data that is in Sync Services.

iCal has its own local databases, the ics files. It "pushes" that  
data into the Sync Services "truth" and other clients draw from the  
truth to find out what data is available to sync. A sync client never  
directly accesses any application's data (nothing we read about an  
event, for instance, suggests it came from iCal). When you delete the  
local iCal databases, and then launch iCal again, iCal sees that  
something *big* has happened to its previous state, and first hits  
the sync engine up so that it can refresh all its data from whatever  
its last sync was. Home and Work calendars are the "default" ones,  
but the delay you see before all your data appears (#4 above) is the  
time it takes to read the sync engine's data and populate the ics  
files again.

After you quit and opened up iCal again, only to find your data not  
showing is likely an iCal issue directly, not related to sync or even  
its data. I've seen this often enough, and I usually click on the  
list-view widget at the bottom right of the screen (3rd from right)  
and see all my events and todos, and selecting one tends to refresh  
the UI. I think it would probably go away after a restart.

One thing to remember when deleting the iCal files directly is that  
other applications still have that data open - iCalAlarmScheduler is  
always running (see your Accounts prefs), and 3rd party apps often  
read the data straight from the ics files.

> I also noticed that even after I deleted "anything with iCal" in it,
> Markspace progam still "remembered" all my categories.. hmmm. don't
> like that.  I think that is what is causing the problem...
>

As indicated above, we draw all our information from Sync Service -  
not from iCal. The data that we are seeing is live sync data, and  
would appear in any sync client that handles events.

> I don't like it one bit.

Hopefully that can be changed. You need to fully reset the sync  
history on your Mac, and Apple's given you a somewhat hidden way to  
do so. Launch iSync, open the iSync Preferences, and click "Reset  
Sync History." Wait for the iSync window to refresh, and when it is  
done restart your Mac. When it comes back up, launch Address Book and  
iCal.

This will remove any stored data in the sync truth database for any  
sync clients (iCal, AB, Missing Sync, .Mac, etc. etc. etc.). When the  
applications relaunch, they will populate the truth with the  
application data. This is likely to clear up any issues with the sync.

One reason why issues like this aren't noticed by many is that there  
are relatively few sync clients from companies other than Apple. If  
you're not using Missing Sync products, or Chronos SOHO, or Entourage  
with Sync Service support turned on, or a few others - your data is  
never being synchronized outside of Apple's code.

Good luck. If you continue with sync issues, please contact our  
support team for further assistance.

b

> -johnr
>
>
> On 9/11/06, Scott Gruby <sgruby at markspace.com> wrote:
>>
>> On Sep 11, 2006, at 4:29 PM, J.T. Hardy wrote:
>>
>> > no better with the 700p... feel like i wasted my money on missing
>> > synch... it worked for awhile.. synging with the calendars.. but
>> > all of a sudden, an anomaly and support is no where to be found....
>> >
>>
>> First off, make sure that you can launch the Calendar on your device
>> at least once. Second, are you using any third party calendar
>> application or any hacks? The error indicates that the conduit can't
>> open the database for events on the handheld. It could be that some
>> other application has it open, it doesn't exist, or is corrupt.
>>
>> Our support folks are quite backed up right now, but will help you as
>> soon as possible.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Scott Gruby
>> Mark/Space, Inc.
>> <http://www.markspace.com/>
>>
>> Please visit <http://www.markspace.com/support/> for assistance with
>> Mark/Space products.
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> missing-sync-palmos-talk mailing list
>> missing-sync-palmos-talk at lists.markspace.com
>> To unsubscribe, send an email (no subject required) from your  
>> subscribed email address to:
>> missing-sync-palmos-talk-leave at lists.markspace.com
>>
> _______________________________________________
> missing-sync-palmos-talk mailing list
> missing-sync-palmos-talk at lists.markspace.com
> To unsubscribe, send an email (no subject required) from your  
> subscribed email address to:
> missing-sync-palmos-talk-leave at lists.markspace.com

********************
Brian M. Criscuolo
Lead Software Engineer
Mark/Space, Inc.
bcriscuolo at markspace.com
<http://www.markspace.com>