Often when I am using a database for which I have Dropbox sync set up, I am prompted twice to overwrite the file. For example, I make an edit on my laptop. Then on my desktop, I am prompted to overwrite the same file then loaded on the desktop. Sometimes I am soon prompted to overwrite the file again, presumably with a newly updated version from the laptop.
Today I noticed that when I got the overwrite prompt on the desktop, I noticed that the "Last edit" time for the laptop file shown in the prompt did not match, and was earlier than, the "Last edit" date shown on the laptop. So, maybe the latest version from the laptop has not yet made it to the sync folder on my desktop. So I wait, but I don't get the prompt on the desktop. So I go back to the laptop, and I make a "data change" to an item on the laptop. When I check File > Properties on the laptop, an updated Last Edit time is shown. Next I finally do get the Update prompt on the Desktop. But again the Last Edit time shown in the prompt is NOT the Last Edit time now shown on the laptop; it is the previous Last Edit time. As a result, it seems that the file on the Desktop is never overwritten with the LATEST version of the file from the laptop; it is always one version behind. And so, if I make an update to the file on the Desktop, I lose that last edit I made on the laptop. Even now, at 19:09:16 UTC, the Last Edit time shown on the Desktop File > Properties dialog is shown as 18:39:06 UTC, but the Last Edit time shown on the laptop is 18:46:08. But when I look at the file in the sync folder, the Date Modified time is 13:46 (18:46 UTC), which matches the Last Edit time on the Laptop.
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To determine whether the…
To determine whether the open SNDB file has been updated properly with the file in the sync folder, I click File > Properties and note the Last Edit time, which is shown in UTC time. Then I fetch the Date Modified time for the same SNDB file presently in the sync folder. (I can do this quickly from Voidtools Everything.) This time will be shown in local time, not RTC. But if this Date Modified time is the same as the Last Edit date now shown for the file open in IQ, then I know the file has been updated correctly. If not, that's a problem and I have to fix it before I edit the open file.
Note - I'm not actually opening the database in the sync folder, to get ITS "Last Edit" time. That would take a long time and also I'm a bit concerned that data or files could get screwed up that way, particularly if I have both files open at the same time.
Idea - what if IQ could provide this itself in the File Properties dialog? For example, like this:
Last edit: 03/14/25 21:53:32 UTC By user: jimsp On PC: DELL-XPS-8930
Sync file: C:\Users\Jim\Dropbox\infoqube\sync\main.sndb, Date Modified 3/14/25 16:53, size 58441728
If File > Properties showed the file size for the open file, that would provide additional confirmation that it's been properly updated from sync.
One possible step further - fetch and show the Date Modified and Size of the Cloud File, directly from the Cloud. This would show whether or not the cloud file has properly synced over to the local sync folder. So there would be these three lines shown by File > Properties:
This file: (last edit time, user name, pc name, file size)
Sync file: (local path to sync file, date modified, file size)
Cloud file: (date modified, file size)