From 8bb8070bccdd1cbb09d65e13c96d0b4197bb9964 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sudaisib Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2026 01:01:59 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] docs(desktop): update account management instructions Signed-off-by: Sudaisib --- user_manual/desktop/usage.rst | 289 ++++------------------------------ 1 file changed, 33 insertions(+), 256 deletions(-) diff --git a/user_manual/desktop/usage.rst b/user_manual/desktop/usage.rst index 9b5a21d4bb6..c5146874a5a 100644 --- a/user_manual/desktop/usage.rst +++ b/user_manual/desktop/usage.rst @@ -1,281 +1,58 @@ -================================ -Using the Synchronization Client -================================ - -The Nextcloud Desktop Client remains in the background and is visible as an icon -in the system tray (Windows, KDE), menu bar (macOS), or notification area -(Linux). - -.. figure:: images/icon.png - :alt: Status icon, green circle and white checkmark - -The status indicator uses icons to indicate the current status of your -synchronization. The green circle with the white checkmark tells you that your -synchronization is current and you are connected to your Nextcloud server. - -.. figure:: images/icon-syncing.png - :alt: Status icon, blue circle and white semi-circles - -The blue icon with the white semi-circles means synchronization is in progress. - -.. figure:: images/icon-paused.png - :alt: Status icon, grey circle and vertical parallel lines - -The grey icon with the parallel lines tells you your synchronization -has been paused. (Most likely by you.) - -.. figure:: images/icon-offline.png - :alt: Status icon, gray circle and three horizontal white dots - -The gray icon with three white dots means your sync client has lost its -connection with your Nextcloud server. - -.. figure:: images/icon-information.png - :alt: Status icon, sign "!" in yellow circle - -When you see a yellow circle with the sign "!" that is the informational icon, -so you should click it to see what it has to tell you. - -.. figure:: images/icon-error.png - :alt: Status icon, red circle and white x - -The red circle with the white "x" indicates a configuration error, such as an -incorrect login or server URL. - -Systray Icon ------------- +## Systray Icon A right-click on the systray icon opens a menu for quick access to multiple operations. .. figure:: images/traymenu.png - :alt: the right-click sync client menu +:alt: The right-click sync client menu -This menu provides the following options: +This menu provides options to: -* Open main dialog -* Pause sync/Resume sync -* Settings -* Exit Nextcloud, logging out and closing the client +* Open the main dialog. +* Pause or resume synchronization for all accounts. +* Open Settings. +* Exit Nextcloud. -A left-click on your systray icon opens the main dialog of the desktop client. +A left-click on the systray icon opens the main dialog of the desktop client. .. figure:: images/main_dialog.png - :alt: Main dialog +:alt: Main dialog -The main dialogs show recent activities, errors and server notifications. +The main dialog shows recent activities, errors, and server notifications. -When clicking on the main dialog and then clicking on the avatar of the user, the Settings can be opened. +To manage accounts or open the client settings, open the current account menu. -Configuring Nextcloud Account Settings --------------------------------------- +## Configuring Nextcloud Account Settings .. figure:: images/settingsdialog.png - :alt: Main dialog - -At the top of the window are tabs for each configured sync account, and two -others for General and Network settings. On your account tabs you -have the following features: - -* Connection status, showing which Nextcloud server you are connected to, and - your Nextcloud username. -* Used and available space on the server. -* Current synchronization status. -* **Add Folder Sync Connection** button. - -The little button with three dots (the overflow menu) that sits to the right of -the sync status bar offers additional options: - -* Open Folder -* Choose What to Sync (This appears only when your file tree is collapsed, and - expands the file tree) -* Pause Sync / Resume Sync -* Remove folder sync connection -* Availability (Only available if virtual files support is enabled) -* Enable virtual file support/Disable virtual file support - -**Open Folder** opens your local Nextcloud sync folder. - -**Pause Sync** pauses sync operations without making any changes to your -account. It will continue to update file and folder lists, without -downloading or updating files. To stop all sync activity use **Remove -Folder Sync Connection**. - -.. figure:: images/general_settings_folder_context_menu.png - :alt: Extra options for sync operations - -.. note:: Nextcloud does not preserve the mtime (modification time) of - directories, though it does update the mtimes on files. See - `Wrong folder date when syncing - `_ for discussion of this. - -Adding New Accounts -------------------- - -You may configure multiple Nextcloud accounts in your desktop sync client. Simply -click the **Account** > **Add New** button on any account tab to add a new -account, and then follow the account creation wizard. The new account will -appear as a new tab in the settings dialog, where you can adjust its settings at -any time. Use **Account** > **Remove** to delete accounts. - -File Manager Overlay Icons --------------------------- - -The Nextcloud sync client provides overlay icons, in addition to the normal file -type icons, for your system file manager (Explorer on Windows, Finder on Mac and -Nautilus on Linux) to indicate the sync status of your Nextcloud files. - -The overlay icons are similar to the systray icons introduced above. They -behave differently on files and directories according to sync status -and errors. - -The overlay icon of an individual file indicates its current sync state. If the -file is in sync with the server version, it displays a green checkmark. - -If the file is ignored from syncing, for example because it is on your -exclude list, or because it is a symbolic link, it displays a warning icon. - -If there is a sync error, or the file is blacklisted, it displays an -eye-catching red X. - -If the file is waiting to be synced, or is currently syncing, the overlay -icon displays a blue cycling icon. - -When the client is offline, no icons are shown to reflect that the -folder is currently out of sync and no changes are synced to the server. - -The overlay icon of a synced directory indicates the status of the files in the -directory. If there are any sync errors, the directory is marked with a warning -icon. - -If a