I synchronise my databases between 2 macs via dropbox.
On my laptop the Activity window pops up all the time telling me that it is downloading 6211 files (“Downloading items from Devonthink.dtCloud”) . When it is finished, this messages appears sporadically ( I have the feeling nearly every 1-2 hours) again.
As I am just sitting at on mac and I know for a fact that the other mac is turned of, I wonder, what triggers this re-downloading.
Looking at the spinning wheel in the sync preference, it is always the same database that is synced in that way.
Is there anything I can do concerning this behaviour?!
Did you use version 2.9 to create the sync store or a former public beta? Does the verification of the sync store report any issues? Finally, could you please choose Help > Bug Report (after pressing the Alt modifier key) and send the email to cgrunenberg - at - devon-technologies.com? Thanks!
I am getting a similar situation where thousands of files are getting uploaded and downloaded from the iOS devices. I have moved some things around recently so it may be the case, but it has happened dozens of times. I am syncing between my Mac, iPhone and iPad.
I did create a sync store in 2.9, but it was in Dropbox and I am using Box for everything now. Verification of the sync store showed no problems.
This may be related, but I got a huge number of messages on the Mac saying that it couldn’t delete items from the Trash.
I am just wondering if this is normal behavior or is there something I can do to change it.
I may have misunderstood how the sync works and this could be causing my issue.
I originally set up one test database, but kept noticing a lot of uploading and downloading. So I set up another database, and moved some of the data from the first test database to the other on my Mac, thinking it would move it on both iOS devices also. I emptied trash on all three devices just to make sure. My plan was to then unsync the second database until everything synced properly so that less files were moving up and down.
Things have been moved from the first database to the second on iOS, but not removed from the first. And it seems there are duplicates now on the iOS databases, but not on the Mac. A lot of uploading and downloading is still occurring also.
Was my assumption incorrect? If I move files from one synced db to another on my Mac, will they be moved on iOS also?
Technically, no. Practically, it will appear to work that way. But it really doesn’t (and I think you should make that mental distinction).
Moving an item out of a database will “remove” items from that database in DTTG2. It is not “moving the files to another database in DTTG2". Each database is an independent object.
I hate to keep asking about this, but I want to clarify it so that I know how things work in the future. This would be important in how I proceed with files in the future.
If I have two synced databases on my Mac, and move an item from one to the other, will the item also be moved on iOS where I have the exact same two synced databases? Meaning the item will be taken out of one database and stored in the other?
If I delete an item on my Mac, will it also be deleted on the synced database in iOS? Conversely, if I delete an item on iOS, will it be deleted on the synced database on my Mac?
Yes. And No.
You need to rethink what Sync is doing. It is not moving files BETWEEN databases. Sync is a one-to-one connection between copies of the same database. It is a private conversation. If you move a file out of one database, Sync only sends notice that a file has been removed. It does NOT talk to the other database about what has gone on with the first one. If you are Syncing the second database that received the file, Sync will talk to that database privately and make sure it gets the file.
Yes, and yes. Remember, this is a mirrored Sync. This tries to keep the databases exactly the same.
Several months later, I am having the same issue as the OP, and I wonder if it’s because there are some, though not terribly many, folders indexed to folders in the cloud (Dropbox actually). I have a database of some 35k items, which I sync between two Macs (and, once I get this resolves, two iOS devices and a third Mac). Box has recently failed me in claiming its storage space was full (though it’s not, if you add up the items), so I just bought a Dropbox account so I could get my DTPO sync to be reliable again.
I verified the Dropbox sync store, and it looks good. The problem seems to be that whenever I wake one of my Macs, it starts up with downloading the 35k items again (though the database is in the cloud, merged with its other-Mac counterpart).
Can you possibly suggest how I should proceed? Thanks!
Thanks, gents. It seems that for now this problem has actually resolved itself – it might have been an issue getting this huge database fully synced across the computers. I will be sure to come back if the issue reemerges
