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Getting Started

More information is available in the FAQ. If you're having trouble starting or running SyncDocs, see the section below. If you're able to start SyncDocs, but you're having another problem, please go to the Troubleshooting page.

Installation

On Mac OS X, double click the ZIP archive to unarchive it, then double click the "Sync Docs" application. On any other platform, unpack the ZIP file with WinZip or another unarchive tool and double click the JAR file. SyncDocs requires no extra installation (other than Java, see below).

If Starting SyncDocs Doesn't Work

If double-clicking the JAR file on Windows or Linux doesn't work, the first thing you need to do is install Java (if it's not already installed). The most straightforward way of fixing a broken installation is to install the latest Java version. I recommend the latest update of Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 for use with SyncDocs. If you have installed Java and double-clicking the JAR still doesn't work, a well intentioned program or person may have reassociated JAR files with an extractor such as WinZip, as most JAR files are not correctly set up to auto-launch and often unpacking the contents is what is most relevant. To re-associate JAR files with Java in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, please follow the following steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer (to any folder on your computer).
2. Select Tools/Folder Options... from the menu.
3. Select the File Types tab.
4. Press "j" to skip down to the "J" extensions.
5. Click the row with the "JAR" extension (if it isn't already highlighted)
6. Click the "Change" button in the middle-right of the dialog
7. Select "Java(TM) 2 Platform Standard Edition binary" or "Java(TM) Platform SE binary". (If there is more than one of these in the list, you have more than one version of Java installed. Pick the last one.)
8. Select "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" if it is not already selected and can be changed.
9. Click OK. (In the Open With dialog.)
10. Click OK. (In the Folder Options dialog.)

Uninstallation

To remove it, delete the folder or directory where SyncDocs was unpacked, then remove the "SyncDocs.conf" file in your profile (Windows) or the ".syncdocs" file in your home directory (all other operating systems). If you can't find the file, run SyncDocs in Troubleshooting mode, and the third last line will be like the following:

Saving preferences to 'C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\SyncDocs.conf'.

Using SyncDocs

Drag one or more files onto the application. They will appear in a table with the "App Name" column set to "(Sync with next app)". The next handheld application that asks for a file of this type will download it. In other words, if you have dropped a ".txt" file into the table, the next application that syncs with SyncDocs and asks for all ".txt" files will receive this file. In future versions, the name of the application will then be displayed, and that file will sync automatically only with that application. That way, multiple applications can handle the same file types with no problems.

If you aren't ready to sync a file, click on "(Sync with next app)" and then select "(Don't sync yet)". Windows may require two clicks, one to select the row, and one to open the drop-down. Once a file is set to "(Don't sync yet"), any applications that ask will not see this file.

In future versions, once an application requests to sync it will appear in the drop-down, so that you can pick and choose which applications should sync with which files.

SyncDocs is available under the GNU General Public License. SyncDocs is ©2008 Christopher Evans. Use the Contact Me link in the link bar to e-mail me.