Submitted by jimspoon on 2025/02/21 11:37

This has been a long term problem for me - an updated version of a database is in my desktop sync folder (on OneDrive), definitely containing data changes made on my laptop, but IQ running on my Desktop won't recognize that the sync folder file contains data changes, and won't prompt me to replace the desktop version with the sync folder version.   I've tried the usual tricks on my laptop - I've tried adding an item on my laptop, bolding text in an item, etc.  IQ dutifully writes the file with updated data to the sync folder on the laptop, OneDrive on the laptop uploads it to the cloud, OneDrive on the desktop downloads it to the sync folder on the desktop (the real file, not just a stub), but IQ on the desktop does not prompt me to overwrite the Desktop file with the sync folder file.

Here are my settings and file info:

Desktop - Dell XPS 8930

Sync settings
2.4.5 - Enable Dropbox-like sync - On
2.4.5.1 - Sync changes every x minutes - 1
2.4.5.2 - Sync folder - C:\Users\jimsp\OneDrive\infoqube\sync

File > Properties
Last edit: 2/21/2025 15:41:43 UTC    By user: jimsp    On PC: DELL-XPS-8930

Data file:
E:\data\jsw\documents\docs\infoqube\main\main.sndb, 59924480, 2025-02-21 09:41:43

Sync folder file:
C:\Users\jimsp\OneDrive\infoqube\sync\main.sndb, 56016896, 2025-02-21 09:46:24 (later than the data file, and smaller for some reason)

Laptop - Acer SP513

Settings:
2.4.5 - Enable Dropbox-like sync - On
2.4.5.1 - Sync changes every x minutes - 1
2.4.5.2 - Sync folder - c:\users\jim\onedrive\infoqube\sync

File > Properties:
Last edit: 02/21/25 15:45:23 UTC    By user: Jim    On PC: SP513

Data file:
C:\Users\Jim\Documents\infoqube\main.sndb, 56029184, 2025-02-21 09:46:23

Sync folder file:
C:\Users\Jim\OneDrive\infoqube\sync\main.sndb, 56016896, 2025-02-21 09:46:24

Any ideas?  It wouldn't seem that OneDrive is the problem, because the updated file is in the desktop sync folder.

Comments

Hi Jim,

I've made some changes (in preparation for IQ Pro) and started to use UTC dates. Perhaps this is the issue. I'm not using Dropbox-like sync right now, but will test this over the week-end. Sorry for the issue

Pierre_Admin
IQ Designer

Thanks Pierre.  Just as an experiment, I've moved my sync folder from OneDrive to Dropbox to see if that would make any difference.  I had to install Dropbox again on my desktop.  I've learned that by default Dropbox no longer syncs the actual file to the local drive; instead there's only a stub with "available when online" in the Status column.  The stub's not enough to trigger IQ to overwrite its data file.  So I right clicked the Dropbox folder and clicked "Make Available Offline".  Dropbox downloaded the actual sndb file, not just the stub, to the sync folder in Dropbox.  Just now, IQ on the desktop did detect the new file with data changes in this sync folder and prompted me to overwrite the desktop data file with the file from the sync folder.  So maybe for some reason switching from OneDrive to Dropbox caused IQ sync to work as intended.  Seems like it should work with OneDrive too though.

Interesting... I don't use Onedrive, but is it possible that it does not "really" download the file until it is requested? (much like what Dropbox appears to be doing now)

I'm pretty sure the sndb file is really in the Onedrive sync folder, not just a stub.  And when I have an updated file in the sync folder, usually IQ does prompt me to overwrite with the sync folder file.  But sometimes like today it doesn't, which is puzzling.

I just realized, the "cloud or resident" status of a file is shown differently in Onedrive and Dropbox.  

File Explorer shows the status of the Onedrive file like so:

There's a little green checkmark overlay on top of the IQ icon for the sndb file.

For the Dropbox file, File Explorer doesn't show the checkmark overlay; rather there's a green checkmark in a circle in another column named "Status":

 

"To avoid needless disruptions, IQ looks for "data" change. UI changes will not trigger an update."  I think this "looks for data change" happens before the database file gets sent to the sync folder, not on the receiving end (the other PC which receives the file in its sync folder through the cloud)?  Once that file shows up in the sync folder on the receiving PC, does IQ on the receiving PC do any further evaluation to determine whether that file has a "data change"?

From Copilot:

In File Explorer, OneDrive uses various icons to indicate the status of your files:

  • Blue Cloud Icon: The file is only available online and doesn't take up space on your device.
  • Green Checkmark Icon: The file is available offline and takes up space on your device.
  • Green Circle with White Checkmark: The file is always available on your device, even when you're offline.
  • Red Circle with White Cross: The file or folder cannot be synced.
  • Gray Cloud Icon with a Line Through It: You're not signed in, or OneDrive setup hasn't completed.
  • Yellow Exclamation Mark: Your account needs attention.

More here -

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-do-the-onedrive-icons-m…

 

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