Feb 02, 2014 If you want to shrink the size of the folder, delete unwanted apps, etc. From your devices. If you delete the folder, the next time you sync your iOS devices iTunes will attempt to make a new backup anyway so there isn't really a way around it. I have an iphone and an ipad and my folder is about 5GB. My suggestion is to buy a larger hard drive. For instance, SilverKeeper for Mac can synchronize a local folder with the mounted Windows drive. On Windows, my favorite app is SyncBack SE, which offers a free version and paid upgrades for.
Make a backup before you try it out on your files!
I suggest you make some dummy folders and fill them with some random files to test it out first.
I suggest you make some dummy folders and fill them with some random files to test it out first.
You can find the finished workflow (for Mountain Lion) from the tutoria on the right so you can use it right away and see how it's done for yourself.
And here it is for the patient ones, step by step...
You'll start by opening automator.app, you can find it in your Application folder it has a nice icon which reminds me of eve from Wall-E. Once you start it, it will ask you what kind of workflow you're going to make, we'll choose Workflow:
First action we're going to add is 'Ask for Finder Items' (it's inside Files & Folders category, but best way to find actions is to use search), that action simply opens finder window where you can choose file(s) or folder(s).
And here we can write some custom text in 'Prompt' field, you can specify which folder will it open as a starting point (Start at), and we'll specify that we want only folders and we do not want multiple selection option.
Next we'll add 'Set Value of Variable' action which will get the folder that you chose and write it's name into a variable that we'll use later with Rsync.
Next, we'll repeat it, we need another pair of Ask for Finder Items and Set Value of Variable actions. First we add Ask for Finder Items:
The important thing here, is to ctrl + click (right click) on the Ask for Finder Items text and choose 'Ignore Input' option, if you do not do this the whole thing will not work.
Then we'll add Set Value of Variable
And we'll click on Variable drop down and choose New variable and name it for example 'target_folder'.
Next step is optional, we'll add confirmation window (Ask for Confirmation action) that will ask us if we chose the right folders and print out the names of the folders we're going to sync:
Here you start writing something like 'You'll be syncing from' than you drag the variable 'source_folder' from variable list below, continue by writing ' to ' and than drag 'target_folder' variable from the list, and finish your confirmation text, for example ' is that right?'.
Here you're also have to say to automator that you want to ignore input from previous action.
Here you're also have to say to automator that you want to ignore input from previous action.
Next we'll add two Get Value of Variable actions that will pick up the values of source and target variables:
Again, ignore the input from the Ask for Confirmation action.
Again, ignore the input from the Ask for Confirmation action.
After that, add Run Shell Script action which will tell rsync what to do:
Windows Folder Sync
You have to change 'Pass input' to 'as arguments' and than write rsync -va --delete '$1/' '$2/' $1 represents first variable that you're sending in, and $2 second one (first one being source_folder and second one target_folder). You can play with rsync options here and maybe exclude some files from syncing. You can omit --delete option if you don't want rsync to delete files from the target folder that don't exist in the source folder.
Because of the '--delete' option rsync will delete any files it finds in the target folder that are not found in the source folder! Omit this option if you want just to add missing (and newer) files from the source folder.
Sync Folders Pro
And here is another optional action, we'll add New TextEdit Document at the end. That will open new TextEdit window with output from Rsync, so you can see what Rsync actually did.
And that's it! Now we're going to save it, the best way I think is to save the workflow into your Scripts folder (you go to your home folder and there you'll find Scripts folder). I named mine workflow 'RsyncTutorial'. Then if you have Script Menu turned on in menu bar (If you don't you can enable it by running AppleScript Utility, located at /Applications/AppleScript/, and checking the 'Show Script Menu in menu bar' checkbox) you'll see something like this when you click on the Script Menu:
And if you click on it your workflow will start by asking you for folder to sync from.
Folder Sync Freeware
-->There are two basic ways that you, as an admin, can deploy the OneDrive sync app to Mac users in your organization:
- Have users install and set up the OneDrive sync app themselves by following the instructions in Sync files with OneDrive on Mac OS X. To install the OneDrive sync app for Mac, a user has to be administrator on the Mac or know an administrator account name and password.
