When Is a Conflict Generated

A conflict is generated in the following situations:

• When more than one CTERA Agent is connected to the portal and syncing to a shared folder. Any file created locally by a user and saved in the shared folder is synced to the portal and then from the portal to the every user sharing the folder.
  
  
  • When users simultaneously edit the same file.
    For example, when the user who created the file continues to edit it while a second user opens the files and also edits it. After the second user saves the file locally, it is synced to the portal and saved as a conflict file.
    
    
  • When a user is offline when editing the file.
    For example, when a user goes offline after syncing the file locally and then edits the file offline. If another user then edited the file while connected to the portal, when the offline user goes back online and syncs the edited file to the cloud, this file has the last changes synced to the portal file and is the file that is saved. The edited file made by the other user, while the file was edited offline, is saved as a conflict file.
    
    
    Note: If no other users edited the file while the file was edited offline, the portal detects that not only is the edited version newer than the one on the portal, but also no changes were performed by other users; therefore, the edited file is saved in the portal without a conflict file.
    
    
  • When a user deletes a file being edited by another user.
    For example, a user is editing a file and a second user deletes the local copy of the file, removing it from the local PC. When the edited file is saved, it is synced to the portal and then back the local PC from which it was deleted. A conflict file is not created.
    
    
  • When a user renames a file being edited by another user.
    For example, a user is editing a file and a second user renames the local copy of the file. When the edited file is saved, it is synced to the portal and then back the local PC from which it was renamed. The renamed file is also synced to the portal and then from the portal to the every user sharing the folder. Each user and the portal now has two copies of the file: with the original name and the last updates and with the new name, without the last updates.
    
    
  • When a user deletes a subfolder containing a file being edited by another user.
    For example, a user is editing a file and a second user deletes the local copy of the folder which includes this file, removing it and the file from the local PC. The action is synced to the portal deleting the folder and its files from the portal and then from the portal to the every user sharing the folder. When an attempt is made to save the edited file, there is no folder in which to save it and it must be saved to a new location. If the new location is a shared folder, it is then synced to the portal as is any new file. A conflict file is not created.
    
    
  • When a user deletes a root shared folder.
    The root shared folder is synced back to the user’s local PC. A conflict file is not created.

Note: In order to detect a file conflict, search for the string conflict. This displays all the conflict files along with their timestamps, and you can then decide which version to keep: Conflict or original.