Dropbox is a free web-based service that provides up to 2 GB of data storage, and it works with both Macs and PCs. Dropbox will not only help you synchronize your database between computers, it will maintain a safe and secure web-based backup, in case your laptop is ever lost, stolen or damaged.
Many services, like Google Drive are not a safe option for TntMPD, because if two computers both open the TntMPD database at the same time, the last person to close TntMPD would simply overwrite any changed made by the other. Therefore I haven't felt comfortable using a service like this for my data. But Dropbox is safe because it handles conflicts like this differently by creating a "conflicted copy" of the database. This conflicted copy will be detected by TntMPD 3.0 and you'll be prompted to automatically synchronize any changes that didn't get saved in the main file.
FAQ 1: How do I move my database to the Dropbox folder?
Under the Help menu, click on View System Info. Here you'll see where exactly what file is stored on your computer. This corresponds to the database currently open in TntMPD.
In my example, I can see that my database is named "Troy and Tammy.mpddb" and it is stored in "My Documents". After I open "My Documents" on my computer I can see that a TntMPD database is just like any other file.
Note to Mac users: You'd do the same thing on a Mac using Finder.
Now that you've located your file, how do you move it? You can drag-n-drop or you can use the clipboard. To use the clipboard, right-click on your database and choose "Cut". Then navigate to your Dropbox folder and "Paste" (right-click or under the "Edit" menu). Drag-n-drop just means you drag your database to the Dropbox folder with your mouse.
Now that you've moved your database, you can tell TntMPD to open if from there. You can either double-click on it, or in TntMPD under the File menu, click Open and navigate to your Dropbox folder and choose your database file.
FAQ 2: What if two people change data in TntMPD at the same time?
For this to work best, it's important that only one person at a time is in the database making changes. TntMPD can help you with this. Under the Tools menu, click on Options to turn on "Dropbox Mode". (This will be turned on by default in TntMPD 3.0.)
If you try to open the database when your spouse is already in it, you'll get this prompt:
You can still open your database, just as read-only. By preventing you and your spouse making changes at the same time, you can better ensure you stay in sync with each other.
But even with TntMPD's "Dropbox Mode" it's possible that two people edit the database at the same time. If you or your spouse's computer is not connected to the Internet, TntMPD's "Dropbox Mode" won't be able to know that the database is in use by your partner. Dropbox handles this situation by keeping one person's copy of the database as the main file, and the other person's copy of the database is saved as a "conflict file". This is good, because it means no changes are lost. This conflicted copy will be detected by TntMPD 3.0 and you'll be prompted to automatically synchronize any changes that didn't get saved in the main file.
FAQ 3: Are there any other benefits to using Dropbox with TntMPD?
Another benefit to using Dropbox, is that it maintains a safe and secure back-up of your database and any other MPD files you keep in the Dropbox folder. If your laptop is ever lost or stolen, or the hard drive fails, with Dropbox, you'll have a backup of the most recent copy of your database.
FAQ 4: Can I combine this with TntSync?
If you are a husband and wife team and want the ability to work offline at the same time, you might consider using TntSync. To do this, copy the original TntMPD database to a non-Dropbox folder and then make whatever changes you want. When you're finished and online again, sync it with the TntMPD database in the Dropbox folder. This will make your changes available to your partner, who has also been making changes and can then sync her changes to the database as well.
Another approach to consider if TntSync is too technical for your spouse, than you could setup your spouse to open TntMPD directly off the Dropbox drive. You could have a database stored on your local hard drive that is not associated with Dropbox that you'd use when you're in TntMPD. You'd have to run TntSync occasionlly to sync changes between your local database and the database in Dropbox. This has the advantage of allowing your spouse to not deal with TntSync at all. Plus it allows simultaneous use of TntMPD. The only time the database in Dropbox could possible be used by both you and your spouse is if you try to run TntSync when your spouse is in TntMPD. But TntSync also gets this new feature, so it will also warn you if your spouse is in the database.