Here’s a list of common questions about Desktop Sync for Windows and Mac.
Desktop Sync shows you all your Alfresco sites and folders which you have access to, plus your My Files and Shared Files content. You can select any (or all) of these and clickSync to create a local copy of the content on your computer.
Individual files you’ve favorited aren’t displayed and can be synced directly, you need to sync the folder they’re in.
Whenever you update any of this local content (which includes adding, moving, and deleting files and folders within the synced area) these changes will automatically be replicated on Alfresco.
Whenever you or anyone else make changes in Alfresco to sites or folders that you’ve synced with, then these changes will be replicated in your local content.
Note: Some temporary files don’t get synced. These include, but aren’t limited to *.tmp, *.temp, desktop.ini, *.~, and Thumbs.db files. You can configure the file types you don’t want to be synced in AlfrescoSync.config. For more information, seeClient configuration.
Yes. During initial sync, a content created on your desktop will be synced only after the initial sync is over.
Sync needs a connection to the server. Syncing will resume when the connection is restored.
The content is synced toC:\Users\<username>\Alfresco, by default, or whatever location you chose after the initial setup. TheAlfresco folder can also be found in File Explorer underFavourites.
You can sync as many folder levels but the maximum length for a path should not be more than 260 characters. This is a limitation of the Windows File System.
For more information seeMaximum Path Length Limitation.
Yes. As a Desktop Sync user, you can either:
A number of scenarios can cause this:
icon is showing in the system tray.If you deselect synced content in Desktop Sync and clickSync, then you’re effectively breaking the link between local content and Alfresco content.
The content won’t be synced any more. Files that were not synced to Alfresco due to conflict or deferred can be found inorphaned folder. This folder is automatically created in your synced area and the previously synced content is moved to there.
No, you can’t update files that are checked out by other users.
First you need to find the reason why the file is in a deferred state. The file can be in a deferred state for the following reasons.
Resolve the issue and your file will be synced automatically.
SeeApp icons and context menu.
See also sync conflict resolution guide onWindows.
No, Desktop Sync is automatically started when your machine starts.
You can continue working on your files offline and they’ll be synced to Alfresco whenever you have a connection to the server.
The moved file or folder is deleted in Alfresco.
Windows has a limit of 15 icon overlay handlers, some of which are reserved by the system. The number of different icon overlay handlers is limited by the amount of space available for icon overlays in the system image list. So, uninstalling other applications that use system overlays could make some slots available for Desktop Sync icon overlays.
Additionally, check if you have accidentally quit Desktop Sync. Upon restart, the icons should be restored.
Seeapplication icons for more details.
If the site name is duplicate, one of the site name will be displayed as SiteName_01, for example, Test Site_01.
A file name can’t contain the following characters:\ / : * ? " < >. Desktop Sync replaces these characters with underscores, for example, Test>test will be replaced as Test_test on your desktop.
Yes.
Yes, Desktop Sync installer contains an MSI, which can be used with any central installation tool, such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager.
This is due to folder paths in some virtual machines being non-standard Windows paths.
The download folder path in some virtual machines is a non-standard Window path, and the installer isn’t able to start.
When a file of folder is locked by Windows File Explorer, applications, like Desktop Sync, can not remove that file and folder. In that case, when unsubscribing content or removing the application, some files and folders maybe left behind. They should be removed manually.
If you’re having any issues with Desktop Sync then your Alfresco Administrator might ask you to provide the log file.
You can find the log file in the following locations, but be aware that it’s a hidden file. If you don’t know how to view hidden files then your Alfresco Administrator can help you.
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\AlfrescoSync.logAdditionally, you can use applications, such as DebugView to monitor debug output on your computer. To use DebugView, follow the steps below:
Download and installDebugView.
DebugView will immediately start capturing debug output.
On the top menu bar, clickEdit and thenFilter/Highlight….
TheDebugView Filter window appears.
To filter and display only the output from the shell extension, specifyAlfrescoSyncExtension inInclude and clickOK.
Go toManage Folders and deselect the sites you no longer need. ClickSync to remove the selected files and folders from your desktop.
