On Oct 22, 2011, at 13:45, Simon Spiegel wrote: > > On 22.10.2011, at 13:29, Christiaan Hofman wrote: > >> >> On Oct 22, 2011, at 13:06, Simon Spiegel wrote: >> >>> >>> On 22.10.2011, at 11:57, Christiaan Hofman wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> On Oct 22, 2011, at 10:37, Simon Spiegel wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi, >>>>> >>>>> a similar topic has already been discussed on the OSX TeX Mailing list, >>>>> but I'm interested how the BibDesk developers see this issue: I've been >>>>> using DropBox already for quite some time. The documents I'm working on >>>>> and my private texmf tree are in the Dropbox, and, of course, my main >>>>> .bib file. This setup works very well, there's only one slight annoyance. >>>>> I work regularly on two computers and whenever I forget to close the .bib >>>>> file on one machine and make changes on the other one, I end up with two >>>>> different versions of the .bib file. No big deal, but I wonder if iCloud >>>>> integration would allow automatic synching between two runnings instance >>>>> of BibDesk. I don't know what parts of iCloud are already accessible to >>>>> third party developers (there seems to be some documentation on >>>>> developer.apple.com) but at least in theory this is what apple already >>>>> does with apps like Address Book or iCal (I'm actually quite surprised >>>>> that the iOS version of the iWork suite already allow synching to iCloud >>>>> while OSX applications haven't been updated yet). >>>>> >>>>> Any insights? >>>>> >>>>> Simon >>>> >>>> I really cannot say much about iCloud. However, I have my doubts that >>>> BibDesk can use it, given that it links to other files, and in an >>>> important part by relative paths. >>> >>> If the .bib file could be stored in the iCloud, then why not the autofiled >>> files as well? And even if this isn't feasible, IMO losing relative paths >>> is a small price for much gained comfort. You could just disable the option >>> for relative file paths for Autofile if iCloud was enabled. >>> >>> BTW I wonder whether the majority uses relative or absolute file paths for >>> Autofile. In my setup, the .bib file lies in ~/texmf/bibtex/bib, and I >>> wouldn't want have my papers stored there as well. That's why I have >>> BibDesk put them in ~/Dropbox/Publications. Of course, I do not know other >>> people's setup, but at least in this scenario, moving the .bib file into >>> the iCloud wouldn't cause any problems with file paths. >>> >>> Simon >> >> >> I'm not talking about autofile. It's about the *reference* to these files. >> Absolute paths and aliases are only valid on a single volume/device. So they >> cannot be shared. For sharing between devices you need a relative path, >> because that's the only thing that's the same on different devices/volumes. >> And isn't sharing the whole idea of using iCloud? Files in the iCloud aren't >> referenced by a path, because they're not local files. > > Sorry, I don't get it. I don't see the difference between the Dropbox setup I > described. Of course, you cannot share absolute paths between two volumes > with different structure, but if you use something like > ~/Dropbox/Publications as a path, there's no problem. >
But you don't. You use something like ../../Dropbox/Publications/filename.pdf. There are many problems with tilde abbreviations. It assumes it's in your user folder, which may not be true, and adds extra dependencies on the reference, namely your user folder. > And I'm probably getting something wrong here, but from what I understand, > technically, iCloud files are still local files. From Apple's docs: "All > documents must be created on a local disk initially and moved to a user’s > iCloud account later. A document targeted for iCloud storage is not moved to > iCloud immediately, though. First, it is moved from its current location in > the file system to a local system-managed directory where it can be monitored > by the iCloud service. After that transfer, the file is transfered to iCloud > and to the user’s other devices as soon as possible." > (https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#releasenotes/MacOSX/WhatsNewInOSX/Articles/MacOSX10_7.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40010355-SW5). > > > Simon No, they're *not* (technically or otherwise) local files. What this says is that they typically are local files somewhere at some time in their lifespan. But that's totally irrelevant. Knowing where you stored it locally at some point is completely useless information when you know that the system moves it somewhere else at any time it likes (and that's the idea of the cloud.) What good is it to know that this morning you put your car keys on the dresser, when you know your wife is currently driving the car using those keys? And it also does not matter where this dresser is located relative to your house. Christiaan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The demand for IT networking professionals continues to grow, and the demand for specialized networking skills is growing even more rapidly. Take a complimentary Learning@Cisco Self-Assessment and learn about Cisco certifications, training, and career opportunities. http://p.sf.net/sfu/cisco-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Bibdesk-users mailing list Bibdesk-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bibdesk-users
