Conflicts in the client

When you work on files with more than one person, there may be situations where conflicts occur during synchronization.
For example, if two people are working on the same file, the last person to save the file also wins. Client synchronization is triggered as soon as the file is saved.

Conflict handling

In case of a file conflict, the client keeps the latest file version (up to the last modification date) in the original location (e.g. BalanceSheet.xls).
All other members of the folder get this copy, but also keep the previous version in their file archive, so nothing should be lost.
The overwritten version can then be restored from the file archive.
They will also receive a notification in their client about the conflict and a warning icon next to the folder where the conflict occurred.

Enabling conflict editing

Conflict handling is enabled by default in the client
Disabling conflict handling will result in no warning in the client UI and the overwritten file will not be saved in the file archive.
To disable conflict handling, please proceed as follows:
Activate the expert mode.
Click Settings in the main window.
Click on Expert settings.
Uncheck the Enable conflict handling checkbox.
Conflict resolution for files
This opens the Restore Wizard, which allows users to restore previous file versions to the original location.
Additionally, in case users are not sure which version to restore, it is possible to restore the previous file version to a different location.

To restore previous files, please proceed as follows:
In the PowerFolder Drive client, click the notification (warning) icon.
Select the conflict problem
Click Resolve and the Restore Wizard will be displayed.
Select the file version and location you want to restore.
Click Next and finish the process.
If recovery of conflicted files is not desired, the conflict notification can be removed by clicking the Purge button.

Client Log Messages

WARN [Member]: Problem received: Node thinks we have a dupe connection to Member "____".
This message is an indication that more than one PowerFolder Drive client instance is running or logged on to the same device.
If there are several identical connections of this type, the PowerFolder Drive client instances will get in each other's way.
Please make sure that the client is open only once per device.

WARN [HTTPConnectionHandler]: Remote member disconnected while waiting for handshake."____"
If you see this message in the log files of the PowerFolder Drive client, please make sure that ports 2546 and 8080 have been opened for the client in the firewall.
For more information about the requirements, please see the following link.

WARN [SettingsTab]: en.dal33t.powerfolder.security.SecurityException: Permission denied to <<Username>>. FolderReadPermission on Folder "FolderName".
This message indicates permission issues. Please make sure you have at least read/write permissions on the named folder to edit files within the folder.

WARN [Folder]: Folder 'Folder name': Added en.dal33t.powerfolder.disk.problem.AccessDeniedProblem@
The message in the log file also indicates an authorization problem. Please make sure that you are still a member of the mentioned folder.

WARN [FolderScanner]: Unable to scan file: \<IP>>\folder name\, filename. Folder device disconnected? true
The client could not scan or synchronize the mentioned file due to the disconnected network path.
Please make sure that the mentioned path is accessible.
Generally we recommend to use the UNC path.
WARN [FileBrowserIntegration]: Could not connect to shell extensions!
Please restart the computer once. If this is not easily possible, it is usually sufficient to terminate the process "explorer.exe" in the task manager of your computer and then restart the task.
If this does not solve the problem, please reinstall the client once.

WARN [SettingsTab]: java.lang.NullPointerException: Unable to get archive setting. Folder not found on this server. Folder Foldername/FOLDERID
This message states that the current client configuration can no longer communicate with the correctly with the cloud layer, so no synchronization between the two layers can take place either.
Please proceed as follows: Exit the client

Navigate to the directory %appdata%\PowerFolder Drive
Delete the PowerFolder.config file or rename it once. Alternatively it is sufficient to save the file somewhere else if necessary.
Start the client -> You should now be prompted for a new login to PowerFolder Drive. Please make sure BEFORE the login that the base path is correctly defined in the client settings.
The specification of the base path in the case is intended exclusively for new top levels. The previously mounted folders will be automatically detected in the correct path (as previously specified and stored).
The synchronization should now run successfully again.