You can continue working on your files offline but they will get synced to Alfresco whenever you have a connection to the server.
Sync needs a connection to the server. Syncing will resume when your connection is restored.
Yes. All file updates in Alfresco using Desktop Sync are versioned.
Yes. Any file deleted in Alfresco using Desktop Sync is moved to the Alfresco trash can.
Yes, you can continue working with Desktop Sync but the site name won’t be updated in the File Explorer.
Desktop Sync syncs all file extensions except for the temporary file extensions mentioned below:
part,thumbdata3--1967290299,thumbdata3--1763508120,crdownload,~cr,exo,tmp,cvr,download,thumbdata3--number,mxdl,tt2,etl,egt,csi,thumbdata5--1763508120_0,csd,fseventsd-uuid,localstorage-journal,thumbdata5--1967290299_0,dwl,laccdb,torchdownload,thumbdata5,cache,lck,ewc2,!ut,regtrans-ms,blf,mmsyscache,sfk,filepart,imgcache,dtapart,sav,aaa,thumbdata,h64,lock,rra,bc,npk,download,adadownload,hex,tec,chkn,steamstart,partial,thumbdata5--1967290299_1,pnf,idlk,lrd,thumbdata5-1763508120_1,fb!,temp,waf,tmt,dlm,bu,swo,rcv,reapeaks,dap,pkf,fsf,thumbdata3-1763508120,dmp,db-wal,pft,little,_501,glh,db-shm,box,cfa,installstate,tv5,tbn,sqlite-journal,dat,thumbdata3-1967290299,onecache,msj,exd,isl,objectcache,nov,dca,thumbdata4--1967290299,swn,rld,temporaryitems,aso,thumbdata5--1967290299_3,rsc_tmp,bdm,ptn2,indexarrays,id3tag,thumbdata3,cos2,dia,download,cah,wfm,as$,meb,clp,thumbdata5-1763508120_2,thumbdata4--1763508120,save,heu,nb2,tof,thumbdata5-1763508120_3,bc!,snapdoc,hrd,rsx,)2(,cache-2,prmdc,bridgecachet,tmd,fuse_hidden,db3-journal,phc,rdn,ims,cache-3,bsd,thumbdata4,ytf,4sh,tic,hax,buf,init,cdc,bmc,sqlite3-journal,indexpositions,bts,db,wov,dinfo,indexcompactdirectory,bmb,crc,citriodownload,pkc,pm$,shadowindexgroups,dtf,peb,bom,oemigaccount,utpart,lai,m_p,md0,bdi,00a,appdownload,inprogress,mbc,mex,qbi,help,tombstone,csstore,adm,qbt,xp,hmap,@@2,indexdirectory,yumtx,@@1,thumbdata5--1967290299_4,bridgecache,thumbdata5--1967290299_5,zoner-rawdata-cache,wcc,tst,000,ci,onetmp,indexpositiontable,stf,identcache,qdat,out,inf,shadowindextermids,adblock,filetablelock,wpk,thumbdata5-1967290299_8,xcuserstate,tv2,aria2,mx1,002,ilp,bv4,par,alt,nc2,a$v,ddat,cpd,escopy,ipe_tempfile,mpgindex,bv1,tv4,$db,db$,pat,bphys,wa~,clean,thumbdata5--1967290299_7,^fsf,xps~,sss~,chk,iniis,moz,---,bt0,fts,tv7,wlx,nmu,swd,dov,bde,~$~,~nt,vsscc,jnk,abc,tv3,thumbdata5-1763508120_6,wsb,dmsk,fes,shadowindexcompactdirectory,ird,thumbdata5-1763508120_5,qtindex,bv2,svn-work,pzx,$ed,tv1,rad,thumbdata5-1763508120_4,thumbdata5-1763508120_0,$vm,thumbdata5-1763508120_7,compo,preview7,asab,$$$,pls,pet,001,wtmp,lockfile,ger,tb0,pfc,(d),zoner-index-cache,qp1,blk,zsr,mtx,wid,ipl22,tv6,vdjcache,xp~,lex,xps,cachedmsg,bv3,f2l,lst,4sw,wtmp,mov,iff,\#$\#,vmdk-converttmp,bv7,t44,dw3,zl,nav2,bv5,bsi,ccc,asx,ipl,sdx,u96,dir00,qp2,qtmp,s2mi,fdpart,t$m,hmap.dir,journal,spc,als,simpl_int,r1m,scuf,dem,patchcache,ers,csac,sfm,thumbdata5-1763508120_8,cnv,vmc,file,s,m,met,mpx,tv8,zn~,thumbdata5-1763508120_20,cdt,db$,thumbdata5-1763508120_12,ebktml,bv6,tv9,bv8,vaf,thumbnail,ref,\#\#\#,pspcache,c1s,muf,onlineresources,memb,w44,§§§,dir,lvl,bcm,$a,bv9,fchc,rgt,ncch,grbdropfile,wrk,cached_icon,thumbdata5-1763508120_17,aecache,mdccache,thumbdata5-1763508120_19,lref,1,0Yes. In the<userHome>\AppData\Local\Alfresco\AlfrescoSync.conf file, in the Sync constraints section, update thesyncmanager.constraint.1=FileExt|.tmp,.temp property
You can find the synced data in theC:\Users\<username>\Alfresco folder. The sync client settings/database/logs can be found in theC:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Alfresco folder.
