A whole synced folder is gone?
If you deleted or moved a folder that Ambifold syncs, or it was deleted on Google Drive, Ambifold pauses that folder, deletes nothing on the other side, and asks what you want: the icon turns amber, with a “?”. If the folder's disk is unplugged, Ambifold simply waits for it. See I deleted or moved a synced folder. Folders you stopped syncing in the last 30 days are under Recently removed on the settings page, with Restore.
A folder says “Not syncing”?
When Pro or its free trial ends, three folders of one Google account keep syncing, and the others wait: their cards on the settings page say Not syncing (free edition). Nothing is deleted, but changes made since then stay on the side where you made them: files you add in Google Drive don't appear on your computer, and the other way round. On the folder's card, choose Sync this one instead…, or get Pro, and the folder carries on where it left off. See what happens when Pro ends.
1. Pause syncing
Click Ambifold's tray icon and choose Pause all, or use Pause all on the folder list of the settings page. Nothing syncs until you choose Resume all, so a mistake can't spread while you look.
Until your files are back, don't
- uninstall Ambifold: its backups and records help to find out what happened;
- empty the trash in Google Drive, or the Trash on your computer;
- confirm deletes that you don't understand: Delete them on Google Drive too, Delete them on this computer too, or, in older builds, Allow these deletes once;
- delete anything in
~/.local/state/ambifold/.
2. Look in Google Drive's trash
When a sync deletes a file in your Drive, the file goes to Google Drive's trash, where Google keeps it for 30 days. Open the trash in Google Drive, select the files and choose Restore. They go back to their folders, and once you resume syncing they come back to your computer too.
A whole folder that went to the Trash on your computer is in the Trash of your file manager: select it and choose Restore. If Ambifold put that folder on hold, it notices, checks it and carries on syncing it. If you had chosen Stop syncing, use Restore under Recently removed on the settings page instead: it takes the folder out of the Trash for you and picks up where it left off.
3. Look in Ambifold's backup folder
When a sync deletes or replaces a file on your computer, Ambifold first moves the old copy to its backup folder, and keeps it there for 30 days (you can change that in the settings):
~/.local/state/ambifold/backups/It has one folder for each folder pair, and in it one folder for each sync that deleted or replaced something, named after its date and time. The folder is hidden: in the file manager, press Ctrl+L and type the path, or press Ctrl+H to show hidden folders. Copy the files you need back into your synced folder.
4. Replaced rather than deleted?
- In your Drive: Google Drive keeps earlier versions of a replaced file. Right-click the file in Google Drive, open File information and choose Manage versions. For Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, use File › Version history.
- On your computer: the old copy is in the backup folder (step 3).
- Changed on both sides? Ambifold keeps both versions: the other one is next to the file, with “conflict” and a number in its name.
5. Tell us
Email support@ambifold.com with the subject “Possible data loss”, even if you got everything back. Say what you saw and roughly when, and paste the version info: on the settings page, open About and use Copy version info. Also attach the diagnostics file: in About, use Save diagnostics…. It leaves out file and folder names, paths and addresses, and you can read it before you send it. You don't need to send file names.
During the beta, we answer reports of possible data loss within 24 hours, weekends included.
Both safety nets last 30 days, so please report a problem within days, not weeks.
Once your files are back, our two-way sync safety checklist covers Drive's trash and version history, backups and moving a synced folder.