Syncing with WordPress

TypeMetal syncs each blog project with the WordPress account you’ve configured the project to work with, in much the same way that an email client application such as OS X’s “Mail” app syncs with an email account. You can let TypeMetal sync automatically, at regular intervals, or you can configure it to sync only when you ask it to.

The goal of each sync is to bring each end up to date with any changes that have occurred on the other — while refraining from publishing any local edits that you haven’t yet asked TypeMetal to publish. TypeMetal maintains a complete and continually updated local copy of all of your blog’s posts, pages, and related images and media.

You can initiate, monitor, and control WordPress syncing using the items in a blog window’s toolbar, and the settings in TypeMetal’s “Blogging” settings panel.

Troubleshooting WordPress Sync

If you have trouble syncing with a WordPress site, there’s a sync log you can send that will help us diagnose the problem.

To view the sync log for a given account, choose Blogging → View Sync Log from the menus, or click the “Sync Log” button that appears at the bottom of a sync status display for any of the account’s blog windows. The “Sync Log” window that appears contains diagnostic text describing the last few sync sessions, that you can copy and paste. Email it to support@coherencelabs.com with a description of the problem you’re seeing. We’ll do our best to get you up and running again!

Requesting Sync

You can initiate a sync anytime, by clicking the “Sync” button in a blog window’s toolbar. TypeMetal shows the sync session’s progress in a small, transient view that appears in the blog window’s lower-left corner.

Working Offline

You can temporarily disable automatic syncing by clicking the “Online” button in a blog’s toolbar, to change its status to “Offline”.

The “Online” / “Offline” toolbar button also reflects the availability of a network connection. Its indicator light is:

• green if you’re working online and a connection is available
• yellow if there seems to be a problem reaching the server
• red if you’ve asked TypeMetal to work offline

Editing Account Settings

Clicking the “Account” button in the toolbar enables you to edit your project’s WordPress login credentials (host name, user ID, and password), and view sync status in greater detail.

If you click the “Account” button while a sync is in progress, the resultant popover shows you detailed sync status similar to what’s presented on your very first sync.

If you click the “Account” button while a sync is not in progress, the resultant popover presents your login credentials for editing. The login panel also provides a button that you can use to initiate a sync.

Normal Syncs vs. Exhaustive Syncs

The first time TypeMetal connects to a WordPress account, it performs an “exhaustive” sync, that attempts to download a comprehensive description of your site and all of its posts, pages, and supporting resources.

Subsequent syncs go through an abbreviated sync routine that doesn’t attempt to be exhaustive. That’s usually fine and appropriate, especially if you sync fairly often and don’t change your site’s theme. But occasionally — if you change your site’s theme or choose a different theme, for example — you may need to perform another exhaustive sync to bring TypeMetal’s copy of your site’s content completely up to date.

To initiate an exhaustive sync, simply hold down the Option key while clicking either the “Sync” toolbar button or the “Login” button in the “Account” popover.