Choose merged object for all remaining conflicts

dstillman
This discussion was created from comments split from: Syncing Problems.
  • cjpoor
    A related question: Why is there no option to "choose merged object for all remaining conflicts"?
  • dstillman
    There is, in the conflict resolution window. The message in the other thread wasn't for conflict resolution.
  • cjpoor
    Hi Dan, I see only the option to "Use the local version for all remaining conflicts" (if that is the version with the red headline, or else "Use the remote version .." On my Standalone there is never a message "Use the merged version ..." next to the tick box. The other problem I have is that when I click on the merged version there is no indication that it has been selected (no highlighting of the version, for example). I am running Standalone 4.0.29.15 on Mac OS X 10.10.5.
  • dstillman
    edited March 1, 2017
    Oh, that wouldn't make sense, though. The third column just shows which version you've picked (and lets you make changes to a field). It doesn't automatically combine fields from both sides, so there wouldn't be anything to apply across all items.
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    Deleted as irrelevant
  • dstillman
    See above — you're misunderstanding that column.
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    Deleted as irrelevant
  • dstillman
    Right — it does. (Or it should. If you're seeing something different, that's a bug.)

    Clicking on the first or second column lets you pick which version to use as the base, which you can then alter if you want. The third column shows you what's going to be saved, so "choosing" it doesn't make sense.
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    OK. Thanks. This makes clear what I was confused about. It's not very similar to the "merge items" options. I guess if the message was expanded for dummies like me to say "Choose the version (local or remote) you want to use as the basis for your merged object result" it would be somewhat verbose :)
    Many thanks again for all the good work on Zotero. I recommend it regularly.
  • dstillman
    Choose the version (local or remote) you want to use as the basis for your merged object result
    But that's not what it's doing. The checkbox simply lets you choose one side or another for all conflicts. The merge pane is only relevant if you're making manual changes for each individual conflict, in which case the checkbox doesn't apply.
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    I thought that the merged object algorithm is intelligent enough to always include all the information from both the local and remote versions. But is merely a view of the more recent of the two versions (remote or local). However, sometimes the local version is more complete (and/or correct), and sometimes the remote version is. Therefore, I do not want to choose "Use the remote [or local] version for all remaining conflicts." That is why I asked about an option to always let zotero use what I mistakenly thought was an "intelligent merged object."
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    Oh. I see from you reply above that I am misunderstanding the "merged object" - it appears to default to the most recently edited version. I guess it is only a "merged" object after manual merging (?). Still, when I am resolving conflicts I simply have to keep clicking "continue" (about 400 times) because zotero has already defaulted to the version with the most full/correct information (naturally enough - since I am the only user - that is the version I edited most recently.)
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    Completely different from merging items.
    Edited my comments above so as to try not to spread "alternative facts."
  • dstillman
    it appears to default to the most complete version
    No, it defaults to the more recently changed version. There's no assumption that the one with more information is more correct. If I correct invalid titles on my side and you add a Place on your side, it's not clear which one is more valuable to keep, and offering the option to do that blindly seems dangerous. However, if you know that you went through all the items on your side and are happy with the metadata, it might make sense for you to decide to use your versions and throw away all of my changes.

    The upcoming Zotero 5.0 features a new sync architecture that automatically applies non-conflicting field changes when syncing, so the conflict resolution window will appear much less frequently. In the situation above, you would get my fixed titles and I would get your Place value without any manual intervention, and there'd only be a conflict resolution window if you changed the title as well (to another value from mine).
  • cjpoor
    edited March 1, 2017
    OK. Thank you for that clarification. Looking forward to Zotero 5.0.
    Edited comments again.
  • cjpoor
    Just installed Zotero 5.0 - looks great!
    Many thanks to all :->

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