Notifications in the client

Online access denied

Problem:
The message "Online access denied - your permissions may have been revoked" indicates that the client no longer has an association with the affected folder at the online level.

Possible causes:
Folder membership rights to the folder have been revoked from the affected user.
Folder was deleted via the web interface or WebDAV.
Folder was renamed on the online level and the association to the same folder is missing
The synchronized folder was deleted on offline level or moved to another path and when it is shared again there is a conflict

Solution:
Depending on the cause, the solution for this conflict can and should be checked first if the affected folder still exists correctly on the online level (web interface) and the mapping to the correct folder on the client level is given.

Notification: Duplicate file names

Problem:
This notification indicates that there are files with the same file name, but with a different case.
For example, there may be a file named 'Test.txt' and another named 'test.txt'.
This may be acceptable on some operating systems, but not on others.
Since the client can sync data with a number of devices, this may become a problem in the future if the folder is connected through a device where duplicate names are not allowed.

Solution:
When this notification appears in the client, you can select a new unique name for the file and rename it.

Notification: File name too long

Problem:
This notification indicates that there are files with the names longer than 255 characters. Files with longer names can cause problems on some operating systems.
Since the client can sync data with a number of devices, this may become a problem in the future if the folder is connected on a device where very long file names are a problem.

Solution:
If this notification appears in the client, you can select a new, shorter name for the file and rename it.

Notification: Illegal characters

Problem:
This issue indicates that there are files with names that contain illegal characters. Different operating systems have different character sets that are allowed for file names.
On Windows systems, the following characters are not allowed as file name characters:

|
\
?
*
<
"
:

/
Under Linux, the following characters are not allowed as file name characters:
/
On Apple systems, the following characters are not allowed as file name characters:
/
:
Since the client can sync data with a number of devices, this may become a problem in the future if the folder is connected on a device where these characters are a problem.

Solution:
If this notification appears in the client, you can select a new, secure name for the file and rename it.

Notification: Illegal end characters

Problem:
This notification indicates that there are files with names that end with characters that are not allowed on Windows systems. The characters are period (.) and space ().
For example, there may be a file with the name 'Test.txt ' or 'test.txt.
Since the client can synchronize data with a number of devices, this may become a problem in the future when the folder on a device is connected to Windows.

Solution:
If this notification appears in the client, you can select a new, secure name for the file and rename it.

Client reacts slowly / Client does not start / Client hangs up

With a large number of mounted files, the client can sometimes reach its limits.
We recommend using the 64-bit (.msi) client when using the PowerFolder Drive client with more than 50,000 mounted files.
Please uninstall .exe installer in advance without uninstalling all components as well. Then install the 64-bit client.
You can find it under the following link
If you have already installed the 64-bit (.msi) client, it is possible to let the client use more resources from the system.
In the installation directory of the PowerFolder Drive Client you will usually find a "PowerFolder_Drive.l4j.ini" file, which you can edit.
Important here would be the second value "-Xmx1024m".
The "1024m" corresponds to the maximum memory that the client is allowed to use from the system.
Depending on the available resources from the system you can adjust the value to "-Xmx2048m" or "-Xmx4096m". More is generally never needed and is not recommended by us.
Please note that the operating system and applications present on the system also need resources.
After you have made the changes to the config note that you must first save the file to a different location and then replace it in the previous directory. You can see the resource usage in the client settings under the "Information" tab.

Client consumes all available bandwidth

Problem:
The Internet connection can become slow because the client is consuming all available bandwidth for downloads or uploads.

By default, the client is set to use all available bandwidth.
In most cases, this is not a problem because most files or file changes are transferred quickly rather than slowly.
However, there may be times when transferring large files or making changes to large files takes a long time, thus blocking the Internet bandwidth for some time.

