I’m pretty positive there’s a sync issue because the files aren’t propagating to the other devices using the exact same sync store and database.
Window > Log shows no errors or problems, and is usually blank after manually clicking the “Synchronize the current database” or “Synchronize all databases” button in DT on my Mac (that still has the files in question.)
Window > Log is also empty on my iPhone and MacBook (the two devices where the files aren’t showing up.)
Are there other things I can try? Should I drag and drop these files in question to my desktop, transfer them manually to these other two devices manually, and import them into their Global Inboxes to see if that’ll help? If not, what would you recommend?
Edit: Also, not sure if it’s important or not, but any files I add to the Global Inbox on the other two devices are also not syncing back to my iMac.
The ghosts detection explicitly excludes groups and feeds. Were these groups maybe special groups, like smart groups synced from the Mac?
I don’t know what they were except the folder names were not ones I have ever made, and I haven’t created any special Smart Folders. They do not to appear on the Macs.
The ghosts detection explicitly excludes groups and feeds. Were these groups maybe special groups, like smart groups synced from the Mac?
I have to admit to doubt about whether these two items were Groups or Files. I wish I had taken screenshots now of course. What I recall is my first reaction that they were groups because they had something a bit like a folder icon next to them, but it could have been the DTTG document icon. Also both had a white “0”, to which my first reaction was there are no items in this Group. But I see now that Groups don’t have an item count in the place where I saw the “0”.
So now I think it probable they were ghost files with size zero, which are probably gone now. However when I was emptying the trash I saw that they were in a group which I know to be old and unimportant so don’t believe I have lost anything.
So now I think it probable they were ghost files with size zero, which are probably gone now. However when I was emptying the trash I saw that they were in a group which I know to be old and unimportant so don’t believe I have lost anything.
OK I now have found these Ghost files in a backup I made of all my data before importing to DT in 2019.
There is indeed something odd about them because they were zero size at that time, as in this screenshot:
Are we 100% sure that DTTG 3 has caused file corruption?
Is it possible that the zero-byte files were caused by DTTG 2 or some other app long ago and the file migration/syncing process of DTTG 3 has naturally resulted in people attempting to access these corrupt files for the first time in a while?
In this thread there are a number of ppl describing files turned to ghost files, and basically having “watched” it happen (i.e., been able to afix a time to the occurrence); there was also a description of a file comparison from a TimeMaching backup over several days, which showed the point in time at which the change had occurred. So my feeling is that it is fair to attribute the situation to DTTG3, although DTTG3 may (as Eric has pointed out; if I understood correctly) only have unmasked a problem in the sync store, which was not apparent (i.e. had not propagated to devices) prior to an action taken by DTTG3.
I’ve re-installed DTTG 3.0.2 on the first iOS device that I upgraded. As expected the ‘ghost’ files are similar to the ones I already identified.
DTTG2 was still on that device and the 50MB zip I mentioned previously shows as 50MB in DTTG2 but as 0-bytes in DTTG3. The UUID of those two are identical and that would allow for the idea coined by @Blanc to replace the 0-byte with the original.
As I understand from your pinned notice, this replacement/restore process should happen automatically, but I haven’t seen it happen yet. Is there anything I can do to trigger it?
Or would you say removing the ‘ghost’ files from the database is a better option and replace them with the ones I retrieved from a Time Machine backup?
Yes, wait for version 3.0.3 (has just entered the review), install it, and launch it. Version 3.0.2 doesn’t have the fix yet. If you are a beta tester, you know where to find the new version.
Hello, my experience has been: I’ve updated my ipad to the latest DTTG 3.0.2 and no ghost files have been found.
Today I’ve updated my iphone and the new update shows me 1 pdf in the “ghost document” group.
Sync is over the local network
I’ve been following this thread but I’m a little lost: got a notification about ghost documents on my iPad but the « Ghosts » smart group is nowhere to be found. (It’s… a ghost itself…? )
So to add to the reports: I do have one ghost document, which shows up fine on DT on Mac (saved it immediately). Using WebDAV syncing only, and I have literally not used DTTG since installing it (save from purchasing it). It appears on my iPad but my iPhone gave me no such warning (so far).
So, I have come now to the end of this thread, which I only discovered today, by chance. Having read every entry, which took some time and worry, I am still not sure whether I have a problem that needs attention and what to do.
Thanks to Blanc, I created the smart group. On the Mac I found nine md and txt files with zero size, which I can no longer view on Mac or the iPhone.
I would appreciate a guidance what to do, ideally in the style of Blanc, step-by-step and not assuming specialist knowledge
@Wolkenhauer, these 9 files, are they files you are sure previously had content? (I ask, because empty .txt or .md files can exist, say when you intended to write something, but were distracted, changed your mind or whatever).
Just at the moment, waiting approx. 24-48 hours for DTTG 3.0.3 may be the easiest solution. DT have implemented a system which in some cases can automatically rectify the problems which have occurred. I don’t know enough yet about whether that will work for those already present when 3.0.3 is installed, or only going forward. We’ll know soon enough, and I personally think it is worth waiting.
Your alternative is to replace the 9 files from a backup (probably from a point in time just before installing DTTG3) and sync again.
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