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Suggestion: Recycle Bin functionality and URL Link updates in News tab

General discussion
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Hi there
Great software and concept! However 2 issues and suggestions below, one about file deletions, the other about the "News" tab for URLs.
1) Real life example: user A "owns" and syncs folder A. User B (with access to that folder - remember this is real life) deletes one or more files in Folder A, then empties the recycle bin. User A logs in to live mesh, files are deleted from all his devices and he gets NO chance to retrieve them)
Also, if I delete a file from a live mesh folder, then go to another device which was syncing that same folder, the deleted file appears in the recycle bin even before I log in to Live Mesh - this means that someone else, who doesn't have my live mesh credentials, can see and delete or restore that file from the Recycle Bin.
I think it would be best if the files only appeared in the recycle bin after you have logged in to Live Mesh on the other devices. At the very least, you should be able to control which device the deleted files will appear on (at the moment it's all of them), or even better, deleted files should be only held on the live mesh desktop online, that way if files are deleted accidentally or maliciously, no-one but the live mesh user with credentials can retrieve them or approve the deletion.
I understand using the recycle bin makes sense as a concept, but because of the nature of live mesh you are expecting it to work in a safer way - I think.
2) Favorites syncing: this is the best way I have found yet to sync my favorites, so thank you! Apart from point 1 above, which also applies to favorites, the other annoying thing is that everytime you click on a favorite, Live Mesh thinks you updated the link, and adds it to the "News" tab as an updated file, thereby clogging it with "junk" activity. Is there anyway to avoid this?
Hope you will think these are valid issues and suggestions
Thanks & Regards
FabienFriday, February 20, 2009 12:13 PM
All replies
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Hello, Fabien.
Please add your suggestion to Connect or vote on them if already present per the instructions in this post:
Sticky: Live Mesh Beta: Suggestions - Now with voting!
I'm not sure that I understand the scenario you describe as your suggestion in the first point about two users of a Shared folder in the Mesh. If User B has full access to the folder, then changes will replicate to all devices in the Mesh. User B can only see items in User B's recycle bin which would be files that were deleted from the Meshed folder that User B has full access to. Nobody else can see those files or folders that have not been given rights or invited to the meshed folder by an owner.
And, thanks for the post and for using Live Mesh.
-steve
Microsoft MVP Windows Live / Windows Live OneCare & Live Mesh Forum ModeratorFriday, February 20, 2009 4:25 PMModerator -
Sorry for not explaining this clearly enough - forget about user A and user B for now - if you delete a file on a folder that is synced by live mesh, it updates the recycle bin on all other devices, regardless of whether you are logged in to live mesh or not (provided these devices are online). The risk is that someone who doesn't have access to live mesh will log on to the PC (say a home PC with only 1 user - real life scenario), will see files in the recycle bin, and possibly delete these. To me that doesn't make sense.
To put it simply, the recycle bin works to the point where only one user ever accesses the physical machine where the folder resides, unless you guys can build in the suggestion above where the "live mesh" recycle bin only gets updated when I log in to live mesh..
Hopefully this makes sense...anybody else having similar issues?
Thanks againFriday, February 20, 2009 4:57 PM -
My PCs are only single user accounts, but wouldn't the recyle bin only update when you are logged in? So, if the PC has two accounts and nobody is logged onto the PC, Live Mesh is *not* synchronizing data. It is available for remote desktop connections, though, if powered on.
The sync, and subsequent move to recycle bin occurs when you log on to the PC and Live Mesh (automatically if the client is configured to do this).
If you have a second user on the PC, the Live Mesh client really ought not to be configured to use the same LiveID as the other user on the PC. If, however, you set up the client for multiple users on a single PC and the folder being Meshed is a shared folder for all users, then the deletion will go to the recycle bin for any user who logs in. If the recycle bin is emptied by that user, yes the file is gone. When the other users log in, the Live Mesh client will see that the file in the shared folder is already gone, so it has no action to take.
Is that the scenario you are describing?
-steve
Microsoft MVP Windows Live / Windows Live OneCare & Live Mesh Forum ModeratorFriday, February 20, 2009 6:13 PMModerator -
Hi there
Thanks for taking the time to try to understand my feedback.
On my home PC (XP Pro), which only has one unprotected user with no password, Live Mesh is not set up to connect and log in automatically. However the minute I boot up the PC, any files deleted on my work laptop from shared live mesh folders will be in the recycle bin on the PC, before I log on to Live Mesh, where they can be removed. You seem to suggest that the files should only appear in the recycle bin after I log on to Live Mesh, and I agree, but that's not my experience.