Solution:
The client provides the ability to set bandwidth limits for upload and download, as well as some predefined profiles, which eliminates the need to configure some values.
Configuring bandwidth limits
It is possible to limit the actual bandwidth that the client will use for its transmissions.
In addition, the client differentiates between LAN and Internet bandwidth for more flexibility.

Setting an Internet bandwidth limit
To set an Internet bandwidth limit:

Enable the advanced mode
Click Settings in the main window.
Click Network.
Select an appropriate profile from the Internet Speed drop-down list or select Custom to enter user-defined values.

The client crashes with an OutOfMemory error

Problem:
The client crashes with an out of memory error. This may indicate that it is managing too many objects with too little memory configuration.
Solution:
The following link will help:
https://wiki.powerfolder.com/display/PF/Configuring+memory+limits
Client generates high CPU load
Problem:
The PowerFolder Drive.exe process has a consistently high CPU usage. In some situations, this can be the case when the client manages large folders with many frequent changes.

Solution:
Please refer to our performance optimization documentation. It may also help to choose a different transfer mode to check for changes only periodically.

Performance optimization

The end of metadata is the beginning of metadata.
It is possible to reduce CPU load, disk activity and memory consumption by the client.
In rare cases, for example: on systems that manage large amounts of files and folders, this may be necessary.
Selecting the appropriate transfer mode
The client periodically scans the local file system for changed, new or deleted files. During these scans, CPU load and disk activity is higher than usual.
Selecting or adjusting a transfer mode can help the client run more smoothly.

Folder database and statistics

Adding the following entries to the client configuration file helps improve performance on large systems (500,000+ files).

Saves the db file every 5 minutes.
filedb.persist.seconds=300

Calculates statistics every minute.
filedb.stats.seconds=60

You can increase these values even more.

Client deletes files

Problem:
Files disappear for no apparent reason, they appear to be deleted.
The client itself does not delete files itself, so the most likely reason is that the files were deleted by another member of the folder on another device.

Solution:
The client moves deleted files to its internal file archive by default, so the files are not actually deleted.
If you view only deleted files in the client's internal file browser, you can also see from which machine or by which user the file was last modified (deleted),
so you can check why it was deleted there.

Once you restore a file or files from the archive, these changes are also propagated to other clients,
so that the file(s) are available again on all devices. If the files were backed up online, they can also be restored using the cloud web interface, or alternatively using the file history.

Folders are not completely synchronized

Problem:
Sometimes folders may fail to reach the 100% synchronization mark, which means that synchronization does not finish and the folder remains in an unsynchronized state.

There are three possible reasons:

A transfer mode has been configured that does not allow automatic synchronization.
Files in a folder with this problem are permanently used by other programs and therefore block the client's access to them.
The internal folder database has been corrupted.

Solution:
There are two possible solutions:

Look for files that have not been synchronized: Click View Folder and then click the folder that is not fully synchronized.
In the internal file browser, which should be open to the right of the client interface, select Unsynchronized Files from the Filtering drop-down list and also check the Flat View checkbox.
Now you should see a list of all files that have not been synchronized yet.
Please check if these files are used by another program.
Check if the transfer mode for the folder is set to something other than Auto Sync: enable Advanced Mode.
Click View Folder and then click the folder that is not fully synced.
Click the Settings tab in the control panel, which should be open to the right of the client interface, and verify that the transfer mode is NOT set to Auto Sync.

Advanced solution:

1. Find out where your "base storage path" is.

2. Please stop the PowerFolder Drive service on the server and on all clients you are trying to synchronize the files with.

3. Now you need to go to the "base storage path", go to the user folders where the synchronization is not working properly, and then access the problematic folder.
   -here you need to delete an operating system directory called ".PowerFolder", which is hidden by default.

4. When you are done with the previous step, you need to do the same for clients with which the folder is not synchronized properly:
   -Open the problematic folder, then make sure to view the hidden operating system directory ".PowerFolder" and then delete it.

5. Finally, all you have to do now is restart the PowerFolder Drive service on all the machines you had to stop for this fix.