When the sync client starts up, it uses the modification time stamp from theAlfrescoSync.time file in theAppData\Local\Alfresco folder to check if any files/folders were changed while Desktop Sync was not running. If you delete and recreate theAlfrescoSync.time file after restoring the Desktop Sync data and settings, it would do a full scan of the local and remote folders.
To avoid problems with conflicts on device registration, and content going out of sync during the migration process, you should first remove your account from the deprecated computer, and then setup Alfresco Desktop Sync on the new machine.
Yes. In the Desktop Sync application, when User A’s session expires and User B logs in either accidentally or intentionally, we take immediate action to maintain privacy and security by automatically removing User A’s account details, as well as any synced files and folders from the local machine. Next, we display theSelect sites and folders to sync screen for User B to choose the data they want to sync from the server to their local machine. Several notifications are shown to inform users when their session expires, their account is removed, and the app switches to the new user.
Desktop Sync shows you all your Alfresco sites and folders which you have access to, plus your My Files and Shared Files content. You can select any (or all) of these and clickSync to create a local copy of the content on your computer.
Individual files you’ve favorited aren’t displayed and can be synced directly, you need to sync the folder they’re in.
Whenever you update any of this local content (which includes adding, moving, and deleting files and folders within the synced area) these changes will automatically be replicated on Alfresco.
Whenever you or anyone else make changes in Alfresco to sites or folders that you’ve synced with, then these changes will be replicated in your local content.
Note: Some temporary files don’t get synced. These include, but aren’t limited to
*.tmp,*.temp,desktop.ini,*.~, andThumbs.dbfiles. You can configure the file types you don’t want to be synced inAlfrescoSync.config. For more information, seeConfiguring Desktop Sync.
Yes. During initial sync, any content created on your desktop will be synced only after the initial sync is over.
Sync needs a connection to the server. Syncing will resume when the connection is restored.
The content is synced to<userHome>/Alfresco, by default, or whatever location you chose after the initial setup. TheAlfresco folder can also be found in File Explorer underFavourites.
You can sync as many folder levels on a Mac. This is only a limitation of the Windows File System, where the maximum length for a path should not be more than 260 characters.
Yes. As a Desktop Sync user, you can either:
A number of scenarios can cause this:
icon is showing in the menu bar.If you deselect synced content in Desktop Sync and clickSync, then you’re effectively breaking the link between local content and Alfresco content.
The content won’t be synced any more. Files that weren’t synced to Alfresco due to conflict or deferred can be found in theorphaned folder. This folder is automatically created in your synced area and the previously synced content is moved to there.
No, you can’t update files that are checked out by other users.
First you need to find the reason why the file is in a deferred state. The file can be in a deferred state for the following reasons.
Resolve the issue and your file will be synced automatically.
If a file is in conflict and the parent folder is also in conflict:
See also sync conflict resolution guide onMac.
No, Desktop Sync is automatically started when your computer starts.
