iCloud Sync Problems

[Tacitus]

I tried iCloud sync but for some reason had problems so I ill advisedly removed the Bookends folder and its contents from iCloud, thinking I could do a complete reset.

I am now trying again with iCloud, but whilst the database will apparently sync, (the database must have remained in iCloud) - there is no Bookends folder on iCloud drive.

How can I do a complete reset and recreate the Bookends folder?

[Jon]

I assume you're using 14.0.5. If so, go to preferences and set the default folder to Bookends iCloud Folder. It may or may not become visible until it has content. So if you still can't see it after that, attach a PDF and have Bookends move it to the default folder for you.

BTW, your library and the Bookends Folder (which must be stored in Application Support) should NOT be in iCloud Drive. Keep them on your HD where they belong.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Tacitus]

Thanks Jon.

I think I'm getting confused as I'm expecting the library to show up in the Bookends folder on iCloud Drive and it doesn't. The attachments folder is there but no ref library. Nonetheless the ref library does show in the list of managed cloud libraries

Is there any reason why I shouldn't have my library and the attachments folder in a Bookends folder on iCloud Drive? In effect using iCloud Drive in the same way as any other sync service.

The problem I've had with using Bookends with some other sync services is that even the smallest alteration in the library requires the complete library to be uploaded again. It's easy to finish a session before the uploading has finished and have a corrupted database. I'm guessing that this method of using iCloud avoids this or minimises the risk.

[Jon]

Is there any reason why I shouldn't have my library and the attachments folder in a Bookends folder on iCloud Drive? In effect using iCloud Drive in the same way as any other sync service.

Yes, do NOT use iCloud drive as a file sync service for your library. It can be used for attachments but not your library.

As you have noted, using a file sync service is the #1 cause of database corruption we see. Do not do it (don't use Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, or any of them for the library)

Bookends cloud sync is an atomic sync -- it only transfer the bytes that have changed. As such it is much, much faster and safer, since there is no database structure to damage. It's also a great way to backup you database safely in the cloud.

You can't see your library in iCloud Drive because it's stored in an CoreData database on Apple's servers. It's not a file you can directly see or access. But Bookends can read/write to it.

We have a FAQ on this.

https://www.sonnysoftware.com/faq/faq.h ... e_when_I_o

Jon
Sonny Software

[Tacitus]

Thanks for the info.

Sync appears to be working now but a couple of points:

Hits are not being synced. Is this normal or am I missing something? Sync is working for refs since I've put a couple of new ones in and they come across to the laptop. Hits from the desktop version don't transfer to the laptop for some reason. One possibility might be that the desktop is running Catalina 10.15.7 whilst the laptop is Monterey 12.2.1 Bookends 14.0.5 on both.

Atachments are in a folder on a separate sync service https//www.sync.com

Whilst having the faff regarding syncing I took the opportunity to convert a lot of old plain text attachments to PDFs. Since this is a different file type BE doesn't recognise the attachment so I need to reattach. However, to take an example the file name is (say) Meyer_B.txt new name Meyer_B.pdf The ref says I have an attachment of Meyer_B but it can't find it - different file type.

I reattach the new Pdf (telling it not to change the name, copy to attachments folder or attach to a new ref) but find that BE renames the pdf as Meyer_B 374.pdf (or some random 3 digit number) so the ref now appears to have two attachments. Even deleting the old attachment in the ref prior to the new one makes no difference the file is renamed by BE. The new pdf attaches no problem and I subsequently detach the old one, but is there a reason for this?

More intriguingly it says the new file was attached on 2 Jan 2036 which appears to be a computer problem but the clock shows the correct time. Other pdf attachments show the correct time they were attached eg: 1 June 2009

[Jon]

Hits are not synced. Please see the user guide discussion of hits. This is an evanescent group intended for short-term use. It can change at any time as the result of normal operations (e.g. scanning a document, doing a Find). It's easy to convert the hits to a static group if you want them to be stable.

Attachment names must be unique, that's how Bookends finds them. If a name is already used by another attachment, Bookends will add a random number to the name to disambiguate it.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Tacitus]

Thanks for the help Jon, all is now well.