‘Synchronization Failed’ error message? Read this.

[Brendan]

In the latest update for Tap Forms for iOS and Mac, I changed the way that the sync files are encrypted before being uploaded to iCloud. Some customers had concerns that they believed the data files I sent to iCloud were not being encrypted because when they added a new device and synced, Tap Forms happily downloaded the data from iCloud and was able to decrypt it and display it to them.

This was not the case. The data was always encrypted before being sent to iCloud. The issue was with the key being used to create the sync files. Tap Forms was using an algorithmically generated key which all versions of Tap Forms knew how to generate, so each copy of Tap Forms could automatically decrypt the sync files being generated from all other copies.

But in version 2.2 for Mac and version 3.8.1 for iOS, I’ve changed that so that Tap Forms will use the encryption key that you have set in the security settings screen. It actually combines it with the algorithmically generated key, so even you wouldn’t be able to decrypt the sync files without knowing both keys.

So now in order for each copy of Tap Forms to be able to decrypt the sync files generated by all the other copies of Tap Forms, each copy has to have the exact same encryption key set.

A few customers have confused the Passcode lock with the encryption key. So after they have realized the confusion and have successfully set the same encryption key on each copy of Tap Forms, iCloud sync began working again for them.

So here’s how you get them all to be the same on each device:

Mac version:

To set the encryption key, select the Preferences command under the Tap Forms menu on the Mac version. Then click on Security. Then click on “Set Encryption Key”. Make up some value for it that you will remember later.

iOS version:

Tap on the Tools button, then tap on “Security Settings”. Then tap on “Set Encryption Key”. Then set it to the same value as you have on all the other devices now.

Then on each device go into the iCloud Sync screen and click or tap on the “Reset iCloud Sync” button. Then wait for each of the devices to clear from the list of Registered Devices.

Once the list has been cleared from each device, re-enable iCloud sync on each device.

Once all devices see all other devices (and themselves), then you can try your sync again by tapping or clicking on the Upload to iCloud button on only ONE device at a time. Wait for the other devices to auto-sync in between.

Note:

A couple of customers had the “Change Encryption Key” button on the Mac version instead of the “Set Encryption Key” button. Perhaps it was accidentally set at some point before.

To get it back to “Set Encryption Key”, quit out of Tap Forms, then launch the Keychain Access application. Enter “Tap Forms” into the Search field at the upper-right of the window. Then click on the Tap Forms entry that has the kind of “application password”. Delete it or double-click on it to view what the current encryption key is set to. Click on the “Show password” button. You’ll need to enter your computer’s login password in order to view the password.

Now re-launch Tap Forms. The Security screen should now say “Set Encryption Key”. Go ahead and set the value to be the same as you’ve set for the iOS devices.

That’s all there is to it.

Thanks!

Brendan

[tropical_sheep_farmer]

Shucks. I tried this, and my devices are only seeing themselves. I rebooted and everything! Anything else I can try?

[Brendan]

First off, you need to make sure that you’re logged into the same iCloud account on all devices using the same Apple ID. If not, then sync won’t work.

If you have all devices set to the same Apple ID, then try resetting Documents & Data on http://www.icloud.com

You can get to the Reset Documents & Data function by clicking on your name at the upper-right of the http://www.icloud.com website after you’ve logged in and then clicking on Account Settings.

From there you can click on Advanced, then Reset Documents & Data. Then on Reset Documents & Data again after the last screen displays.

This should force all of your devices to sync their Documents & Data files. Tap Forms relies on Documents & Data to facilitate the sync process.

Thanks!

Brendan

[tropical_sheep_farmer]

Magical! It worked!

Thanks Brendan!!

[Gary Griffith]

I need to get back to ‘Set encryption key’ on the iOS version. I don’t recall ever setting up the encryption code. How do I get back to setting the encryption so that I can sync? Thanks.

[Gary Griffith]

Brendan,

I solved the problem by making a backup of the iOS database, deleting and reinstalling Tap Forms HD and then restoring from the backup. Then, having set the encryption code the same on both devices, it finally synced! Thanks for the email response pointing me to this forum and to your earlier response on the forum.

[Brendan]

Hi Gary,

Yes, on iOS the only way to clear the encryption key is to uninstall and then re-install. Making a backup first is important because when you uninstall you lose your data.

Thanks!

Brendan

[tiptronic]

Hi Brendan,

maybe you should clarify whether an encryption key is REQUIRED or not.

From the current wording in the online manual it is not clear, if you need to set a key before you can use iCloud-sync (or not).

From my understanding, I can keep the field empty, if I don’t care about additional encryption, and my devices will still sync…

andy

[John Chryssochoos]

I have tried everything on this page without any luck. Now, I can’t get icloud documents and data to reset. It says cant reset at this time try again later. My computers can’t se each other even though they have the same encryption key and icloud account.

I believe my syncing went awry when i installed Yosemite beta on one of my computers 9not the two I am trying to sync unsuccessfully at present).

Any help would be appreciated.

[John Chryssochoos]

Update I had to login delete Tap form documents from icloud from system preferences on a computer using Yosemite.

Even after that I could not get Tap forms to see other computers or sync.

Do I need to make a new appleid and start over from a backup?

