Update: I got a response to this blog post — at least, I assume it was to this post, since I never responded to the last email. To read the latest, scroll down to the end.
To begin with, let me be frank: I don’t like using this blog as a platform for my own technical and customer service-related beefs. That’s not the purpose of this blog, by a long shot, despite however tempting it might be.
I’m making an exception here, as I’ve done sporadically before, because I believe this is a matter of concern to many solos and small law firms. Probably more so the home-office-based solo, who, I know, makes up a significant portion of TIS readership, but even large firm lawyers might be interested in this account if they’ve used or thought about using this product for home use.
About FolderShare
First, some background on FolderShare itself. It’s a Windows Live service, offered for free use, currently in beta. It works, so reads the website, equally well on Macs and PCs. It purports to allow users to sync up files and folders between computers (called “Devices”, since you could also use any external drive device as one of the devices) and share files and folders with friends and colleagues.
Files can be up to 2GB in size, and there are no limitations on file type or on how much or how many files are transferred. You can sync up and share files, photos, documents, home videos, music … the world’s your oyster, with FolderShare.
So far so good, right?
How It Works … Or Is Supposed To
Let’s say the user wants to do what I wanted to do: sync up a laptop and a desktop computer so that each will have the same versions of files and documents. The user downloads the FolderShare application on both computers, and sets up an account with the website (free, at this point).
The FolderShare icon blinks away in the toolbar, or system tray, and when both computers are online and FS is active on each, the application uses the internet connection to sync up the files on each computer. Instead of syncing one computer to the other, it supposedly merges files together. So reads the website.
How It Really Worked For Me – Part 1
The prologue to my sad tale began back in December. I’d been using FolderShare without incident for a few weeks. One morning – a Monday, if I recall correctly — I logged on to the desktop to find a nauseating nightmare:
FolderShare had erased my entire folder architecture and moved my documents to its trash folder.
I was able to reconstruct the folder architecture with considerable effort, and eventually I was able to recover the documents themselves as well (which had mysteriously also duplicated themselves into strange file format names – for instance, Complaint.doc was now Complaint.doc-2, Complaint.doc-3, Complaint.doc-4 — in some cases, the iterations went up to 148.
I’m still not completely finished cleaning up that mess. I wiped every trace of FolderShare from my hard drive after copying the trash contents to a desktop folder, on both computers, and cursed Micrsoft’s name, while acknowledging my own culpability in trusting a beta service with my precious files.
Take Two — Or, I’m A Sucker, Part Deux
With a new MacBook in my possession, and Office for Mac 2004 installed on both, I began thinking again about sync options. I explored some various alternatives, but kept coming back to FolderShare. By this time, FolderShare had acknowledged the problem in December.
So, I gave it another shot.
Now, bear in mind that Office for Mac puts its user data into a folder named — creatively — “Microsoft User Data” in the Mac’s Documents folder. The Documents folder was just the one I needed synced, so I thought, “Great. Two birds, one stone.” I can sync up my Entourage (the Office for Max version of Outlook, and my current case management system) at the same time!
Great theory. Too bad it didn’t quite work out like that. Instead, what happened was that the laptop was somehow designated the “primary” device; instead of merging the files as it’s supposed to, FolderShare synced my desktop to my laptop, thus erasing the case management information I’d so laboriously set up on the desktop.
Wait. It gets even better. After an initial freakout, I remembered the FS trash folder, where all the deleted items had been moved back in December’s malfunction. Unfortunately, no sign of the user data there.
This is where it gets good.
Customer (Dis)Service: Why Some Things Require Live Human Beings
So, like any good computer user, I turned to the support section of the website. There, I was led first to some pretty basic FAQs, none of which answered my question (there was one question, hidden in a submenu, that dealt with Outlook for PCs, but due to the differences in the architecture of the two applications, didn’t do a thing to help with my issue). Then, I was given the opportunity to send a message to the FS Customer Support team, which I did.
I carefully laid out the issues in the message text box. This was the response I got:
Hello Sheryl,
Thank you for writing to FolderShare Support. My name is Kat and I understand that you are experiencing issues with syncing your Entourage files. I apologize for the inconvenience that this issue has caused.
Setting up two machines for syncing will automatically create a two-way sync. That means that whatever changes are made to each file will also be reflected on the other. To set up a one-way sync, you need to have another account and have that one signed in to your secondary computer. The account you are using will be logged in to the primary or source computer. The information we gave you is only a workaround as this is a feature not available in FolderShare.
We appreciate your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service available. Thank you for using FolderShare.
Sincerely
Kat
FolderShare Support
Note: Kat also included some additional information about the two way sync. I would copy that information, too, but I can’t. Why? Because, stupid me, I took Kat’s word for it, and tried again. And it happened again, thus erasing Kat’s message, as well as all my re-entered client data, project (i.e., case) information, and appointments.
So, how can I reprint Kat’s message here for your consideration, then?
