Polling for metadata changes results in conflict files

Reed M.2

I'm using the Dropbox Ruby api to download the metadata for a specific file every five minutes. When I see the file's revision change:

file_metadata = client.metadata(SOME_FILE_PATH)
current_revision = file_metadata['revision']

I download the file, parse it, and then do something with that data.

My issue is that if other people have that document open while I perform the above we end up with a bunch of "conflict" documents (i.e. Dropbox creates copies of the original document).

I don't understand why this is happening since I am not modifying the document - all I do is download it. Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks in advance!

 

Greg-DB

That would certainly be unexpected from the metadata call. Are you making any other API calls around the same time?

Also, are you sure this only happens when you're making this metadata call? Is it possible the people with the file are (perhaps not intentionally) saving new versions and causing the conflicts, unrelated to the API use?

Conflicted copies can also occur when a file is left open on another computer, especially when using applications with an auto-save feature. Closing the file from within the application on either computer should prevent further conflicts.

For more information on conflicted copies, see the Help Center article here:

https://www.dropbox.com/help/36

One good thing to check would be the version history for the file(s) in question to see who and what client made the new versions:

https://www.dropbox.com/help/11