In the new sync, is the "overwrite local/remote data" option gone?
I notice that I cannot decide whether the sync should be operated from server to client, from client to server or bidirectional. And I know this was an option (a vital one) with the previous version of sync (if I remember correctly 3 choices were available: download, upload and bidirectional). Is it really gone? or maybe I just can't find it...
If it's gone I imagine it means that with the new sync, both data sets are merged with no other option. If it's the case it's terrible news, as in the case of "settings data" and even "about:config modifications", there is no way to merge that type of often conflicting data. And I certainly do not want to make a mess on my bookmarks that are mostly the same ones but arranged much differently, renamed etc across the 2 computers. A merge will duplicate most and replant the ones that I had thrown away and do not want. "Passwords data" also will be a mess, only the "add-ons data" will be easy to correct manually.
My set up is that on computer A I made a new install of Firefox with new settings, add-ons, bookmarks, passwords etc... What I want is to sync computer B to that same account without it uploading ANY data to the sync server. As I used to be able to do with the previous sync.
If there is no way to do that anymore I will have to simply remove my entire firefox profile on computer B (rmdir /home/user/.mozilla), just so I don't contaminate the sync server with outdated data. I want to avoid that as it would be a pain. There are a lot of settings I will have to reconfigure manually as they are not synced among other reasons.
If it is gone indeed, can I know why the choice of lesser feature? Was it too buggy?
Chosen solution
The UI isn't there now.
The simplest thing to do: open the new profile, delete the stock bookmarks, clear any history you want to get rid of, and delete saved passwords. If you also want to sync prefs and want to make totally sure they're clear, delete prefs.js from the profile directory.
Voila: a wiped profile.
Deleting the contents of the profile directory might or might not work; I don't recommend you try it.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (7)
Was it of a lesser future? not that I know of. The current standing of this is the blog post on the current model. https://github.com/mozilla/fxa-auth-s.../onepw-protocol
It is possible to uncheck the options that are synced, however I have not tried with the initial sync.
I asked #fxa on irc and at set up time you cannot.
Just to clarify: that option only ever applied to the first sync. It was equivalent to deleting all of the data in one or all other profiles prior to setting up Sync — something you might want to do in order to fix your cloud data, or to clean up the local device prior to starting to sync.
If you thought differently — that you were able to make Sync unidirectional — then I'm afraid you were mistaken. After the first sync, it will always keep every device merged.
If you do simply want to clean up a messy local device prior to connecting it to your Sync account, that's fairly straightforward; let me know if you'd like help doing that.
I do recall it was unidirectional only at first sync indeed, that's what I'm looking for actually.
guigs2 seems to say it's not available at the moment and you seem to say it's not actually necessary. You may be right but how sure are you of that? The first difference I can imagine between your "wipe manually all data before syncing" and my "unidirectional sync" is that a "clean profile" on computer B will have the default "firefox/ubuntu" bookmarks meaning a sync after that will add those to computer A. And although that's fine, it can't be the only difference with a true "unidirectional sync" where nothing gets uploaded from computer B (I assume).
So are you certain that the function I speak of is nothing more than what you described? if so I will do it immediately. (You do speak of me removing /home/user/.mozilla/ right?)
Chosen Solution
The UI isn't there now.
The simplest thing to do: open the new profile, delete the stock bookmarks, clear any history you want to get rid of, and delete saved passwords. If you also want to sync prefs and want to make totally sure they're clear, delete prefs.js from the profile directory.
Voila: a wiped profile.
Deleting the contents of the profile directory might or might not work; I don't recommend you try it.
It's actually OK to remove /home/user/.mozilla/ under Linux entirely as a way to wipe everything out. That's how I got computer A clean when FF 29.0 update made for huge memory leaks even in safe mode with the older profile.
Since I don't have any other answers, I will do as you say, clean and sync. But I don't consider this the "simplest thing to do" the actual simplest would be a unidirectional sync. I hope it comes back soon :D
Thank you for your time. see you.
PS: not sure that this is legitimate or even if workarounds can be considered solutions but in the mean time I'll mark yours as the solution. If it's not protocol or you want to advise against, please tell me.
Modified by manuel-phone
The inability to overwrite local/remote data in Firefox 29+ leaves open a major problem with the new Firefox Sync.
Previously you could overwrite remote server data with local synced data stored on one computer to clear off old/dead devices stored in Firefox Sync.
You can no longer do this meaning my smartphone and tablet are now listed twice in Firefox Synced Tabs.
The above "solution" is not viable on a mobile device. I tried removing Firefox Sync from my Android Phone and Android Tablet, clearing Application Data on both devices, then uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox on both devices.
No good. I've still got my phone and tablet listed twice in Firefox Sync.
I understand they drop off in 14 days. Not in my experience. I left it a month once and was forced to revert to wiping remote data to clear off the duds, then allowed all my devices to sync to sync their open tabs etc...
Modified by bradavon
The only way it seems is to delete your new Firefox Sync Account and re-register using the same e-mail address:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1003802
What a major faff, you'd then need to re-setup Firefox on all your devices.
I'll see if the old Synced devices drop off first.