What cloud service is compatible with RootsMagic11? I have always used OneDrive but I see now that it can corrupt RM files. (I keep my entire Genealogy file “always on my computer” but I also want to sync to a cloud service as back up.)
Cloud storage works with any file so it is “compatible” with RM11.
OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive are like an external drive as you know.
Corrupt files, could happen when your data is stored in the cloud and it sync when you are using RM. Turn OFF sync when you are using RM and turn ON when finished.
Cloud is perfect for Backup files. I keep mine data local with copies on external drives and backup to Dropbox.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will try turning off sync while the file is open and on again when finished. Presumably, that will eliminate the .rmtree-shm and .rmtree-wal files that gets created.
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A safer solution is to store your backup files in a directory that synchs rather than messing with the active db file. Also, remember that cloud files are not immune from ransomware attacks so they are not a replacement for a disconnected backup strategy.
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Every cloud syncing service is compatible with RM if you pause the syncing of the cloud service while you are using RM.
No cloud syncing service is compatible with RM if you do not pause the syncing of the cloud service while you are using RM. There is a risk of data corruption with any of them.
Users will regularly report that they have used a cloud service with RM for years without pausing the syncing of the cloud and that they have never had a problem. They only been lucky. The risk is still there.
A tool doesn’t have to be in the cloud to be at risk. Any tool that syncs automatically to a local home network or to a removable hard drive has the same risk. The problem is syncing while you are using RM. Any kind of syncing while you are using has a risk.
It doesn’t have to be a syncing tool to be a risk. A backup solution has the same risk if the backup is taking place while you are using RM.
There are really only two safe solutions. One is to keep your RM database outside of any folder that is synced or backed up automatically. This is the official RM recommendation. The other is to pause the syncing or backup software while you are using RM. This is not the official RM recommendation, but it is the solution I choose to use.
The official RM recommendation suggests storing the RM database outside of a folder that is being synced or backed automatically, and to store the RM backup file inside of a folder that is being synced or backed up automatically. That way, you are backed up and there is no risk associated with the RM backup file being synced or backed up automatically.
None of these services actually support your use of any files while they are actually in the cloud. All your files are on your local disk when you are actually using them. It is a fallacy to believe that you are ever using files while they are “in the cloud”.
However, OneDrive has an especially evil and sinister “feature”, and I mean those harsh words literally. Namely, it defaults to keeping your files on your local hard disk only when you are using them and otherwise they are stored only in the cloud.
OneDrive is a fine tool if you understand it. I use both OneDrive and Dropbox, and I like both of them. However, Dropbox defaults to keeping your files both on your hard disk and in the cloud at all times, whereas OneDrive defaults to keeping your files on your hard disk only when you are using them. The OneDrive option can be changed to keeping your files both on your hard disk and in the cloud at all times, and I strongly recommend that all OneDrive users change this option.
The .rmtree-shm and .rmtree-wal files are a normal and expected part of using RM. They have nothing to do with syncing services or backup services. You normally will see them while you are using RM and you normally will not see them after you shut down RM. If you see them when RM is not running, it means either that your RM has crashed or that your entire computer has crashed. You should not open or delete or manipulate these files in any way. RM uses SQLite is its database engine. RM’s SQLite database engine uses the .rmtree-shm and .rmtree-wal files to recover properly after an RM crash or after a complete crash of your computer.
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This is exactly why I think syncing to Ancestry is just a bad idea. It’s my opinion (FWIW) that if you haven’t had trouble, you’re either lucky or you just haven’t found it yet.
Thanks all. At least I understand the situation better and can work around it.
It seems to me that the syncing to Ancestry is a very different kind of syncing. There is a likelihood that your data in Ancestry and your data in RM will not match. But that’s because the data model used by Ancestry is very different than the data model used by RM. So there are times where the manual sync you can do with TreeShare is not able to make an exact copy of your RM data in Ancestry. For that matter, even during the initial upload of your RM data to Ancestry, TreeShare is often not able to make an exact copy of your data.
The sync by OneDrive or Dropbox or any other similar service is very different. As long as you are not using RM during the sync, the copy made by the sync will be exact. That’s why pausing the sync while you are using RM works so well. It’s only if you are updating RM during the sync that the copy made by the sync might not be the same as the original data in RM. And the problem is even worse than that. Even though the syncing software is only reading your RM database, that reading can cause the updates you are doing as a user to fail, thereby corrupting your RM database.
Ancestry doesn’t “sync” with RM. You manually update each individual change. There’s no evidence using TreeShare is a danger to your RM files, so please don’t spread misinformation. There’s plenty to improve on TreeShare, but it’s not a bad idea, or dangerous.
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While it might be true syncing to Ancestry might not be a good idea – as Jerry menitions I d NOT follow what Ancestry syncing has to do with cloud storage (although media could be issue if you ask for that.)
Kevin
Use a cloud backup service rather than a cloud storage/sharing one. iDrive is such and can be set to only back up at night rather than continuously. I have it set to both and have had no problems with RM files.
I agree that a cloud backup service set to backup only at night is a very safe solution for RM databases, certainly much safer than the cloud sharing services. And my experience is that the cloud backup services are much less aggressive than than the cloud sharing services about copying files that are actively in use, even when the backup service is running around the clock. So again, my experience is that a cloud backup service is safer than a cloud sharing service for use with RM databases.
Try using “Mega” based in New Zealand it’s fast (they’re asleep when we’re awake ! ) AND you get 20 Gb of free space excellent for backup / Photos etc …. ALSO Encryptable if you wish
Forgot to add you don’t have to give card details etc to register and get the 20 Gb free space - Obviuosly wouldn’t put personal or private details on there ! BUT very good / useful for research data , Backups
OneDrive and, I think Google Drive, too, has an exception from syncing by file type or extension. While it might be intuitive to add the .rmtree as an exception to sync, there are several other file extensions used by RM concurrently or sporadically that are exposed to risk, such as the WAL and SHM files. There are others for duplicate persons, TreeShare, et al.
Thanks Tom. I am turning off the sync when I work in my RootsMagic file and then turning it back on to sync when I’m through. Seems to have resolved my issues.
I’ve gone a slightly different route, I store all my files on onedrive but use a small script to start up RM which checks if the OD database file is newer, if it is it copies it to my hard drive. When I close RM the script copies the database to OD. With this script on my desktop and laptop i never have to worry about which has the latest database. 
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