[Brendan]

From Apple’s OS X 10.10 release notes for Yosemite:

iCloud Drive
Note
Migrating to iCloud Drive will disable Documents & Data syncing for your iCloud account on OS X Mavericks and earlier Macs, as well as iOS 7 and earlier devices.

https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/mac/releasenotes/General/rn-osx-10.10/index.html

So you’ll have to wait now for iOS 8 to be released before you’ll get sync working again because Apple has done a one-time migration of your data from Documents & Data to iCloud Drive.

Sorry about that, but it’s not a Tap Forms issue, it’s an Apple iCloud Drive issue.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Simon Potton]

Brendan said “So you’ll have to wait now for iOS 8 to be released”. And Yosemite? I’ve installed OS8 on my iPad – not yet on my iPhone – but still using Mavericks on my Mac (i.e. not tried a Beta of Yosemite). On the iPad, when installing iOS8, I opted for iCloud Drive. Now when I access iCloud.com from my Mac, ‘Documents and data’ is no longer available in iCloud.com settings. So I presume I can’t fix the tapForms sync issue at the moment. Anyway, Brendan, thanks for the clear and helpful guidance so far, I guess I am now in Apple’s hands.

[Brendan]

Hi Simon,

Yup, you’re now at the mercy of Apple and Yosemite. Apple essentially freezes syncing of Documents & Data once you choose to migrate to iCloud Drive.

There’s a TUAW article which talks about this issue here:

http://www.tuaw.com/2014/09/17/psa-do-not-upgrade-to-icloud-drive-during-ios-8-installation/

I also just posted something on my blog about it.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Bruce Ferri]

I can’t find “Advanced” or “Reset Documents & Data” in Account settings in icloud.
I’m running Mavericks on the desk top and iOS8 on my phone.
The devices do not see each other.
I tried everything else
Thanks

[Brendan]

Hi Bruce,

It’s on http://www.icloud.com after you’ve logged in. Although since you’ve upgraded to iOS 8, you may have enabled iCloud Drive. If so, then you won’t be able to sync with your Mac anymore until you install OS X 10.10 Yosemite, which Apple hasn’t released just yet.

Please see this article:

http://www.tuaw.com/2014/09/17/psa-do-not-upgrade-to-icloud-drive-during-ios-8-installation/

Thanks!

Brendan

[Bruce Ferri]

I have a non Mavericks computer and an iPad mini running iOS7, and they can’t see each other. My iOS8 iPad and iPhone can’t see each other either

[Brendan]

Hi Bruce,

What do you mean by non-Mavericks? Older than Mavericks or Yosemite?

In any case, if you enabled iCloud Drive on iOS 8, Apple disables sync for all devices NOT running OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8. That means iOS 7 and anything older than OS X 10.10.

In Apple’s own words from their release notes:

iCloud Drive
Note
Migrating to iCloud Drive will disable Documents & Data syncing for your iCloud account on OS X Mavericks and earlier Macs, as well as iOS 7 and earlier devices.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Federico Basso Zaffagno]

Hi Brendan, I’ve a problem about syncing with iCloud.
Today I downloaded OS X Yosemite on my iMac and I use an iPhone 6 plus with the latest version of iOS8.
So, on Tap Forms for Mac I activated iCloud syncro, and in the list I see, as a register dispositive, the iMac.
On Tap Forms for iPhone I activated iCloud syncro, that never ends and in the list I see, as a register dispositive, only the iPhone.
On the Mac I don’t see the iPhone as a registered dispositive.
Please, can you help me?

[Federico Basso Zaffagno]

I’ve an updating.
Now on Tap Forms for Mac compares the iPhone on the registered list, but on the iPhone doesn’t compare the iMac.

[Rick Browne]

I have similar problem.
After upgrading to iOS 8 and to Yosemite, on my iMac in Tap Forms under iCloud sync it shows both my iMac and my iPod, but on my iPod it only shows the iPod as a Registered Device. The iMac is not there and sync does not work either way (iPod to imac or iMac to iPod).
The iPod is on 3.9.1 and the iMac on 2.2.3.
Both are using the correct iCloud account.

All worked well before the upgades.

Where to from here?

Rick

[Brendan]

I highly recommend signing out of iCloud completely (using the Sign Off button in the iCloud settings) on all your devices and then sign back in. That worked for me when I had this problem. After you sign back in, give your devices some time to finish syncing files from iCloud. It could even take a half an hour or more as iCloud downloads possibly lots and lots of files. It all depends on how fast your Internet connection is and how many files you have in iCloud. Once you’ve given iCloud Drive some time to catch up, try enabling sync in Tap Forms and see if all devices show up.

Be patient. Once things settle down, syncing should be faster than it ever was with iCloud’s old Documents & Data service. With that, sometimes sync would take as long as 1/2 an hour or more just to kick in. At least that’s how it was for me. With OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, it generally takes less than a minute.

If you’d like to monitor iCloud Drive to see what it’s doing, launch the Terminal application on your Mac and enter in this command:

brctl log -w

That will display when your Mac sends and receives files. When you enable iCloud Sync in Tap Forms, it creates a file called TFSyncDevice….tfs. That file should get synced to your other devices and appear as a device in the list of Registered Devices. When you tap on the upload to iCloud button, Tap Forms creates a TFSyncDoc….tfx file which contains the changes since the last time you did that. Obviously the first one generated will be the largest because it contains basically all the data in the database up until that point.

