Urbz Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Hi, i'd be interested in creating a portble user folder. Would it be possible to just use an alias as a home folder, and have the system recognize it no prob.? Second, if it's gonna be portable, it's gotta sync the most important stuff: i'm thinking email, bookmark, cookies, passwords, everything but my data/media that I won't need to make my user folder MY user folder. Example: safari, mail, finder system prefs and everything that goes along with that is exactly the same. And then if i'm working on a word document or whatever, i'll throw that on. Could something like this be done? how would i get all this stuff on and then sync back to the user account when i get back home? thanks, Urby Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/36100-a-portable-userhome-folder/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
asap18 Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 better wait for the Ipod for Home or whatever its called that will allow you to just plug in your ipod into a mac and have it use your settings/home folder. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/36100-a-portable-userhome-folder/#findComment-256931 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rammjet Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 (edited) There are a few older apps specifically for this purpose: http://www.versiontracker.com/php/search.p...amp;x=0&y=0 OSX Server has a Sync feature: Home on the NetworkIf you regularly work on a network at the office or school, and your organization uses Mac OS X Server v10.4 to host accounts, you can keep your home folder synchronized between your Mac and the network. Work offline all you want, then next time you connect to the network and log in, the files you added or changed will automatically synchronize with the matching network-based home folder. And the process works the other way too: Any new files on your network home folder are automatically copied to the home folder on your computer. An article: http://maczealots.com/tutorials/data-sync/ Many backup apps have a synchronize feature. Unison sync: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/ Home made .Mac server: http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2003...de_dot_mac.html Edited December 17, 2006 by Rammjet Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/36100-a-portable-userhome-folder/#findComment-256958 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbz Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 hmm nothing is really what i'm looking for. I kinda meant everything i need apart from the OS and Applications on a usb drive and being able to work on my home folder from anywhere with that. I think it'll be trickier than i thought... I was able to log into a folder from an alias, but none of my settings were preserved. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/36100-a-portable-userhome-folder/#findComment-257196 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rammjet Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Hi, i'd be interested in creating a portble user folder. Would it be possible to just use an alias as a home folder, and have the system recognize it no prob.? Second, if it's gonna be portable, it's gotta sync the most important stuff: i'm thinking email, bookmark, cookies, passwords, everything but my data/media that I won't need to make my user folder MY user folder. Example: safari, mail, finder system prefs and everything that goes along with that is exactly the same. And then if i'm working on a word document or whatever, i'll throw that on. Could something like this be done? Yes. You would copy your entire home folder to the pen drive and make a sym link of it back to the /User folder on the computer. Just be sure to plug in the drive before logging in and remove it after logging out. Put all of your documents in your Documents folder and pictures and music and video all in their respective folders. how would i get all this stuff on and then sync back to the user account when i get back home? The syncing part when you go home is the harder part. I was giving you options for ways to sync the pen drive with your home directory at home. Some of the software syncs both ways - new stuff on the pen goes to the home computer and new stuff on the home computer goes on the pen drive. Again, set up some sort of syncing software on your home computer. Copy the home directory to the pen drive. Insert pen drive into laptop and login. Remove home directory on laptop and replace it with symlink to the one on the pen drive. Log out and log in to load the one on the pen drive. Do work. Log off. Pull pen drive and go insert it in home computer. Run syncing software. Pull pen drive and insert in laptop. Login. Do work. Logoff. Pull pen drive and insert in home computer. Sync. Repeat. With the right software, syncing will be two way and any changes on home computer will be added to pen drive. And changes on pen drive will be added to home computer. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/36100-a-portable-userhome-folder/#findComment-257209 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokyovigilante Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Copy your home directory to your USB drive, then use NetInfo Manager to change your home directory to the USB drive. I use this to shift my home directory off my boot volume, but will work just as well with a USB/firewire drive. Disadvantage is moving to another computer requires you to set up an account and point it at the USB drive, ie need admin access. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/36100-a-portable-userhome-folder/#findComment-304256 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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