sync conflict resolution

[Ken Han]

Here's the scenario and the problem:

 

1. I first synced my iPhone with Accordance. So everything is synced between my laptop and the iPhone.

2 Next I Dropbox synced the iPhone, and then Dropbox synced my iPad. So everything on the iPad should be the same as the iPhone, and the iPhone same as the laptop, meaning everything on the iPad and the laptop should be synced. A = B & B = C, therefore A = C.

3. I initiated a sync between my laptop and my iPad, and Accordance noted conflicts and presented a dialogue asking me to choose which version to keep. The problems:

 

A. Every single conflict flagged had the same time stamp and exactly the same content. Yet Accordance saw them as conflicting. Solution: a better way to discern conflicts.

B. There was no way to apply the choice to all conflicts, so I had to choose the "right" version for every single instance of "conflicts" (of which there were really none). And since many "conflicts" were flagged, this was tedious. Solution: an option to apply the choice to all flagged conflicts.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 14, 2013 by rev.ken.han

[Scott Knapp]

Ken:

 

We don't generally have the same control over what timestamps get put on files uploaded to your Dropbox folder. So this issue is not surprising in the least. It's also why we don't recommend mixing Dropbox syncing and WiFi syncing and why we are adding Dropbox syncing to the 10.2 release of the desktop app.

 

Scott.

[Steve King]

I have a similar problem syncing between iPad and laptop. The same notes keep coming up as conflicts despite being the same.

 

Furthermore it continues to tell me that the laptaop is synced with a different IOS device and therefore I can only sync user information. This is just not the case. The laptop and iPad were sync'd. Then about a day later it says they do not match when there have been no changes on the IOS device. This was happening before any dropbox implementation.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Steve King

[Ken Han]

This may or may not be related to Steve's problems, but I've experienced the same problems, and at least sometimes it's related to the computer's hostname. The computer's hostname is not necessarily the same as the computer's name, and it sometimes changes when the network configuration changes. I think as long as Accordance sync is tied to the computer hostname, this problem will persist. For example, I just installed the OS X Server on my laptop, really just to learn before I install it elsewhere, and that changed my laptop's hostname, with Accordance now refusing to sync non-user contents, even though it worked just fine prior to the server installation.

Edited January 14, 2013 by rev.ken.han

[fargilan]

This may or may not be related to Steve's problems, but I've experienced the same problems, and at least sometimes it's related to the computer's hostname. The computer's hostname is not necessarily the same as the computer's name, and it sometimes changes when the network configuration changes. I think as long as Accordance sync is tied to the computer hostname, this problem will persist. For example, I just installed the OS X Server on my laptop, really just to learn before I install it elsewhere, and that changed my laptop's hostname, with Accordance now refusing to sync non-user contents, even though it worked just fine prior to the server installation.

 

Same here. Very frustrating to have to reselect all the modules and re-sync to multiple devices. I did not notice what my local hostname was when I first synced my iPhone and iPad, but do you think if you manually changed it back in the sharing preferences it would 'recognize' the machine as the host and not force re-syncing? What would be the impact of assigning a dynamic global hostname?

[Ken Han]

I never did find out what dynamic global hostname does, and it may not be relevant to your situation. The System Preferences only give you limited option to change things, and the changes don't always seem to stick. From the sharing preferences you can change the computer name and the local host name, but not the host name. Using the terminal may be a better option for you. But before you change anything you probably want to check what the current values are. In the terminal type:

 

scutil --get ComputerName

scutil --get LocalHostName

scutil --get HostName

 

and note what the returned values are. Then you can use the --set option to change, e.g.

 

sudo scutil --set ComputerName "what you want here without the quotes"

sudo scutil --set LocalHostName "ditto"

sudo scutil --set HostName "ditto"

 

But if you're not familiar using the terminal, I suggest you use caution. The terminal can be very helpful and very dangerous. You've been warned!

Edited February 23, 2013 by rev.ken.han

[fargilan]

Thanks rev.ken.han. I don't use the terminal very often but am not uncomfortable using it if I have good instructions. Perhaps someone on the Accordance team could step in and offer a solution. Besides having to re-sync all my devices, I'd also like to see a solution to your original post of being able to make a change on either my iPhone or iPad and have it applied to both devices. Is there a tutorial or help file somewhere that I am missing on how to use the Dropbox sync feature together with WiFi sync? From what I can see, WiFi sync is necessary to get purchased modules on the devices but Dropbox is only used to sync user content (i.e., notes, tools and Highlights).

[Mike Garrity]

fargilan,

 

PM sent to get some more information.

 

Mike