I've noticed lately that I seem to get more frequent "the file is currently in use" errors when syncing my idisk if the file has recently been opened by Office. Is this a known issue? Does Office, even if the program has quit, keep something in memory that a file is "in use" maybe for faster opening the next time? If so, how do I disable it? The error is annoying...and I worry that my changes aren't getting sync'd!
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idisk sync and Office files
- Thread starter crh3ff
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Turn off automatic syncing and the issue should clear up. It happens because office creates multiple .tmp files while you're working. If you're working directly in the iDisk (the file is saved on it, you're editing it) then you'll run into this.
If this is a problem, Dropbox is a nice alternative. www.dropbox.com
It does not have this issue with Office files since it'll do a simple sync of "only the data you've modified" rather than an en mass sync. It's free for up to 2GB, plus an addl. 200MB with referral.
PM me if you'd like a referral.
If this is a problem, Dropbox is a nice alternative. www.dropbox.com
It does not have this issue with Office files since it'll do a simple sync of "only the data you've modified" rather than an en mass sync. It's free for up to 2GB, plus an addl. 200MB with referral.
PM me if you'd like a referral.
Thanks, but not the best option. I use MobileMe b/c of the amount of space on the iDisk and the seamless sync between Mac, iPad, iPhone (yeah, I know I can use Dropbox and google for everything, but to get more space on Dropbox I'd have to pay more than what MobileMe charges, and then individually set up all the different syncing methods). I also mirror my iDisk as a local disk, so I've got all my files available anywhere.
Therefore, automatic sync is a necessity to keep everything in sync, and Dropbox doesn't offer enough "free" space (my iDisk currently has 5gb of data on it).
I'm mostly wondering if there's a way to clear out that error and get it in sync (for instance, right now, it's not syncing a document I had open which is no longer open).
Therefore, automatic sync is a necessity to keep everything in sync, and Dropbox doesn't offer enough "free" space (my iDisk currently has 5gb of data on it).
I'm mostly wondering if there's a way to clear out that error and get it in sync (for instance, right now, it's not syncing a document I had open which is no longer open).
That's the message in the finder window after the sync attempt, yes. the error message I get when the error occurs is "there is a problem sycing file ___ The file is in use. An application may have the file open. Try closing the file or quitting applications." Now it's happening with PDFs opened in Preview as well; it seems I'm having a MobileMe issue and not a file-specific issue.
"iDisk not in sync" usually means the iDisk didn't have a chance to finish syncing, or the manifest is corrupted. The former is easier to fix than the latter, I'm afraid.
If you've tried rebooting and that didn't help, copy the files that you know for a fact are not syncing to your desktop. You'll need to turn off iDisk Sync, then turn it back on again, and let it re-establish itself. The good news is it will keep a copy of the old iDisk on your desktop ("Previous iDisk") so you won't lose data but you'll have to decide what data did/didn't get synced last time.
The manifest can be screwed up if you're accessing the same iDisk from two locations, each of those locations are online at the same time, and each has Automatic Syncing enabled. If this is the case, turn OFF Automatic Syncing on all but your most-used Mac. You'll save yourself a lot of grief by doing this.
The manifest is located in /Volumes/my_idisk_name/.FileSync/store.filesyncstatetree
If you've tried rebooting and that didn't help, copy the files that you know for a fact are not syncing to your desktop. You'll need to turn off iDisk Sync, then turn it back on again, and let it re-establish itself. The good news is it will keep a copy of the old iDisk on your desktop ("Previous iDisk") so you won't lose data but you'll have to decide what data did/didn't get synced last time.
The manifest can be screwed up if you're accessing the same iDisk from two locations, each of those locations are online at the same time, and each has Automatic Syncing enabled. If this is the case, turn OFF Automatic Syncing on all but your most-used Mac. You'll save yourself a lot of grief by doing this.
The manifest is located in /Volumes/my_idisk_name/.FileSync/store.filesyncstatetree
Macsterguy
macrumors 6502a
I too use MobileMe exclusively across my devices for both my business and personal with two MM accounts. I have seen just about every MM problem there has been since 2003. I do use Dropbox with my kids (and shared folders). It is a fantastic app too.
The OP never mentioned the "iDisk not in sync error"... He said he was getting "The file is in use Error"...
If you are working with these docs from within your iDisk, you can expect to have problems... This has been an issue with MS Office docs / iDisk for a long time... The same thing happens with Apple's text edit app and others, unfortunately...
I have found that it is because of the auto save functions built into the apps. What I have done as a work-around is to ALLWAY's move ANY document you want to work on to your desktop (or anywhere you want to work LOCALLY on your machine). Make any changes to the doc you want then SAVE, then REPLACE the original document on your iDisk with the most recent version. It takes some getting used to but it works much better and every time...
MS Word gives you the option to save the "auto-saved" (backup) document where ever you want. By default the document is saved in the same place as the original. In your case this would be your iDisk and this seems to be the problem I have found... You could try to set Word Prefs to auto-save your Docs to your machine locally OR just turn off Auto-Save function to see if that helps your issue...
Text Edit (as of Snow Leopard) has open and save options in Text Edit / Preferences. By default, Text Edit docs are saved every 30 seconds and are supposed to "auto-delete" when you save the text edit document. I have found that the auto-saved document DOES NOT auto delete if you are working from within iDisk... iDisk will save both... Also, Text Edit DOES NOT give an option of where to save the "auto-saved" docs...
I have found the same is true for Rapid Weaver and many other apps (with auto-save)...
When I started ALLWAY'S working locally then, saving / replacing in iDisk every thing "just works"... I sync 4-Mac's, an iPhone and an iPad without issues... Also, automatic sync works fine...
Hope this helps... 🙂
The OP never mentioned the "iDisk not in sync error"... He said he was getting "The file is in use Error"...
If you are working with these docs from within your iDisk, you can expect to have problems... This has been an issue with MS Office docs / iDisk for a long time... The same thing happens with Apple's text edit app and others, unfortunately...
I have found that it is because of the auto save functions built into the apps. What I have done as a work-around is to ALLWAY's move ANY document you want to work on to your desktop (or anywhere you want to work LOCALLY on your machine). Make any changes to the doc you want then SAVE, then REPLACE the original document on your iDisk with the most recent version. It takes some getting used to but it works much better and every time...
MS Word gives you the option to save the "auto-saved" (backup) document where ever you want. By default the document is saved in the same place as the original. In your case this would be your iDisk and this seems to be the problem I have found... You could try to set Word Prefs to auto-save your Docs to your machine locally OR just turn off Auto-Save function to see if that helps your issue...
Text Edit (as of Snow Leopard) has open and save options in Text Edit / Preferences. By default, Text Edit docs are saved every 30 seconds and are supposed to "auto-delete" when you save the text edit document. I have found that the auto-saved document DOES NOT auto delete if you are working from within iDisk... iDisk will save both... Also, Text Edit DOES NOT give an option of where to save the "auto-saved" docs...
I have found the same is true for Rapid Weaver and many other apps (with auto-save)...
When I started ALLWAY'S working locally then, saving / replacing in iDisk every thing "just works"... I sync 4-Mac's, an iPhone and an iPad without issues... Also, automatic sync works fine...
Hope this helps... 🙂