After putting some thought behind continuing my Syncing with Dropbox series any further I decided there was still one application left that I use on a regular basis that couldn’t be left out of sync.

Coda is a IDE for the web, inspired by the application development platform XCode. The entire application is divided into six sections (Sites, Edit, Preview, CSS, Terminal, and Books), which are accessed through six tabs at the top of the application. In addition to opening a file in a specific section users can also split the window into multiple sections either vertically or horizontally, to access multiple sections or different files at the same time. Coda also supports the installation of additional sections and capabilities through its plug-in architecture.

Coda’s Sites section is where projects are maintained. Each project has its own set of files local and remote, and its own configuration settings for test and production. Files that are created or modified locally can easily be uploaded to their corresponding location on the remote server via integrated FTP. The state of a project and the presentation of its windows and sections is maintained even after the application is closed. Unlike competitor Espresso, Coda uses its preference file to store site settings. In order to sync Coda’s sites its preference file must be moved to Dropbox.

Coda’s Edit section is where most of the action happens. Coda is primarily a text editor designed for web development, and as such incorporates standard web coding features like syntax coloring, line numbering, find and replace, auto completion, block editing, and the ability to archive important code clippings. Coda’s most under appreciated feature might be its live collaboration which allows multiple users to author the same document live from the next cube ‚Äî or across the globe. Coda’s preference file preserves the state of the editor and other tabs that are open when Coda is quit or restarted.

Preview is Coda’s built-in browser suitable for live previewing of local code or browsing of remote sites. Because Coda’s Preview takes advantage of Apple’s Webkit it is capable of displaying the same DOM Inspection and JavaScript Console as Safari.

Coda’s CSS section allows users to easily design or edit their CSS stylesheets using either text or GUI controls. I rarely use this section, but it is nice to have when you forget a specific stylesheet declaration.

The Terminal section allows users to interact with command line applications like MySQL and Apache from inside Coda. It is handy to have one less terminal application in my dock, but unfortunate that syncing Coda’s preference file does not preserve the state of the Terminal.

Coda’s final section Books is a built-in, searchable reference library capable of expansion. All of the books you add, and the pages you are currently referencing get preserved when Coda’s Application Support folder and preference file is synced with Dropbox.

Syncing Coda with Dropbox requires the relocation of two files. The first is the com.panic.Coda.plist preferences file that stores all of Coda’s applications preferences, site settings, and window states. The second is Coda’s application support folder that contains any installed plug-ins, modes, books and site previews.

1. I start by quitting Coda and creating a new pseudo Library folder in my Dropbox to hold preference files I wish to transfer from my Home Library.
2. Inside my new Dropbox Library I create a new Preferences folder.
3. I then copy my existing Coda Preferences file from ~/Library/Preferences/com.panic.Coda.plist to ~/Dropbox/Library/Preferences/com.panic.Coda.plist.
4. Creating a symbolic link between my new Dropbox enabled Coda preference file and its original location ensures that the changes I make to those preferences, including the state of open documents and windows gets synced to the cloud. ln -s~/Dropbox/Library/Preferences/com.panic.Coda.plist ~/Library/Preferences/com.panic.Coda.plist`
5. Inside my new Dropbox Library I next create a new Application Support folder.
6. I then copy my existing Coda Application Support directory from ~/Library/Application Support/Coda to ~/Dropbox/Library/Application Support/Coda.
7. Creating a symbolic link between my new Dropbox enabled Coda Application Support folder and its original location ensures that additions I make to my plug-ins, modes, and books get synced to the cloud. ln -s~/Dropbox/Library/Application\ Support/Coda ~/Library/Application\ Support/Coda`
8. By repeating step 4 and 7 of this process for all of my Dropbox enabled Macs I can share the same Coda preferences, site settings, window state, plug-ins, and books between all of my computers.

Interested in trying Dropbox for yourself Use this link to get signed up and enjoy the dream of being in sync across all of your computers.