I used to be able to sync between two Macs using the method described at the beginning of this thread, but now every time I open a project it removes my setup to sync with an external folder.
Has something changed with how this works? What is the current method for syncing the .scriv file between two Macs, while syncing to an external folder for iOS edits/additions?
Thanks in advance for any help.
It sounds to me as though you may be trying to access the same sync folder from two different paths. Basically if you don’t use the same account name on all of your computers, it can make sharing settings between computers in this fashion a bit problematic. Here’s the problem, in your project you have this setting which points Scrivener to a certain folder for syncing. Maybe it looks a bit like:
/Users/justinluey/Dropbox/My Sync Folder
So you sync up, then take your laptop out and Scrivener dutifully checks that location for the sync folder when opening the project. However, it can’t find it, because on this computer, the path to that folder is:
/Users/jluey/Dropbox/My Sync Folder
Scrivener is not going to make a guess and assume it’s safe to sync there—nor will it let you try and manually do it yourself (it’s way too risky). So your only option at that point is to create a new sync folder.
The solution is to use symbolic links, which is a way for your Mac to create alternate addresses that programs can use. If you know what those are, then you probably already know enough to fix the issue. If not, let me know and I’ll give you a checklist.
P.S. I moved this to its own thread since the other one was about general Dropbox sync for live projects, not the external sync feature.
Thanks for the suggestion. That was my first thought, but the paths are identical. I use the same username and folder structure on both computers.
Is there a way to fix this issue without creating a new sync location? I understand why the app throws up a warning and stops you from syncing, but I’m hoping there is a key command or some kind of override.
Once it happens, the only fix is to rebuild a new sync folder, that’s correct. There is no way to override. It was allowed to reconnect for a while but it was getting abused and turning projects into salad, so now it just won’t let you.
I just this afternoon ran a series of tests with a few different projects. All set up under conditions you describe, doing slightly different things with them, and in all cases I was able to round-trip between laptop and home computer. The sync folder never detached. Is this something that always happens, or only sporadically?
It always worked fine, including adding new computers to the mix, but after not using the app for while it stopped working. I’ve tried to fix it 3 or 4 times with the same result.
Could you check inside the project for potential conflicts? If it worked for a while, and then suddenly stopped, maybe the computers have become slightly de-synced. Just right-click the project, on any of the machines, and select “Show Package Contents”. If you see any files (poke around in the folders too) that have been tagged with conflict messages from Dropbox, then the project should be fixed.
We have a few tips on how to do so. Hopefully you don’t need it though! If that’s not it, or merging it back up doesn’t solve it, then I’ll have to think of something else. :mrgreen:
There are some conflicts, so I will try to fix them. Thanks for the help.