Photos and other external files are synced independently of you uploading to iCloud so you’ll see those files displayed in the brctl output even if you didn’t click the upload to iCloud button but you simply changed a photo. Please note however, the thumbnail won’t be updated until you click the upload to iCloud button on another device and then it updates on the device you’re watching. However, the large photo may update before that happens.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Rick Browne]

All OK.
Followed your suggestion to kill iCloud on both devices, and then sign in again. After a long time with the copying and syncing, ALL IS WELL again!

Thank you, Brendan

Rick

[Brendan]

@viticci from http://www.macstories.net recently tweeted this:

That was 3 hours of debugging an app’s iCloud issues fixed by “log out from iCloud and log back in”.

So it’s not just a Tap Forms issue.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Mattapper]

Hi Brendan,
i still have problems when trying to sync my iPhone, iPad and iMac so maybe you can help me with some additional tips?
First, with “signing out of iCloud completely” do you mean the settings in Tap Forms or the general iCloud settings in “Settings / iCloud”?
And Second – do i have to set an encryption key in Tap Forms? Until now i always left this field blank on all devices…
Thanks for your assistance,
Matthias

[Brendan]

Hello Mattias,

Yes, I mean the OS level Sign Off button. On Mac it’s in the System Preferences app under the iCloud prefs pane. On iOS it’s in the Settings app.

You should set the encryption key to be the same value on each device.

You don’t need to actually encrypt your database. Just set the value to be the same. If it works without setting a value at all then that’s fine. If not, make sure they’re all the same.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Daan]

Well, since accidentally upgrading to iCloud Drive when installing iOS 8, iCloud sync is broken. Even after upgrading to Yosemite, it is still not working. I followed the advice above, eg setting an identical encryption key on all devices, resetting iCloud sync on all devices and even logging out of iCloud, again on all devices. But to no avail: it is still NOT working.

All devices (MacBook, iMac, iPhone 6, iPad Air) only see themselves in the iCloud Sync screen within TapForms.

Help!?

[Jon Cage]

I too am having trouble getting Tap Forms to sync across my Mac, iPhone, and iPad. I have reset iCloud Drive etc and things are still not syncing properly.

UPDATE: Finally synced but it took several hours….and the database is very small (I am testing things before I put all my other personal databases into Tap Form). Must be iCloud Drive issues as Brendan has stated…..

[Brendan]

Daan,

Did you try the brctl log -w command to see what it shows? Does it show anything at all when you enable iCloud sync on each device? That’s the guts of iCloud Drive speaking there.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Jean-Marie Bellec]

Hi everybody !

Yesterday morning installation of Yosemite on my iMac and MacBook Air
Today a few hours trying everything possible: sign off icloud on internet, sign off icloud drive on system pref, stop synchro, etc, etc…

And now it works ! from MBA to iMac and reverse !

But I can’t see the Tap Forms folder in my iCloud Drive…

[Daan]

Brendan,

I have good news and bad news…

First, the good news. When I check to ‘iCloud Sync’ popdown window in TapForms on my Macs, I now see all 4 clients! When pushing changes to the cloud, I also see the time stamps updating. That is, for the 2 Macs. It takes some time and patience, but I actually see content being synced across. Moreover: since a few minutes, the Macs are actually in 100% sync!

The bad news: since upgrading to iOS 8.1, TapForms sync on iPhone/iPad seems to be broken. It is asking to switch iCloud Drive on, even though that is already enabled on both devices. I guess we have to wait for a TapForms iOS upgrade…

@Brian: I indeed see Tapform activity in ‘brutal log -w’ when I click on the ‘iCloud push’ button in TapForms. Cannot check the iOS clients at this moment though.

@Jean-Marie: Fine that it works for you – it almost works for me as well. But I also do not see a TapForms folder in my iCloud Drive, neither on my Mac nor on iCloud.com. But maybe it is designed this way?

[Leo]

Brendan,

I saw in the settings for iCloud (manage programs) that there is a setting for Tapforms Lite!

Is this correct, because the lite version doesn’t sync?

Syncing still doesn’t happen…also a lot of crashes while trying to sync on iOS 8.1 as well as OSx Yosemite

I have a crashreport, i’ll PM this to you.

Leo

[Leo]

UPDATE:

just got a perfect sync between MACBOOK AIR and Ipad mini… now the other device… fingers crossed

[Brendan]

The Manage Storage area of iCloud does show as “Tap Forms Lite”. I have a support request in to Apple to try and figure out why it says that. I thought I had configured my iCloud Display Sets correctly to show the proper value, but I apparently haven’t done something right with that. I’m waiting to hear back from Apple on this.

Also, Tap Forms doesn’t show up with a folder in the iCloud Drive area. I haven’t figured out why yet. Not many apps that I have show up there at the moment, so there must be something specific the developer needs to do to support that, which I haven’t had a chance to look into yet.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Pukfan]

I have a mac mini 2012 with latest version of Yosemite, iPhone 5S (TF V3.9.1 (219), iOS 8.0.2 (12A405)) and iPad Air (TF V 3.9.1 (232), iOS 8.1 (12B410)).

I can synch fine between iPhone and Mac, but no joy with the iPad. TF on each device shows all devices as registered. Tried resetting synch on iPad. Tried opening iCloud – no TF folder visible. Noticed in the iCloud synch screen in TF, Each device shows 0% upload and 0% download for the other devices despite multiple uploads and downloads (when does this ever show 100%?), though time/date of last synch is correct.

