What does `Sync` do?

ℹ️ Support
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1

What I faced

  1. There are several places with the word Sync in the Android mobile app
  2. When I browse a folder, I can click on 3 dots to each row’s right, clicking on it shows a cloud icon and Sync (A)
  3. If I click on details, the screen shows details of that row with a checkbox named Sync (B)
  4. If I click on A, a refresh badge appears on the row’s icon and disappears after a while. But it is very unclear and confusing what has happened(???)
  5. If I tick the checkbox B, it is also unclear and confusing what effect it has

What I want

  • I want to the folder/file to be accessible even when I’m offline
  • If I create/update/delete something using the web interface on my computer, it should eventually be the same on my device as well
  • If I create/update/delete something using Nextcloud app on my device, it should eventually be the same on my web interface as well
  • How do I achieve this?
2

You already found the right spot. Since only files can technically be available offline, only they are shown as synced. But you can set through (b) that all files in that folder will be downloaded. Keep in mind to save battery not every is always updated immediately if a remote change happens. If you update a file in the app it will be immediately updated on the web interface, too.

3

So, if I don’t tick B and I click on A, what does that mean? Sync once? And if I modify my local copy and click on Sync again?

I like to think that having a single checkbox Editable offline is sufficient. If it is ticked, editing/deleting the offline copy will be synced to the server eventually.

If unticked, the file does not exist on the device.

If user needs a copy to play with without affecting the server, have a Download option to save it somewhere, e.g. the download folder.

4

To be honest I don’t really understand the issue. If you hit sync in the three dots menu all files in that folder get a green tick and are synced. If you want to store them on your local stoare there’s an export option. Tbh the checkbox is new for me, so I don’t exactly know the difference. Files out of sync are marked with a red x.

But I may understand you wrong so if there’s an issue I’m not seeing please explain it.

5

  1. The issue is, the way this sync works is hard to infer, case in point: you “don’t exactly know the different”

  2. And, I don’t have any green ticks on my folder.

  3. Almost like wearing 2 watches with different times, so which one is telling the right time?

6

And in the folder after open it?