You can continue working on your files offline and they’ll be synced to Alfresco whenever you have a connection to the server.
The moved file or folder is deleted in Alfresco.
If, for some reason, your content icons are hidden in Finder, you can make them visible by checking yourSystem Preferences.
Seeapplication icons for more details.
Additionally, check if you have accidentally quit Desktop Sync. Upon restart, the icons should be restored.
If the site name is duplicated, one of the site names will be displayed asSiteName_01, for example,Test Site_01.
A file name can’t contain the following characters:\ / : * ? " < >. Desktop Sync replaces these characters with underscores, for example,Test>test is replaced byTest_test on your desktop.
Yes.
This is due to folder paths in some virtual machines being non-standard Windows paths.
The download folder path in some virtual machines is a non-standard Windows path, and the installer isn’t able to start.
When a file or folder is locked by Finder, applications, like Desktop Sync, can’t remove that file and folder. In that case, when unsubscribing content or removing the application, some files and folders maybe left behind. They should be removed manually.
Icon? is a hidden file that’s used by Mac OS X to put the Alfresco Content Services logo on theAlfrescosync folder in Finder.
If you’re having any issues with Desktop Sync, then your IT team might ask you to provide the log file.
You can find the log file in the following location, but be aware that it’s a hidden file. If you don’t know how to view hidden files, then your IT team can help you.
~/Library/Application Support/Alfresco/AlfrescoSync.logIf Desktop Sync quits unexpectedly, a log file is generated that can help to identify potential issues on your Mac. To help troubleshoot the issue, your IT team may ask you to provide the crash log.
To find your crash logs follow these steps.
~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ into the text field and clickGo.Alfresco*.crash.Go toSettings > Manage Sync Folder and deselect the sites you no longer need. ClickSync to remove the selected files and folders from your desktop.
You can continue working on your files offline but they will get synced to Alfresco whenever you have a connection to the server.
Sync needs a connection to the server. Syncing will resume when your connection is restored.
Yes. All file updates synced in Alfresco using Desktop Sync are versioned.
Yes. Any file deleted in Alfresco using Desktop Sync is moved to the Alfresco trashcan.
Desktop Sync syncs all file extensions except for the temporary file extensions mentioned below:
part,thumbdata3--1967290299,thumbdata3--1763508120,crdownload,~cr,exo,tmp,cvr,download,thumbdata3--number,mxdl,tt2,etl,egt,csi,thumbdata5--1763508120_0,csd,fseventsd-uuid,localstorage-journal,thumbdata5--1967290299_0,dwl,laccdb,torchdownload,thumbdata5,cache,lck,ewc2,!ut,regtrans-ms,blf,mmsyscache,sfk,filepart,imgcache,dtapart,sav,aaa,thumbdata,h64,lock,rra,bc,npk,download,adadownload,hex,tec,chkn,steamstart,partial,thumbdata5--1967290299_1,pnf,idlk,lrd,thumbdata5-1763508120_1,fb!,temp,waf,tmt,dlm,bu,swo,rcv,reapeaks,dap,pkf,fsf,thumbdata3-1763508120,dmp,db-wal,pft,little,_501,glh,db-shm,box,cfa,installstate,tv5,tbn,sqlite-journal,dat,thumbdata3-1967290299,onecache,msj,exd,isl,objectcache,nov,dca,thumbdata4--1967290299,swn,rld,temporaryitems,aso,thumbdata5--1967290299_3,rsc_tmp,bdm,ptn2,indexarrays,id3tag,thumbdata3,cos2,dia,download,cah,wfm,as$,meb,clp,thumbdata5-1763508120_2,thumbdata4--1763508120,save,heu,nb2,tof,thumbdata5-1763508120_3,bc!,snapdoc,hrd,rsx,)2(,cache-2,prmdc,bridgecachet,tmd,fuse_hidden,db3-journal,phc,rdn,ims,cache-3,bsd,thumbdata4,ytf,4sh,tic,hax,buf,init,cdc,bmc,sqlite3-journal,indexpositions,bts,db,wov,dinfo,indexcompactdirectory,bmb,crc,citriodownload,pkc,pm$,shadowindexgroups,dtf,peb,bom,oemigaccount,utpart,lai,m_p,md0,bdi,00a,appdownload,inprogress,mbc,mex,qbi,help,tombstone,csstore,adm,qbt,xp,hmap,@@2,indexdirectory,yumtx,@@1,thumbdata5--1967290299_4,bridgecache,thumbdata5--1967290299_5,zoner-rawdata-cache,wcc,tst,000,ci,onetmp,indexpositiontable,stf,identcache,qdat,out,inf,shadowindextermids,adblock,filetablelock,wpk,thumbdata5-1967290299_8,xcuserstate,tv2,aria2,mx1,002,ilp,bv4,par,alt,nc2,a$v,ddat,cpd,escopy,ipe_tempfile,mpgindex,bv1,tv4,$db,db$,pat,bphys,wa~,clean,thumbdata5--1967290299_7,^fsf,xps~,sss~,chk,iniis,moz,---,bt0,fts,tv7,wlx,nmu,swd,dov,bde,~$~,~nt,vsscc,jnk,abc,tv3,thumbdata5-1763508120_6,wsb,dmsk,fes,shadowindexcompactdirectory,ird,thumbdata5-1763508120_5,qtindex,bv2,svn-work,pzx,$ed,tv1,rad,thumbdata5-1763508120_4,thumbdata5-1763508120_0,$vm,thumbdata5-1763508120_7,compo,preview7,asab,$$$,pls,pet,001,wtmp,lockfile,ger,tb0,pfc,(d),zoner-index-cache,qp1,blk,zsr,mtx,wid,ipl22,tv6,vdjcache,xp~,lex,xps,cachedmsg,bv3,f2l,lst,4sw,wtmp,mov,iff,\#$\#,vmdk-converttmp,bv7,t44,dw3,zl,nav2,bv5,bsi,ccc,asx,ipl,sdx,u96,dir00,qp2,qtmp,s2mi,fdpart,t$m,hmap.dir,journal,spc,als,simpl_int,r1m,scuf,dem,patchcache,ers,csac,sfm,thumbdata5-1763508120_8,cnv,vmc,file,s,m,met,mpx,tv8,zn~,thumbdata5-1763508120_20,cdt,db$,thumbdata5-1763508120_12,ebktml,bv6,tv9,bv8,vaf,thumbnail,ref,\#\#\#,pspcache,c1s,muf,onlineresources,memb,w44,§§§,dir,lvl,bcm,$a,bv9,fchc,rgt,ncch,grbdropfile,wrk,cached_icon,thumbdata5-1763508120_17,aecache,mdccache,thumbdata5-1763508120_19,lref,1,0Yes. In the~/Library/Application Support/Alfresco/AlfrescoSync.conf file, find the Sync constraints section, and update thesyncmanager.constraint.1=FileExt|.tmp,.temp property.
When a file is renamed in Alfresco Content Services to either an unknown extension (such as.aaa) or to remove the extension, it may not open on your computer. Since the file extension is used to associate programs with files, rename the file to a known extension to fix the file association so you can open the file.
You’ll find the synced data in the<userHome>/Alfresco folder. The sync client settings/database/logs are in the~/Library/Application Support/Alfresco folder.
When the sync client starts up, it uses the modification time stamp from theAlfrescoSync.time file in the/Application Support/Alfresco folder to check if any files/folders were changed while Desktop Sync wasn’t running. If you delete and recreate theAlfrescoSync.time file after restoring the Desktop Sync data and settings, it’ll do a full scan of the local and remote folders.
To avoid problems with conflicts on device registration, and content going out of sync during the migration process, you should first remove your account from the deprecated computer and then setup Alfresco Desktop Sync on the new machine.
Yes. In the Desktop Sync application, when User A’s session expires and User B logs in either accidentally or intentionally, we take immediate action to maintain privacy and security by automatically removing User A’s account details, as well as any synced files and folders from the local machine. Next, we display theSelect sites and folders to sync screen for User B to choose the data they want to sync from the server to their local machine. Several notifications are shown to inform users when their session expires, their account is removed, and the app switches to the new user.