I have noticed that when I open TF on the iPad it opens to where I left off but in a frozen state. I have to close TF, then double tap the home button and swipe TF closed, then open back up to get it working. I’m guessing latest iOS (8.1) did something to trash TF and negate iCloud synch? I’m hesitant to upgrade iPhone to 8.1 to confirm – if it aint broke don’t fix it!

[Brendan]

Hi Shaun,

The Download % and Upload % indicators only ever change if iCloud is actually uploading or downloading files. Once it gets to 100%, it resets back to 0%. So if you missed it, you’ll always see 0%.

I would just let the iPad version sit there in its frozen state for a little while. It should come back to life and then you shouldn’t have that problem again after.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Pukfan]

Thanks for clarifying % part of my question.

But still unable to synch my iPad.

I have an important data base on my iPad that I am trying to get onto my mac and get this database synched with all my devices. Since I am unable to synch it over, I tried beaming it to my iPhone (which synchs well with my mac) but no luck. After the failed beam, I went back to my iPad and I lost half of my records (was 77, now only has 36). Fortunately I made a back up so not in panic mode. But lost all trust in iPad version (running iOS 8.1).

[Brendan]

Hi Shaun,

You can’t really beam an entire database over from one device to another. You can beam individual records though.

If you add a new record on your iPad, do those other records come back? I’m wondering if the record count got updated to 35, but the records are still there in the form? If you add a new record, the record count property will be updated.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Pukfan]

Brendan:

I waited a day and then found TF showed the original number of records – not sure how but it is back. I had been trying to beam the form BTW, and then emailed the database to get it from my iPad to my Mac. Still no luck synching anything wiith my iPad so abandoning that for now and using Mac and iPhone which synch fine with each other. Hoping Apple fixes iOs 8.1 soon as having other issues with various apps on iPad (which has 8.1).

[Pukfan]

Finally figured it out – reset network on ipad and all is well. (settings, general, reset, reset network settings).

[Brendan]

Hi Shaun,

Excellent! There’s always some way to get these things working.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Guy Hammond]

Hi Brendan

I’ve been having the same problem since updating to Yosemite, iOS8.1 and iCloud drive etc.

I’ve followed the steps outlined above but can’t seem to be able to set an encryption key on my Mac. I go to “Security Settings”, enter a key twice and the “Save Encryption Key” button highlights blue, but when I click it nothing happens! It doesn’t appear to save, the dialog stays on the screen and the only way I can get out is to press Cancel which presumably does just that. I’ve tried numerous different key combinations but always with the same result.

Am I missing something?

[Daan]

Brian,

While the Mac-related sync issues slowly seem to resolve themselves, I still get the message ‘Please turn on your iCloud account using the Settings app, including iCloud Drive’ even while iCloud and iCloud Drive *ARE* turned on and are working as expected in all other apps.

I am using the latest versions of TF (3.9.1 – 219) and iOS (8.1) on an iPhone 6 and an iPad Air form last year.

I did log off from iCloud on all devices — and had a lot of trouble signing in afterwards, as my 2-step verification push message does not come through anymore to my Vodafone-subscripted iPhone (a bug in iCloud for several providers at this moment).

Help again?

[Brendan]

Hi Guy,

I posted another message here about how to get the Set Encryption Key button to work. I’ve fixed it for the next update (which I will be sending to Apple for review at the end of this week). There’s a sticky post in this forum at the top.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Brendan]

Hi Brian,

You know, I got that message today also that iCloud Drive was off on my iPhone 6. Even though I know it was on.

What’s going on here is Tap Forms is asking the operating system if the current device is logged into iCloud. In this situation though Tap Forms is being told the user is not logged in. So for that situation, I tell the user to login because the app doesn’t know any better. Apple’s iCloud is being wonky and Tap Forms is reacting to that. The solution for me was to reboot my iPhone and then it worked after that. It was a red herring.

So give a reboot a try.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Guy Hammond]

Thanks Brendan

I’ve already tried the steps in your first post but when I go into Keychain Access and search for Tap Forms, nothing comes up. As the button already says “save” rather than “change” I assume that’s not the problem. Something seems to be preventing the EK being set in the first place.

It’s all very frustrating! I hope the update rectifies this.

Guy

[Brendan]

Hi Guy,

Yes, the 3.0.1 update fixes the Set Encryption Key bug.

If you haven’t been able to set the encryption key, then you should do that following the instructions on the other sticky note at the top of this forum.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Guy Hammond]

Sorry Brendan but do you mean the “Reset Documents & Data” function? If so, that doesn’t seem to appear in the new iCloud settings – there isn’t even an “Advanced” option.

[Brendan]

Hi Guy,

I’m not sure if you’re responding to The Set Encryption Key button issue or something else. Right, iCloud Drive doesn’t have a Reset Documents & Data function on the website anymore.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Guy Hammond]

Hi Brendan

I was responding to responding to the Set Encryption Key problem.

In your reply, you suggested I follow the instructions in the sticky post at the top to set the encryption key. Well I’ve done all that and still no joy. Tap Forms on my iMac just won’t save it – the button just stays highlighted (as described in my original post of 3rd Nov). Therefore, syncing fails on all my other devices.

