Settings

The “Settings” page (Ctrl+4 or Ctrl+,) gathers the settings of the service. They are few, shared by all accounts, and every change is applied and saved immediately: there is nothing to validate. If the service refuses a value, a message says so at the bottom of the window and the setting stays as it was.

General

• “Start with the session”, subtitled “Keep syncing in the background after login”. On by default: the service starts when you log in, window closed. Off, it only starts when you open HtkCloudSync (or the command line).
• “Notifications”, subtitled “Conflicts, errors and sign-in requests”: the desktop notifications described in System tray. On by default.
• “Check for updates”, subtitled “Once a day, on htkapp.com”. On by default: the service asks htkapp.com once a day which version is the latest published one, and tells you when a version newer than yours exists (see Getting Started). Nothing downloads or installs on its own. As long as no account is connected, no request is made. Off, the application no longer contacts htkapp.com at all.
• “Language”: “System language”, Français or English. The change takes effect at the next launch of the window and of the service.

Synchronization

• “Check the cloud every (seconds)”: how often the service picks up changes made in the cloud, from 10 to 3,600 seconds, 30 by default. The subtitle reminds you that “Local changes are detected instantly”: this setting only concerns the cloud → computer direction.
• “Simultaneous transfers”: the number of files transferred in parallel, from 1 to 16, 4 by default.
• “When a file changed on both sides”: “Keep both versions” (default), “Cloud version wins” or “Computer version wins”. See Conflicts.
• “Google Docs, Sheets and Slides”: “Link files (.gdoc, .gsheet…)”, the only choice available today. See Google documents.
• “Ask before deleting more than”, subtitled “Files or folders removed in a single pass (0 = always ask)”: the threshold above which a batch of deletions waits for your confirmation, 100 by default. See Data safety.

Bandwidth

Two limits, in kilobytes per second, “0 = unlimited”: “Upload limit (KB/s)” and “Download limit (KB/s)”. They apply to each account and take effect immediately, even in the middle of a transfer. Useful on a shared or metered connection.

Ignored files

The patterns of this list name files that syncing never touches: “Patterns never sent to the cloud (temporary and lock files…)”. A file matching a pattern is neither sent, nor downloaded, nor sent to the trash. A file already synced that starts matching a pattern is simply forgotten by syncing: it stays on both sides, as is.

The “Patterns” row expands to show the list; a delete icon removes a pattern. The “Add a pattern, e.g. *.iso” field adds one; validate with the Enter key or the field's apply button.

By default, the list covers the lock and temporary files of office suites (.~lock.*#, ~$*), downloads in progress (*.tmp, *.part, *.crdownload), desktop files of other systems (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db, desktop.ini), the trash of removable media (.Trash-*), .directory, *.swp and .git folders.

Writing rules:

• * stands for any sequence of characters and ? for a single one;
• a pattern without a slash applies to the name of the file or folder, at any depth;
• a pattern with a slash applies to the full path, relative to the local folder, for instance Photos/drafts/*.

Changes apply without a restart, to all accounts.

Advanced

• “Daemon log”: the row shows the location of the service's log file, and the Open button opens its folder in Files. This log contains paths and sizes, never the content of your files nor your sign-in; it is what support may ask you for in case of trouble.
• “Rebuild the local index”, subtitled “Re-scan everything without transferring unchanged files”. The Rebuild… button asks “Rebuild the index of …?” (with an “Account” selector if you have several): HtkCloudSync forgets what it knows about the synced files and compares the folder with the cloud again. Identical files on both sides are recognised without any transfer; files present on one side only are then copied to the other side; nothing is deleted, and syncing resumes automatically. The default button is Cancel; Rebuild starts the operation, which can take several minutes. A message marks the start (“Rebuilding the index of …”), then the result (“Index rebuilt: 146 items recognized without transfer”) or the failure (“Index not rebuilt”, with the reason). Without a connected account, the button answers “Connect an account first”.

When to rebuild the index? After copying the local folder over from another computer, or if the service is visibly wrong about what is already synced. An empty or missing local folder makes the rebuild refuse: nothing is changed.