Chapter 10. Setting up your synchronization system

Synchronization presents you with two issues you'll need to address.

Your computer needs to recognize and access your handheld. At this time, Evolution only supports Palm-OS devices like the PalmPilot and the Handspring Visor.
You should decide what sort of synchronization behavior you want.

If you haven't used a handheld device with your computer before, you'll need to run the GNOME Control Center by selecting System->Settings, and make sure that Pilot Link is properly configured.

Once your computer and your Palm-OS device are talking happily to each other, select the conduits you want under the Pilot Conduits section of the Control Center. You may use conduits to synchronize data with several applications; the Ximian Evolution conduits are labelled EAddress, for the address cards in your Contact Manager, ECalendar, for your Calendar, and ETodo, for your Task List.

To enable a conduit, click the Enable to enable it, and click Settings to change what it will do when activated. Your options may vary depending on the conduit, but typically they will be:

Disabled

Do nothing.

Synchronize

Copy new data from the computer to the handheld, and from the handheld to the computer. Remove items that were on both systems but have been deleted on one.

Copy From Pilot

If there is any new data on the the handheld device, copy it to the computer.

Copy To Pilot

Copy new data from the computer to the handheld.

Merge From Pilot

Copy new data from the handheld to the computer, and remove any information from the computer that has been deleted on the handheld.

Merge To Pilot

Copy new data from the computer to the handheld, and remove any information from the handheld that has been deleted on the computer.

Select the behavior you want for each conduit you choose to use. If you're not sure, go ahead and stick with Synchronize. Then, put your handheld on its cradle and press the HotSync button.

Data Loss Prevention: It's always a good idea to make a backup. To do that, make a copy of the evolution directory inside your home directory.