Sync is very useful when you are importing or modifying files directly on the file system, e.g. with FTP. It basically compares the File Info (file size, modification time and MD5 checksum) stored in the database with the actual files.
New files will be added automatically, including ID3 tag detection and thumbnail generation. For files in sub-directories Sync creates the Category tree, i.e. for “folder1/subfolder/file.pdf” it creates the category named “subfolder” and it’s parent category “folder1”.
You find the Tool on WP-Filebase Dashboard:
The Mechanism
Sync can be divided in mutliple steps:
- At first the plugin checks for changed or deleted files. In normal sync operation it just compares sizes and modification dates to detect a file changed. In hash sync it compares the MD5 hashes, which is more reliable, but can take much more time. When a file change is detected, it updates the values in the database including extended file info (ID3 tags).
- New files are added to the database. When adding new files with sync WP-Filebase looks for an image in the same directory with the same basename to use it as thumbnails. Example: document.pdf and document.png. Images named folder.png are used for category icons.
- Remote Syncs are executed (WP-Filebase Pro only). See Remote Syncs.
- In a final step file tags are refreshed and categories are synchronized. (updating file count and checking for missing folders)
Thumbnails
You can simple add thumbnails to your files by uploading an image with the same name as the file. For example mypdf.jpg will be used as thumbnail for mypdf.pdf. Also images with names like document-80×120.jpg are use as thumbnails. Any images named ‘folder.jpg’, ‘folder.png’, ‘folder.gif’, ‘cover.jpg’, ‘_caticon.jpg’, ‘_caticon.png’ or ‘_caticon.gif’ will be treated as category icon.
Troubleshooting
A complete successfull sync should end with the message:
Filebase successfully synced.
If not something went wrong. In most cases its PHP running out of memory, especially when adding a great amount of files. To reduce memory usage, disable ID3 detection (WP-Filebase -> Settings -> Misc).
If you still have problems, append &debug=1 to the URL of the sync page, for example: //wpfilebase.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpfilebase_manage&action=sync&debug=1 . The plugin will output backtrace debug info in HTML comments. Right click on the page, view source and scroll to the end of the document to see the last backtrace info. Copy this text and include it in a support request to get help.
Batch Sync
WP-Filebase Pro has a batch sync mechanism to partition the files to add. The sync is executed with multiple HTTP requests so the overall memory usage is reduced. That allows to sync an unlimited number of files at once.
The normal sync would run out of memory after about 1000 files (with ID3 tag detection enabled and depending on server’s operating system and configuration). Batch Sync detects if the memory usage is critically and starts a new request if needed.
Is it possible to store files on remote FTP only not locally on the wordpress system
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The batch sync feature for handling large file uploads is a game-changer for anyone managing a media-heavy WordPress site. I usually spend my time working on Baby Gender Predictor, where we help expectant parents have fun with baby gender predictions, so diving into technical WordPress tools like this is a nice change of pace. Great write-up!
The ID3 tag detection feature caught my eye — it’s pretty cool how the sync process can pull audio metadata automatically. I spend most of my time building musical loop experiences over at Sprinki Sbrunga, so dealing with file organization and metadata is always on my mind. Reading about a tool that handles this so cleanly is inspiring for how I structure my own project.
The batch sync feature is a smart solution for handling large file libraries without running into memory issues. I’ve personally run into the PHP memory limit problem before when dealing with hundreds of files, so the automatic partitioning approach sounds really helpful. Reading about technical WordPress solutions like this is a nice change of pace from my usual work on Country Draw, where I focus more on geography and country-themed content. It’s always refreshing to dive into something completely different and learn about tools that make file management smoother.
The batch sync feature that partitions files across multiple HTTP requests to avoid memory issues is such a smart solution—definitely something every WordPress file manager should consider. Reading about this kind of technical problem-solving is a refreshing change from my usual day-to-day work building visual effects for social media over at Tap and hold.