Guy

[Brendan]

Hi Guy,

I was referring to this sticky post:

Set Encryption Key not working on Mac 3.0

Once you follow those instructions you won’t have to click on the Set Encryption Key button. Because that button will never work until I release version 3.0.1.

After you’ve followed the Keychain Access instructions, then Reset iCloud Sync on each device in Tap Forms. Then try your sync again. It should work this time as long as all devices have the same key.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Guy Hammond]

Thanks Brendan, I’ll try that. I didn’t spot that post in the previous spread.

I’ll ley you know how I get on.

Guy

[Henk van der Veen]

Hi Brendan

I’m not sure I understood all the remarks you wrote in relation to the sync problems.
I’m on OS-X10 (Imac 2011) en IOS8 (Ipad air2) and run Taprooms on both devices.
What I see when I’m syncing is that it looks good, but there is not real syncing. No error messages, but no syncing. On the Ipad I see both registered devices telling me that the last sync was today.
After some tries I rest the sync on the Imac and did it again. The Ipad is telling me that both devices have synced. The Imac shows surprisingly only the mac but its also telling that there was a sync. But still nothing synced

And yes I enabled ICloud Drive at the install of OS-X

So what to do?
Henk

[Guy Hammond]

The only way I got it to work in the end was to go into iCloud Settings (on Mac or iOS) select “manage storage”, find TapForms and choose “delete documents and data”.

When I turned on syncing again it took longer but each device eventually had the same up-to-date data.

It goes without saying to make a backup of your TapForms database first!!

Guy

[Henk van der Veen]

Hi Guy
Thanks
I tried, but no success. To be sure: what I did was first go to System Preferences, chose iCloud,choose Idrive, choose TapForms and disabled it. (NB: I’m working on a Dutch language system, so I hope that you recognize my ‘labels’; it can be called different in an english system). I don’t see something as “delete documents and data”

When i want to sync that responds in the message ‘enable iCloud’, so i repeated the steps and enabled Tapforms again. Both devices gave massages that there was a sync, but the end result was the same: no real sync at all.
N
Henk

[Guy Hammond]

Hi Henk
Don’t worry, I understand your labels! I can see where you have gone wrong – that’s what I tried at first but it didn’t help. I only found this method by accident.

What you need to do is go to System Preferences, choose iCloud but DON’T choose iCloud drive. Instead, click on the “Manage” button in the bottom right corner (next to the coloured bar showing how much iCloud storage is avaialble. This takes you to the “Manage Storage” window and down the left hand side are listed all the apps that use iCloud. Choose Tap Forms and in the right hand pane will be a button saying “delete Documents & Data”. That’s the one to click.

Hope this helps

Guy

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[Henk van der Veen]

Hi Guy

I found it. Took all the steps, but still no exact sync. What I notice that on the Ipad I see both registered device with sync data (both same date), but on the Imac I don’t see the Ipad, only the Imac as a registered device. May be thats the cause?
Henk

[Guy Hammond]

Have you tried the “rest iCloud sync” option again?

It’s very frustrating I know.

[Henk van der Veen]

Hi Guy

It’s indeed frustrating. I dit a reset on the sync (and al the other stuff again).
It’s still not working. I’ve still a mismatch between my devices and I still don’t see the Ipad as a registered device on the Imac.

Maybe has Brendan a clue?

gr Henk

[Brendan]

Hi Henk,

Some customers have found that using the “Reset Network Settings” from the Settings app under General > Reset can help.

When you don’t see all devices listed, that tells you that iCloud Drive is just not syncing the TFSyncDevice files which Tap Forms writes to your Mobile Documents folder. It may seem odd, but Tap Forms isn’t actually doing any syncing over the network at all. It’s simply writing files to your Mobile Documents folder and then it’s up to iCloud Drive to sync those files to your other devices.

When iCloud Drive syncs a TFSyncDevice file generated on one of your devices by Tap Forms, it displays it as an entry in the list of Registered Devices. So that’s the missing bit here for you. iCloud Drive is not syncing the TFSyncDevice files when you don’t see them all listed. And if it’s not syncing the TFSyncDevice files, chances are it’s also not syncing the TFSyncDoc files which are the files that contain your actual changes to your data.

The things that have helped customers in the past (from simplest to most annoying):

1. Reboot all devices
2. Reset Network Settings
3. Delete Documents & Data in the iCloud Manage Storage area.
4. Logout of iCloud and Log back in.

But also you need patience and only tap the upload to iCloud button once you see ALL devices listed on each other device. And then, only tap the upload to iCloud button on ONE device. Wait for your other devices to auto-sync. That’s the best thing I’ve found to make this work properly. Because if you are frantically tapping on upload to iCloud on all your devices trying to get things to sync, you may be causing more problems than you’re trying to solve.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Henk van der Veen]

Hi Brendan

Thanks. It works again.
What I did was first reboot both systems. Second I disabled wifi on the Ipad and enabled wifi again. I also disabled wifi on the Imac (because it’s connected with a cable with my router, both were enabled). Then I started Tapform on my Imac. Choose the sync option. I saw immediately that my Ipad was recognized and the numbers of records were now the same (so the sync was done immediately)

Henk

[Patrice Hof]

Hi Brendan,
I tried again to sync from scratch. It takes several hours to sync a 200 Mo DB on 3 OSX devices and 2 iOS devices. I’m not finished yet, and the terminal shows this error message:

