Robert B Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 (edited) I did a bit of searching, and did not find this topic discussed in this way, so I apologize in advance for duplicates. Is it possible to offer users a choice in cloud sync? With iCloud being so baked into our Apple products now, and since Accordance is very much made for Apple products, can it be an option for sync? I only use dropbox for Accordance and have a large iCloud account. In addition, I noticed on my iCloud app sync settings in my settings on my iOS devices, Accordance is there! Am I missing something? I do realize that there are a variety of users that have their own preferences, but is it not possible to offer a sync choice or maybe that could be in a future update? There are a few posts on this topic but they are old. 1. https://www.accordancebible.com/forums/topic/20887-icloud-instead-of-dropbox/?hl=icloud 2. https://www.accordancebible.com/forums/topic/21828-sync-with-icloud-drive-instead-of-dropbox/?hl=icloud Edited August 10, 2018 by Robert B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Mansfield Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Robert, a lot of what is discussed in your first link is still very valid. Even if we were to choose something besides Dropbox, the solution needs to be completely accessible across all four platforms we support. I’m sure that one day, syncing will be added to our Android version of Accordance. To my knowledge, there’s no way to incorporate iCloud syncing on Android. And as I mentioned in that link I refer to above, some Windows users don’t want to install iCloud on their devices (and I’m not certain iCloud would support syncing on Windows anyway). I could also foresee where supporting multiple sync technologies could be problematic. Chasing api changes in one syncing method is one thing; multiple ones could be a bear (I assume; I’m not one of our developers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert B Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 Rick- Thanks for the comments. Instead of complicating things - what about Accordance owning the solution? This would solve lots of issues. Purchase space on Amazon or other cloud providers, then create your API, and make the syncing all internal. This would give you as the provider more control of future options and not so reliant on APIs from other syncing platforms. I would be wiling to pay a monthly fee for a combination of access to some modules as well as sync service baked into Accordance and I am sure there are other users that would as well as long as there is value for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Brown Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 This is feasible, but would require a large investment of developer time, detracting from our other projects. We don't see that it would provide major advantages over Dropbox. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert B Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 I agree, in the beginning it may require some developer time, but owning the solution would ultimately cost you less time going forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I admit, a full in-house sync solution — cross-device/platform — of settings / configuration, owned materials, bookmarks, notes, etc would be a real boon. This seems to be the solution many software providers are going with these days, across many different software domains. I can also imagine a legion of value add services that could be bundled into this in the future as well, all paired with a recurring revenue model. It's an interesting thought at least. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Simpson Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 iCloud access is only possible with App Store installed apps as far as I am aware, due to the sandboxing restrictions of Apple. So it could only be added to the MAS version of Accordance. And if we all converted to MAS accordance, then we would be adding to Apple's coffers 30% (if I remember correctly) of the sale price. I cannot comment on the possibility of an in house solution, but I think iCloud is not even universally available to all apps on Mac, even if we don't consider the Windows and Android world - which we cannot do anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 iCloud access is only possible with App Store installed apps as far as I am aware, due to the sandboxing restrictions of Apple. So it could only be added to the MAS version of Accordance. And if we all converted to MAS accordance, then we would be adding to Apple's coffers 30% (if I remember correctly) of the sale price. I cannot comment on the possibility of an in house solution, but I think iCloud is not even universally available to all apps on Mac, even if we don't consider the Windows and Android world - which we cannot do anyway. Actually, Mac apps do not require MAS distribution to use iCloud. They just have to be developer ID signed. That said, I specifically was referring to an in-house solution utilizing AWS or Azure or something of the kind, not iCloud. While I would love iCloud support generally (and I've implemented it in many apps in the past - but usually Apple-only solutions), I definitely understand the limited developer availability for something not available to all Accordance users. This is why I was just toying with the idea of potential new upsides to an fully in-house sync solution / cloud service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert B Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 (edited) Just to throw in some new information for the discussion. Accordance actually already uses iCloud. If (on an iOS device) you go to Settings, then iCloud, then view all your apps that are syncing, Accordance is there. I was curious as to what that was, so I spoke to Accordance support. It seems that it already is using iCloud to sync bookmarks as well as the place you left off when you close the app. If support is already there for those items, I guess I am unclear as to why it would be challenging to add the other items that sync on dropbox? Can anyone speak to this? Edited August 14, 2018 by Robert B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Voth Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 Personally I don't know if much would be gained with iCloud, especially as I have found it to have its own problems. In a couple programs I have syncing doesn't work properly with iCloud, Safari bookmarks being one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukfraser Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 especially as I have found it to have its own problems. In a couple programs I have syncing doesn't work properly with iCloud. Ios notes to be another. ;o( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert B Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 Just to throw in some new information for the discussion. Accordance actually already uses iCloud. If (on an iOS device) you go to Settings, then iCloud, then view all your apps that are syncing, Accordance is there. I was curious as to what that was, so I spoke to Accordance support. It seems that it already is using iCloud to sync bookmarks as well as the place you left off when you close the app. If support is already there for those items, I guess I am unclear as to why it would be challenging to add the other items that sync on dropbox? Can anyone speak to this? PNG image.png I reposted as I didn’t see anyone comment on this specifically. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 +1 to this. I would love to see iCloud syncing offered as an option for those of us who are only on Apple devices. Remember when Accordance was Apple only? That was nice. It would be a tremendous benefit to users, as it doesn’t require an additional account with a third-party product. Personally, I’ve migrated all of my data out of Dropbox. I’m increasingly uncomfortable with the permissions it needs in order to install on the Mac (why full disk access?), and it’s a memory hog. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Cross Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 +1 for iCloud Sync 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmc1982 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Aye. Dropbox has become increasingly creepy over the years. It doesn't have the kind of reputation it used to. A couple of competitors have created their own solution which is fine by me, but if that's not feasible I'd want support for something native. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 +10000 for iCloud syncing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefboreel Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 I really support this request. IMHO it must not be that complex to realize syncing through iCoud. There are a lot of non-Apple app's for the Mac and iOS that sync fluently through iCloud. Moreover, Accordance can sync between there iOS app's, i.e. an iPhone and an iPad via iCloud. Why not to and from a Mac either. I do not understand. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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