Conflicted copies: what they are and how to resolve them

Sometimes you'll spot a file in your Nextcloud folder with (conflicted copy and a date in the name, for example Budget (conflicted copy 2026-10-24 101530).xlsx. That's a conflicted copy. Nothing has been lost: these are two versions of the same file.

How does a conflicted copy happen?

A conflict happens when the same file is changed in two places before the app has had a chance to sync the changes. For example:

• You're working on a file on your laptop without internet, and a colleague changes the same file in the browser at the same time.
• You open a shared document from the folder on your computer, while a colleague is editing it in the browser.
• The same folder is being tracked by two sync programs at once, for example Nextcloud and OneDrive or Dropbox.

In that case, the app can't decide for itself which version is correct. So it fetches the version from your Nextcloud under the usual name (1), and saves your version next to it as a conflicted copy (2). The app doesn't upload the conflicted copy: it stays only on your computer and your colleagues won't see it. If a conflicted copy does end up in your Nextcloud, for example because someone uploaded it manually, you'll also see it in the browser, as shown in the image above.

How to resolve it

1. Click the cloud icon. If there's a conflict, you'll see a notification with Resolve conflict. Click it.
2. The app shows both versions, with date and size: Local version (your version) and Server version (the version from your Nextcloud). Tick the one you want to keep and click Save selected version. If you tick both, they'll both be kept and your version gets a number added to its name.
3. Want to keep changes from both versions? Open both files, copy your own changes from the conflicted copy into the original, and save the original.
4. Then delete the conflicted copy. Once it's gone, the conflict is resolved.

Please note: don't delete a batch of conflicted copies all at once without checking them first. They might contain work that doesn't exist anywhere else. Got a lot of them? Read Cleaning up conflict copies in a large folder without losing anything to find out how to safely clean up a large folder.

Preventing conflicts

• If you're working on the same document with colleagues, open it in the browser in Euro-Office. That way, you're genuinely working together on one version. See Working with Office files from your computer.
• Let the app finish syncing (green cloud icon) before you close your laptop or go offline.
• Never let a folder be tracked by two sync programs at the same time.
• Don't use the same folder on two computers with different accounts.

Tip: have you lost something anyway? Your WebOké Nextcloud keeps older versions of every file. See Restoring an older version and naming versions.