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WilliamLow's avatar
WilliamLow
Helpful | Level 5
8 years ago
Solved

Selective Sync Conflict mess!

Hello,  I just did a fresh OS install on my Mac, with my Dropbox folder on an external drive (my startup disk is too small to hold this data). I thought that I setup my Dropbox correctly, pointing t...
desktop
sync
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    8 years ago
    Hi William, unfortunately there’s no way of merging the folders into one using Dropbox, since there isn’t a way of knowing which folder/file has the most up-to-date information in it, or instead older files that do have important data.
     
    This can only be checked manually by yourself since only you know which files need to be kept or discarded.
     
    The reason for these extra folders is that previous you had folders which were selectively ‘unsynced’ already according to the desktop app. This should delete the local copy of the folders on that drive.
     
    However, it seems that the folders were either recreated by some app, or the folders weren’t deleted in the first place. They would’ve had a gray minus symbol showing that they weren’t syncing to the site.
     
    When connecting the Dropbox account to the external drive after the reinstall, either these folders were then allowed to sync to the drive (i.e. all folders had a check next to them), and then this would create the selective sync conflicts. 
     
    This is done avoid data loss, since as I mentioned, only you know which files should remain or not.
     
     
    Hope this helps to clarify matters!
     
Michael L.96's avatar
Michael L.96
Helpful | Level 7
7 years ago

OK Jane I will give this another try (and thank you for the detailed reply).

I will keep this short.

I am an android developer and each app is always contained in 1 (root) folder.

Here is my workflow (which I have been doing for many years with no trouble from dropbox until only about the last year):

1. I keep all of my current active projects on my desktop, each app in its own single folder;

2. As I am working, the IDE loads, updates, and references all files LOCALLY on my desktop.

3. Periodically I will open my Dropbox folder (where all my my app's folders are backed up), I will delete the existing backup or make copies, then copy and paste my project's current root folder (from my desktop, which has my current changes) into the Dropbox folder where the last backup resided before being deleted.

4. At the end of my session I will delete the last copy (from Dropbox), and copy one final time the root folder from my desktop to the Dropbox backup location (assuming my Java is working).

Michael L.96's avatar
Michael L.96
Helpful | Level 7
7 years ago

You might be thinking why do I work in this manner?  It's in case I need an emergency restore (I have NEVER lost data doing it this way).

Should I be always working directly in the Dropbox folder?

I don't for this reason:

As a Java developer sometime things get VERY messed up to the point that nothing works; I have, many times (in an emergency) gone back to Dropbox, copied the last backup, and overwritten my whole app, just to get things working again.

If I work directly out of Dropbox, there won't be any backups in case I need to restore to an earlier time.

Please tell me if this workflow is the problem and if you have suggestions on a better way to do it.

The bottom line, I need to retain the ability to restore periodic backups in the event of a Java meltdown.

(As a reminder, my problem is that when syncing and un-syncing my App folder, I am constantly left with selective sync conflicts (duplicate BUT PARTIAL folders)!

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago

    Thanks for the prompt reply & please accept my apologies for the slight delay in getting back in touch with you here Michael L.96; let me have a closer look on this matter through our Official Support channel. I’ve now sent you a brief message & once you reply back to me there, I’ll review your account specifics & we can discuss your options together. Please have a look at your inbox whenever you have a bit of spare time & I’ll check back with you asap. Thanks again!

  • Michael L.96's avatar
    Michael L.96
    Helpful | Level 7
    7 years ago

    A new twist: now SmartSync is happening on all my selective sync folder, and I am having to go back and choose "local" on all my new folders.  Yes, I have looked at settings under preferences and SmartSync is still set to disabled.

    One more reason I CAN'T WAIT to purge my 2T Dropbox folder (and back-up somewhere else) and SPLIT this [profanity removed by moderation according to the Community Guidelines] software.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey again Michael L.96, I understand that this may be frustrating to you at the moment, though I’d like to ask you to keep the discussion civil. For that reason, I slightly modified your post according to our Community Guidelines (which you can review at your convenience).
     
    From there, I’ve also made sure to reply to you through our Official Support channel earlier within the day, so I’ll make sure to take it from where we’ve left off once you get back in touch with me there. Thanks again! 

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