Multiple TapForms files/DBs

[divinenanny]

I vaguely remember this being asked before on the forum, but I can’t find it anymore.

Anyway, I have a bunch of forms in TapForms. Consequently, it takes up a lot of space, which is an issue on my iOS devices. However, I only have a couple of forms I really update a lot and need on my iOS devices, the others are mostly for archiving purposes anyway.

Is there a way to either:
– Select which forms to sync (I am 99.99% sure there isn’t, but I still need to ask)
– Have two DB’s, in different locations on the HD? So I can move (through a backup or something like that) my less used forms to one DB/instance and keep my most used ones in another (and synch only that instance with iCloud)?

[Brendan]

Hi,

1. There is no way to do that yet, but it’s on my to-do list. I’ve added support for it in the database but I haven’t written the code for allowing the user to set it, nor have I modified the sync engine to support it just yet. So still lots of work to do on it.

2. There is also no simple way to do this right now. You can do it on the Mac version by using the backup and restore function. But when you restore, Tap Forms turns off iCloud sync, which would mean that the next time you synced, it would start from the beginning again and sync the entire database instead of just the changes since the last sync. Alternatively you can swap out the TapForms_db.sqlite file with a different one (as long as Tap Forms isn’t running at the time), but if you had a pending sync in iCloud, you risk having those changes applied to the wrong database file.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Brendan]

Having said that, I plan on one day migrating to a more document centric approach whereby you would have a document file that has within it a set of forms, but you could open up other documents which would have different sets of forms. Basically the database file, photos, etc., would be contained within a single Tap Forms Document. You could open them up just like regular files and you’d have your set of forms within.

But that’s a long way off.

Thanks,

Brendan

[divinenanny]

Thanks for your reply

1) Great to hear that. Here’s a vote in favour of that feature. I guess I am still spoiled by Bento in that regard (though I like multiple device syncing in TF even better).

2) With regards to swapping out the sqlite file:
– Can TF open an SQlite with a different file name, or is it set to look in that location for that filename?
– Is it possible to later on merge more than one SQlite (maybe through backup/restore or export/import or even the base SQLite itself)?
– If I do the following:
1) Sync TF/ Disable sync (iCloud files are deleted)
2) Backup TF and close
3) Move TapForms_db.sqlite and rename
4) Disconnect comp from internet (prevent Sync)
5) Open TF (empty DB)
6) Load backup
7) Delete one set of forms
8) Backup again (just to be sure)
9) Close TF
10) Move TapForms_db.sqlite and rename
11) Open TF again (empty)
12) Restore backup from step 2
13) Remove other set of forms
14) Restore connection
15) Re-enable sync

If I ever want to use the archival sqlite, I disconnect, and swap the files.

[Brendan]

You have to use the file name TapForms_db.sqlite and it has to be in the ~/Library/Containers/com.tapforms.mac/Data/Documents folder.

When Tap Forms syncs, it merges data from one device to another. But I can’t guarantee that everything will work as expected if you’re swapping out database files all the time.

[Author]

Posts