Files are continuously synchronized

Problem:
Files are uploaded every minute, even when no changes are made.

Solution:
Some of these files are the .eml files. Deleting the appropriate registry entry should stop Windows from changing these files all the time:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers\.

For example, for eml files, delete the following entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers\.eml.

When you install Windows Live Mail, this registry entry may be re-entered.
If you change your email client, please also check if this entry is re-entered.

Handling in the Linux client / configuration with the console
The following link will help you to simplify the use of the client with the help of command lines.
https://wiki.powerfolder.com/display/PF/Using+command+line+parameters

The app can't be opened because Apple can't check for malware in it
Solution:In the security settings of the device, the item "Allow installation of untrusted apps" must be enabled.

Error diagnosis WebDAV under Windows

If the system partition is full, no upload is possible
Please note that WebDAV basically needs storage space for the cache.
The files that are uploaded via WebDAV are first stored under "%systemdrive%\windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Temp\TfsStore\".

No automatic reconnection in case of connection failure
If the connection to a server address fails, Microsoft's WebDAV client will not retry this connection.
You can fix this problem by restarting the WebClient service.

Word 2010 crashes when opening a file from a WebDAV mount
There is currently a known issue with Word 2010. Word 2010 crashes when a file is opened from a WebDAV mount.
Since we cannot resolve this issue, you will need to upgrade to a newer version of Word (at least Word 2013).

WebDAV is not supported

For Windows Server 2012 and later, the Desktop Experience feature (Server Manager > Add Roles and Features > Features > User Interfaces and Infrastructure > Desktop Experience) must be installed,
before WebDAV shares can be mounted locally.
You also need to go into Windows Services Management, start the WebClient service and set it to Automatic so that it will start automatically in the future.

WebDAV client crashes
The integrated Windows client may crash occasionally. In this case, it may be helpful to restart the Windows WebClient service under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.

WebDAV authentication is requested when used
The built-in Windows client may repeatedly ask you for your credentials. In this case, you may need to enable basic authentication:
Click Start and type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit.exe in the program list.
Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters key.
Locate a DWORD/REG_DWORD entry named BasicAuthLevel.
In the data field, type value 2, and then click OK.
Restart your computer.

Size limit in WebDAV Error 0x800700DF

In the WebDAV protocol, size limits have been defined for the upload and download of single files.
While the limits for uploading are set generously at 2 GB per single file, Windows limits the single file size for downloading to about 47 MB (50,000,000 bytes).
If you want to download single files whose size exceeds 47 MB, you will receive an error message (Error 0x800700DF).
The restriction can be removed in the Windows Registry and the maximum value of 4 GB allowed for WebDAV can be set.
Enter regedit in the Windows command prompt or search:
In the registry editor that opens, navigate to the item HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / services / WebClient / Parameters.
Right-click on the "FileSizeLimitInBytes" entry and select Change.
Change the display mode to decimal and enter "4294967295". This corresponds exactly to 4 GB, the protocol-dependent maximum size.
Click OK and start the process again.
Starting with client version 16.6.100 the config entry in the registry is set automatically.

WebDAV connection to network drive is not established after reboot
If you check the box "Stay logged in", this usually only applies to this session.
If you restart the device, the WebDAV service (Web Client) is also restarted and starts a new session.

So far we can offer you only one solution for this:
Store a .bat (batch file) and put it into the autostart of the operating system.
Open an empty text document (via notepad for example) and write the following:

net use T: https://drive.powerfolder.com/webdav /user:USERNAME PASSWORD

Adjust the user name and password to the PowerFolder Drive user you are using. The network letter can of course still be adjusted.
If the password contains special characters, the PASSWORD must be enclosed with "" -> "PA$$WORD!&".
Then save the docuemnt as ".bat" and put it into the autostart.
Use the run command (Windows key+R) and "shell:startup" to get there.