Syncing Pre-Existing Files Causes Re-upload and Download

[aknobloch]

Actual behaviour

Given a folder of files on a Nextcloud server, when you manually add those files to the Android file system and start a sync on Android, the given files are uploaded/downloaded again.

Expected behaviour

The Android app should recognize files that have been manually added to the managed folder, and not trigger an upload/download. Repeating the below reproduction steps, but replacing the Android client with a PC client will show the expected behavior.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a folder ("Example_Folder") on the server, containing a file ("test_file").
2. Navigate to the "Example_Folder" directory within the Android app, and manually add the "test_file".
3. Go to the Nextcloud Android app, find the "Example_Folder" and select the "Sync" option.
4. Observe as the "test_file" is both uploaded from the Android server to the client, and then also downloaded from the server to the client.

Environment data

Android version: 9

Device model: OnePlus 6T (A6013)

Stock or customized system: Stock

Nextcloud app version: 3.4.1

Nextcloud server version: 13.0.5

Logs

No relevant logs.

[nextcloud-android-bot]

GitMate.io thinks possibly related issues are #3270 (Upload existing files), #2886 (Sync downloaded), #1772 (Trigger sync/download/upload), #1579 (Can't download files), and #347 (Unable to download files).

[tobiasKaminsky]

Well, this is simply not the way it works.
You should not adjust anything within Nextcloud folder on your own. This will confuse the app.
What you can do is:

• share a file to NC app
• create a file within NC app
• download a file within NC app

then edit it, with any app you want to use via Documents Provider.

[aknobloch]

Shouldn't the experience be consistent across platforms? It doesn't make sense that the client application functions fundamentally different on Android than it does on other devices.

[AndyScherzinger]

@aknobloch Mobile is fundamentally different from desktop in what you can actually do and how one interacts with such a device. So experience should be consistent between different mobile operating systems and experience should be consistent between differnent desktop operating systems, but not necessarily between desktop and mobile since use cases differ.

It seems you try to use mobile like desktop while this is not the goal of the project.