Full sync control for devices

[wemiprog]

Half of this post is an extended duplicate of [187](Selective Synchronization of Objects).

A few ideas about sync control:

Many apps have an offline mode. It would be nice, if we had full control about this with anytype.

Different sync states (for temporary or static usage)

• Offline (NO sync)
• Local (sync in network, without need of a provider)
• Online P2P (sync with all my end devices, if needed via provider)
• Online Backup (sync with all my “devices”, even headless / backup)

Usecase

This helps in this case for example:

• A desktop at home, connected to the internet, anytype open
• A notebook, connected via Mobile Hotspot
• A smartphone, connected via Provider, usage costs

So we can sync now notebook and smartphone without generating costs because of the desktop sync

Extended control

An other nice thing would be to control each sync node.

• Each node possible, device type (phone, tablet, notebook) possible
• Old data removal on mobile devices (only most current files cached)
• Sync switch
• Advanced selection
  • Which pages
  • Which file sizes
  • What always, what on demand
  • and so on …

To make it perfect, those settings would sync, but only if wished

[Narvey]

Sync in network, without internet (is ISP what you mean by provider?), is very important to me.
Somehow I thought this was already possible in AnyType, but I tested it just recently (by turning on a wifi router that is not connected to the internet, and connecting two ANyType devices to it), and no syncing happened.

[wemiprog]

Afaik sync works in this case already, but the discovery process isn’t working (well).
That means, the devices dont find each other and therefore cant start to sync. If you connect the router to the internet, they should find each other and then you should be able to take away the internet and sync should go on.

[Narvey]

Thanks, this has worked excellently (albeit sometimes it is slow).

[Flip]

I wanted to add my vote here, especially for the coming self host option I would really like to have the option to stop my device from trying to sync if my server is not available. For one I don’t want my device trying to sync all the time when it can’t and also want to save battery and bandwith when it’s not needed.

[peifer]

@wemiprog

we can sync now notebook and smartphone without generating costs because of the desktop sync

The most important thing is that there must be a one-click to start all forced synchronization, so that there is a full amount of data

[kernal2306]

This might be a different ask but since it is about syncing I am going to put it here. I would also like to be able to choose or have everything sync to my Android phone. It seems that the only way to make sure that a page is available offline is to browse to it and make sure it opens. I am going to be away from reliable internet and since I have a lot of data saved as my second brain I want to be able to access any of it at any given time since I never know what I might be needing.

• What I would like to see is an option to download all or maybe even select which sections I want to have available offline.

[MikeyP]

This is still a massive problem. My android is frequently not synced with the Mac app, it’s really annoying, especially when I’m not near my computer.

And yes, I have the most recent versions of both apps

I would like an option on android to sync manually

[Kerstie]

This seems like the best place to emphasize the need of a force sync.

As others have pointed out, you still need to open objects to initiate syncing. I don’t know if everything on desktop syncs eventually, as new objects’ names are quick to appear on widgets, but I noticed the actual content only prepare to sync once I click it.

I’m a heavy mobile user and sometimes only log in on desktop to create backups. The way it is now, I have to click recent files one by one to make sure it’s synced before I hit Export. The act itself is not a big deal, but it can take a couple of seconds and I also worry that I may lose an object because I forgot to sync on all devices. (I’m not always online or connected to the same network.)

A full sync button would save time and give me some peace of mind.

I noticed a post with a swipe down to force sync request marked Improbable. I wonder, is the improbability for the android gesture or the force sync feature?

[Filip]

@Kerstie

I noticed a post with a swipe down to force sync request marked Improbable. I wonder, is the improbability for the android gesture or the force sync feature?

It’s for that specific gesture, not for force syncing in general.

[Kerstie]

Thanks for clarifying @Filip!

[Filip]

Also, I’m pretty sure that everything eventually gets synced as long as you keep your app open, and that the currently opened object is just prioritized (for obvious reasons), but I’ll check this with the team.

