Mobile draw picture feature causes desktop sync error

[muzak]

Operating system

Android

Joplin version

3.1.2

What issue do you have?

Expected

Syncing desktop Joplin after creating a mobile drawing with Draw picture syncs that drawing to desktop.

Actual

Syncing desktop Joplin after creating a mobile drawing with Draw picture throws a Some items cannot be synchronized. error. In the Synchronization Status page, Drawing (10a69c93df7843afb10bf69a014f6fda): Request timed out. Timeout value: undefinedms. shows under Attachments that could not be downloaded.

Questions

• Since I don't need these drawings, how can I delete any or all of them from mobile Joplin?
• In case I need to sync drawings in the future, how can I resolve the desktop error?

[personalizedrefriger]

@muzak

Since I don't need these drawings, how can I delete any or all of them from mobile Joplin?

One option could be to use the debug tool plugin. Given an ID, it should allow permanently deleting resources.

@muzak

In case I need to sync drawings in the future, how can I resolve the desktop error?

I haven't been able to reproduce this locally. To test, I,

1. Created a very small drawing on Joplin for iOS v13.1.3.
2. Synced Joplin desktop v3.0.13
3. Synced Joplin desktop v3.0.15
4. Synced Joplin Web (v3.1.0, should correspond with roughly Android v3.1.2-3.1.3).

Was the drawing particularly large (e.g. include an image attachment)? If Joplin is a 3.0.x version, does upgrading to v3.0.15 help (change in v3.0.15 that might be related).

[muzak]

@personalizedrefriger

One option could be to use the debug tool plugin. Given an ID, it should allow permanently deleting resources.

How can I find the right resource IDs if notes where pictures were drawn have been permanently deleted?

@personalizedrefriger

I haven't been able to reproduce this locally.

I reproduced this error multiple times with Joplin desktop v3.1.1.

@personalizedrefriger

Was the drawing particularly large (e.g. include an image attachment)?

The drawing was blank.

I was only testing the Draw picture feature. I expected an easy way to delete the resource during or after drawing it, but couldn't find any.

[muzak]

Also, when I don't know what to do about an error like this, I would like a way to hide the banner for the session.

Showing the banner after the first sync error is fine. It continuing to show when I can't do anything about the error is not. I shouldn't have to resort to development tools to hide it.

[muzak]

Any updates on this issue?

[personalizedrefriger]

@muzak

The drawing was blank.

Prior to this pull request (in pre-release), it was possible to create empty drawings by opening the Markdown editor, attaching a drawing, then clicking "cancel" and "discard changes".

At least with Joplin Server/Cloud, this doesn't seem to cause sync issues. However, it's possible that some sync targets fail to sync empty attachments. Which sync target are you using?

[muzak]

Dropbox.

[personalizedrefriger]

I'm attaching a screen recording that provides a workaround for a similar (but not identical) sync issue. It determines the resource ID that is causing the issue, then deletes the resource with that ID.

A note on the sync error shown below

To create this sync error, I:

1. Added a drawing on mobile.
2. On Dropbox, deleted the drawing's resource from /JoplinDev/.resource/.
3. Synced the desktop app.

If you decide to follow the instructions included below, be sure to create a backup first.

The video shows (on desktop/Linux):

1. Syncing (with Dropbox)
2. Clicking "View them now" on the sync error banner:
3. Selecting and copying the ID of the resource causing the issue:
   
   
   • Above, the resource ID is the 32-character string in parenthesies after "Drawing".
   • Based on the original report, this should be 10a69c93df7843afb10bf69a014f6fda for the problematic resource.
4. Going to "Tools" > "Note attachments"
5. Searching for the resource ID.
6. Clicking "Delete".
7. Syncing.

Locally, this fixed the sync issue. Note, however, that the error shown in the video is related to a resource missing on the sync target — it has an "Ignore" button, while the error reported above does not.

Edit: Notes on the "Request timed out" error message

For reference:

• The "Request timed out. Timeout value: undefined" error seems to be coming from this line of code (shim-init-node.ts, line 636).
• This pull request adds additional information to this error message and fixes a related bug. It applies to Joplin desktop >= v3.1.3 and v3.0.15, though not v3.1.1. I am unsure whether it applies to the issue reported here.