Syncing Highlights and Notes...

[timothylfox]

Hi,

 

I'm having trouble getting my highlights to sync across two macs via Dropbox. Both are running version 11, linked to Dropbox, and have "highlights" and "user notes" ticked in the syncing preferences. After linking computer B, I ran a Dropbox sync on computer A. However: The highlights are nowhere to be found (visibly or by searchign by style)—do I need to recreate exactly every highlight style on computer B before it will notice my custom highlight styles from computer A? Also, the user notes are not syncing. On computer B, when I go to Amplify, User Notes (in a module for which I've made notes on computer A), it tells me: "The User Notes files "My Notes" cannot be used, because it does not include the kind of texts shown in the selected pane."

 

What am I missing?

 

Thanks!

Tim

[Julia Falling]

Tim –

 

First, are you backing up your Accordance folder before you sync anything?  I compress my Accordance folder, date the compressed file (today's will be 150706), and drop it into one of those very small flash drives that can stay in the laptop.  That way, if anything goes wrong, I don't lose anything.  I'm also backing up using TimeMachine.

 

I had recently reinstalled Accordance because of another problem.  The reinstall messed up all my syncing.  I made sure that Accordance was running correctly and that Highlights and User Notes were up-to-date and backed up.  Then I deleted all User Files off every other device but the up-to-date MacBook Air (MBA).  I synced with DropBox then checked to make sure all the files were there.  I think it took more than a single sync.  I've got three User Notes Files, 16 User Tools, and 6 Highlights files.  When I was sure it was all in DropBox, I synced with my other Mac (a mini) and with iOS devices.

 

Even now, I never sync without backing up the Accordance folder.  There are 11½ years of notes and highlights and I don't want to lose them!  If you're using TimeMachine and back up right before you sync, that will protect you, too.  However, it's easier, I think, to just drag a copy of the compressed file from the flash drive to my desktop, unzip it, and recover just what I need just in case something has disappeared.  And I don't lose the file on the flash drive when I drag the copy off it, so I remain backed up.  

 

Now that it's all up and running, I'm not having any serious issues.  

 

The User Tool I created to use as a prayer journal is kept up to date on the MBA. When I sync with my mini and iOS devices, User Notes and Highlight sync perfectly.  There is always, however, a lag when it comes to my Prayer Journal (a User Tool).  It is up to date on my MBA, but has no entries past June 28th on any of my other devices.  Don't know what's going on there.  That is a Tool that changes daily, just like my Notes and Highlights.

 

It would be helpful if you include what hardware & OS you're running in your signature.  If you're on a PC, there may be issues specific to your platform of which I am unaware.

 

If you continue to have problems, do call tech support.  The folks there are so very knowledgable and helpful.

[Julia Falling]

I checked the prayer journal on DropBox and the mini.  Neither have updated since June 28th even with daily syncs since that date.  User Notes and Highlights continue to sync perfectly.  

 

What is distressing is that after fiddling with the syncing a bunch this morning, the copy of the prayer journal on the MBA had reverted to the June 28th version.  I was able to recover the up-to-date version, but I am now thinking that I may not want to sync User Tools at all.  I've unchecked User Tools in Syncing in the Accordance Prefs.  I'll continue to compress my Accordance Folder and save it on the flash drive, & in a folder on Dropbox.  I'm not particularly paranoid in general, but I'm now leaning that way when it comes to User Tool syncing.  

 

Am I doing something incorrectly?  How about Tim?

[Scott Knapp]

Julie,

 

That sounds like a bug in the user tool syncing logic.  User tools are synced via the file modification date with the newest version "winning".  You might want to check the file modification date on your local copy of the user tool (in the Documents>Accordance Files>User Tools folder) and the modification date shown online at dropbox.com.  If the date on your local copy is newer than what is shown online at dropbox.com and but after syncing the local version has not been pushed to the dropbox server, then that is definitely a bug that needs to be fixed.

[Mike Garrity]

Julie,

 

Also, make sure

• that the User Tool option is checked in Preferences > Syncing
• the User Tool file name in the Finder matches the file name on Dropbox.com
• the User Tools files are not in sub folders in Accordance Files > User Tools (I think this was a problem before)

 

Mike

Edited July 6, 2015 by Mike Garrity

[Julia Falling]

Julie,

 

That sounds like a bug in the user tool syncing logic.  User tools are synced via the file modification date with the newest version "winning".  You might want to check the file modification date on your local copy of the user tool (in the Documents>Accordance Files>User Tools folder) and the modification date shown online at dropbox.com.  If the date on your local copy is newer than what is shown online at dropbox.com and but after syncing the local version has not been pushed to the dropbox server, then that is definitely a bug that needs to be fixed.

 

Scott –

 

Thanks for your reply.  Yes, I had checked the dates.  DropBox and mini both stubbornly persisted with June 28 – that may have been the time I reinstalled Accordance and got everything synced.  I think we've got a bug.

[Julia Falling]

Julie,

 

Also, make sure

• that the User Tool option is checked in Preferences > Syncing
• the User Tool file name in the Finder matches the file name on Dropbox.com
• the User Tools files are not in sub folders in Accordance Files > User Tools (I think this was a problem before)

 

Mike

 

Mike –

 

Thanks for the reminders, but I already had everything checked properly.  I even tried deleting the prayer tool off DropBox to see if I could force the up-to-date one to upload so I could download it to the mini (where I have also deleted it).  No success.

 

I have no subfolders, and, except for a "Saved Workspaces" folder, the Accordance Files has only what Accordance has put there.

 

I think there may be a bug.  What surprises me is that the file won't upload at all now.

 

Here's a shot of the DropBox Folder and the Accordance Files side-by side.  I just synced and you can see that the My Notes & Refs didn't update, either.

 

 

I think either there's a bug or I've acquired some sort of corruption.  

 

If there's anything else you guys want to to try, please let me know.

 

Thanks to you both for looking into this.

[Mike Garrity]

PM sent

 

Mike

[timothylfox]

Thanks for your help Julie! 

 

Re: Highlights — there was an issue with dropbox on one of my computers; resolved now!

 

Re: User Notes — I'm still getting the same error message when I go to Amplify...User Notes... It looks like my user notes have disappeared....? When I open the "My Notes" file via the library, it's similarly blank. But there's still a file in the Accordance folder with a non-neglible file size (140kb)...?

 

Hmm...so i guess my (small, and very new) user notes file has disappeared in the midst of all this syncing? Should have taken Julie's advice! =)

 

Tim