my workflow for a long time just exported the site and synchronized using Transmit.
@svsmailus mentioned this in a previous post. My question is, if you have the correct export file in the left hand window, and the correct destination file in the right, will the sync function merely replace the server files that need changing? Or is there some kind of back and forth action that will somehow affect the hard drive files as well?
Up until now, when my project has changed, I have just rewritten everything online, a massive, massive time-consuming imbroglio. If sync works to just affect the files that have changed, that would be a very good thing (channeling Martha Stewart).
@Butternut With your setup as described, click the sync button. In the next window, make sure that the blue arrow on the right is active. Read the description in that window, it will tell you exactly what will happen: i.e. the folder that you have active in the left pane will be synched with the active folder in the right pane.
If you are updating a single page, make sure that you have the correct folders active!
To update the whole site, click below the folders to deactivate them all.
The SERVER will be updated. None of the files on your Mac will be altered.
Tip: if you set the root path (in the login details) to your site’s local location, you can “Link Folder Navigation” under the “Go” menu. This means that if you click a folder in the left pane, the corresponding folder in the right pane will be activated and vice versa.
One more thing: If your server is not in the same time zone as you, sync your files by comparing the file size, not the time altered; otherwise “all” of your files will be uploaded, not just the files that have changed.
Setting the time difference between your local time and the server time might work for you — it doesn’t work for me.
Just to clarify, before I screw up, that it’s a two part process: I hit “sync”, a window comes up with an arrow, I confirm that the action is appropriate, and then the upload begins?
I’d have said pretty much what @mabinogion said! I did have issues using the modification date as my server seems not to give the time in a way Transmit can understand and it didn’t work. However, I use size and that works no problem.
I also use Keyboard Maestro to pretty much automate much of the process.
If you’re dealing with many sites, it might be worth setting up favourite folder on local and remote. You need to do this once you have connected to your FTP as favourites are dependent on the connection. Once set up it means I can open Transmit, connect to my server select local and remote folders in my favourites and sync.
For reasons unknown, Transmit is not saving the locations I have marked as Favorites. That presumably nixes any of the more advanced tips that you have recommended.
But hopefully, setting up those folders manually will produce the desired result, albeit less automated.
I don’t sync from local to server but… consider in addition… I use Yummy to sync my SERVER to external local disk. Why? Backups of what the server actually looks like, complete with error logs, htaccess files, installed scripts, etc. All those things that are not “in” Rapidweaver and if I can’t get RW to run for any reason I still have a complete website I can upload via ftp.
I find it also very nice that if anything ever blows up on the server I need only FTP my backup to the server and I’m assured that it is exactly as it was. (I warehouse lot’s of things on my server.) I have three backups that I rotate through on external disk. First backup takes a while so I run it overnight but subsequent syncs only updated new and changed files so it’s pretty quick.
Yes, most hosts have a site backup service but you might have to pay for it or for additional disk space. This puts the backup squarely in MY hands.
