Hi pollygirl,

Would it be possible to clarify if the task was renamed in the iPhone app or the web app?

One thing to be careful of is that it's a good idea to press refresh/sync in the iPhone app before exiting the app -- even with auto sync on, the app may not have had the chance to sync yet (as it will sync approx every 5min and on starting the app; it's not technically possible to sync on exit).

If you're still experiencing the issue and haven't done so already, would it be possible to submit an iPhone app issue report via our support system? We can check into this further.

(Please select the issue that you're experiencing from the list on the left, and follow the steps shown. If your issue isn't listed, just click on "I'd like to report a new issue" on the left.)

Thanks! :)

I am yet to find the auto sync button/tap/device/etc.
Can anyone direct me?

Hi dazza001,

To change your sync settings:

1. Navigate to the Settings screen (by tapping its icon in the bottom bar, or its item underneath More).
2. Tap the Schedule or Sync fields and select your preference.
3. Tap Settings to return to the previous screen.

With the app set to auto sync, your tasks will automatically be synchronized with RTM when the app launches or becomes active (for instance, after the device has been in sleep mode). After this, the app will periodically sync around every 5 minutes while the app is open. This sends any changes you've made back to RTM, and checks for any changes from RTM too. If you don't want to wait for the auto sync, you can manually sync by tapping the refresh icon (in the bottom left of the screen) at any time.

Hope this helps!

Hi Emily,

Can you explain why it's not "technically possible" to automatically sync when the iPhone app exits? Here's my scenario: I make a bunch of changes on my iPhone at night, and when I access the web page the following morning... none of my changes are there. I have to go to the iPhone app, press sync, then return to the web page. It's time-consuming and clunky. This annoying behavior repeats on a daily basis :(

Thank you,
Ryan

Hey Ryan,

Sure -- Apple actually advises against beginning any actions on app termination. The reason for this is that once the app is told that it's being exited, it only has 5 seconds to gracefully shut down (saving data and the application's state). After 5 seconds, it just gets killed by the OS.

The app stops syncing if a sync is already taking place when the exit command comes through; if we were to start a sync (or let one continue) as the application was being killed, there's a pretty good chance of doing bad things to the tasks data. :(

Hope this clears things up!

How about syncing every time a task is added and you go back to a 'menu' screen after you press 'Done'? And the same when a task is 'Completed'

Notespark (www.notespark.com) on the iPhone does a great job of syncing-as-you-go on a per note basis, so it isn't necessary for the user to remember to do it (and the milk too!).

It would also free up the sync button for something else?

Ryan - I have found the frustration you describe to be more than sufficient to remember to push the sync button in the RTM app after I make almost any change at all. It's a handy habit.

I realize that RTM cannot sync before quitting if one hits the home button, but I do wonder about a "Sync'n'Quit" button that would do just that. It sounds like it would be useful to many people.

Thanks for the reply. Any chance this can/will change w/ OS 3.0?

sailesh, regarding syncing after each action, here's what I've posted previously about this:

"With the app set to auto sync, your tasks will automatically be synchronized with RTM when the app launches or becomes active.

After this, the app will periodically sync around every 5 minutes while the app is open. (If you don't want to wait for the auto sync, you can manually sync by tapping the refresh icon at any time.)

To sync after any operation (even just the most important ones) would require a full sync to take place on our servers each time an operation took place on the device.

While we'll be looking into this possibility in the future, at the moment we're pretty focussed on ensuring that the service remains stable and maintains high performance; even with 5 minute sync frequency, this app does impact on our available server resources.

Once things settle down a bit, we'll be able to evaluate whether we can offer instant syncing on operations (i.e., "push"), or a higher sync frequency setting, without negatively impacting on service performance and stability for everybody."

Note: That post was from November, shortly after the app was launched; it's still something that we're evaluating for a future version (as mentioned above, so long as it could be done without negatively impacting on service performance and stability!).

Ran, unfortunately iPhone apps aren't allowed to "quit" themselves. :( There's no way for apps to gracefully exit on their own; in the iPhone OS, the user has to press the 'Home' button to close applications.

I agree it would be nice if it were possible, as it would be good to have a button that syncs first, then quits.

rburdick, as far as I'm aware, there aren't any changes in 3.0 that would allow sync on exit. :(

@emily - I have now used my iPod touch every day since early December and it's never crossed my mind that none of the apps on that gizmo offers any sort of trigger to quit itself. {Hand to forehead} D'oh!

@emily - would the push notification service not be able to provide an alternative where sync on exit isn't required?

I assume RTM are planning on using the push notifications in the next release?

Since there's no way to sync on exit... could you make the sync icon more prominent (red? pulsating?) after any local change that requires a sync?