I had a text file clobbered by editing it on Android and opening it on Linux a few weeks ago. I realize this might technically be off topic, but maybe someone with some experience with Android and Insync can suggest a way to prevent trouble.
I suspect the file got clobbered when I opened it in Linux, and the clobbering probably happened in the Android client. Can anyone confirm?
BACKGROUND
I was grabbing software versions and equipment serial numbers off a new device, and I was using a Samsung phone (camera text scan etc.) and Google Drive to edit a TEXT file where I was saving the serial numbers. (I use text files over Google Docs to maximize flexibility and compatibility across devices.) I spent a few minutes updating the information in the text file on my phone using an Android text editor, but about half an hour later I was surprised the file had not been updated on my linux desktop (which had been running all day) nor on Google Drive (web browser) on the desktop.
I had the phone in my hand, so I dragged down from the top on the Android Google Drive screen a few times, and nothing apparently synced to the linux system, so I went to the phone’s backup settings, and initiated a phone backup, and the information STILL didn’t apparently refresh on Google Drive (web) nor on Insync on linux.
At this point the exact sequence is hazy, but either before or after the above (or both) I opened the text file in the linux system to confirm it had not been updated, making no changes to it or saving it. SO basically I verified the “unfilled” text file had the name of the product and a blank spot where I filled in the serial numbers and firmware version numbers on the Android device. I did NOT save the file on Linux at that time.
When I went back to Google Drive for Android a few hours later, I was surprised and disappointed that the UNFILLED file replaced the edited file in Google Drive. Apparently just opening (and not saving) the file in InSync somehow indicated that the desktop version was the most recent version of the file, and I got no notice of any file conflict as I would have expected.
I ended up re-entering the data into the text file from scratch.
I see an old 2015 thread suggesting there’s a hidden trash folder InSync keeps. I haven’t looked for that yet (I’m away from the system I was using that night). Given the circumstances I suspect the clobbered file would not have gone there.
I hope to get some guidance on specifically what to avoid, or why this might have happened. Or maybe learn a way to ensure the Google Drive for Android client syncs to the cloud when I expect it to.
P.S.: In case it matters, it just occurred to me I should say I was editing the text file on the phone using the Markor app, which is a new-to-me text editor. Normally I use Text mode on the Collabora Office Android app, but not that evening. On the web I usually use the texteditor.co Chrome app, which works but is quite cumbersome on a phone browser.