Syncing projects between two computers will randomly delete my synopses

The issue appears on both Windows and Mac, reproducible in three scenarios: 2 Windows, 2 Macs, and 1 Windows + 1 Mac

First save the project on computer A, close the project, and upload it via the cloud; then on computer B, fully download the project from the cloud and open it.

I found that some synopses are not loading in outline view. Some of them load after double-clicking, while others do not appear after double-clicking (becomes empty), and at the same time, the cloud service notified me that synopsis.txt was deleted. Upon checking the deleted synopsis.txt, I found it was my synopses text.

This issue also occurs when transferring projects directly via USB drive instead of through the cloud.

What’s going on here? Can it be fixed?

From the symptoms it is an incomplete or corrupted up- and/or down- load from the “cloud” and nothing to do with Scrivener

What third party cloud service? Do you have that service set to keep all files downloaded or local or whatever nomenclature they use?

No matter how you copy the project (even with a safe thumb drive, or even with .zip copies), if you store it in an unsafe location it will be at risk. In this case it sounds like it is getting damaged by whatever software (the cloud sync client) is manipulating your disk. It sounds like this cloud service you use, is no good if it’s deleting files behind your back that you just copied into its sync area!

I would stick to using .zip file transfer through this service only, and edit copies of the project outside of its domain. We have some tips and tricks for working that way in a more efficient manner. With the automatic backup feature, it can be very easy (it’s the only way I use sync and I’ve never found it difficult).

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I am using OneDrive, and I confirmed that the upload/download events on both machines are completed before I open it.
The synopsis.txt files have been synchronized successfully. They load correctly in the document view, but in the outline view, some get deleted when I double-click on the project.
The file deletion occurs at the exact moment of saving my project. Before saving, I can use Notepad to view it. If I switch to document view and then back to outline view, these synopses load correctly and not delect.

Try redoing the copying with zipped versions as suggested above

A good way is on source computer do a fresh backup to Zip file, copy to target (via cloud or perhaps use memory stick if target nearby), then restore the backup. The Scrivener Manual describes more fully how to do backups and restores.

See this screen recording.

When I sync to another computer and open it, the synopsis won’t load properly, and I need to press Ctrl+1 to switch to document mode first, then Ctrl+3 to switch to outline mode, for it to load correctly.
If I double-click on an entry and save while it hasn’t loaded properly, the unloaded synopsis will be lost.
Is the synopsis in outline mode cached separately outside the project, and it just reads its cache when opened? Otherwise, I can’t understand why copying the entire folder via a USB drive also causes this issue.

Okay, maybe you are describing something that is in fact not very bad, but it might look bad, like the text is deleted, but it may not be. What you show in this video is the kind of thing we might see if the search index is not up to date. You can hold down the Alt key on the File menu to find a command for rebuilding it.

But this is still a concern. Even though it is just a search index, all of the files should be syncing together, including that one. If one file, the search index, is out of date, then what else is? It is more difficult to know—with this file the effects are obvious.

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Have you got ‘Always keep on This Device’ selected? (Right click on the project on Mac and select, can’t remember the Win version)?

Yes, I selected Always keep on This Device.

What happened when you copied a Zip backup, rather than all the individual files, of your Scrivener projects, as suggested above?

What happened when you updated the Search Index, as suggested above?

Have you confirmed that the source version of your Scrivener projects is flawless and it’s only the copy that you see the issues?

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