[ERROR] 4049.948 [2014-11-23 22:34:35.667] brc.fs.writer fs.writer BRCFSWriter.m:828
Failed to unstage r:6102 i:FXLPHZS84D.com.clickspace.tapforms:92107664-F3F0-4347-9666-4D8A7A479886 up:idle st{p:FA4B15CB-41C1-4743-90EB-793E5CA53E8B n:”BonDél Sculier 2012 08 15.pdf” fault reserved etag:1ct bt:315442800 m:rw- doc:18220 pino:13613685 s_ino:13624810 s_gen:61} ct{etag:1cs mt:1398437704 sz:829 Ko (849188) n:”BonDél Sculier 2012 08 15.pdf” sig:01d90aacd451316db8eb79b39e32b40ff4898ccb8d device:1 quarantined} downloading{etag:1cs mt:1398437704 sz:829 Ko (849188) n:”BonDél Sculier 2012 08 15.pdf” sig:01d90aacd451316db8eb79b39e32b40ff4898ccb8d device:1 quarantined downloading} [(null)] to BonDél Sculier 2012 08 15.pdf: Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=0 “L’opération n’a pas pu s’achever. Erreur inconnue : 0” UserInfo=0x7fa51ac26050 {NSDescription=Undefined error: 0}

Could it prevent the syncing to occur? This error message is produced for all pdf documents attached to records…

Thanks for your help
patrice

[Brendan]

Hi Patrice,

Well, those errors are coming from iCloud Drive itself, not directly from Tap Forms.

I’m not sure why it’s doing that to all of your PDF files.

Are they making it to your other devices? They may be temporary errors from iCloud Drive also.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Ricardo Osuna]

Hi,

I’m beyond frustration at this point. Synchronization stopped working for me a long time ago when my old iPad didn’t take updates anymore. Now I got a new iPad and still nothing.

I have tried multiple things recommended in this forum without success. Finally I tried removing the app from my iPad Air and my iPhone 6+ and now my iPhone is asking me to pay for the app again.

The problem that I was seeing is that only one device is shown in the list of available devices for synchronization.

This was such a usefull and easy to use app before some “upgrades” were done to it now there seems to be no way in hell to make my two devices synchronize.

Please advice how I can get my iPhone app restored without me having to pay again in order to be able to try to get things working by restoring from my backup on both devices.

[Brendan]

Hi Ricardo,

You never have to pay again to re-download any app from the App Store. The only time that would ever happen is if you are now using a different Apple ID to check your purchase history than the one you used to originally purchase Tap Forms OR you’ve confused the full version with the Lite version upgraded to full version with the In-App purchase option.

I would recommend searching your Purchases history to find Tap Forms there so you know which version you had originally purchased. If it was the Lite version, then you will need to use the “Restore Purchase” function which is on the Purchase Full Version screen in the Tools area in Tap Forms LT.

As for syncing… Are you using the latest version of iOS 8 and Tap Forms? And do you have iCloud Drive enabled on all devices? Are you trying to sync an older version of Tap Forms with a newer version perhaps? Do you have the same encryption key set on each device? If so, then try the Reset iCloud Sync button. Wait for the list of devices to clear on each device. Then re-enable iCloud sync on each device.

If you still can’t get each device to recognize each other, try the Reset Network Settings function in the Settings app under the Genera > Reset area. That has worked for many customers.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Ricardo Osuna]

Brendan,

Thanks for the quick reply. As you suggested I concluded that I originally had installed the “lite” version. It is just confusing that I still have this version even though I upgraded to the “HD” version. In any case, I could re-install without having to pay again although my icon still says “LT”.
I had tried everything you mentioned in your reply except reseting the nework settings without success. However, I’m glad to say that resseting the network on both of my devices finally fixed the problem.

Thanks again.

Ricardo.

[Brendan]

Hello Ricardo,

Oh that’s great news! I’m glad you got it going now.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Andrew Jolly]

I have iOS8 on my iPhone which syncs fine to iCloud (not iCloud drive)
And v 3.0.3 on iMac running Yosemite and iCloud is switched on. But when I try and sync from here the message is to switch iCloud on. I don’t want iCloud drive yet.
Why won’t it recognise that iCloud basic is on as all other apps do?
And I haven’t even this this on Macbook Air yet.
All used to work ok.
Or should I use dropbox, but that’s not on iPhone app.

[Brendan]

Hi Andrew,

Sorry for the delayed response. I didn’t see your message posted in this thread. You might be better off as a new message for questions like this.

iCloud Drive is required on iOS 8 and Yosemite to sync Tap Forms.

iCloud is actually many different things and Tap Forms uses just one small piece of iCloud, namely iCloud Drive.

Other iCloud services are specialized to their own software. For example, Contacts iCloud is different than Calendar’s iCloud which is different than Photos, which is different than Safari, which is different than Keychain, and so on.

In fact, if you want to see just how many different things iCloud is, you can see Apple’s status page about it here:

https://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/

Anything there that has Cloud in the name is a different iCloud service that has nothing to do with the other iCloud services. You just login to them all with the same Apple ID. That’s the only common thread.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Jake Viarrial]

Brendan,

My problem is a little different. When I try to enable iCloud Sync in Sync Settings, The Tap Forms crashes. I know its off the topic, but it also crashes when I try taking a picture or adding a picture from the photo album, but it only does it from time to time for long periods of time. Also, My photos aren’t displaying in the forms, but they are displaying in the list view.

