DTPO 2.9 Sync/Merge Doesn't Appear as Option?

Before upgrading to DTPO last week, I verified and optimized my databases and synced them using the pre-2.9 method. Then I upgraded the program on both of my computers, set up a new WebDAV .dtCloud store in the same directory that housed the old .dtSyncStore. As a test, I added one of my larger databases (let’s call it EPP) to the new store (synching db properties, but not labels or indexed files). It was speedy and painless.

This is where things got odd. I moved to the second computer and followed the same steps to set up the new sync. When I selected EPP on the second computer, I expected that I would be given the option to merge the local database with the one in the sync store. Instead, the program proceeded to download all 9000+ of the files from the sync store. That process took quite some time (the database is larger than 10GB). When the download was complete, I was stupefied that the program then started uploading all of the files from the local database to the sync store. I aborted the process at that point and restored EPP from a pre-upgrade backup on both computers.

If this data- and time-intensive upload/download process is what is meant by “merge” (though without a prompt), I guess that’s okay, but that’s not how I recall the previous merge working. Indeed, if the process is one that involves comparing files as a prelude to merging, it would be great if there were some clear indication that that was the case. Still, if there’s something wrong here or something I should do differently, I would love to find out what that is. In any event, I’m maintaining tarred/gzipped physical archives of my databases for the foreseeable future, lest I end up tripling how much I’m uploading/downloading from my WebDAV server.

Any suggestions?

If a database doesn’t exist on a computer yet, then it’s listed in the “REMOTE” section and can be imported. Otherwise enabling the checkbox of the database (e.g. of the global inbox as it exists on all computers) merges it with the remote one.

Merging downloads all contents to compare them to the local ones and applies the newer/missing data. Afterwards only items that were newer in the local database or not part of the downloaded data should be uploaded.

I checked this yesterday once again and it seems to work as expected. Does your database contain any indexed items? Are you able to reproduce this using a smaller database and could send me a copy?

I don’t think I need to send a database along. And, as I wrote in my last message, the databases on both machines were identical prior to my attempting the new sync process. Everything worked as the instructions in the 2.9 manual indicated up to the point where I sad things got odd.

Your message confirmed what I suspected and indicated a few days ago. What I was seeing was a merge process, but there was never a prompt, as there was pre-2.9, one that said something to the effect that the database on the local computer seemed to be a copy of the server version and offered to merge them. Having been prompted by experience (and the latest manual) to expect such a message, I wondered whether something was amiss when a lengthy download process ensued but without any indication of why.

The contents of both copies of the database, after another couple rounds of synching, seem to be fine, so I’ll close by repeating what was likely buried in the last message: there should be a clear indication that a merge is happening (as was the case previously) when one begins.