[Shampra]

it would be interesting to know that.
Because in practice, that’s not the case.
That’s why the subject comes up again and again, either as a request for an (important) function, or as a bug.

Examples :

Fetch All Files Per Device - Add option to download all files

When texts and photos added in pages in the destop Anytype app, it will be automatically synced to the Anytype server. When I open my mobile Anytype app, it automatically try to sync with Anytype server. However, in the mobile Anytype app, when it shows “synced” indicating the syncronization has been completed, only the texts can be found. The photos in the linked pages are just shown “Error while loading pictures” when i click into those pages. I have to wait or try to re-enter the pages se…

How to download everything to iphone

Hi all. I may be missing the obvious, but how do I make sure that AnyType on my iPhone downloads everything? I have a long plane flight coming up, so want to make sure I have everything. Sorry if this has been covered - I can’t find it.

What happens when sync source goes offline?

Hi, I set up my own sync server and started donating to the project as a thank you for having such a great software that is available to self-hosters. I just wondered: Since as far as I understood media gets outsourced to the sync server to save local storage, what would happen if the sync server goes offline forever? Of course it’s being backed up etc. but it was just a question that came to my mind. Since I chose a local folder besides the client config file, could I just open that local fo…

[Kerstie]

@Filip
Thanks. My main concern is that I’d like to initiate a full sync before doing an export.

@Shampra
Indeed there are too many discussions about it, I’m surprised the vote count is low. I guess it’s just one of those features that people expect to happen.

[Filip]

@Shampra

Because in practice, that’s not the case.

What does this mean exactly?

The first and the third links you shared are about files, which is a different issue.
The second one is basically about this FR, which is just about adding a button to force a sync.

[Shampra]

@Filip

What does this mean exactly?

The first and the third links you shared are about files, which is a different issue.
The second one is basically about this FR, which is just about adding a button to force a sync.

For me “Full sync” is… full, complete sync, not partial. Ad files are part of our data.
And I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that.

If you don’t agree with my links as example and think I’m wrong, feel free to search across this community.

Or just in this subject ;

• First post mention file sizes.
• And @Kerstie, whom you were replying to, clearly mentioned the unsynchronized files.

@Kerstie

you still need to open objects to initiate syncing.

@Kerstie

The way it is now, I have to click recent files one by one to make sure it’s synced

And of course, I tested it again before my previous reply, and I confirm that it doesn’t fully synchronize (in the sense of ALL the data).

@Filip

Also, I’m pretty sure that everything eventually gets synced as long as you keep your app open, and that the currently opened object is just prioritized (for obvious reasons), but I’ll check this with the team.

So, what is the team’s feedback? And what is their definition of ‘everything’?

[Kerstie]

There’s a post that says Export should initiate a full sync, but the problem is it still needs network connection to load the ‘synced’ images.

@avatar382

I tried using the export feature as another workaround to “force” Anytype to download all attached files to the current device’s local data store.

@avatar382

After the export, I checked the disk usage of the Anytype data folder, and it increased by the expected amount. The missing images were also present in the exported data folder.

In spite of this, Anytype still needed a network connection to display the new images in the client app. I tried turning off network access on my client to see if images would load after doing this, and they did not load correctly.

Also, in my experience, exporting a Space takes time. So it’s not much of a ‘force sync’ if you have to wait for export AND image loading.

But I do feel a bit better knowing all text objects go in the exported backup. Hopefully this goes for all images, too, since those are the ones that require the most (force) sync control.

[C.c]

My mobile devices recently went into full storage because large files are being synced in Anytype. Generally, I don’t intend to use those files on mobiles… Advance selection will work well for me.

• Sync all objects of an ObjectType without its file. This way I can still read the handy texts on mobile, but access the files at home.

This feature should be considered early, along with Memberships arrangements. A 64GB phone can’t handle the builder membership’s 128GB data, even if Anytype is the only app used on that device… (And I have no intention to upgrade my 64GB phone soon.)

For now, I may have to give a break to Anytype on mobile…