What do you think about my other suggestion on URL links activity?
Thanks
FabienSunday, February 22, 2009 7:50 PM -
You are very welcome. I'm also trying to understand some of the behavior of Live Mesh. <g>
I find it odd that the files deleted from the Mesh on another machine or the Live Desktop are appearing in the local recycle bin before you have logged into Live Mesh on that PC. That is not supposed to happen, as I understand it. Just to confirm, when you boot the PC, your desktop appears and the Live Mesh icon is dimmed, awaiting you to provide a LiveID to login?
As for News in the notifier - it needs a whole lot of work. Sorry I overlooked your question. There is no way to control (by you and I as users) what gets populated to News right now.
-steve
Microsoft MVP Windows Live / Windows Live OneCare & Live Mesh Forum ModeratorMonday, February 23, 2009 2:53 PMModerator -
Hi Fabien,
Given that Live Mesh does not sync until you log into your user account and MOE is started, the file deletion should not populate to the computer unless and until you boot into your user account and sign in to the Live Mesh software. So I would repeat Steve's question: You're booting the PC, getting to the Windows desktop, the Live Mesh icon is dimmed (because you haven't signed in yet) but the deleted files are already in the recycle bin? Was this computer off when you deleted the files? Aside from the behavior you're describing sounding like a bug, I'm having a hard time seeing how it's even possible, since no sync activity of any kind can happen without you being logged in to the client software. I'm definitely interested in hearing more details about exactly what you saw happening.
On a related note, though, I'm not sure I understand the concern. Your worry is that someone could log into your computer and see the deleted files in the local recycle bin without logging into Live Mesh, is that correct? But if that person can log into the computer, then he or she can see the files no matter where they're located (recycle bin or elsewhere). That is, if you're worried about the privacy of the files, the only guard against someone having access to them on the local computer is a Windows login to that machine. Perhaps, though, that wasn't really your worry; perhaps your worry was just that Live Mesh seemed to be syncing (in this case, propagating a deletion) without you being signed into the software.
Any additional information you can provide may help us get to the bottom of this.
With regard to your second point, about the News, please do follow Steve's advice and add your suggestion to Connect and our Suggestions sticky.
Thanks,
Ben.Monday, February 23, 2009 9:25 PM -
You had me doubting so I tested it again...and verified the issue. I deleted a file on 2 different live mesh shared folders on my Vista Home Premium laptop (while logged in to live mesh). I then walked over to my XP Pro home pc, booted it and made sure live mesh wasn't logged in (it is set that way - I have to manually log in to live mesh on that pc) - and after a few seconds, the 2 files appeared in the recycle bin, even though live mesh was NOT logged in (it was "running" but not logged in).
I'm glad you think it's a bug...hopefully will be fixed soon.
Actually, while I'm here....while I love all the "Live" software, I would like to be able to set some of them to log in automatically, and not others. For example, I would like Live Mesh to log in automatically, but not Messenger, or live mail on the web. Will put that into the suggestion too. Just thought I'd mention it
Thanks again
FabienTuesday, February 24, 2009 7:30 PM -
Hi Fabien,
Thanks for the reply. That's definitely unexpected behavior, and we'd love to have a closer look at what's going on. To start, would you mind submitting a bug with your logs attached? Instructions are here. Perhaps another member of the Live Mesh team will pick up on something I'm missing.
Thanks,
Ben.Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:34 PM -
Wow! Awesome bug... Repro steps:
1. Sign out of the Live Mesh client
2. Make changes to files on the Live Desktop - or another machine
3. The changes will all sync down, even though the client is logged out
I tried:
1. renaming files
2. deleting files
3. adding files to the directory on the client
4. adding files to the directory on the Live Desktop
Everything synced down...
+1 validation to this!
Oren
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:41 AM -
Did you file a bug on this Oren or did you find another bug for the same steps?
-steve
Microsoft MVP Windows Live / Windows Live OneCare & Live Mesh Forum ModeratorWednesday, February 25, 2009 1:58 PMModerator -
Didn't see one come through this morning so I went ahead and just made it (plagiarized Oren's steps ftw)
https://connect.microsoft.com/LiveMesh/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=417988
Please feel free to validate and attach logs :)
-kenWednesday, February 25, 2009 7:14 PM -
Sorry for not filing a bug sooner - I was waiting to see what the exact steps the OP was running into, before submitting a dupe.
Regardless, I've sent the logs to lmprev, since I can't find any option to upload logs to a bug that isn't mine - will be interesting to see the reason for this one!
Oren
Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:17 AM