Sorry for putting all of my issues on this Post, but I’m getting close to my deadline to get my inventory of over 1,000 forms to an insurance company for a museum.

Please help!

[Jake Viarrial]

I forgot to mention that I’m using the iPad app with iOS 8.3 and version 4.0.1 of the app.

[Brendan]

Hi Jake,

Can you make sure that iCloud Drive is enabled on your iPad and that Tap Forms is enabled for iCloud Drive in the Settings app? That may be the issue with the crashing and your photos not showing.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Jake Viarrial]

Brendon,

So it let me set my iPad to sync, but the info isn’t syncing on one iPad even with the same encryption code and only one of my iPad see’s the other iPad; The other iPad only see’s itself. Forms are syncing to the iPad that’s working from the iPad that I’m having trouble with, but the pictures aren’t showing up just like they were on the iPad I’m having trouble with.

Thanks for the quick response,

Jake

[Brendan]

Hi Jake,

Try a reboot of all your devices. That should hopefully clear up the issue with the devices not showing up. And possible the photos too.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Jake Viarrial]

Brendon

I rebooted both devices and I’m still having trouble. Also, I just noticed that iPad that is syncing correctly was on iOS 8.2 so I updated it to 8.3 to see if it would fix the issue and it didnt,however, now some of the forms on the iPad that is syncing correctly is missing pictures that were previously there. I’m not sure whats going on with the syncing problem, but do you think the picture issue is related to iOS 8.3?

Thanks,

Jake

[Jake Viarrial]

So I got syncing to work on both devices, but the pictures are still missing and the forms that were created using the iPad I referred to as the “functioning iPad” are missing on the other iPad after synchronizing.

[sandra ragan]

This problem is not just with iCloud. I got tired of getting it to work and changed over to Dropbox. That’s not working either. The current Mac version sync to Dropbox and I can see the mobiles in the window. The mobiles claim to be connected but never download the data file. Both the phone and the iPad (iOS 9) have the default entries only. They were not updating the main files and I deleted the apps to reset them. I can see the files in the Dropbox folders but beyond manually downloading individual events files it won’t sync the main library.

[Brendan]

Hi Sandra,

So are you getting the Sync Failed error message? That’s what this thread was about.

Have you pressed the upload to cloud button on the device that has all the data? The other devices should auto-download the data.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Michael Harrison]

Since buying both mac v3.5.6 and iPhone LT 4.0.3 and then upgrading to full version, I have not been able to get sync to work despite reading all the forums, getting the ‘Synchronization Failed’, logging out of iCloud on both devices, reinstalling on both devices, erasing related docs on iCloud, setting my encryption key, and just about anything else I can think of. When pressing enable sync, I only see the current device on each of them although I did initially see the other devices when first attempting to sync with no luck. After deleting tap form docs on iCloud drive and resetting, it would no longer see the other device. Currently, when I press the RESET SYNC and then ENABLE SYNC buttons, here is the activity shown in terminal feed:

[ERROR] 1155.882 [2015-11-01 15:05:36.496] brc.lost-scan fs.reader BRCFSReader.m:1452
GSLibraryResolveDocumentId(16154); error 16 (Resource busy)
[ERROR] 1176.495 [2015-11-01 15:05:57.109] cloudkit.operation.callback sync.down BRCSyncDownOperation.m:368
zone creation error: <CKError 0x7fb191dcfe70: “Partial Failure” (2/1011); “Failed to modify some record zones”; partial errors: {
FXLPHZS84D.com.clickspace.tapforms:__defaultOwner__ = <CKError 0x7fb191c798e0: “Internal Error” (1/5001); “Fetched zone had no protection data: <CKRecordZone: 0x7fa26248f930; zoneID=FXLPHZS84D.com.clickspace.tapforms:__defaultOwner__, capabilities=(Atomic,Sync)>”>
}>

Please advise?

Michael

[Brendan]

Hi Michael,

I’ve seen these things before with iCloud Drive. But it’s hard to tell why it’s doing that.

Using the Delete Documents & Data function in the Manage Storage area in the iCloud System Preferences can help with this.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Kimberley Hoffman]

I just purchased both versions for Mac and IOS iPad. My Mac is still running on Mavericks and won’t sync. I do realize it is an Apple thing. But could a work around be just to export the data, upload it to Numbers in the cloud and import it to my iPad Tap Forms? Or should I just try synching to DropBox? I’ve heard that my old Bento won’t run on the current Mac System, so I am anxious to transfer data as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Kim

[Brendan]

Hi Kimberly,

Mavericks not supporting iCloud Drive was one reason I added Dropbox as a sync option. You should give Dropbox a try.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Kimberley Hoffman]

Hi Brendan,

Thanks for your reply. I still can’t get the two (iMac and iPad) to sync properly. The Tapform files are locatable within my Dropbox (which seems to be syncing) The iPad isn’t taking on any new forms that I had made (I had imported the data from Bento), it does, however, locate a document that I’d attached to something.

I followed the directions from the User’s manual (iCloud and Dropbox Sync – Tap Forms Mac – 3.0). I also rebooted my iPad. I am not sure what I am overlooking. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Regards
Kim

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[sandra ragan]

The Reply function here doesn’t like the iPad either. Keeps telling me to log in to Reply even when I’m logged in.
As much as I like this software I sure wish FileMaker would bring back support for Bento. It was so much better.

