How to synchronize your device files and folders on Shadow Drive?
If you have not synchronized files and folders yet
It is possible to synchronize new files and folders directly from the mobile applications and desktop clients, that you can download on our website.
The Shadow Drive web version won't allow you to synchronize new files and folders, however, you can manage your existing files, and edit and share them.
If you have never synchronized any files or folders with Shadow Drive, we invite you to follow the instructions provided inour installation guide, step 4.
If you have already synchronized files and folders
To synchronize new files and folders, you can follow the instructions below:
Open your desktop client.
Click your profile name.
Click "Settings".
Click "Add Folder Sync Connection".
On iOS, it is only possible to add and edit the synchronization of your photos.
To change which files and folders will be automatically synchronized with Shadow Drive, follow the instructions below:
Access the Settings of your device.
Search for "Shadow Drive".
Click "Photos" and choose your preferred settings.
Access the Files tab.
Select the folder or file you want to synchronize/desynchronize.
Click the three dots button to open a menu.
Click the "download" button to synchronize your file or click "delete" then "delete locally" to desynchronize your file.
[Desktop client] Main Dialog Events
The main dialog is the first window that is displayed whenever you open your Shadow Drive desktop client.
It shows recent activities with files, errors, and server notifications.
Whenever you open your Shadow Drive client, you will notice an icon that represents the synchronization status of your folder.
Note: Even if you do not open it, the Shadow Drive Desktop Client remains in the background and is visible as an icon in the system tray (Windows, KDE), menu bar (Mac OS X), or notification area (Linux).
A right-click on the systray icon opens a menu for quick access to multiple operations.
This menu provides the following options:
Open main dialog
Paus sync/Resume sync
Settings
Exit Shadow Drive, logging out and closing the client
A left-click on your systray icon opens the main dialog of the desktop client.
See below what each icon means:
Icon
Meaning
The status indicator uses icons to indicate the current status of your synchronization.
The green circle with the white checkmark tells you that your synchronization is current and you are connected to your Shadow Drive server.
The blue icon with the white semi-circles means synchronization is in progress.
The yellow icon with the parallel lines tells you your synchronization has been paused. (Most likely by you.)
The gray icon with three white dots means your sync client has lost its connection with your Shadow Drive server.
When you see a yellow circle with the sign ”!” that is the informational icon, so you should click it to see what it has to tell you.
The red circle with the white “x” indicates a configuration error, such as an incorrect login or server URL.
Files Synchronization Status
The Shadow Drive sync client provides overlay icons for your system file manager on desktop to indicate the sync status of your Shadow Drive files.
Similar icons are also visible directly in the files overview from your mobile apps.
These icons behave differently on files and directories according to sync status and errors.
The overlay icon of an individual file indicates its current sync state, while the overlay icon of a synced directory indicates the status of the files in the directory.
If there are any sync errors, the directory is marked with a warning icon.
If a directory includes ignored files that are marked with warning icons that does not change the status of the parent directories.
Note: You can click the Folder icon after opening your client to directly access your synchronized folder on your desktop.
See below what each icon means:
Icon
Meaning
If the file is in sync with the server version, it displays a green checkmark.
If the file is ignored from syncing, for example because it is on your exclude list, or because it is a symbolic link, it displays a warning icon.
If there is a sync error, or the file is blacklisted, it displays an eye-catching red X.
If the file is waiting to be synced, or is currently syncing, the overlay icon displays a blue cycling icon.
When the client is offline, no icons are shown to reflect that the folder is currently out of sync and no changes are synced to the server.
How to edit synchronization rules for your files and folders?
Several options are available to let you manage your synchronized files and folders, depending on the platform that you are using:
To manage your synchronized folders, follow the instructions below:
Open your desktop client.
Click your profile name.
Click "Settings".
Click the three dots button next to the synchronized main folder of your choice to open a dropdown menu.
The dropdown menu offers additional options:
Open Folder.
Edit Ignored Files.
Choose What to Sync (This appears only when your file tree is collapsed, and expands the file tree).
Force Sync now.
Pause Sync / Resume Sync.
Note: Pause Sync pauses sync operations without making any changes to your account.
It will continue to update file and folder lists, without downloading or updating files.
To stop all sync activity use Remove Folder Sync Connection.
Remove folder sync connection.
Availability (Only available if virtual files support is enabled). This allows you to:
Additionally, you will find further options to customize your synchronization rules by clicking "General" on top of the window.
On iOS, you can set up synchronization rules to your photos.
Note: It is only possible to synchronize your Photos folder on iOS.
To do so, click the "More" button on the bottom of your screen, then click "Settings" and "Auto-upload".
If you synchronize your photos, the "Auto upload photos/videos" feature is enabled, which lets you use the options below:
Select the destination folder for your synchronized photos on Shadow Drive.
Choose whether videos or photos specifically should be uploaded.
Choose whether you want to use Wi-Fi connection to upload your photos and/or videos.
Upload the whole camera roll.
Automatically create subfolders to sort your media files by day, month or year.
Change the filename mask in order to automatically create a custom name for each file (for example, automatically include the date in the name of the file).
Once I've chosen the folder I want to synchronize automatically, I can configure:
The destination folder.
Choose to synchronize only with wi-fi.
Choose to synchronize only if my phone is connected to an outlet.
Choose to synchronize existing file as well.
Choose to use sub-folders (to sort your media by year/month/day).
Choose if the original file will be conserved in the original folder, moved in the application folder or deleted.
Choose what to to if the file already exists (delete existing remote version, rename new version, or ignore synchronization).
FAQ
Yes, Is it possible to be connected to the same account on different devices at the same time.
There is no limit to the number of computers you can link and synchronize to Shadow Drive.
It is not possible to schedule a synchronization.
The idea is to regularly trigger a synchronization to keep both local and distant folders synchronized, so a scheduling feature wasn’t developed.
Shadow Drive does not preserve the mtime (modification time) of directories, though it does update the mtimes on files.
Note: We strongly suggest having a look at our installation guide if you are getting started with Shadow Drive.
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