03-01-2025, 02:25 AM
In this thread, in case anyone has been interested, I have described automatically updating windows laptops using a shared OneDrive folder as the MS storage location. WELL, MICROSOFT BROKE IT ... TOTAL CARNAGE. Among other things, it was extremely time consuming and difficult to revert 10 laptops to the standard MS updated (via OneDrive) system.
So, I wanted to let everyone know about these issues.
Problem #1 - At some point, Microsoft removed the ability to synchronize a folder shared via OneDrive to the local computer, replacing the folder with a url symlink to your browser-based OneDrive. This does not seem to have been publicly disclosed, but a search reveals repeated requests for information in the Microsoft help forums. ADDITIONALLY, it appears to me that if you already have synchronized the folder to your local computer, it continues to work UNTIL YOU LOG INTO YOUR ONEDRIVE ACCOUNT BY BROWSER. Whereupon, the shared folder on the local computer is renamed to something like "mobilesheets-MyComputer" -- which no longer synchronizes in OneDrive -- rendering the MobileSheets install that is using the shared "mobilesheets" folder non-functional.
Problem #2 - I raised this issue earlier in this thread, not understanding it was a change to OneDrive that had started inflicting an infinite number of backup files for each song. The problem seemed to come and go for awhile, but it is back with a double vengeance. So, most of my laptops were not using a "shared" OneDrive folder, they were all on the same OneDrive account. Problem #1 therefore did not kill the automatic synchronization system I have described earlier in this thread.
Reminder of the issue: For any song.cho I changed, I would get (the first time around), 10 additional files "song-lenovo1.cho," "song-lenovo2.cho" etc. The next time I changed the file, I would get 10 *additional* files, "song-lenovo-1(2).cho", etc. I did not find a convenient way to delete these, since I originally used the "song per folder" option in MobileSheets, which meant I had to go through 400+ folders to find and delete the unnecessary backup files. I could not find an option in OneDrive to turn this off.
But, a more vicious change just materialized -- on connecting a computer that was synchronizing my OneDrive MobileSheets locally, it no longer simply made a "backup" -- IT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL FILENAME to the name of the first computer to access it. So, every song.cho became song-lenovo1.cho and was no longer found in the MobileSheets song lists.
BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE: OneDrive also did this to two other very important files: Mobilesheets.db and Mobilesheets_hascodes.txt. So, when I would go to do a regular synchronization via the MobileSheets synchronization menu, I would get a "library not found" error. (MobileSheets uses these two files to run the synchronization, and they became unavailable when OneDrive renamed them.) This also broke any possibility of synchronizing the iPads and Androids on my system that were using standard MobileSheets synchronization via OneDrive.
So, to fix all this I had to (a) on each computer go to OneDrive settings and uncheck the box that makes the files locally available; (b) move the MobileSheets storage location; and ( c) revert MobileSheets to its own normal update system -- which is much more time consuming, BTW. In my previous "automated" mode, updates happen transparently while I am charging the laptops for the next practice or performance.
Naturally, all this had to be done in a very short time frame, as we practice weekly and have a performance coming up. I have been using the automated system flawlessly for ... well, since around the time I started this thread.
Thank you, Microsoft!!!
So, I wanted to let everyone know about these issues.
Problem #1 - At some point, Microsoft removed the ability to synchronize a folder shared via OneDrive to the local computer, replacing the folder with a url symlink to your browser-based OneDrive. This does not seem to have been publicly disclosed, but a search reveals repeated requests for information in the Microsoft help forums. ADDITIONALLY, it appears to me that if you already have synchronized the folder to your local computer, it continues to work UNTIL YOU LOG INTO YOUR ONEDRIVE ACCOUNT BY BROWSER. Whereupon, the shared folder on the local computer is renamed to something like "mobilesheets-MyComputer" -- which no longer synchronizes in OneDrive -- rendering the MobileSheets install that is using the shared "mobilesheets" folder non-functional.
Problem #2 - I raised this issue earlier in this thread, not understanding it was a change to OneDrive that had started inflicting an infinite number of backup files for each song. The problem seemed to come and go for awhile, but it is back with a double vengeance. So, most of my laptops were not using a "shared" OneDrive folder, they were all on the same OneDrive account. Problem #1 therefore did not kill the automatic synchronization system I have described earlier in this thread.
Reminder of the issue: For any song.cho I changed, I would get (the first time around), 10 additional files "song-lenovo1.cho," "song-lenovo2.cho" etc. The next time I changed the file, I would get 10 *additional* files, "song-lenovo-1(2).cho", etc. I did not find a convenient way to delete these, since I originally used the "song per folder" option in MobileSheets, which meant I had to go through 400+ folders to find and delete the unnecessary backup files. I could not find an option in OneDrive to turn this off.
But, a more vicious change just materialized -- on connecting a computer that was synchronizing my OneDrive MobileSheets locally, it no longer simply made a "backup" -- IT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL FILENAME to the name of the first computer to access it. So, every song.cho became song-lenovo1.cho and was no longer found in the MobileSheets song lists.
BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE: OneDrive also did this to two other very important files: Mobilesheets.db and Mobilesheets_hascodes.txt. So, when I would go to do a regular synchronization via the MobileSheets synchronization menu, I would get a "library not found" error. (MobileSheets uses these two files to run the synchronization, and they became unavailable when OneDrive renamed them.) This also broke any possibility of synchronizing the iPads and Androids on my system that were using standard MobileSheets synchronization via OneDrive.
So, to fix all this I had to (a) on each computer go to OneDrive settings and uncheck the box that makes the files locally available; (b) move the MobileSheets storage location; and ( c) revert MobileSheets to its own normal update system -- which is much more time consuming, BTW. In my previous "automated" mode, updates happen transparently while I am charging the laptops for the next practice or performance.
Naturally, all this had to be done in a very short time frame, as we practice weekly and have a performance coming up. I have been using the automated system flawlessly for ... well, since around the time I started this thread.
Thank you, Microsoft!!!