Syncing question

I notice that often there is syncing going on when I'm not doing anything that should be syncing. I'm not creating or editing notes, not saving a layout, not creating any other user data.

Just now, I clicked on a word in a reverse interlinear Bible (NIV84) and the sync arrows turned black. Curious I quickly hovered and saw that items were waiting to be synced. They did. I clicked on a different word in the same Bible (without scrolling) and it synced again.

What is being synced here?

A few other actions that provoke syncing (but shouldn't IMHO):

I close a tab and it syncs.

I scroll a commentary to the next verse, and it synced.

What is being synced here? (Unsaved layouts? Why?)

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Rosie Perera

I close a tab and it syncs.

I scroll a commentary to the next verse, and it synced.

What is being synced here? (Unsaved layouts? Why?)

Even if you don't manually save a layout, it is being autosaved all the time for the snapshots. If you close Logos and open it back up again, it will open back to the layout exactly as you had it, including scroll positions in books, even if you hadn't intentionally saved the layout. So all that info (tabs open/closed, scrolling) has to be synced. Clicking on a word in a Bible will change what's in the reference box, so that has to be synced too.

Rich DeRuiter

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/325712#Comment_325712

Even if you don't manually save a layout, it is being autosaved all the time for the snapshots. If you close Logos and open it back up again, it will open back to the layout exactly as you had it, including scroll positions in books, even if you hadn't intentionally saved the layout. So all that info (tabs open/closed, scrolling) has to be synced.

No it doesn't. If I'm not connected to the internet (e.g., the network is down), Logos still opens to my last open position, and I can even save or update layouts. I thought that only saved layouts were synced. Did this change, or did I misunderstand?

Snapshots are only spontaneously saved to my system when I shut down Logos (as far as I can tell).

Clicking on a word in a Bible will change what's in the reference box, so that has to be synced too.

But this happens when the info in the reference box doesn't change (clicking different words in the same verse, e.g.).

Dave Hooton

What is being synced here?

There is a lot of sync'ing associated with a "Repository" for each of your documents and preferences, and establishing sync milestones irrespective of what the user is doing (except when idle). Clicking a word can result in 10s of such sync activity.

Mark Barnes

What is being synced here?

Whenever you do pretty much anything, the sync indicator will update. In the case of the things you mention, here's what's getting updated (I'm inspecting the traffic here, not speculating):

Click on a new word in a Bible: Updating the view preferences of the interlinear (which rows are visible)
Closing a tab: Updating the view preferences of the resource you closed (e.g. which visual bookmarks are turned on [for resources], which search options are turned on [for search tabs])
Scrolling a commentary: You guessed it, updating the view preferences of the resource.

What I don't see, surprisingly, is updating the position of the resource so that it can be kept in sync between devices.

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/325755#Comment_325755

I should add that the view preferences are using the old sync method, not the new one, so the constant syncing of these preferences may be for some transitional purpose that may disappear with the final build.

What I don't see, surprisingly, is updating the position of the resource so that it can be kept in sync between devices.

My mistake. This does happen when scrolling a commentary, but not in the other two cases.

Rich DeRuiter

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/325780#Comment_325780

I should add that the view preferences are using the old sync method, not the new one, so the constant syncing of these preferences may be for some transitional purpose that may disappear with the final build.

What I don't see, surprisingly, is updating the position of the resource so that it can be kept in sync between devices.

My mistake. This does happen when scrolling a commentary, but not in the other two cases.

Thanks for looking at the actual workings of this, Mark. I would have no idea how to do that.

What surprises me are two things:
1) That these things are actually syncing between devices. I thought only
saved layouts could be synced between devices - did that change, or am I
not understanding something? I have a desktop and a laptop, when I open either, they open to wherever I was when I last closed them. I can't open the laptop to the last (unsaved) desktop layout, nor vice versa (and given the differing screen ratios, wouldn't want to!). I do expect user generated content to be synced - as this is accessible, and needed by a second device. But I don't expect syncing for data that can't actually be synced - and doesn't need to be. I'll have to look on my laptop to see if unsaved layouts are actually being synced. I've not looked, since I believed it wasn't possible.
2) The amount of syncing going on - it seems excessive. I really don't need to remember from one session to the next which word I last clicked in my reverse interlinear, and don't expect to! And while I do want to open up where I left off, this info doesn't need to be synced since the info is stored locally anyway. It would seem more efficient to include a syncing routine upon closing the program, or changing layouts (e.g.).

Please understand that I'm not irritated about this. It doesn't seem to be slowing anything down, and I have plenty of bandwidth without any data caps. I'm mostly just confused and trying to understand something that doesn't quite make sense to me. My confusion and surprise makes me wonder if all this syncing going on is simply a left-over from a previous sync design that is no longer functional - in which case, Logos programers may want to know what's going on.

Okay, on to more important things. This is the day the Lord has made; enough frustration; time for some rejoicing and gladness!

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/325799#Comment_325799

I thought only
saved layouts could be synced between devices - did that change, or am I
not understanding something?

Nothing's changed in terms of what is actually synced, except for licence information which seems to be checked much more regularly than it used to be (it's once a minute now). Your position within a resource has always been synced, so that if you're reading a particular book on one computer it will open to the same place on your other computers or mobile device.

I really don't need to remember from one session to the next which word I last clicked in my reverse interlinear, and don't expect to!

It's not actually syncing that information. Instead, every time you click on a different word, it triggers a sync of visual preferences. This does mean that visual preferences are being synced too often. I suspect this may be a means of keeping the connection to the old server alive, as nothing else really syncs to it any more, but I don't know. It could be a bug.

I have a desktop and a laptop, when I open either, they open to wherever I was when I last closed them.

Unsaved layouts don't sync, only saved layouts. Layouts still use the old sync mechanism.

It would seem more efficient to include a syncing routine upon closing the program, or changing layouts (e.g.).

The longer you leave between syncs, the more room there is for a collision. (A collision happens when an element of data has been updated on two devices, and the server then has to guess which one is the most up to date information.) By syncing almost instantly, you drastically reduce collision issues (and collision issues have caused note duplication in the past). Besides some people (me!) hardly ever close Logos. It's not uncommon for me to leave it open for 2-3 days or longer - I just minimise it when not actively using it so I can flick back quickly. Although a sync when a tab is closed would be quite acceptable to everyone, I'm sure.