Conflict Detection

Conflict Detection removes the confusion that can occur when changes seem to be 'lost' in the latest version due to multiple users editing a file at the same time.

An example of this would be when a user syncs a folder for offline access and makes changes to a file while offline. If another user makes changes to the file before the original user has synced the changes, a Conflict Copy of the file will be saved separately once the first user re-establishes the internet connection. Before the introduction of conflict detection, users editing a file that was no longer the latest version would overwrite any new changes that were made by other users.

Conflict Detection is available on the Desktop App, Storage Sync, and Egnyte's mobile apps.  

Conflict Detection Flow

Here's what will happen when a conflict is detected on the Desktop App:

1. The user will see a notification saying that a conflict was detected with the name of the file.

2. The user's changes (and any subsequent changes as long as the file remains open) are written to a new file with the text (conflict copy from <user's email address>) appended to the end of the name.

3. The user will also receive an email specifying the name of the original file, who's changes are conflicting with theirs, and the conflict copy. 

4. Upon closing the document, the original document is updated so the user sees two documents - the original document and the conflict copy. They will need to go through and apply their changes to the original file before deleting the conflict copy. This will result in the resolution of the conflict and the user can ensure that the latest version is retained.

Disable Conflict Detection

While Conflict Detection can be enabled or disabled from the Web UI, Egnyte recommends leaving it enabled to avoid unnecessary data loss.

Navigate to Settings -> Configuration -> General. Enable or disable the toggle for Conflict Detection and Save Changes.

If conflict detection is disabled, any changes made are uploaded to the cloud as new versions of the same file. Versions of a file are ordered based on the 'last modified time' of the file.

Unsupported File Extensions

Conflict detection is not supported or triggered on the following file extensions:

• .backup
• .bak
• .bpn
• .cache
• .dat
• .db
• .db-journal
• .dll
• .dsn
• .dwg
• .dwl
• .dwl1
• .dwl2
• .eml
• .exe
• .ffs_lock
• .gz
• .ini
• .itm
• .log
• .mdb
• .nd
• .nwc
• .old
• .ost
• .pdb
• .pkgx
• .pst
• .qbb
• .qbw
• .sldasm
• .snap
• .xls

Self Conflicts

Self Conflicts can occur due to a caching issue in the Smart Cache application that the user’s Desktop App is connected to. 

Contact Egnyte support in case of self conflict.