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Go Back   Thoughts Media Forums > WINDOWS PHONE THOUGHTS > Windows Phone Talk

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  #1  
Old 07-08-2011, 05:00 PM
Todd Allcock
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Default Windows Phone (Almost) Document Sync, (or �I Just Want to Work, Not Workaround��)

Back when the iPhone was introduced to the world to the sort of fanfare and adulation not seen since the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, I was one of the few scratching my head trying to figure out what I was missing that everyone else was seeing. Here was a slick looking smartphone with a brilliant user interface; I got that - it just didn't seem all that, well, smart. The only way to get your office documents on it (at least originally) was via email, and I didn't relish the idea of frantically emailing myself every document I might possibly need to reference on a business trip before leaving.

So, I smugly stuck by my old-school Windows Mobile phones; you know, the ugly beasts with the styluses, file managers, and actual PC document sync capabilities, figuring the the iPhone would cater to the iPod generation, and the business people would stick with devices that actually worked like miniature computers, and paid little attention to the hassles of managing files on an iPhone. However, when my wife finally dumped her Windows Mobile phones and started using an iPhone, suddenly I was forced to become an expert in the "iPhone Workaround" field, kludging and cajoling the iPhone into bending to my will.

As it turned out, most of the things the iPhone "couldn't do," could eventually be done with a variety of bizarre workarounds using cloud servers, WiFi, and/or ingenious apps designed to bypass the iPhone's limitations. Unbeknownst to me at the time, most of these tricks would become useful again much later, when I found myself with a Windows Phone 7 device, which, like the iPhone, offered an improved user interface, but chose simplicity over the full computer-like functionality offered by prior Windows-based smartphone OSes.

One of the (many) challenges I've faced with WP7 is the absence of an easy way to sync documents with my PC. Sure, WP7 syncs with SharePoint servers, and when the Mango update for WP7 arrives sometime in the fall I'll be able to sync with Skydrive. Unfortunately, like many of us, I don't run a SharePoint server on my home or small business PCs, and as many in the USA watching their thermometers rushing past the angry end of the 100-degree Fahrenheit mark can tell you, it ain't exactly fall yet!

So, how can we get a reliable, cheap or no-cost PC to WP7 sync today, with just the tools consumers and small/home business users might have access to? Well, the answer for me was SugarSync, a cloud based sync/backup service that offers both free and subscription services similar to those offered by DropBox or Box.net, but that offers a unique feature its competitors do not: "Upload by Email."

Sure, I can email documents back and forth to myself already; that's the "solution" Microsoft offered us lowly non-enterprise users without SharePoint servers from the outset, but SugarSync's Upload by Email feature makes this much simpler. Rather than email the document to your phone so you can access and edit it on the go, then email the edited document back to yourself so you can re-save on your PC, then lather, rinse, and repeat as needed, SugarSync assigns you a unique email address, and any documents emailed to it are automagically deposited into your SugarSync account and will instantly sync to your PC. So, for example, if your SugarSync username is JohnDoe, SugarSync will issue you an address like [email protected] that you (or anyone else) can send files to as email attachments.

Now, instead of saving documents I'll need on the go in my PC's Documents folder and emailing them to myself, I save them in a "Magic Briefcase" subfolder on my PC, created by the SugarSync software you install on your PC to use the service. Since there is, as of yet, currently no SugarSync app for WP7, (though SugarSync says they're working on it) I simply logged in at m.sugarsync.com and browsed to the matching folder at m.sugarsync.com with my device browser, and pinned that page to my Start screen for quick access. I can tap on the pinned tile when connected, grab whatever files I need and save them to the device to view and edit locally at my leisure. When I want to "sync" an edited file with my PC, I send it from the device to the aforementioned SugarSync email address (which, for ease of use, I've saved as a Contact called "SugarSync" on my device) and the file is deposited in my SugarSync online storage, which continually syncs with my PC, without the need to open email from myself at home and save the attachments manually.

Figure 1: There's no "App For That" yet, so I just pin the Sugarsync mobile website to my start screen for quick access.

This, at least for me, is a huge step up from continually emailing myself and dealing with the changed files at both ends. It certainly isn't perfect, nor is it a true file "sync." First, it isn't automated on both ends. Changes made to files on the PC will sync to the SugarSync cloud, but everything is still manual on the phone; you need to manually download files to the phone from the SugarSync website, and upload modified files manually by email. Also, probably in an attempt to safeguard your data, files uploaded via email will not overwrite previous versions. Instead, you get a new copy with a number appended. That "Q3 Sales Report.xlsx" spreadsheet you downloaded, edited on the phone, and uploaded by email becomes "Q3 Sales Report(1).xlsx," requiring you to go in and prune out the older versions of oft-edited files occasionally.

For what it's worth, SugarSync didn't invent this "upload by email" idea; it used to be a little-known (and even littler-used) feature of Google Docs. In fact, when I first started using my WP7 phone, I dug up my old unique Google Docs-assigned email upload address, thinking that would be my sync method. After the first couple of email uploads bounced back to me as undeliverable, I did a little searching to discover Google discontinued the feature nearly a little over a year ago. After a quick web search to find if anyone else offered this feature, I discovered SugarSync did.

