Storing database on cloud so that I can use whichever computer I am nearest to

Frequently Asked Questions
1

I use eM Client on several PCs and would like to move the database onto cloud. When I use Dropbox I seem to get message re checking database. I am the only one accessing the database and only one computer is switched on at a time. Has anyone found a cloud storage system that works well with eM Client?

2

I think the better solution is IMAP. This effectively puts the database on the cloud and allows you to access it from anywhere.

3

Hi Jay

Thanks for the suggesttion.  In fact I do use IMAP which kepps my emails synced OK .  The problem, which I did not express too well, is that I categorise Tasks and Calendar items and the categoristaion is lost in the process somewhere.  As Gmail is used to sync these items the problem may lie there.

4

Understood.  I realty don’t use categories, so I didn’t even think about that.  My suggestion would be to try it (back-up first!!) on one of the drives and see what happens.  I use (not for email database) OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox and find them to be same from a usage and reliability standpoint.

Just out of curiosity, where do you have a problem with category synchronization?  Mail?  tasks?  Calendar?  All?

5

Hi Jay

Thanks for your interest. My problem is that although the Tasks and Calendar item details are synced properly the categorisation is lost,  I have tried copying the files out of the database in Users>ron>AppsData>Roaming 0n one computer  to the corresponding folder on the other 2 machined without success.  So I tried changing the file storage from the local macjne to Dropbox but again no success.  I have a feeling I have tried OneDrive and Google Drive in the past also without success. It seems that when Gmail gets involved with the synchronisation some formatting is lost.  It may make sense as Gmail doesn’t use categories. Perhaps it is just something I have to live with.  It is not so much a problem with Tasks but I find it useful to have the Calendar items displayed with different colours.

6

Thanks for the response, Ron.  Good to know.

7

Calendar and Tasks should be in the cloud and synced, server-side, as well. If you are using Gmail, Gmail will sync your Calendar and Tasks. I throw everything (email, contacts, calendar, tasks) into all three of my Gmail accounts and can see everything, synced, on every device I use, per account.

8

Hi Steven

Thanks for your comments.   As I said to Jay my main gripe is that when I use my secondary desktop or laptop the categories I have assigned to them on my main PC are lost.  I use Gmail to sync my contacts, tasks and calendars so that I can access them on my android phone.  I guess it is because Gmail doesn’t have categories and so just loses them for me when I use any device other than my main PC.  I just thought if I could store my database on a cloud that might remove the minor inconvenience I am experiencing.  However it seems I have to choose to stay with things as they are or stop using Gmail for syncing which might allow me to use Dropbox or the like.  Using both Gmail and cloud storage seems to cause conflict which EMC doesn’t like.  Sorry I didn’t set out my  question more clearly but just exchanging views with Jay and you have helped clarify my thoughts.  Thamk you for that.

9

You’re welcome. I didn’t see your issue was “Categories”. I haven’t used them because they don’t sync, and I’ve never really figured out how to use them effectively. If you have, good for you. eM Client uses a database to store its mail, and you have to be sure that the changes have synced to whichever cloud service you are using before using that database on another system, or else eM Client will have a corruption problem.

10

To be clear, categories sync fine with gmail, but I don’t believe gmail tasks or calendars support categories (or at least I haven’t found them).

11

OK. Learned something new. Thanks!

12

From this very interesting exchange of views it seems to me that I have learnt that EMC is in essence an attractive interface for Gmail with a few bells and whistles attached.  This being so and in the absence of any other free PIM program which can match EMC in my view, I have decided I will have to play by Gmail rules.  This means categorisation is not a great feature but the workarounds seem to me to be:
Mail: Use Imap with as many folders as needed.
Calendar: Seems to sync with Google calendar reasonably well. 
Tasks: Use multiple task lists set up in Gmail but recurring tasks will not sync properly so set these up as Calendar items.
Contacts: Use multiple Groups in Gmail contacts list.
I can probably live with that although it doesn’t answer my problem as well as being able to store the datbase on a cloud.  Maybe that will be offerred some day.  Thanks for all your help.