directory includes ignored files that are marked with warning icons -that does not change the status of the parent directories. - -Set the user status -------------------- - -If you have the user status app installed on your Nextcloud server, -you can set your user status from the desktop client. To do so, open -the main dialog. Then click on your avatar and then click on the three -dots. In the menu that opens click on **Set status**. - -.. figure:: images/user_status_selector_main_dialog.png - :alt: Open user status dialog from main dialog. - -In the dialog that opens, you can set your online status if -you click on either **Online**, **Away**, **Do not disturb** or -**Invisible**. You can also set a custom status message with the text -field below or choose one of the predefined status messages below. It -is also possible to set a custom emoji if you click on the button with -the emoji beside the text input field. The last thing you might want -to set is when your user status should be cleared. You can choose the -period after which the user status will be cleared by clicking on the -button on the left hand side of the text **Clear status message after**. - -.. figure:: images/user_status-selector_dialog.png - :alt: Dialog to set user status. - -If you are happy with the status you have created you can enable this -status with the button **Set status message**. If you had already a -status set, you can clear the status by clicking the cutton **Clear -status message**. - -Sharing From Your Desktop -------------------------- - -The Nextcloud desktop sync client integrates with your file manager. Finder on -macOS and Explorer on Windows. Linux users must install an additional package -depending on the used file manager. Available are e.g. ``nautilus-nextcloud`` -(Ubuntu/Debian), ``dolphin-nextcloud`` (Kubuntu), ``nemo-nextcloud`` and -``caja-nextcloud``. You can create share links, and share with internal -Nextcloud users the same way as in your Nextcloud Web interface. - -In your file explorer, click on a file and in the context menu go to -**Nextcloud** and then click on **Share options** to bring up the Share -dialog. - -.. figure:: images/share_context_menu.png - :alt: Sharing from Windows Explorer. - -From this dialog you can share a file. - -.. figure:: images/share_dialog.png - :alt: Share dialog - - -General Window --------------- - -The General window has configuration options such as **Launch on System -Startup**, **Use Monochrome Icons**, and **Show Server Notifications**. This -is where you will find the **Edit Ignored Files** button, to launch the ignored -files editor, and **Ask confirmation before downloading -folders larger than [folder size]**. - -.. figure:: images/settings_general.png - :alt: General window contains configuration options. - -Using the Network Window ------------------------- - -.. index:: proxy settings, SOCKS, bandwidth, throttling, limiting - -The Network settings window enables you to define network proxy settings, and -also to limit download and upload bandwidth. - -.. figure:: images/settings_network.png - -.. _usingIgnoredFilesEditor-label: - -Using the Ignored Files Editor ------------------------------- - -.. index:: ignored files, exclude files, pattern - -You might have some local files or directories that you do not want to backup -and store on the server. To identify and exclude these files or directories, you -can use the *Ignored Files Editor* (General tab). +:alt: Nextcloud Desktop Client settings -.. figure:: images/ignored_files_editor.png +The settings interface provides configuration options for the selected account. -For your convenience, the editor is pre-populated with a default list of -typical -ignore patterns. These patterns are contained in a system file (typically -``sync-exclude.lst``) located in the Nextcloud Client application directory. You -cannot modify these pre-populated patterns directly from the editor. However, -if -necessary, you can hover over any pattern in the list to show the path and -filename associated with that pattern, locate the file, and edit the -``sync-exclude.lst`` file. +On the account settings page, you can view and manage options such as: -.. note:: Modifying the global exclude definition file might render the client - unusable or result in undesired behavior. +* The connection status and the Nextcloud server you are connected to. +* Your Nextcloud username. +* The available and used storage space on the server. +* The current synchronization status. +* Folder synchronization settings. -Each line in the editor contains an ignore pattern string. When creating custom -patterns, in addition to being able to use normal characters to define an -ignore pattern, you can use wildcards characters for matching values. As an -example, you can use an asterisk (``*``) to identify an arbitrary number of -characters or a question mark (``?``) to identify a single character. +The available options can vary depending on the platform and Desktop Client +version. -Patterns that end with a slash character (``/``) are applied to only directory -components of the path being checked. +## Adding Accounts -.. note:: Custom entries are currently not validated for syntactical - correctness by the editor, so you will not see any warnings for bad - syntax. If your synchronization does not work as you expected, check your - syntax. +You can configure multiple Nextcloud accounts in the desktop sync client. -Each pattern string in the list is followed by a checkbox. When the check box -contains a check mark, in addition to ignoring the file or directory component -matched by the pattern, any matched files are also deemed "fleeting metadata" -and removed by the client. +To add another account, open the current account menu and select **Add account**. +Follow the account setup wizard to connect the new account. -In addition to excluding files and directories that use patterns defined in -this list: +After adding an account, you can switch between configured accounts from the +same account menu. Select the account you want to use to make it the active +account. -- The Nextcloud Client always excludes files containing characters that cannot - be synchronized to other file systems. +To manage an account's settings, open the account menu and select **Settings**. +From there, you can manage the settings for the selected account. -- Files are removed that cause individual errors three times during a - synchronization. However, the client provides the option of retrying a - synchronization three additional times on files that produce errors. +To remove an account, open **Settings**, select the account you want to remove, +and select **Remove account**.