Please do not submit logs unless support staff has specifically requested them. Submitting unsolicited logs needlessly violates your users' privacy and can delay our response to your query.

How to submit logs

If support staff asks that you submit logs for diagnosis, here is how to proceed. First, please provide in the support ticket your answers to the following questions if you have not already done so:

• What are the SpiderOak device names of all of the computers the affected user is actively using? Then for each of those computers, mention if the end user has:

• Other backup or sync applications installed

• Firewall, antivirus, or other security software

Next, quit the SpiderOak Groups application if it is running. Don't just minimize the application, shut it down completely by clicking or right clicking on the icon in the notification area, then selecting Quit. After it is closed, launch the program again. This starts a new log session.

If you are able to reproduce the problem at will, do so now. If applicable, feel free to use test files and folders rather than reveal anything sensitive. If you are not able to reproduce the problem at will, then you may skip this step.

Next, gather the logs. How this is done depends upon your operating system.

Windows

To gather the logs, begin by opening a search field. If you are using Windows 7 or earlier, you can find this on your start menu. If you are using Windows 8 or later, type directly into the start screen, which serves as a search field. Type `%LOCALAPPDATA%` (including the percent signs) and press enter. Searching for %LOCALAPPDATA% will open a file explorer window called Application Data. There will be a folder named SpiderOak Groups; open it. Select all of the files in this folder with names that end with ".log". There will be at least eleven and perhaps more. Right click on any of the highlighted files, select "Send to", then choose "Compressed (zipped) Folder". Follow the on screen guide and you will have a new compressed folder containing the logs. Change its name to the SpiderOak device name of the computer you produced this on, so we know what computer these logs are from.

Mac

To gather the logs, open Terminal, which is found in Launchpad. In it give the following command, pressing enter afterward:

    tar czf logs.tgz ~/Library/Application\ Support/SpiderOak\ Groups/*.log

The terminal will respond with "tar: Removing leading '/' from member names." This is expected. A file named logs.tgz will be created in your home directory. Change its name to the SpiderOak device name of the computer you produced this on, so we know which computer these logs are from.

Linux

To gather the logs, give the following command in a terminal, pressing enter afterward:

    tar -czf logs.tgz ~/.config/SpiderOakGroups/*.log

Change its name to the SpiderOak device name of the computer you produced this on, so we know what computer these logs are from.

All operating systems - final instructions

Gather all of the logs and not a subset, and do not redact the logs. Often a problem is resolved by viewing it in its full context. If you reproduced the problem, mention at what time you did so (which will help us identify the relevant part of the logs) and the names of any files or folders that you used. Please also mention the operating system (name and version number) of the computer, and the version number of SpiderOak Groups.

You can send us the logs as an attachment to your reply to your support message, or you can upload them to SpiderOak Groups and send us a file sharing link to them. The latter option is more secure and is preferred, although depending upon your problem may or may not be an option in your particular case.

Notes and troubleshooting

Do not submit logs unless support staff has specifically requested them. Yes, we have stated this above but it bears repeating. Why? That is because log files contain the names of files and folders on your user's computer. Our interest is in helping to fix the problem, not in violating your users' privacy. If you would prefer to not submit them, let us know.

For security reasons, support agents are not authorized to retrieve files from external links, even from well regarded service such as Google Drive. The submission methods described above are the two acceptable methods.

When the above instructions are followed, the compressed log archive from each computer should be no more than 11 MB and so should be small enough to send without difficulty. If your log archive is larger, it is because you have inadvertently included other things. In that case, carefully repeat the instructions, taking care to only include the files specified. Overly large log archives, or archives that include files other than logs, often cause problems when attempting to send as an email attachment.

When the above instructions are followed, the compressed log archive will contain only text files. If you receive an error message from your mail provider such as "For security reasons, we do not allow you to send this type of file", it is because you have inadvertently included other things. In that case, carefully repeat the instructions, taking care to only include the files specified.