Layperson directions for sync'ing TB with Toucan

depends on how you want to do things, here is how I would set it up (I dont use Thunderbird myself).

1. Backup! Both the copy on your USB stick and the profile of your local copy (see here for more info on your local Thunderbird, on the usb drive the profle is in X:\PortableApps\ThunderbirdPortable\Data [where x is the letter of your usb drive])
2. Firstly set the local profile as the source and the data folder as the destination and the mode to mirror (copy)
3. Save this as a job called LocalToUSB
4. When you run this job an exact copy of your local profile will be created on the USB drive.
6. Then swap the source and destination around and save it as a job called USBToLocal
7. The key then is to make sure that you only ever change one side at a time, for example when you have finished with your local copy run the LocalToUSB job and then use Thunderbird Portable, when you get back to the local PC run USBToLocal to copy your newly modified profile back, when you have finished with thte local copy, copy it back and so on

Any more questions please ask And backup first!

For the PortableApps idea to be really successful an EASY sync needs to be available. I read your advice to tisha oz and it makes a little sense but I don't trust it for everyday. TB & FF (or maybe opera) are going to be the most popular apps for this type of device. Can there a GUI way for us to sync the mail/contacts/bookmarks/whatever without the hunt and peck? The software knows where it keeps stuff better than I do. I'm not a programmer so I don't know how to explain it in your terms but here's my hypothetical. Lets say a user is bouncing back and forth between the USB and the home computer. He's constantly sending, receiving, and deleting on each system separately. There needs to be a safe way to compare the emails and sync up the folders. For example: I have the same email in my inbox on both the USB and home computer. Then I move that email to the deleted folder on my USB while on the road. Now I get home and want to sync up. The software looks at the email and moves it to the deleted on my home computer (most recent date takes priority maybe?) Same thing for FF with the bookmarks. If I delete just one bookmark on my home computer I'd like to sync up my USB without diving deep and copying a file. I'm user not a computer pro. Thanks for taking the time to get this far down. Keep up the good work.