So, if you want to give this a try, signup for a free SugarSync account, install the software on your PC, and enjoy a slightly better document management experience on your Windows Phone, at least until Mango brings us a fully-integrated one via Skydrive.

Todd Allcock is a small business owner (small business, that is! At 6' 3" and 300 lbs., I hardly qualify as "small") who has been using Windows-based PDAs and mobile phones since the days they were powered by steam. These tiny, powerful devices have allowed me to get out from behind the desk, operate a business on the go, and spend more time with family.

 
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  #2  
Old 07-08-2011, 05:17 PM
badersk
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You can do the same thing by going to http:skydrive.live.com. You will see your documents and can read it or download for editing.
 
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  #3  
Old 07-08-2011, 06:11 PM
DSS1947
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Cool Why can't it be simple?

Why can't we just plug in the USB cable or turn on Bluetooth and sync with our computer? "Many" of us don't want to use the cloud, etc. Just keep if simple. Then you wouldn't need the work-arounds and extra email addresses, etc. About as dumb as Android's calendar that only goes back to 1970. What are the programmers thinking? Just don't get it!
 
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  #4  
Old 07-09-2011, 06:10 AM
Todd Allcock
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You can certainly download documents from Skydrive and open them on the device, save them locally and edit them, but until Mango is released you have no way of getting a document from the phone back to your Skydrive without first emailing them to your PC and uploading them from there; WP7 (currently) lacks any direct upload capability, except for photos.
SugarSync's upload by email sneaks around that limitation by copying email attachments directly into your cloud storage which will then immediately sync with your PC. I'll be very happy when Mango makes this kludge unnecessary.
Thanks for the feedback.

Last edited by Todd Allcock; 07-09-2011 at 06:14 AM..
 
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  #5  
Old 07-09-2011, 02:21 PM
buzzard
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Seems like the only thing lacking on Windows Live sync is a unique email address to be able to email from the WP7 to the PC synced folder similar to Sugarsync's unique email to the Magic Briefcase.
 
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  #6  
Old 07-09-2011, 03:32 PM
Todd Allcock
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Yes, if Skydrive had that ability you could use it instead. That won't be needed in Mango, since a direct upload to Skydrive without using email will be an option.
 
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  #7  
Old 07-10-2011, 06:11 AM
Todd Allcock
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DSS1947 View Post
Why can't we just plug in the USB cable or turn on Bluetooth and sync with our computer? "Many" of us don't want to use the cloud, etc. Just keep if simple. Then you wouldn't need the work-arounds and extra email addresses, etc. About as dumb as Android's calendar that only goes back to 1970. What are the programmers thinking? Just don't get it!
Personally, I'd never go back to USB sync for PIM data or files. Having said that, I think it should still be an option for those who want it, but apparently MS feels their resources are better spent elsewhere at the moment. My Android, WP7, and Windows Mobile devices sync PIM with Live/Hotmail, and files with Dropbox and/or SugarSync, depending on the OS (which service has the better app per platform.)

For someone like myself who changes mobile devices frequently depending on need, having as much of my data in the cloud as possible means whatever device I grab will have my data available, even if I haven't used it in a while.
 
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  #8  
Old 07-10-2011, 07:16 AM
Fritzly
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DSS1947 View Post
Why can't we just plug in the USB cable or turn on Bluetooth and sync with our computer? "Many" of us don't want to use the cloud, etc. Just keep if simple. Then you wouldn't need the work-arounds and extra email addresses, etc. About as dumb as Android's calendar that only goes back to 1970. What are the programmers thinking? Just don't get it!
Me neither; Activesync worked quite well for me. It was not perfect but it worked. I personally do not care for this "Cloud" frenziness and while it would not be problem to have it as an option the fact that now is the only way to sync WP7 devices is completely stupid. Btw yes I know about Exchange but I am talking about wired sync for the masses.

I am sure that some "Focus groups" and some surveys proved MS that "Customers" only want the "Cloud"........ until real customers will prove the opposite.

Last edited by Fritzly; 07-10-2011 at 07:18 AM..
 
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  #9  
Old 07-11-2011, 11:04 AM
after_forever
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So, what you are saying is that Microsoft dropped all the usefulness items used by business people and is now offering a less useful device that can be used by drones.
I do not want a phone that I will be faced by challenges. MS has pissed me off so darn much by getting rid of Activesync! It worked just great for me, just plug in and all my important information was synced to my phone. MS might be thinking their resources are better spent elsewhere. I violently disagree. I am thinking my money is better spent elsewhere on another OS.
 
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  #10  
Old 07-11-2011, 12:17 PM
jmjstandin
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Default I depend on Activesync

I am still running Windows Mobile 6.5 on my HTC HD2 and do not see any interest in moving to Windows Phone 7 until I can do something equivalent to ActiveSync. Living in a border area in Europe, I can very often not use 3G networks without incurring exorbitant roaming charges. So it is important to keep frequently used files (eg shopping list) on my phone. ActiveSync does that transparently and effectively. From the above posts it seems there is still no workable alternative that will not give extra work and generate confusion over versions.
 
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