General Information

Overview

Sync is used to synchronize data across clients. Synchronization can be started both automatically (e.g. through the sync interval) and manually. The purpose of this process is to make data available offline as well, so that you can also work offline with empower®. Master templates, the design check and the search in the library therefore also work offline.

The following data is synchronized:

1. Metadata – e.g. folders, users, corporate design, and permissions
2. Content data from the backend – e.g. presentations and master elements, from which the content data is also synchronized, can also be inserted offline.

User interface

The empower® Sync can be accessed via the drop-down menu in the Windows taskbar. Shows when it was last synced, how many items were synced, and how many local files were synced in MB (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Sync view

In addition, the user has various options.

1. If you hover over the Last synced ...display, the exact time and date and time when the last synchronization took place is indicated.
2. If you click on the circle with initials, you will see which user the user is logged in with, and there is the option to log out. This option can also be used to resolve authentication issues by forcing a re-login.
3. If you click on the gear wheel in the upper right corner, a selection of further actions opens.

Sync now

Using  the Sync Now button,  the user can manually initiate a synchronization themselves. The sync will then start synchronizing the data that has changed or been added since the last synchronization, and will also show process progress during the process.

The button is useful if a user is aware that there is a change on the server, but he or she cannot yet access it because the interval for the next automatic synchronization has not yet been reached.

Settings

If the user clicks on  the gear wheel in the upper right corner of the sync, a selection of further actions appears (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Actions in the gear menu

Reset Sync

The Reset Sync button  deletes the previously synced metadata and initiates a full synchronization.

The button is useful if problems occur despite synchronizing via the interval or the Sync Now button, or if synchronization  fails regularly.

If the user clicks on the Reset Sync button, a full synchronization is started. This will also reset the login. This means that resetting the sync can also fix issues related to user rights.

Clear Data Cache

If the user clicks on the Clear Data Cache button, a notification message is displayed first (see Fig. 3). Here you have  to click the Clear Data Cache button again  to start the process.

Fig. 3: Note message about clearing data cache

The Clear Data Cache button  only clears the cache of locally stored content data and does not resynchronize.

The button is useful for freeing up hard disk space after several weeks or months of working with empower®.

Load distribution

If too many clients try to synchronize at the same time, this can lead to peak loads on the application server. There can be various reasons for this. Examples of this are

• Morning login and simultaneous synchronization of many clients
• Many new employees at the beginning of the month and therefore simultaneous synchronization of many new clients
• Simultaneous (forced) synchronization of many clients after an update

During such load peaks, the application server may no longer respond to client requests quickly enough. Despite multiple requests from a client, this can lead to the synchronization process being aborted on the clients. After a few minutes, they try to synchronize again. This creates a traffic jam as more and more clients want to synchronize at the same time.

To avoid such overload situations on the application server, each client coordinates with the backend before starting a synchronization process. The backend only approves an adequate number of parallel synchronization processes. As soon as the maximum possible number of parallel synchronization processes is reached, the backend denies synchronization to further requesting clients and places them in a queue. The client informs the users of this by means of a corresponding notification on the sync user interface (see Fig. 4) and attempts to restart synchronization after a specified time.

Fig. 4: Popup window for synchronizations

A collaborative approach is taken with regard to older clients. This means that older clients can still synchronize, but they are not compatible with the queue concept. Therefore, all synchronization requests from older clients are accepted by the backend.

Logs

The Logs button  opens the file directory with the log files for the individual units of the empower® Suite. The user can share these logs with support, who can use these files to determine the causes of unexpected problems.

Update icon in the empower® library

In addition to the above options, PowerPoint has the option to synchronize individual folders or a folder with its subfolders. For this purpose, the update icon is located in the view of the empower® library (see Fig. 4).

Fig. 4: The refresh icon in the empower® library

If the user clicks on this update icon, only the affected folder and its subfolders will be synchronized.