- Download the installer package file to your local network, and then use your software distribution tools to deploy the app to your users. By using a software distribution tool, you have more control over the deployment, including which users get the sync app and when. The OneDrive sync app for Mac uses the Apple Installer technology for installation. This means you can use the software distribution tools that you normally use to deploy software to Mac users. You can use Microsoft Intune. Other common tools are Jamf Pro, Munki, and AutoPkg. You can also use Apple Remote Desktop and AppleScript.
Manage OneDrive settings on macOS using property list (Plist) files
After the OneDrive sync app for Mac is installed, users can configure settings for the app. These settings are called preferences. As an admin, you might want to provide users in your organization with a standard set of preferences. Preferences for the OneDrive sync app for Mac are stored in preference files. These files are often referred to as .plist files.
Standalone | Mac App Store | |
---|---|---|
PList Location | ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.OneDrive.plist | ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac/Data/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac.plist |
Domain | com.microsoft.OneDrive | com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac |
Configure sync app settings
Configure the settings on macOS in the typical way:
- Quit the OneDrive application.
- Define the settings you want to change by creating a Plist with the values, or use a script to set the default values.
- Deploy the settings onto the local computer.
- Refresh the preferences cache.On the next start of OneDrive, the new settings will be picked up.
Sync Folder Mirror App Mac Computer
Overview of settings
Use the following keys to preconfigure or change settings for your users. The keys are the same whether you run the standalone or Mac App Store edition of the sync app, but the property list file name and domain name will be different. When you apply the settings, make sure to target the appropriate domain depending on the edition of the sync app.
Setting | Description | Parameters | Example Plist Entry |
---|---|---|---|
Disable personal accounts | Blocks users from signing in and syncing files in personal OneDrive accounts. If this key is set after a user has set up sync with a personal account, the user will be signed out. | DisablePersonalSync (Bool): When set to true, this parameter prevents users from adding or syncing personal accounts. | <key>DisablePersonalSync</key> <(Bool)/> |
Default folder location | Specifies the default location of the OneDrive folder for each organization | TenantID (String): TenantID determines which accounts the default folder location setting should apply to. Find your Microsoft 365 tenant ID DefaultFolderPath (String): DefaultFolder specifies the default folder location. Mac App Store: The path must already exist when users set up the sync app. Standalone: The path will be created on users' computers if it doesn't already exist. Only with the Standalone sync app can you prevent users from changing the location. | <key>DefaultFolder <array> <dict> <key>Path <string>(DefaultFolderPath)</string> <key>TenantId <string>(TenantID)</string> </dict> </array> |
Automatic upload bandwidth percentage | Enables the sync app to automatically set the amount of bandwidth used based on available bandwidth for uploading files | AutomaticUploadBandwidthPercentage (int): This parameter determines the percentage of local upload bandwidth that the sync app can use. Accepted values are from 1 through 99. | <key>AutomaticUploadBandwidthPercentage</key> <int>(Bandwidth)</int> |
Set maximum upload throughput | Sets the maximum upload throughput rate in kilobytes (KB)/sec for computers running the OneDrive sync app | UploadBandwidthLimited (int): This parameter determines the upload throughput in KB/sec that the sync app can use. The minimum rate is 50 KB/sec and the maximum rate is 100,000 KB/sec. | <key>UploadBandwidthLimited</key> <int>(Upload Throughput Rate in KB/sec)</int> |
Set maximum download throughput | Sets the maximum download throughput rate in kilobytes (KB)/sec for computers running the OneDrive sync app | DownloadBandwidthLimited (int): This parameter determines the download throughput in KB/sec that the sync app can use. The minimum rate is 50 KB/sec and the maximum rate is 100,000 KB/sec. | <key>DownloadBandwidthLimited</key> <int>(Download Throughput Rate in KB/sec)</int> |
Dock icon | Specifies whether a dock icon for OneDrive is shown | HideDockIcon (Bool): When set to true, this parameter hides the OneDrive dock icon even when the application is running. | <key>HideDockIcon</key> <(Bool)/> |
