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Forum Discussion
File sync failure: alerts and best practises
A few days ago, I was working on a file (some computer code) on my laptop at home which is synced to my Dropbox. I then opened the same file later on my office computer which is also synced with my Dropbox, but it did not contain the latest changes. This had me very concerned. This particular time I happened to notice the change and have "manually" updated the file, but theoretically Dropbox should have synced and opened the latest version. I am worried such a mistake may have been made previously and also might happen again. I am already rather OCD when it comes to checking the sync status and each time I begin work on a different device always ensure the Dropbox icon in the right bottom corner of my Windows taskbar is fully white indicating syncing is up to date. Similarly, I do the same each time I have finished work on a given device.
I guess there is the possibility that I may be responsible for this somehow by accident, but after reading other forum comments it does seem a real possibility that on occasion Dropbox will fail to sync and that one might open a file which has been updated on a different machine but does not contain the updates. Given that such events, which may be rare, can happen due to unforseen issues (e.g. network connection etc.), I wonder if there is anything that can be done to alert the user e.g. a pop up alert indicating that there is no Internet connection, or Dropbox hasn't yet fully synced, or similar? In addition, I wondered if anybody can share any tips / best practices for file management to safe guard against these kinds of events?
Thank you.
5 Replies
- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi there danny81, sorry to hear about your syncing issue.
The desktop app should report any syncing or connection issues you might be having in the app's icon in the system tray/taskbar.
When you were working on your file, did you make sure that your edits were shown on the file on the Dropbox website too?
Have you by any chance checked its version history to see what you can find?
Let me know what you find!
- Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
I realise the dropbox icon in the system tray should indicate syncing issues. But it is so small...when one is working, syncing issues might go unnoticed. That's why I wondered whether some pop up alert might be useful? Is there such a feature in Dropbox?
I really wanted some advice from professionals who are multi-tasking with lots of files. How do they ensure syncing is 100% working and they are always opening the most recent version of a file? Should we always check the status of the even smaller icon next to each file too before opening the file? I guess that might add more reassurance, but honestly do people really do that when working with hundreds of files a day! - Jay
Hi danny81, if the Dropbox icon isn't showing as white (or black depending on your desktop theme) in the system tray, then this means that the files aren't fully synced.
This is an easy way to check if there are any issues syncing files on your account.
- I made changes on office computer and they did not show up on Dropbox my laptop.
- Megan
Hi Rbarkett, welcome to our Community!
The first thing we need to identify is if both of the devices are syncing, as they should.
Can you check the syncing status on both of them, and let me know what you find? Feel free to also have a look at this Help Center article.
Also, are you able to see these changes when you visit your account online?
Keep me posted!
