Syncdocs deletes local file after performing sync upload

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Syncdocs deletes local file after performing sync upload

(51 posts) (7 voices)

Started 1 year ago by NickA
Latest reply from Jon Lindsay
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NickA
Member

I'm having trouble with Syncdocs in relation to a particular type of data file for an accounting program.

1. When I open the data file using the accounting program, Syncdocs detects a local change and initiates a sync - ok

2. It then uploads the local version to Google Docs - again, ok

3. Once the upload has finished, it then seems to delete the local version - causing the accounting program to crash. (I say "seems to" because the file disappears and I'm assuming the Syncdocs process it causing that)

4. It then (generally) initiates another sync and downloads the file it's just deleted from Google Docs. I say "generally" because from time to time the sync doesn't download the file and I'm forced to recover it from a backup (which I've been keeping assiduously!)

Any help greatly appreciated, as Syncdocs is a great application for my purposes and my workaround (only doing manual syncs at the end of each day) is not ideal.

Thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #

Admin
Andrew
Syncdocs

Hi NickA,
Syncdocs won't delete anything unless the another program is deleting it. What is the name of the file that the accounting program saves? What accounting program is it?

It might be that the accounting program saves to a temporary file and then renames it. This latest version of Syncdocs detects this way of saving a file. Please try it and see if this is the cause.

Thanks,

Posted 1 year ago #
NickA
Member

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your response and suggestion - unfortunately, I tried version 2.11 and it did exactly the same thing.

The program is called MYOB (http://myob.com.au/) and it is the the most popular accounting package in Australia. The data files are saved as a single file with the extension *.myox

You can install a trial version of MYOB for free if you're sufficiently motivated to try and replicate this issue (https://my.myob.com.au/Pages/testdrive.aspx?productid=1-2S6PUF)

One additional tweak to my description of the issue - under 3 - the MYOB program will crash if you attempt to do anything in the program (open a function etc). If you just leave it idle then it normally doesn't crash.

I can do a screen record to show the issue if it will help, or I can do a remote session on your/my PC to show you how it happens.

If we can nail this issue I will be recommending Syncdocs to a number of clients so it's worth persevering with from my point of view.

Thanks,

Posted 1 year ago #
NickA
Member

I have also now noticed that if I pause Syncdocs while using MYOB and then manually start the sync after closing the program, it does exactly the same thing (i.e. upload, delete, download) so the issue doesn't appear to relate to the fact that the program is accessing the data file.

Posted 1 year ago #
NickA
Member

I've also now noticed that Syncdocs does exactly the same thing with an Excel spreadsheet I had open - it repeatedly attempted to delete the spreadsheet while I was working on it - the difference with MYOB was that Excel would not let it access the file for this purpose while I had it open.

As soon as I saved and closed Excel, Syncdocs ran a sync and did the upload / delete / download routine for the Excel file.

Posted 1 year ago #
Phil
Syncdocs

Thanks for the extra info - we'll see if we can replicate it.

Is your PC clock time set correctly?

Posted 1 year ago #

Private
NickA
Member

That was the first thing I thought of when I first encountered the problem - the time seems to be correct (correct timezone and time, anyway) and is consistent with the time settings in Google Docs.

I also extended the preferences so the time range over which SyncDocs views a file as having been changed out to 300 seconds, but it didn't solve the problem.

Posted 1 year ago #

Register
Phil
Syncdocs

It might be that your file cache was corrupted. You can try clearing it by clicking on the "Default Settings" button on the Advanced preferences tab.

If that doesn't work, try updating to the latest version of Syncdocs which is less sensitive to the missing files on Google Docs problem, which might cause cache errors.

Posted 1 year ago #
speedie32
Member

I am also having the same issue. This started around 1/31/2012. I am using the latest version, manual sync, when my customer is done for the day they have 1 file that gets synced. Any change in the local file will prompt for an upload, which works well. Then, the local file gets deleted. If I do another sync, it downloads the file to the proper local directory.

Posted 1 year ago #
NickA
Member

Tried both upgrading to Version 2.11 and also resetting cache per above. Still seems to be having same problem.

I'm resorting to only doing a manual sync on all machines. I'm finding SyncDocs so useful that I can tolerate this, but it would be much nicer and safer to have the automatic sync working reliably.

Also, I obviously can't recommend this to clients until it has proven 100% reliable in my own usage. I look forward to when I'll be able to do that.

Posted 1 year ago #
speedie32
Member

NickA...I am currently doing a manual sync and the local files are being deleted.

Posted 1 year ago #
Phil
Syncdocs

We've installed MYOB to see how it saves and have found the cause of this error. It does a rename, delete, a rename and then a delete again, which can cause what you are seeing if the sync timing is wrong.

We're working on a robust fix for this, which should be released in the next few days.

Posted 1 year ago #
speedie32
Member

Thanks for looking into this Phil.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jon Lindsay
Member

I get the same deletion bug with MSWord, MSWorks and Quicken files. And there may have been more that I missed. I have taken to always checking my Recycle Bin several times a day.

Posted 1 year ago #
speedie32
Member

Jon,
I have found it deletes everything you are syncing. Not good. If you do another sync, the file are restored from google docs. Completely unusable right now.

Posted 1 year ago #
Phil
Syncdocs

@Jon: we have fixed the bug. It's in testing right now, an a fix should be out over the weekend.
@speedie: What you report sounds very bad. Can you send me more details.

Posted 1 year ago #
speedie32
Member

Phil,
I have the same issue as Jon, but seems to also delete .php files, css, mdb along with everything else mentioned above. I noticed it when a customer could not open his database because the backend file was gone(.accdb). After I started looking at his files, I found it in the trash bin. It was still on google docs, and after I synced again, it was put back in the correct folder. However, I personally use your software for backup purposes and choose to only upload files, this causes my local files to be deleted.

Posted 1 year ago #
Phil
Syncdocs

This bug is fixed in the latest release.

Posted 1 year ago #
Andrew
Syncdocs

We've fixed the cause of this (apps locking files, or saving by renaming and then deleting) in the latest version 2.22

Posted 1 year ago #
NickA
Member

Thanks Andrew - looking forward to testing the hell out of it!

Posted 1 year ago #

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