How to resolve conflicts when syncing with Scrivener or Ulysses

Sync conflicts occur when you make changes to both your timeline and your Scrivener or Ulysses project, and Aeon Timeline cannot work out how to resolve those conflicts automatically.

Aeon Timeline can automatically resolve the following changes without conflicts:

  • The creation or deletion of completely separate items
  • Changes made to separate items
  • Changes made to different values of the same item (i.e. if you change an item color in one application, and an item date in the other, no conflict has occurred)

Conflicts occur when you make changes to the same value of the same item in both applications, such as changing an item's start date to different values in each application.

Although moving items within the narrative could potentially cause a conflict, Aeon Timeline will always favour the position of an item in your writing project over its position in the timeline narrative if you move items in both applications.

Note: If you move an item in the timeline narrative and do not change its position in the writing project, then the item will be moved in the writing project when you sync.

How to avoid conflicts

The best way to avoid conflicts is to sync regularly. Conflicts only occur if you make conflicting changes in two separate applications.

If you sync your projects at the beginning and end of each session using Aeon Timeline, then the changes will be moved between projects before conflicts have a chance to occur.

If, on the other hand, you spend a long time writing and editing in Scrivener, and simultaneous make changes in your timeline file without ever syncing those changes between the two versions, then conflicts are much more likely to occur.

What happens if a conflict occurs

If a conflict occurs, a message will be shown at the top of the Sync Panel:

Conflicted documents /folders will be marked with a red exclamation icon, and a red tint will be applied to all of its parents in the document hierarchy to make the conflicting item easier to locate.

You cannot sync your project while conflicts exist, so you must manually resolve those conflicts before continuing.

We recommend you take this action straight away to keep the job small: the longer you delay resolving conflicts, the more time will pass without syncing, providing a greater opportunity for more conflicts to be created.

How to resolve a conflict

To resolve a conflict:

  1. Click on the conflicted item in the Sync Panel
  2. In the Inspector on the right hand side of the screen, the source of the conflict will be shown
  3. For each conflict, the value from your timeline and writing project will be shown. Decide which value you wish to use, and click on the Use from Timeline or Use from Scrivener/Ulysses button to select that option.
  4. Once you select an option, that conflict is resolved. If it is the last conflict, you will be able to sync the file again.
  5. If you change your mind prior to syncing, you can select the item again and click on the other value to change your selection.