Submitted by viking on 2023/02/11 16:10

I have read "Synchronization between computers using Dropbox" (http://infoqubeim.com/drupal5/node/3066)

1. Is the dropbox sync supposed to create multiple copies of the database (.sndb)? I only see an updated copy in the sync folder after syncing.

2. I moved the .files folder to the sync folder. /sync/MyIQBase.files as instructed (and set the path in IQ options) Is that correct? I should no longer have a copy of the .files folder in the "IQBases" folder?

3. If I also want to backup/sync "Menu customizations" etc in the (portable) program folder, D:/infoQube/Users/viking, do I move or copy this folder to /sync/Viking? There is no option to set the path in IQ (like it is for the .files directory)? Maybe I need to move the whole program directory here and run IQ from the Sync folder..?

Comments

1) No. But via Dropbox itself you can restore older copies (check dropbox/online for how, and for how long this can be done -- and for variations between paid and free versions). 

2) Correct -- one copy, in the dropbox folder:

  • Files folder (MyIQBase1.SNDB.Files) needs also to be a Dropbox folder (i.e.in C:\Users\User1\Documents\Dropbox\IQBases\MyIQBase1.SNDB.Files)

@Pierre, that "also" there is ambiguous  -- could mean that the folder should be in Dropbox as well as its original location. (@Viking, naturally it could also be left in its original location, but when you update the Files path in options as per your link, IQ then ignores / no longer updates it in the original location.)

3) imo you need a good backup programme. I personally wouldn't risk running a portable programme from a Dropbox folder -- I believe though it has been done with IQ (try a forum search, or a more general online search about using portable software via dropbox). Not officially approved I believe.

 

On the backup topic in general, I would ask: how important is this content? When I used IQ for work, I had dropbox, but also very regular local backups,** which in turn were regularly copied off-location (this could be via another online solution, or a physical external drive, etc etc).

** IQ has very good backup options. My backup programme was (and still is), Syncovery - i highly recommended it, but it has so many options it can be difficult to setup properly. There are many good options out there, even free software. Ideally I would want something that does an auto-backup on changing/ saving of the relevant file, but regular copying on a schedule could be a solution as well.

@Tom,

1) OK. I see different versions online.

3) The point is to have the "Menu customizations"  etc also update on the second computer. For this, I would need to use dropbox rather than backup.
(I am using Goodsync for sync/backup + IQ's own file backup)

Yes, that is what I thought (in my original post). Are there any "dangers" or things that I should be aware if putting the whole program folder in a dropbox folder?
Alternatively (feature request?), is it possible to only put the "user" folder in a dropbox folder, and somehow set the path to it in IQ (like I can do for the .files folder)?

EDIT: Hmmm... I just realized a potential problem. The Options.ini file contains the paths to the database etc.   If this file is synced, and I use different paths on the two computers, it may mess things up? I would need to set dropbox to ignore (not sync) the options.ini file. Any other files that need to be ignored?

I tried to ignore the options.ini file using the instructions here: https://help.dropbox.com/sync/ignored-files, with the powershell command:

Set-Content -Path 'D:\Dropbox\IQbases\InfoQube_latest\Users\Viking\options.ini' -Stream com.dropbox.ignored -Value 1

However, it didn't work. I got an error:

Set-Content : A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'Stream'.
At line:1 char:86
+ Set-Content -Path 'D:\Dropbox\IQbases\InfoQube_latest\Users\Viking\options.ini' -Stream <<<<  com.dropbox.ignored -Value 1
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (:) [Set-Content], ParameterBindingException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : NamedParameterNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetContentCommand

I don't see what is the issue of syncing options.ini, really

If you wanted to just sync some folders, IIRC you can take a dropbox folder and create a symbolic link to the corresponding IQ folder. It hasn't been tested though as it is considered a non-issue. Other much more important things to test !!

FYI (no need to respond): I have actually tested symbolic links/hardlinks.

Symbolic links are not handled by Dropbox (not synced). Hardlinks almost worked.:
I use the Link Shell Extension https://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html

I have a test file, test.txt, in PC1_MyDir
1. I drop a Hardlink from PC1_MyDir into PC1_Dropbox
2. In PC2, the file is shown in PC2_Dropbox
3. I drop a Hardlink from PC2_Dropbox into PC2_MyDir

If I modify test.txt in PC1_MyDir, I see the modified file in PC2_Dropbox. However the changes are not propagated to PC2_MyDir.

The reason is that when Dropbox syncs on PC2, it doesn't modify the file, but it deletes it and creates a new file.
I confirmed this by checking link properties on PC2 before and after the sync. Before the sync, it showed that the file was linked in both directories (Dropbox & MyDir). After the Sync, there was no longer any links between them 😢 

1. The link you provided explained how to backup a local folder outside of Dropbox to the web and then download it to another PC (PC2). That works fine for me as well (Steps 1-2 above). The problem is step 3: Having the folder/files show up in a folder outside of Dropbox on PC2. For the sake of running IQ on PC2, I would like to run it outside of Dropbox (as on PC1).

2. The problems with syncing options.ini is that it contains the paths to the database file and .files directory. They are different on PC1 and PC2. After, a sync from PC1 to PC2, it will therefore have the wrong paths on PC2.

  1. It is possible, think about it... but is it worth the trouble? Put IQ under Dropbox, copy / paste settings or work with separate settings
  2. This is not true. The .Files path is stored in YourFile.ini along side YourFile.SNDB
How do I ?