5.13.4. Complete Database Synchronization
Now that we have all configured and explained, and know how to use the Quick Sync, we can now move to the second and last sync method, and learn how to use the Complete Database Image Synchronization!

Like informed on the How the Online Sync Works topic, the complete database synchronization was created to let you sync all your notes in one shot.

In other words, it will basically create a complete image of your 7 Sticky Notes database inside the Sync File, that will be then automatically stored online by your sync program (like DropBox, for instance), and from which you will be able to restore, from any computer, anywhere you go.

For example, you can use the Database Image Sync if you want for your home computer to have the exact same notes of your work computer, or if you don't want to have two separated places with your notes. For example, if you created a few new notes on your work computer and you want to have all of them on your home, you can then sync the complete work database up to Dropbox, SkyDrive, GoogleDrive, etc, and then sync it down when you're at home, allowing you to have exactly the same notes you have on your work!!

Now, let's start on how you can use the Complete Sync. Basically, you'll either send a database to the sync file or restore from a database image in the sync file. How you can do this and how it works is going to be explained in the topics below:

The Complete Sync Progress Window:

Before anything, an important thing to know is that the Complete Database Image Sync is not an instant process like the Quick Sync. It takes a few more seconds to be performed, basically because it must copy all your normal notes, all your Recycle Bin notes, and all your statistics to the Sync File. And for this reason, all Complete Sync actions use the called "Sync Progress Window".

When you start performing either a "Complete Sync Down" or a "Complete Sync Up", this window will pop up in the bottom right corner of your screen, allowing you to see the sync progress status, cancel it, and also see any messages, and it looks like this:

 
Complete Sync Up		  
Complete Sync Down

As you can see at the image above, when sending a complete database image to the sync file, a small green arrow is showed on the right side of the progress bar, showing that it is a "Sync Up" process and, similarly, when restoring from a database image a small blue arrow is showed on the right side of the progress bar, showing that it is a "Sync Down" process.

It is important to notice also that while the Complete Sync is in progress, all program functions are deactivated, and several safety verifications are done, including if the sync file is being used (for instance, by DropBox), to avoid data corruption. But, while the process is being performed, you can cancel it anytime by clicking the "X" button on the top right corner of the Sync Window. When you cancel the sync, no changes are done, because they are only written to the Sync File as the final step.

Sending a Database Image to the Sync File:

So, like the Quick Sync, to send a Database Image to the Sync File you have two options: you can either use the program menu item "Sync Up Database Image" or you can use the Notes Manager. To send a database image to the Sync File, all you need to do is just open it, navigate through the "Synchronization" menu and then click the "Sync Up Database Image" menu, as you can see at the image below:

    Click the "Sync Up Database Image" menu to send the database image to the Sync File

And once you click "Sync Up Database Image" menu, 7 Sticky Notes will start the sync up process.
Firstly, if you enabled the "Input for Comments" sync option at the Program Configurations, an input box will pop up for you to enter a description for this database image (see picture below). This allows you to enter any useful comments you might need about this database image, that can be later reviewed at the Notes Manager to provide more information about this Database Image when going to synchronize down.

Then, the "Sync Progress Window" will show up, and 7 Sticky Notes will start the process of getting all your notes and stats. When it finishes, 7 Sticky Notes will then finally copy this database image into the Sync File, and 		 

display a success message on Sync Window, and also a tray ballon, informing that the sync was completed:

    Input for Database Image Description/Comments (optional)
    Complete Database Image Sync Up Process in Progress
    Process Completed
    Database Image successfully sent to Sync File

And finally, like it will be detailed in the Sync Section of the program options, by default you have only one Database Image inside the Sync File. But, you can have multiple database images to allow you to have a History Track of your complete Syncs. If you have just one, this means that when you Sync Up a Database Image, any Database Image already present at the Sync File will be replaced automatically. But, if you have several database images, then 7 Sticky Notes will discard the oldest Database Image every time a Complete Sync Up is performed to make sure the configured number of Database Images is kept.

Restoring from a Database Image:

To restore from a Database Image, you also have two options: you can ether use the program menu item "Sync Down Database Image" or also you can use the Notes Manager. To Sync Down from the database image using the Program Menu, all you need to do is just open it, navigate through the "Synchronization" menu and then click the "Sync Down Database Image" menu, as you can see at the image below:

    Click the "SyncDown Database Image" menu to restore from the database image

It is important to note that, the "Sync Down Database Image" menu will make 7 Sticky Notes sync down from the latest database image found inside the Sync File. In other words, if there are multiple Database Images, it will find the newest one, and use it. But, if you want, it is possible to also sync down from a specific Database Image, using the Notes Manager, as is going to be explained in the Sync File section.

Then, similarly to when Synchronizing Up, after you click the "Sync Down Database Image" menu, the "Sync Progress Window" will also show up, and 7 Sticky Notes will start the process of getting all notes from the latest Database Image in the Sync File. The process should take a few seconds, and when it finishes, 7 Sticky Notes will finally restore from the Database Image.

  
Important Note: The Sync Down Database Image process will restore from the Database Image and replace your current database! For this reason, 7 Sticky Notes automatically creates a database backup inside a folder called "syncdownbackups", to allow you to undo this synchronization and revert to the previous database. Once the process is complete, the Sync Window will display a success message, and a tray ballon will popup informing that the sync was completed:

 
Complete Sync Down Finished		  
Complete Sync Down Restore Completed

Undoing last Database Image Sync Down:

As informed above, the Sync Down from a Database Image is in fact a restore process, that is, it replaces all notes you have in the local database. For this reason, in order to avoid any data to be lost, 7 Sticky Notes has some safety mechanisms to let you undo the sync action. Every time you perform a "Complete Sync Down", 7 Sticky Notes creates a backup of your database before it is replaced by the chosen Database Image. This function can be access from the "Undo Sync Down Database Image" menu, that located in the last position of the Synchronization menus:

    Click the "Undo Sync Down Database Image" undo the last sync down database restore

So, if you by any chance performed a wrong Sync Down, you can restore the last database by using the "Undo Sync Down Database Image" menu. This will restore the current database with the last sync
down backup located at the "syncdownbackups" folder. If you want to restore from other backups, please use the manual restore function or the additional databases features from the Database Section of the options. Additionally, a database backup is also created for safety when you use the "Undo Sync Down Database Image". And lastly, you can also configure at the Sync Section of the Program Options the number of sync backups to be saved at the "syncdownbackups" folder.

So that is it!! Now you know everything you need to start using 7 Sticky Notes Online Synchronization feature and start sharing your notes from any computer, anywhere!!