30/11/2014

iTalk Recorder App on iPhone 4S - Deleting Files

iTalk
I use the excellent Griffin Technology iTalk app in my iPhone 4S and my iPad to record mainly interview and meetings. The only problem is the files can be large and soon eat up storage space. I use the related iTalk Sync app on my Windows PC to download recordings. The reason for this post is to clarify the process for deleting files from your phone.



I connect the phone to PC open iTalk on the phone and open iTalk Sync the software finds the phone, double click the name of the phone and accept the message that appears on the phone. You can drag and drop the files that appear in the desktop app into a folder to store them. The download process can be slow depending upon how many and how large the files are, so don't be in rush. The app will tell you the sync speed. I find occasionally that this does not move but the files do download. Have a look in the receiving folder to check progress. If there is none  close everything and start again.  To delete files, click the edit option on the phone and you will see a red stop sign against each file tap these and then the Delete option that appears. Repeat for all the files you want to delete. The next step isn't obvious, the app keeps a backup copy of the file so if you want to delete the files completely you need to delete the backup. After "deleting" the files in the list a message appears "Deleted Recordings (?)" tap this message and a list of the deleted recordings appears, at then click on the words "Clear All" in red bottom right of the screen, a pop up asks you to confirm "Clear All". You are returned to the Playback Screen. Exit the app by pressing the phone Home Button.

To Summarise:-
  1. Turn on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
  2. Open the iTalk app.
  3. Select the recording you wish to delete.
  4. Touch the "Edit" button at the top of your screen.
  5. Touch the red "Do Not Enter" button that appears next to the recording you want to delete. 
  6. Touch the "Delete" button that appears.
  7. Open the "Deleted Recordings" folder to view your deleted files. Touch "Clear All" to permanently remove those recordings.

18/11/2014

Synchronize Folders Between Computers and Drives with SyncToy 2.1

Re-blogged from How-To-Geek

I was about to write a blog post on syncing files and folders to other computers and drives when I came across this brilliantly written article by Brian Burgess on How-to-Geek. I hope Brian will forgive me for re-posting it here in full.

I have been searching for an effective alternative to the now defunct Microsoft "Live Mesh" for syncing files and folders to a variety of storage locations. This Microsoft utility is the best option I have found so far. Unfortunately it does not work in real-time, it has to be scheduled and the most frequent option is daily. However it gives another layer of protection.

If you have a few different computers and drives, it can be annoying making sure the same data is each one you need. Today we take a look at making folder and data synchronization easier with the Microsoft SyncToy 2.1 utility.
You might have a flash drive that you use to carry files and documents from the workplace to your home office and vice versa. Sometimes though, you might forget to copy the files you need over to the drive. With Microsoft’s SyncToy it allows you to easily make sure the data between drives and folders is synchronized everyday. There are a lot of reasons you might want to synchronize folders. For example, maybe you want to sync your My Pictures folder with the one at work, or sync your music at home with music on another computer. This is a free tool from Microsoft that was once part of the XP Power Toys but has continued to grow and improve.

When you install SyncToy it also installs Microsoft Sync Framework 2.0 Core Components, which is their sync platform that enables offline access to apps, services and devices.
1sync
On our Windows 7 (32-bit) system there wasn’t an option to create a shortcut for the desktop or Quick Launch Bar, but you’ll see it in the Start Menu and create a shortcut from there if you want.
2sync
When first launching SyncToy, there is an option to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program. This is up to the user and participation is not necessary to use it.
3sync
Using SyncToy
When you begin using SyncToy, you’ll need to create a new folder pair to sync your data. You can choose a pair of folders on the same machine, external drives, or over a network.
4sync
Browse to the location of each of the folders you want to keep synced. In this example we’re syncing the contents of my home office folder and work files folder to an external flash drive.
5sync
In the next step choose the actions you want to take place between the two folders. Synchronize is checked by default and should be fine for most users. According to the SyncToy help file, these are the differences between each action:
  • Synchronize: Updates files both ways…keeping changes like renames, deletions and edits to either folder contents the same between the two.
  • Echo: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.
  • Contribute: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions.
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Now type in a name for the synced folders and click Finish.
7sync 
A sync job has been successfully created. You’re shown the details of the job including options which you can change if you want. The job hasn’t been run yet so you can preview it or if everything looks correct click on the Run button.
8sync
If you preview the job first it shows the files being synced and from there you might want to exclude certain ones.
11sync
If everything goes right you’ll get a screen telling you the sync was successful.
12sync
Here is an example of a non-successful synchronization where you can go in and see what errors had occurred.
9errors 
Also notice from the main GUI you can rename a folder pair, create a new pair, or delete a pair.
10sync
Schedule SyncToy Tasks
While setting up the folder pairs and syncing them up manually is a great start, what you really want to do is schedule this to run automatically. Here we’ll take a look at how to schedule it to run automatically in Vista or Windows 7. We need to use Windows Task Scheduler, so click on the Start Menu and type task scheduler into the search box.
13task
When Task Scheduler opens click on Create Basic Task under the Action pane.
14task
Next type in a name and description of the task.
15tasl
Select how often you want the Synchronization to occur. This is entirely up to you…but to be sure it’s done and files in both folders are ready when you need them, go for Daily.
16task
Choose the date and time for it to start and keep 1 entered if you want it to occur everyday.
17tas
Next make sure Start a program is selected.
18task
Finally browse to the location of SyncToy.exe where in this example it’s in C:\Program Files\SyncToy2.1\SyncToy.exe Then in the Add arguments field enter in –R by which by itself will run all folder pairs you have set up to be synced.
19task
You will be given an overview of how the task will run and if everything looks correct click finish.
20finish
There are a couple of ways you can verify the synchronization task was successful. You can go into Task Scheduler and under Task Status see the last time it was executed and if it was successful.
21task
Or you can just look in the lower left corner of the SyncToy GUI and see when it was last run.
22task
Conclusion
You can create basically any amount of folder pairs you need to be synchronized. It will allows you to synchronize 2 folders across a network, on the same PC, or to USB flash or external drives. It works on XP, Vista and Windows 7 where there is a separate version for 32 & 64-bit versions. If you’re looking for a free and effective way to synchronize data between two folders on different devices, SyncToy 2.1 will get the job done.
Thanks again to How-To-Geek for a great article...