Open at login | Specifies whether OneDrive starts automatically when the user logs in | OpenAtLogin (Bool): When set to true, OneDrive will start automatically when the user logs in on the Mac. | <key>OpenAtLogin</key> <(Bool)/> |
Enable Files On-Demand | Specifies whether Files On-Demand is enabled. If you don't set this setting, Files On-Demand will be enabled automatically as we roll out the feature, and users can turn the setting on or off | FilesOnDemandEnabled (Bool): When set to true, new users who set up the sync app will download online-only files by default. When set to false, Files On-Demand will be disabled and users won't be able to turn it on. | <key>FilesOnDemandEnabled</key> <(Bool)/> |
Disable download toasts | Prevents toasts from appearing when applications cause file contents to be downloaded | DisableHydrationToast (Bool): When set to true, toasts will not appear when applications trigger the download of file contents. | <key>DisableHydrationToast</key> <(Bool)/> |
Block apps from downloading online-only files | Prevents applications from automatically downloading online-only files. You can use this setting to lock down applications that don't work correctly with your deployment of Files On-Demand. | HydrationDisallowedApps (String): Json in the following format [{'ApplicationId':'appId','MaxBundleVersion':'1.1','MaxBuildVersion':'1.0'}] 'AppID' can be either the BSD process name or the bundle display name. MaxBuildVersion denotes the maximum build version of the application that will be blocked. MaxBundleVersion denotes the maximum bundle version of the application that will be blocked | <key>HydrationDisallowedApps </key> <string> [{'ApplicationId':'appId','MaxBundleVersion':'1.1','MaxBuildVersion':'1.0'}, {'ApplicationId':'appId2','MaxBundleVersion':'3.2','MaxBuildVersion':'2.0'}] </string><(Bool)/> |
SharePoint Server Front Door URL | Specifies the SharePoint Server 2019 on-premises URL that the OneDrive sync app should try to authenticate and sync against | SharePointOnPremFrontDoorUrl (string): The URL of the on-premises SharePoint Server. | <key>SharePointOnPremFrontDoorUrl</key> <string>https://Contoso.SharePoint.com</string> |
SharePoint Server Tenant Name | Specifies the name of the folder created for syncing the SharePoint Server 2019 files specified in the Front Door URL. | SharePointOnPremTenantName (string): The name that will be used when creating a folder to sync the on-premises SharePoint Server files. If specified, the folder names will take the form of: OneDrive – TenantName TenantName If not specified, the folder names will use the first segment of the FrontDoorURL as the Tenant Name. Example - https://Contoso.SharePoint.com will use Contoso as the Tenant Name | <key>SharePointOnPremTenantName</key> <string>Contoso</string> |
SharePoint OnPrem Prioritization | For hybrid scenarios where the email is the same for both SharePoint Server on-premises and SharePoint in Microsoft 365, determines whether or not the client should set up sync for SharePoint Server or SharePoint in Microsoft 365 first during the first-run scenario. | SharePointOnPremPrioritizationPolicy (int): This parameter determines which service to attempt to authenticate against for setting up sync. 1 indicates OneDrive should set up SharePoint Server on-premises first, followed by SharePoint in Microsoft 365. | <key>SharePointOnPremPrioritizationPolicy</key> <int>(0 or 1)</int> |
BlockExternalSync | Prevents the sync app from syncing libraries and folders shared from other organizations. | BlockExternalSync (Bool): Set to true to prevent syncing OneDrive and SharePoint libraries and folders from organizations other than the user's own organization. Set to false or do not include the setting to allow. Learn about OneDrive B2B Sync. | <key>BlockExternalSync</key> <(Bool)/> |
You can also configure the OneDrive Standalone sync app to receive delayed updates.
PList Location | ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdater.plist |
Domain | com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdater |
Setting | Description | Parameters | Example Plist Entry |
---|---|---|---|
Tier | Defines the update ring for the computer | UpdateRing (String): This parameter has two different values. Production - The default update ring for OneDrive updates. Insiders - This update ring receives updates that are 'pre-production' and will allow you to play with features before they are released. Note that builds from this ring may be less stable. Enterprise - This update ring (now called 'Deferred') receives updates after they have rolled out through the Production ring. It also lets you control the deployment of updates. For more info about the update rings and how the sync app checks for updates, see The OneDrive sync app update process. | <key>Tier</key> <string>(UpdateRing)</string> |