How My Drive and File Sync work in Connections

My Drive & File Syncing
How it works and why versioning is different!
@FemkeGoedhart

My Drive
• On the Files tab of Connections there is the possibility to place files from your personal files
or files shared with you by others into the “My Drive” folder.
• Files in this folder are synced to your local desktop so that you can also work on them when
your laptop is not connected to a network connection (for instance when you want to work
on a file while traveling).
• However this also means that certain features on those files work differently. Most
importantly: Versioning.
• In this slide deck we explain how it works and what to keep in mind when using My Drive.
Recommendation:
• If you don’t need a document offline and versioning is important then consider not putting it
in My Drive…
• Or use the My Drive folder temporarily on selected documents (for instance during a trip) and
remove documents from My Drive after the necessity of offline work disappears.
@FemkeGoedhart

Connections Synced File
Connections File
File saved directly on Connections server
File saved in local My Drive folder
File opened from local My Drive folder
File opened from Connections server
Local My Drive folder
synced with server
@FemkeGoedhart

Connections File
File saved in local My Drive folder
As this action is immediate, the Connections
server can prompt for versioning & comments
Syncing is automatic and independent from the user or the
moment the user saves the file. This means that it makes no
sense for the system to ask for versioning and comments here as
there might have been multiple edits of the file locally before
sync was even activated.
Local file storage does not allow for versioning and comments so the
system doesn’t ask for this type of information…
Local My Drive folder
synced with server
File opened from local My Drive folder
Connections Synced File
File opened from Connections server
File saved directly on Connections server
@FemkeGoedhart

@FemkeGoedhart
Versioning on regular Connections file
(not in My Drive)
Edited by: Anne
on 22-10-2019 09:55
Version: 2
Edited by: Anne
on 22-10-2019 10:03
Version: 3 Version: 4
Edited by: Jan
on 24-10-2019 11:03
Edited by: Anne
on 24-10-2019 11:55
Version: 5
Created by Jan
on 21-10-2019 14:12
@FemkeGoedhart

A file not synced in My Drive…
• Is always opened directly from the server
• On saving, triggers an upload event to the Connections
server
• The server notices a new upload and prompts for
versioning and comments
• Never overwrites the previous version
@FemkeGoedhart

@FemkeGoedhart
Versioning on synced Connections file
(file is in My Drive)
Created by Jan
on 21-10-2019 14:12
Edited by: Anne
on 22-10-2019 09:55
Version: 2
Edited by: Anne
on 22-10-2019 10:03
Version: 2 Version: 3
Edited by: Jan
on 24-10-2019 11:03
Edited by: Anne
on 24-10-2019 11:55
Version: 4
Previous version overwritten because the last
version on the server was made by Anne too!
@FemkeGoedhart

A file stored in My Drive…
• Is always opened directly from the locally synced file in the My Drive folder
• Is saved as a regular file in the local My Drive folder
• Regular local files do not have versioning or comments, so the system doesn’t prompt
for these either.
• Overwrites the previously existing local copy of the file in the My Drive folder
(My drive will never have more then one version of the file)
• Is synced back to the server at regular intervals when a network connections is
detected
• In case of travel it is therefore possible that the file is updated and overwritten in the
My Drive folder multiple times before it is synced back to the server. There are no
versions locally.
• If the last editor of the file on the server was the same person as the
person who edited the version locally, the existing version on the
server is overwritten and gets a new edit date but keeps the same
version number
• When the editor of the last version on the server is different from the person who
edited it locally, a new version is created on the server from the local version.
• If someone else edited the file on the server simultaneously, the change will be
uploaded to the server but a sync issue will appear.
@FemkeGoedhart

@FemkeGoedhart
What when two people edit at the same
time?
Edited by: Anne
on 22-10-2019 09:55
Version: 2
Edited by: Anne
on 22-10-2019 10:03
Version: 3
Edited by: Jan
on 24-10-2019 11:03
Edited by: Anne
on 24-10-2019 11:55
Version: 4 Sync conflict!
Because Jan uploaded a new version to the server before Anne’s latest changes were synced, the
system throws a sync error on Anne’s file. After all, Anne’s changes (and therefore version 4) will
not include the changes Jan made in Version 3 by Jan as she was working off version 2!
Created by Jan
on 21-10-2019 14:12
Anne is traveling and
doesn’t have connection
with the server so her
version is not synced
back to the server but
stored locally in her My
Drive...

Sync Issues:
• Syncing issues are recognizable in your My Drive folder by the icon. If an error occurs the a yellow triangle
symbol will be visible on top of the file icon with an exclamation mark to indicate there is a problem with the
file.
• In the Desktop Sync Issues viewer you will see the error too:
@FemkeGoedhart

Solve Sync Issue:
• Download the previous server version by using
the download option in the browser and
compare it to the local version
• Merge the two version into one new version
• Store the new version in your My Drive folder
(overwrite the current one)
• Go To the Sync Issues window
• Click on the [Remove Issue] button
• The revised file will be synced back to the server
@FemkeGoedhart

How My Drive and File Sync work in Connections

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