# Syncing your &handheld; with a PC

This chapter describes the synchronization process that &kpilot; uses, focusing on the &kpilot; daemon functionality. You may sync your &handheld; using the conduits. Conduits allow external applications to interface with the data on your &handheld;.

It is a good idea to make a backup of your &handheld; regularly. Other than making backups, it should rarely be necessary to do anything other than drop your &handheld; on the cradle and press the &HotSync; button. The &kpilot; daemon icon in the system tray will flash indicating that a sync is under way.

To set which type of sync &kpilot; will perform next, you can use the main application File menu, or right click the &kpilot; daemon icon located in the system tray, and select one of the menu items under the Next Sync sub menu.

If you hover over the &kpilot; daemon icon, a tooltip will appear showing you what the type of sync &kpilot; will perform next.

In short, the sync types are:

- HotSync (once): this option offers a nice balance between speed and data safety.

- FullSync (once): the safest option, but takes the longest time to complete.

- Copy Handheld to PC (once): run all conduits and sync all databases, but instead of merging the information from both sources, just copy the handheld data to the PC.

  Use with care, as this option erases the changes you made in your PC since the last sync.

- Copy PC to Handheld (once): run all conduits and sync all databases, but instead of merging the information from both sources, just copy the PC data to the handheld.

  Use with care, as this option erases the changes you made in your handheld since the last sync.

Alternatively, you can change the default syncing behavior of &kpilot; by choosing the most suitable option in the &HotSync; configure dialog.

To configure the conduits or the sync process, you do not need to open the main &kpilot; application, as the Configure KPilot... menu item is available on the &kpilot; daemon popup menu as well.

## Selecting the Synchronization Type

There are two ways to sync your &handheld;, HotSync, or FullSync.

When you press the &HotSync; button on your &handheld;, &kpilot; will run the default sync operation (usually a HotSync). You can select the default sync operation in the &HotSync; configure dialog. Alternatively, you can click one of the sync options on the main &kpilot; application File menu or on the &kpilot; daemon popup Next Sync submenu.

Using the &HotSync; configure dialog is the only way to change the default sync operation. The main &kpilot; application File menu items or the &kpilot; daemon popup Next Sync submenu items change only the type of sync that will be performed next.

&kpilot; Daemon Pop-Up Menu
&kpilot; daemon popup menu

&kpilot; daemon popup menu

For more information on the sync types, please refer to the descriptions available in .

## Syncing your &handheld; Data Using Conduits

Conduits are programs that interface your &handheld; data with PC applications or sync your &handheld; data with files that can be used by PC applications.

Conduits can be set up by selecting Settings Configure KPilot... , or using the daemon pop up menu and clicking the Configure KPilot... menu item.

&kpilot; Daemon Pop-Up Menu
&kpilot; daemon popup menu

&kpilot; daemon popup menu

## Resolving Conflicts

Data records can be changed both on the &handheld; and on the PC. If one record has incompatible changes in both the &handheld; and the PC (such as changing a phone number in different ways on both sides), the conflicting change needs to be resolved so that both the &handheld; and the PC are in sync again.

A popup dialog may appear, asking you how to resolve the conflict, or you may have a general rule to automatically handle these conflicts (depending on your conflict resolution choice). Note that you can define different resolution choices for different conduits in the conduits configuration dialog.