Good question. Here’s your answer: Because, when I wrote again to customer support, this time explaining that I’d written before and the problem did not resolve itself, they wrote me back again. This time, here’s what I received:
Thank you for writing to FolderShare Support. My name is Rey and I understand that your desktop and laptop are not syncing up in Entourage. I realize the importance ofyour concern.
We would like to address your issue as soon as we can but it appears that your e-mail is either incomplete or lacking sufficient information to address your concern. Please re-submit your question with more specific details so that we can best address your concern.
For us to furthermore address your issue, kindly provide to us the following:
– How long have you been experiencing this issue?
– What is the step-by-step process that you took before you encountered this issue?
– What is the exact error message that you got? (if any)Please let us know so that we can investigate and provide a proper solution to your issue.
We appreciate your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service available. Thank you for using FolderShare.
Sincerely,
Rey
FolderShare Support
Oh. Really? At this point I think, “No one really read that email, did they?” (For whatever it’s worth, none of these points – the “step by step process” or the “exact error message” – are asked for on the main page, and I never mentioned them in the original message because the two concepts are completely irrelevant to my problem, which has nothing to do with a “process” other than using the FS service as directed or any “error message.”)
So, I wrote back. Something along the lines of, “Hello? Did anyone really read my message?” I reiterated everything I’d written to begin with, and closed with “If you have some specific relevant inquiries, please email me again or call.” And I left my number. And I got a response!
The same email they sent me the first time. Also from Kat. Verbatim.
Obviously, this is a remote CS system that works on keywords alone. Human beings probably are not involved in the process at all. I am now stuck with recreating all of my client data, all my appointments and court hearings and project information and document associations in Project Center in Entourage (a fabulous feature, by the way – but I digress) AGAIN. Thank goodness I have a redundant system. That’s all I can say.
However, I don’t have that kind of time — what small business owner does, really? And what if I had not had that redundant system?
So, yes, it was a Beta service, and I was in a sense assuming some risk there. But good gravy, if you’re going to put a service out there like this, that messes with peoples’ livelihoods, I’d think you want some pretty huge disclaimers and warnings on the front page. I don’t see any. And that led me into a false sense of security. It’s a mistake I can guarantee you I will never make again.
This is why I cringe every time I read or hear from another colleague who’s using any online application for some office use. To me, it just seems like a huge risk to assume, considering the complexity and sheer volume of information we lawyers collect in a day. What happens when it all goes kablooey? You’re stuck, as I was, recreating a major source of information and hoping like hell your backup system is ready to go and completely reliable.
Microsoft? FolderShare? Rey? Kat? If you’re reading this, you have my phone number. I’d appreciate a response. It would save me having to do this AGAIN, if you can tell me how to recover that information your product deleted.
Update: Microsoft Folder Share Responds!
I received the following email in my inbox yesterday evening. This one looks like it might actually be from a real live human being, although it isn’t good news for me:
Hello Sheryl,
My name is Mylene and I am a Subject Matter Expert within the FolderShare group. Your email was escalated to me and I want to assist you in addressing the deleted items in your Outlook Pst after syncing in FolderShare. I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Sheryl, it is likely that the Outlook files from the laptop overwritten the ones on the desktop and it is not recoverable. If there are Outlook files with the same name on each computer then the most recently changed files will overwrite the older files regardless if it is on the laptop or the desktop.
Please note that it is not recommended syncing the entire ‘Microsoft User Data’ folder since this folder is used by other Microsoft applications and syncing this entire folder may result in undesired results with those applications.If you want to sync Outlook files using your desktop computer always as the master, then please follow the workaround we previously gave. You can also perform the following workaround:
Install FolderShare on the computers you wish to synchronize. Then, with your computers online, go to the ‘My FolderShare’ page on the FolderShare website and select ‘Sync My Folders’. When prompted, select the desktop computer and location of the master Outlook.pst file.
For each of your syncing devices, create a New Folder (perhaps name it “Outlook Sync Data”) where the common .pst file will reside. To use your newly synced .pst file, you will need to tell each computer’s copy of Outlook where to find it. Open Outlook, select ‘File’, ‘Open’ then ‘Outlook Data File.’
I appreciate this opportunity of providing you assistance.
You can also find the answers to some of the most common questions about FolderShare by going to https://www.foldershare.com/info/faq/index.php?
For concerns not covered in the FAQ, please contact us again by replying to this email and we will be happy to assist you.
Sincerely,
Mylene
Subject Matter Expert
FolderShare Technical Support
Be cautious, then, if you’re using FolderShare and your Outlook data is contained in the same folder that you’re using as part of your “Library” (i.e., the collection of folders that will be synced). Forewarned, etc.
Also, I’m not sure what she means by “prior workaround” — nothing in any of the emails I got could be construed as suggesting any sort of workaround for this problem, unless there’s an email I didn’t get.
So, I’m out of luck, but at least I finally got an answer. Let it serve as an object lesson for us all: Even if the news is bad, sometimes the client just needs to know you hear him or her.
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