Sync and restore to iCloud

[eheffa]

Hi,

I am a long-time user of HanDBase going back to Palm OS days.

I have been using HanDBase on my iPhone for many years now with good success. I record all of my professional billing activities as an Anesthesiologist (patient information & procedural data) using HanDBase. I was under the impression that my data was backed up daily to iCloud but have never tried to find it or restore from the Cloud. I have just purchased an iPad as we are going to be using this device for our Anesthesia record keeping. I have purchased & installed HanDBase on the iPad & ported over the relevant database files using the WiFi sync. This is a little clumsy compared with the dream of using a cloud based synchronization of the databases & has prompted me to explore ways to sync my three devices (iPhone, iPad & MacBook Pro). I cannot find the iCloud depository for my billings database. (I'm happy to say that I have everything backed up in other ways but am need to confirm that if I lost my device, I would have access to the data via the cloud.)

Can anyone direct me to the documentation as to how to do this?

When I look to the iCloud settings, HanDBase documents are not listed as part of the iCloud documents.

Thank you for any help you can offer.
-evan

[dhaupert]

Hi Evan,

Thanks for your post. This is definitely a source of confusion as there are different levels of iCloud syncing available on iOS and every app can support things a different way. In our case, we do flag our databases to be backed up via the iCloud backup. This is different than having an iCloud sync, where the databases would update across devices. Rather, we are just flagging our folder to be backed up along with the rest of the stuff that Apple backs up automatically.


If you have successful backups going on, your HanDBase databases are likely part of that. But here is where the confusion lies- you can't access that info via the cloud, it's part of an encrypted backup set that doesn't offer random access to files. So the only time this backup is useful is if you lose or break your device and restore to a new device, or if you perform a wipe on your device and then restore. Then the entire backup set gets restored and the databases and everything else reappear.

But lets say you accidentally delete a database, or a record from a database. Unless you can stop the auto backup from performing an update and do a quick restore of your entire device before then, you'll likely not benefit from the iCloud backup. It's not a good way to go back in time like a full sync would be.

The wifi sync you saw is indeed designed for such occasions. In the days prior to Dropbox and iCloud, this was the best we could do and it's also secure and kept locally for you, something that should be important for your HIPAA compliance!

That said, I am working on a cloud sync solution to make automatic syncs to the cloud an option for users in the future. I hope to launch this new add-on in the first quarter of 2014. Stay tuned here for more info when we get closer to launch!

[eheffa]

Thank you for the comprehensive answer.

I appreciate your efforts to get a better cloud based backup/sync.

Sorry to be so dense; but, how does one send or sync to Dropbox from the device?

I've searched this forum & looked for the option while in the HB app without success.

-evan

[dhaupert]

Hi again,

You're quite welcome! The Choose Database screen has a function to send to other apps that are installed. Just tap the ... next to the database name and choose the Open In.. option and it should show DropBox if it's installed.

Conversely, when the file is in DropBox and you want to sync it to your other device(s) just open the file in Dropbox choose the action icon and choose HanDBase from the choice. You'll be given the option to sync that database or overwrite what you have existing!

[eheffa]

Thank you Dave,

I forgot that the "Ellipsis" was an active choice.

This issue is resolved for me more or less. It would be great to have daily automatic backups to a cloud account but this is a good half measure. ( I understand I can always use the big gun full restore in the event of a lost device or catastrophic failure.

I have a decent backup system when out & about this way.

Thank you for your speedy replies.

Cheers!

- evan

[eheffa]

On further reflection & experimentation, it seems to me that in the absence of automatic cloud backups, the best method of providing verifiable backups would be to just finish up the day with a quick email to myself of the altered databases. Emailing myself with the latest version would make the most sense as it is quick, verifiable & very retrievable. Dropbox is fine too, but requires more steps and isn't really necessary for databases taking up a few hundred kb.

The automatic cloud-based backup would be best but this email strategy isn't a bad method. All it takes is a little reminder & the force of habit.

Thanks again,

-evan

[Rorare]

How to Quickly and Safely Restore iPhone from iCloud ?
I have used FonePaw iPhone Data Recovery after I have synced iPhone data to iCloud.
It worked well.

[agustinkirch]

To restore iPhone from iCloud, you need to tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
Next, you need to go to Setup Assistant > “Set up your device,” > "Restore from iCloud Backup," or "Restore from iTunes Backup."
Choose "Restore from iCloud Backup" and then sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID.
Tap on "Choose backup,” then choose from a list of available backups.
The phone will restore and then restart. You can also use iPhone Data Recovery to help you do that. It just needs a few clicks.

[ChloeMoretz]

To restore iPhone from iCloud, you need to tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
Next, you need to go to Setup Assistant > “Set up your device,” > "Restore from iCloud Backup," or "Restore from iTunes Backup."
Choose "Restore from iCloud Backup" and then sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID.
Tap on "Choose backup,” then choose from a list of available backups.
The phone will restore and then restart. You can also use iPhone Data Recovery to help you do that. It just needs a few clicks.

Thanks. It work for me.