Don't treat group folders like external folders. When group folders etc are added, prompt users to sync them

[vasyugan]

Currently, when a group folder/external folder/folder above 0.5 GB is added, the user just sees a notification, telling them that they have to subscribe to this folder. At least three quarters of my users are non-techy, so they are not going to do this, unless I give them a hand. They have become accustomed to ignoring notifications until they go away. As a consequence, many of them miss out on whatever group folders are added. I suggest that instead of a notification, there should be a prompt, were you can click "yes/not" and maybe "remind me later" as a third option.

See also https://github.com/nextcloud/groupfolders/issues/509

[Daksol]

@vasyugan - two things

First - question - where does this issue of Group Folders and the Windows Synch client get fixed? Is it a Group Folders issue or a Windows Desktop issue?

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Second - Help - How to make Group Folders visible to users of WIndows Synch client

Our NextCloud instance is using Group Folders for all storage. Our regular users do not see ANY Group Folders via the NextCloud Windows synch client. But if I connect as a member of the Admin Group then it does work.

Is there a way of getting the Group Folders to be visible to regular users?

Thanks

[vasyugan]

@vasyugan - two things

First - question - where does this issue of Group Folders and the Windows Synch client get fixed? Is it a Group Folders issue or a Windows Desktop issue?

As I see it, this is an issue with the desktop client. In the browser interface, the group folders are all there. It is the desktop clients whose default behaviour is unsuitable for organisations using group folders.

Second - Help - How to make Group Folders visible to users of WIndows Synch client

Our NextCloud instance is using Group Folders for all storage. Our regular users do not see ANY Group Folders via the NextCloud Windows synch client. But if I connect as a member of the Admin Group then it does work.

Is there a way of getting the Group Folders to be visible to regular users?

Users have to be members of the group to whom the group folder is assigned. Is this the case in your instance and you are still not seeing them?

Thanks

This sounds like another bug. If you can't see the group folders in the account settings, then there is something weirdly wrong.

But when you uncheck the box "ask for confirmation before synching external folders", group folders should get synced right away, because the desktop clients treats them like "external folders", which I consider broken behaviour, since in our case, they are the core of what we use nextcloud for.

[Daksol]

Updated:- The problem we were encountering was in fact due to a "files access" rules configured in the "Flow" settings. This rule denied access to non-admin users who were connecting via the Desktop Client. Once that rule removed all then worked fine as it should.

There are other Issues in the Group Folders area which (I suspect) are related to this issue

• Item 509
• Item 693

I should also mention that Group folders are visible to all our regular users:-

• When using the regular web browser interface
• When using the Android app
• When connecting via WebDav

But not visible when using the Windows client.

[github-actions[bot]]

This bug report did not receive an update in the last 4 weeks. Please take a look again and update the issue with new details, otherwise the issue will be automatically closed in 2 weeks. Thank you!

[vasyugan]

This issue is just as unresolved as it was.

[vasyugan]

This issue is unresolved. Why is a bot closing it?

[camilasan]

I am not sure I understand the issue here.

I suggest that instead of a notification, there should be a prompt, were you can click "yes/not" and maybe "remind me later" as a third option.

There is already a message for the user to sync or not the group folder.

[camilasan]

This issue is unresolved. Why is a bot closing it?

Because there was no activity in the issue.

[camilasan]

what do you think @jancborchardt?

[vasyugan]

I am not sure I understand the issue here.

The issue is that due to the current UI behaviour, many of my user end up without the contents of the group folders, which is really a pity because they are why we use Nextcloud in the first place. Sure, tech savvy users usually figure out what they have to do but others don't. They miss the notification, they don't know what to do with it. Maybe as an alternative, the admin should be able to push the folders to the users' machines. Of course, due to VFS this is less important now than it was when I submitted this issue, but many of my users haven't yet switched to VFS, because, again, they are unaware of it or don't understand what it is.

[fracklaus]

Any progress on this issue?

[vasyugan]

Any progress on this issue?

I'm afraid this is not going to be fixed because all new installations on Windows are using VFS, where this isn't an issue anymore. It certainly remains a problem for old installations where VFS hasn't been disabled and on non-windows platforms.

[willemb2]

all new installations on Windows are using VFS

VFS is no option on laptops for workers in remote areas or on ships with unreliable, expensive or no Internet at all. We cannot use Group Folders for this reason. This issue is a threat to the acceptance of Nextcloud in an organisation I'm supporting.

As you wrote in your OP, this behaviour is confusing to non-technical users.

Developers are urban people that cannot imagine users having no unlimited broadband everywhere. It's the same with MS 365 BTW. You have to be persevering to disable Files On Demand and Office apps saving to the cloud directly. But you still can.