Sync Database Documents with iCloud

In this video, we’re going to look at how we can set up Tap Forms 5 to sync using iCloud. When we sync using iCloud, what we’re able to do is open up Tap Forms 5 on our Mac, on our iPad, on our iPhone and access all of our different database documents. Let’s see how this works. Let’s go to my Mac.

Now, the first thing you’ll need to do is make sure that you use an iCloud Drive. I’m going to hide my Tap Forms 5 here. I just go up under Tap Forms 5 in the menu bar, and I select Hide. From here what I need to do is open up my System Preferences. So I go down to my Dock here, it’s located in my Dock. I click on it and it opens up my System Preferences. Now I need to click on Apple ID. This is where I find all of my iCloud settings. Under iCloud here, you’re going to see as one of the services iCloud Drive. You do need to make sure that this is turned on. This is how Tap Forms 5 syncs it’s database documents, through your iCloud Drive. So we first have to make sure that this is turned on. So this has turned on. I’m all set with iCloud.

Now, how do we enable it in Tap Forms 5? Well, let’s go back over to my Tap Forms 5 database document. Now, what we need to do is go to Tap Forms 5 preferences, go up under the menu bar, Tap Forms 5 and we go over to Preferences. We have a new window that opens up, and from here what we need to do is go over to Sync. When I click on sync, you’re going to see I have a few options for syncing including iCloud.

Now what is the difference between these different syncing options? Well with iCloud, which is what we’re discussing in this video, with iCloud what I’m able to do is share my database documents with my personal devices, such as my iPad, my iPhone, or even another Mac. I have to be signed in with the same iCloud account on all of my devices. So this is great for personal devices. I want to access my database documents, my forms within my database documents, on all of my devices. But let’s say you wanted to share your database documents with other people. So now you can no longer use it, because they do not have access to your iCloud account. Well, then what you would do is you would use something like IBM Cloudant. If you want to learn more about this, all you have to do is just select this, and then from here, you click on Learn More About Sync with IBM Cloudant. With this option, what you’re able to do is share your database documents with other people.

But again, what we’re going to be looking at in this video is iCloud because I believe that this is how most people will use us. They just want to share their own documents with all of their own personal devices. So I click on iCloud here and now all I need to do is click on Enable. When I click on Enable here, it’s going to move my database documents into that iCloud Drive, so then what I’m able to do on my other devices, once I enable I called sync on those other devices, I’m able to access my database document. So that’s pretty much all there is to sync in Tap Forms 5.

Now you can only choose one of these options. So if you want to use iCloud, you cannot use IBM Cloudant as an example. If you need to use IBM Cloudant, you cannot use iCloud. So as we can see, I’m going to click on Done here, now that I have iCloud set for syncing, you’re going to see the status down here in the lower right hand. It was last uploaded at 3 38 on 6 28. So this is where we can see the status. Now, all I need to do is go to my iPhone and download Tap Forms 5, I set it up for iCloud syncing. Being that I’m using the same iCloud account, Tap Forms 5 on my iPhone will go to my iCloud Drive and find all these records. So I can go to the record store, see what albums I have. If I purchase another, I add it on my iPhone. It will show up on my Mac as well because I’m syncing across all of my different devices.

So that’s how we use iCloud to sync our databases, our database documents, with Tap Forms 5 on the Mac. The first thing we need to do is make sure that we’re using iCloud Drive. This is how Tap Forms 5 syncs all of it’s data. You do this through System Preferences. Once you set up iCloud Drive, you just go back into your Tap Forms 5, go to the Preferences for Tap Forms 5, and under the syncing tab, make sure that you enable iCloud. Once you do that, iCloud will move all of the data over to iCloud Drive, and then all of your other devices will be able to access that same data.

So that’s how we set up Tap Forms 5 to sync with iCloud on the Mac.