Thanks, the iPad is an iPad air from 2013 so it is on it’s last legs, but this downloading file list just took seconds before the Scrivener 3 update on that same hardware. Now it still takes about 10-15 minutes. On the iPhone it takes about 3-5 minutes to download the file list. It took about 20 seconds pre-scrivener 3. These times are excluding the time to sync itself, which always goes fast on either hardware.
Maybe on the iPad the RAM issue is worsened by the ios updates getting heavier and the system taking more ram.
I get your point. I do want to add:
The problem is: it worked. I had Scrivener 2, big projects in Dropbox, and it all took seconds to download the file list and Sync to all my devices. And after the upgrade to scrivener 3 and all my projects, I saw super slow sync on ios (not the sync itself but the ‘downloading file list’ part). So I had something that worked, based my workflow on it and after an update it didn’t anymore. I didn’t ask for Scrivener to work in a way it never did before… I just wished it worked as fast as it did before, on the same hardware, with the same projects…
I understood that part, but the decision to upgrade was voluntary. It all has to do with how one handles change.
All those that helped pinpointing the cause of the slow sync did a great job. But now that the cause is found it’s a question of adjusting or accepting.
Mmmm. Not sure. That’s a bit like saying my car’s a rental because I have to buy petrol every two weeks.
Scrivener can be used without Dropbox (and you can’t use most cars without petrol), so I’m not sure your analogy works.
I do understand your other points though, and it’s a tough one to wrestle with. Dropbox seems to turning itself into a Slack competitor, and though many seem to regard Scrivener’s inability to work with iCloud (or vice versa) as a problem with iCloud, I suspect Apple sees it as a design decision rather than a deficiency on their part After all, there are hundreds of apps on the App Store that sync perfectly well with Apple’s setup, and not all of them (such as Aeon Timeline) rely on storing all your data in a large monolithic bit dump (Ulysses).
So I don’t believe Apple is going to change its mind any time soon.
As I said, it’s a tough one to wrestle with.
Agreed.
BTW, I read today on Twitter that the new Files app in iOS 13 lets you pin files AND folders, which will stay offline available on your device, and download changes immediately when they happen (from any other device), now, which wasn’t possible before. You didn’t have any control of what iCloud kept downloaded on your device. Don’t know if again if this makes a difference for Scrivener, but it is interesting in the light of this discussion because I thought one of the problems with iCloud was that it choose what to download and what to keep in the cloud inside a Scrivener project, thus corrupting files. Don’t know if this new pin-option would help, if it would mean users should pin the whole Scrivener folder before using it with iOS. (a bit like now you have to make a Scrivener folder in Dropbox before using the iOS version with automatic sync)
You’re describing the iCloud “Optimize storage” feature, which is indeed an enormous problem for Mac-to-Mac sharing. But it’s not really relevant to the Mac-to-iOS synchronization issues.
Katherine
Bummer but thanks for the clarification.
Dear Keith &c,
Thanks for this succinct (re-?) statement of your position. This helps clarify things, for me, at least. I’m disappointed, and I admit that I’m moving to Ulysses for my current book project — I still miss some of Scrivener’s capabilities, but fast and painless syncing, combined with enough multi-tasking on both iPad and Mac to enable the use of other apps to take over some of those capabilities, is a win for me and my workflow at this point.
But I’ll continue to support L&L (i.e., buy updates if and when they come along!) and hope that things do, indeed, move in this direction over the medium or at least long term.
I am not quite at your point, but I am taking a hard look at whether Dropbox is that important to me. Scrivener is the only app I use that requires Dropbox for syncing. However, the smart sync feature they moved out of Business into Plus is nice.
Okay, I’m the odd person out, here. I loathe iCloud. I hope L&L never eliminate Dropbox support because I’m increasingly frustrated by developers who are moving to iCloud only. I don’t pay extra for more iCloud space, and I hope I never have to. Dropbox has always worked well for me with regards to Scrivener Mac <-> iOS syncing.
That said, I agree that it would be nice if Dropbox had an entry-level paid tier that was less than two terabytes and $120 USD per annum(!) Not that $120 isn’t a fair price for two terabytes, but 50 gigabytes would suit. Nonetheless, I’m revamping my cloud services and will go to paid Dropbox, eliminating Google Drive (which I like better than iCloud, but I trust Google less), and continuing to minimise my iCloud use as much as practical.
L&L, I hope I represent the silent majority, here. So far as I’m concerned, if iCloud sync never happens, that will be just fine with me.
My fervent hope is we get a choice: Dropbox for those who like it; OneDrive for folks who use that; iCloud for those who want that.
I use ghe Agenda app. It initially only had iCloud sync and users were for Dropbox syncing.
Dropbox has become, for many users, unfriendly, bloated and restrictive. If there was a Dropbox lite that simply did sync I’m sure many would still not mind it so much. As it’s evolved, I’ve begun to steer away from it.
Maybe it’s time to consider rewriting scrivener for iCloud sync.
Rory
Well, a lot of other users are finding Dropbox works perfectly for them. Rewriting the software to accommodate a particular synching platform seems … overkill?.
R
There is. The free basic version.
And of course, KB wouldn’t have time to update Scrivener for iOS, or Scapple, or have time to think about Scapple for iOS …
I’ve been using Dropbox for about a decade and have never had a problem with it; I built up 6.2GB of Space on my free account, and have 3 computers, an iPAD and an iPhone hooked up to it. Although I have Scrivener for iOS on the latter 2, I hardly ever open it, as most of what I do is in collaboration with a Windows-using friend in China, where dropbox is blocked—which is not Dropbox’s fault—so we use Sync, and I am happier with the UI on my MBPs, like another poster.
If I change any of my iOS devices, so that I’m restricted, I’ll simply not bother with iOS Scriv.
Mark
seriously what is “bloated, unfriendly and restrictive” about dropbox?!?
They have added some new features: GoogleDocs, Office, Zoom Slack interaction that are probably more appealing to enterprise customers than consumers. As a result, the app now consumes 500mb of memory. I have 16gb on my Mac so that’s not an issue, but for others it might be.
They also raised the price and knocked the free device limit to 3. You can grandfather in more devices, but as soon as you add a new device the 3 device rule comes into affect.
On my !3" MBP, I have 8GB memory, of which Dropbox consumes 194Mb; it’s more than Sync, but is hardly “bloated”.
Mark
I’ve got the Pro version of Dropbox and it only consumes 190 MB on my system.
I would expect that most of the new features are implemented on the server side, which wouldn’t affect local memory usage at all.
Katherine