Adding a Google account

Connecting an account means allowing HtkCloudSync to read and write in your Google Drive, and telling it which folder of the computer to work in. The permission is given on Google's side, in your browser: HtkCloudSync never sees your password.

The window

The “Add an account” window has two groups and one button:

“Cloud service”: the service to connect. Google Drive is selected; Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox and Nextcloud / WebDAV are shown with the “Soon” badge and cannot be chosen.
“Local folder”, subtitled “Where the synced files live on this computer”: the “Folder” field proposes a Google Drive folder in your home folder; the icon on its right opens a “Choose the local folder” picker.
Connect starts the authorisation.

Step 1: open the window

Four paths lead to the same window:

the Add a Google Drive account button, when no account is connected yet;
the Add another account row, at the bottom of the “Accounts” page;
the ☰ menu ▸ Add an account;
the Ctrl+N shortcut.

Step 2: choose the local folder

The local folder is where your synced files live on the computer. Keep the default proposal or choose another folder, for instance on a second disk. It must be dedicated: neither your home folder itself, nor a folder already used by another account, nor a folder inside another account's folder. The service refuses these cases with a message.

The folder may already contain files. During the first sync, a file identical on both sides is recognised without transfer; a file present on one side only is copied to the other; a file with the same name but different content keeps both versions. Nothing is deleted.

Step 3: authorise on Google's side

Click Connect. Your browser opens on Google's sign-in page, and the window moves to the “Finish in your browser” page: “A Google sign-in page has been opened. Choose the account to sync and allow access to your Drive.”
In the browser, choose the Google account, then accept access to your Drive files. A confirmation page in HTKapp colours appears; you can close the tab.
Back in HtkCloudSync, the “Account connected” message appears and the window takes you straight to the “Folders” page of the new account, to choose what will be kept on the computer (see First sync).

Google verifies every application that asks for full access to Google Drive before opening it to everyone. This verification of HtkCloudSync is under way. Until it is complete, only invited Google accounts can connect:

Ask for access through HTKapp support, giving the address of the Google account to sync.
Once your address is invited, connect the account as described above.
Before the authorisation page, Google shows a warning screen: the application has not been validated by Google yet. Check that it names HtkCloudSync, then continue. Depending on the screen, the link to continue sits under the advanced settings.

With an account that is not invited, Google shows an access-blocked page and the authorisation cannot complete: go back to HtkCloudSync and click Cancel. Nothing is saved.

During this period, Google also limits each authorisation to seven days. The account then moves to the “Sign-in required” status: reconnect it as explained below, in the part on signing in again. Your files and your folder selection are kept.

The access requested

Google asks you to allow full access to your Drive: it is needed to sync all your folders both ways. Your files only travel between your computer and Google; HTKapp runs no intermediate server. If that access is not granted, the addition fails with a message saying so, and nothing is saved. You can remove the permission at any time from your Google account.

If something does not go as planned

If the browser did not open, or if you closed the tab too early, click Open the sign-in page again. Cancel drops the request; without an answer within ten minutes, it expires on its own.

On failure, the window shows “Could not add the account” with the reason, and Try again takes you back to the choice of service and folder.

Several accounts

HtkCloudSync accepts several Google accounts, for instance a work account and a personal one. Each has its own local folder and syncs independently: the “Accounts” page lists them one under the other, with the account's address, the name shown by Google and the status; the “Folders” page has a drop-down list to switch between them.

Signing in again

When the saved sign-in stops working (permission removed from your Google account, password changed, Google session expired), the account moves to the “Sign-in required” status. A “Sign-in required for …” banner appears at the top of the window with the Sign in again button; the same button sits on the “Accounts” page, and a “Sign-in required” notification warns you if notifications are on.

Click Sign in again. The “Sign in again” window opens directly on the waiting page: “The saved sign-in for … no longer works. A Google sign-in page has been opened: choose the same account and allow access again.”
In the browser, choose the same Google account: another account is refused.
The “Account reconnected” message confirms. Your files, your folder selection and the sync state are kept: nothing is downloaded again.

On failure, “Could not sign in again” appears with the reason; Try again sends the request again.

Disconnecting an account

The Disconnect button of the “Accounts” page asks “Disconnect …?”: “Syncing stops and the saved sign-in is forgotten. Your files stay in the cloud.” The “Also move the local folder to the trash” checkbox additionally sends the local folder to your desktop trash, from where you can restore it. Confirm with Disconnect; during the operation the account shows “Disconnecting…”.

Disconnecting removes the account from this computer and forgets the saved sign-in. On Google's side, the permission stays listed among the connected applications of your account until you revoke it there.

Note: a reconnection still waiting in the browser is cancelled by the disconnection; finishing it afterwards reactivates nothing.