Desktop & Cloud Sync

How SoundBase Desktop keeps your projects saved locally, synced to SoundBase Cloud, and up to date across your computers and collaborators.

In this section

Sync status indicators — what the cloud icon is telling you, and the sync actions behind it.
Working offline — what keeps working, the collaborative-project lock, and how to prepare for a show with no internet.
Conflicts and reconciliation — how simultaneous edits merge, and the older “Project Data Sync” dialog.
Signing in again — the 60-day license check-in and the re-authorization page.
Error reference — every sync message and code, and what to do about it.
Troubleshooting sync — fixes for the common failures, plus FAQ.

SoundBase Desktop is local-first

SoundBase Desktop works from a complete local copy of your projects stored on your computer. Everything you do — editing frequencies, coordinating zones, adjusting project settings — is saved to that local copy first, instantly. You never press a save button, and you never wait on the network to keep working.

Syncing happens in the background: the app continuously sends your changes up to SoundBase Cloud and receives changes made elsewhere (by collaborators, or by you on another computer).

How your changes are tracked

Every time you change something, your computer automatically records a small note describing exactly what changed — which item, which specific fields, the new values, when it happened, and which computer made the change. These records are what get sent to the cloud, so sync is fast and precise: only the fields you actually touched are transmitted, not entire projects.

Because this change history is stored in your local database (not just in memory), edits you make offline survive app restarts and are still synced later.

When sync runs

Sync is continuous, not scheduled:

Your changes going up: edits are queued and sent within moments — typically well under a second after you make them.
Changes coming down: while you have a project open, your computer holds a live connection to SoundBase Cloud and receives collaborators’ changes in near real time.
On reconnect: whenever a connection is established (app launch, network returns), the app runs a full comparison of your open project against the cloud and settles any differences automatically.
Project list: while you’re on the home page, the list of projects refreshes regularly so new and renamed projects appear.

First-time setup: the one-time data sync

The first time you sign in on a computer, SoundBase Desktop performs a one-time download of your account data. You’ll see a full-screen page that says “This is a one-time data sync to pull in the latest data from SoundBase.” with the note “Please remain connected to the internet and do not close the app during this process.”

A progress bar counts steps (for example, “3 of 10 steps completed”) while status messages rotate through stages such as “Syncing user data…”, “Syncing equipment models…”, “Syncing projects…”, “Syncing your preferences and settings…”, “Syncing zip code data…”, “Syncing public safety channels…”, and “Syncing TV transmitter data…”. When it finishes, you’ll briefly see “Cleaning up the database and getting things ready for you…” before landing on the home page.

If a step fails, the screen shows “Sync encountered an error. Retrying…” and tries again automatically. Stay connected and keep the app open.

Opening a project for the first time

When you open a project that hasn’t been downloaded to this computer yet, the app fetches its full contents from the cloud. A thin blue progress bar appears in the navigation bar next to the cloud icon. Small projects (up to about 1,000 frequencies) usually take around 15 seconds; larger projects can take a minute or more.

What syncs — and what stays local

Syncs automatically: cloud projects and everything in them (scan data, coordination data, folders), your account data, your preferences and “my stuff,” and equipment models. Some reference data (license entitlements, for example) flows one way, from the cloud to your desktop.

Stays on your computer only:

Local projects — anything created with “Store data locally (no cloud sync)” never syncs, in either direction.
Machine-specific details — file locations on your disk and similar computer-specific fields are stripped from outgoing changes.
Housekeeping and telemetry — sync progress records, usage/activity history, bug report submissions, and similar internal bookkeeping never leave your computer.

Cloud or local: choosing at creation time

When you create or import a project, the “Project type” dropdown offers two options:

“Sync data with the cloud” — the project syncs to SoundBase Cloud, all your devices, and any collaborators.
“Store data locally (no cloud sync)” — the project lives only on this computer, forever.

A comparison in the “Project Types” dialog spells out the difference: local projects get “Offline access” only, while cloud projects add “Cloud syncing to all your devices”, “Project collaboration”, “Create and share real-time reports”, and “Access SoundBase databases”.

If you lose access to a shared project

If a project owner removes you from a project, your local copy of that project is removed on a subsequent sync. Your own projects are unaffected.