dropbox sync problem

Submitted by jimspoon on 2025/03/15 16:49

I'll try to describe my Dropbox sync problem simply, it's not easy to do!

Four locations in question for my main.sndb file.

(1) "Laptop data file", i.e. database file that I load into IQ and edit - C:\Users\Jim\Documents\infoqube\main.sndb
(2) "Laptop sync file", i.e. file copied into sync folder when there is a "data change" - C:\Users\Jim\Dropbox\infoqube\sync\main.sndb
(3) "Desktop sync file", (a) file synced by Dropbox from laptop to desktop, (b) IQ detects that it has a Last Edit date later than the Desktop Data file, and (c) prompts me to overwrite the Desktop Data file with the Desktop Sync File - C:\Users\jimsp\Dropbox\infoqube\sync\main.sndb
(4) "Desktop data file", database file that I load into IQ and edit - E:\data\jsw\documents\docs\infoqube\main\main.sndb

So there are several steps for data changes to travel successfully from the Laptop Data File to the Desktop Data File.  when I want to work with this file on my Desktop after working with it on my Laptop, I need to make sure that all of these steps have been completed successfully.  If they have not been completed successfully, and I then make a data change to the Desktop Data File - the Desktop Data File will be copied over the Desktop Sync Folder, overwriting any changes that were made on the laptop.  This file, without the lost Laptop changes, are then synced back to the Laptop Sync Folder, overwriting the Laptop changes in that file.  And finally, IQ on the Laptop might prompt me to overwrite the Laptop Data File with file from the Laptop Sync Folder, containing the changes I made on the desktop.  The changes I made previously on the Laptop are lost and I may be none the wiser.

So lately I come to my Desktop, and I see an Overwrite prompt.  I click to Overwrite the Desktop Data File with the Desktop Sync File.  Very soon later, I often get a second Overwrite prompt, with a newer Last Edit date.  Once I again I click to do the Overwrite.  What I am discovering is that even after these two Overwrites, the Desktop Data File still does not have the last change I last made on the laptop.

I checked the Last Edit times on all four files.  (I copied the sndb files out of the sync folders and opened them from another location.)

So here are the Last Edit times what I see right now, displayed using File > Properties:

Laptop Data File - 14:08:21 UTC
Laptop Sync File - 14:07:35 UTC
Desktop Sync File - 14:07:35 UTC
Desktop Data File - 14:07:35 UTC

Now I can see the problem.  For some unknown reason, even though IQ on the Laptop detected an edit at 14:08:21, presumably a "data change", it did not copy the revised sndb file over the Laptop Sync File.  Therefore Dropbox never uploaded it to the cloud, never synced it to the Desktop Sync folder, and never prompted me to overwrite with the Desktop Data File with that file.  

To discover where the problem lay, I had to load four different files and check the Last Edit time with File > Properties.  I think that one thing that might help is if IQ would write a small text file to the Sync folder with the Last Edit information for each database.  Such a small text file should be synced almost instantaneously.  Maybe it could be a single text fie containing the Last Edit info for all computers from which that sndb file is opened and edited.  Then I could open that text file and compare the Last Edit date/time for that database for all computers, and I could determine quickly where the four-step process failed.  Perhaps I could display the contents of such a file directly from IQ.

 

 

 

 

Comments

Hi Jim,

I have the reflex to hit Ctrl+S (in a grid) to force a copy to the Sync folder. Does that help?

Also, you'll be, I'm sure, one of the first users of the new IQ Pro which supports live collaboration. No more sync version issues !!

Pierre_Admin
IQ Designer

I'll try the Ctrl+S.  I keep forgetting whether that was to force a "Copy to Sync Folder" or "Load from Sync Folder".  Thanks for the reminder.

I didn't know about the coming live collaboration.  I look forward to learning how that works.  It will be really big if it is the cure for my Date Loss Anxiety.  I have often wished that we had something like the Ecco syncing mechanism, which always worked great for me.  Maybe this is even better!

Hi Pierre,

Is it possible that the File > Properties dialog box is not giving accurate info re the Last Edit time?

EDIT:  It just occurred to me why the Last Edit time in the File > Properties dialog might not match the most recent ItemModified time.  One possibility - if Items are reordered in a grid, or children reordered under a parent item, I suppose that would not be an Item modification that would update any Item's ItemModified time stamp, but it would be a data change reflected in the Last Edit date.  Still, it's a mystery to me why my Desktop and Laptop "Last Edit" dates don't match even after a reload from the sync folder.  Still it's some comfort that the most recent ItemModified dates are matching, I think that might mean that the actual content of the items are the same and and are not being lost, even if a reordering is lost.

On my Desktop, the File > Properties info seems to be accurate.  See screenshot below. (This screenshot is from an ItemModifed grid using ItemModified as the source field, sorted by ItemModified descending.)  See how the Last Edit date in the Properties dialog box matches the value in the ItemModified column for the last modified item. (My local time is Central Daylight Time, UTC-5, so the 6:53:12 local time is only one second behind the 11:53:13 UTC time.)

I pressed Ctrl+S to force IQ on my desktop to copy the database to the sync folder on my desktop. 

On my laptop, I was prompted to load the latest version of the file from the sync folder, and I did so.  Then I clicked File > Properties to check the Last Edit time.  See screenshot below.  Notice that the Last Edit timestamp shown on the laptop is NOT the same as the Last Edit time that was shown on the Desktop.  BUT - notice that the Last Edit value does not match the ItemModified value for the latest modified item.  The ItemModified stamp (local time) is 14+ hours later than the Last Edit time (UTC).  The ItemModified value for the last modified item on the laptop DOES match the "Last Edit" and latest "ItemModified" values that were shown on the Desktop.  If I go by the File > Properties Last Edit date on the Laptop, the laptop does not have these latest version loaded, but if I go by the ItemModified value of the latest modified item, the laptop does seem to have the latest file version loaded.

 

P.S. The "Last Edit" line in the File > Properties dialog shows a date/time stamp, a User name, and a PC name.  Can these values be added as Columns to my ItemModified grid?  I understand that these values (timestamp, editing user name, editing pc name) may be properties of the file rather than values for the item.

Another Example.  Made revisions on Laptop then when prompted reloaded from sync on Desktop.

Laptop ItemModified and Last Edit dates match after adjusting for time zone.

 

Desktop ItemModifed matches Laptop, but Desktop Last Edit doesn't match Desktop ItemModified or Laptop Last Edit.

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