[Brendan]

Hi Sandra,

I’m very sorry for the Reply button issue. I just use WordPress with BBPress as my forum software. I’m not sure why it would think you’re not logged in. I didn’t write this forum software. I just use it.

I am working on an upgrade of Tap Forms which improves the sync process significantly. I’m about 2 months away from finishing it. There will also be new features that Bento never had.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Brendan]

Hi Kimberly,

Try selecting the “None” sync option on all your devices. Then re-select Dropbox and re-authenticate. Then re-enable sync on each device. Then try pressing the upload to cloud button on just one device only. Wait for the other device to auto-sync.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Kimberley Hoffman]

Hi Brendan,

I reverted all to ‘none,’ removed the Tap Forms folder and rebooted my iPad and my iMac. I reselected the Dropbox, re-authenticated, re-enabled the sync. But my iPad is still only showing itself as a Tap Forms device. My iMac isn’t showing any device.

Dropbox is showing a Tap Forms folder in its Appfolder. But the iPad isn’t showing the additions that I had imported from Bento into the Mac Tap Forms. (That is the main reason I purchased the apps, so as not to have to start from scratch. (the other was because once I have to update my Mac (i.e. purchase a new one) I won’t be able to read Bento anymore))

What am I overlooking? I feel a little bit helpless now.

Regards
Kim

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[Kimberley Hoffman]

Hi Brendan,
do you think it would help if I de-install the app from all devices and reinstall? I don’t know if my key would be lost. (I would use the AppCleaner app on the iMac).

Regards
Kim

[Brendan]

Hi Kim,

I see that you didn’t have sync enabled. So that’s why nothing was showing up there in the list of Registered Devices on the Mac. The German translation is incorrect, so it may have confused you about iCloud vs. Dropbox. The button in English says “Enable Cloud Sync”. But the German translation says “iCloud” instead of “Cloud”. Sorry for the confusions. It’s all being corrected in an upgrade I’m working on.

If you use App Cleaner you’ll lose all your data. But what you could do is use the Backup function on the Mac and iOS versions to make backups of your data, then clean and re-install if you like. Then you can restore your data.

Thanks!

Brendan

[Kimberley Hoffman]

Hi Brendan,
Amazing what the click of a button can do. I don’t have to clean out the apps, because the problem was that the ‘iCloud’ box wasn’t checked. As soon as I activated it, both devices showed up on each other’s screen. It is telling me that is synchronising. I will wait to see if the iMac infos show up on the iPad screen (it recognizes it). If you don’t hear from me, then everything is wonderful.
Thanks for your help.
Regards
Kim

[Kimberley Hoffman]

ps. I just wanted to say Thank you! Everything is syncing now.
Regards
Kim

[Kimberley Hoffman]

I haven’t used the Tap Forms for iPad in a while and as I am going on a business trip soon, wanted to get in my notes and things for the work I will be doing. So I opened up Tap Forms on my iPad and have noticed that only one folder had synced on the iPad from my Mac and the app seems to be crashing.

If I go to registered devices I can see on both devices that they are registered. Before I do anything that would lose the most current information that I’ve built up on my Mac, how do I force the iPad to grab the data from the DropBox?(I don’t have time for fixing mistakes this week, so it has to work the first time). The last sync for the iPad was registered on April 15th. The last sync for the mac was on July 17th. Cloud Sync is activated.

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Kim

[Eddzo]

I’m having issues syncing data on my iMac and my iphone.

I’ve lost some images of receipts and added some tables on the iMac that aren’t showing up on the iPhone. When I click on it, it shuts down the app

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[Brendan]

Would you be able to email me a backup of that document so I can see what’s causing the crash when you tap on that form?

Thanks,

Brendan

[andrel42]

Having managed to work out previous iCloud failures in the past years, I am running into a new issue and wondering if someone could assist?

Here is the error message

Thank you
Andre

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[Sam Moffatt]

A cursory Google search seems to indicate that this happens when a user deletes the iCloud data using Settings > iCloud > Manage Storage and then selecting the app in question then deleting it.

I think if you go into Tap Forms and disconnect from iCloud sync in Tap Forms and rejoin. If you still get the error, perhaps try hitting the “Delete from iCloud” option and trying to enable sync again.

[Brendan]

Ya I would suggest pressing Delete from iCloud again and then enable sync. That’ll clear up the error.

[Yogie]

I think it is still not possible to choose an iCloud Account to sync other than the device Apple ID right? It would be great to have the option to make a choice like you can choose a different Apple ID for the App Store.
I also still wonder why you have chosen Claudant and CouchDB – to me these are exotic options, you can find MongoDB support and hostings much easier. ;)

[Brendan]

Hi Jorge,

Yes, that’s right. It can only sync to your own Apple ID connected devices. Apple has enabled a new feature in iOS 15 and macOS 12 Monterey that may allow Tap Forms to share documents with different Apple IDs. It’s something I will be investigating for a future version of Tap Forms.

At the time I chose CouchbaseLite, which was a macOS and iOS framework that would let me sync, but that required syncing either to a CouchbaseLite server, CouchDB, or Cloudant.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Sam Moffatt]

CouchbaseLite also provides the Nearby Sync as well. Keep in mind TF5 was released back in August 2016 so that’s five years old design decision as well (also five years of feature and functionality updates).

[Author]

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