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Same-file multi-device edit: choosing a version
Last updated September 9, 2026 · 4 min read
Two devices edited the same passage — desktop wrote version A, mobile wrote version B. Which one counts? Slima doesn't decide for you — it pops a conflict-resolution dialog so you choose.
What triggers it
A typical scenario:
- You edit a passage in Chapter 3 on the desktop
- Mobile (which you forgot to let sync) also edits the same passage
- The desktop reconnects and tries to push → the cloud notices "mobile's edit hasn't come down yet"
- The desktop pulls mobile's version → finds both edited the same passage → conflict
The conflict-resolution dialog appears.
What the dialog looks like
The dialog shows both versions side by side (read-only), with the differences marked: "Other Device Version" on the left, "My Version" on the right, so you can see what changed before deciding which one to keep.
Underneath are four actions:
| Choice | Result |
|---|---|
| Keep Mine | The current device's version stays; the other device's version is backed up |
| Use Theirs | The other device's version stays; your version is backed up |
| Keep Both | Your version stays and the other one is saved beside it as a copy — nothing is discarded |
| Resolve Later | Closes the dialog without deciding; the conflict stays unresolved and pops up again next time |
"Use Theirs" asks you to confirm first, because it overwrites the edits you made on this device after the conflict.
Look before you choose
Only "Keep Both" actually leaves you a copy. The dialog says no version is lost, and the button labels promise a backup, but in the current build "Keep Mine" and "Use Theirs" discard the other side outright — no copy is written. Treat those two as one-way. If you are not certain which version you want, pick "Keep Both" and delete the copy later. Even so, fishing a version back out of a backup is work you can spare yourself. Read the side-by-side compare, decide which one is the main line, then press.
If you're unsure and worried about picking wrong, the safest move is to manually save a version of the chapter before resolving the conflict, so the current content is preserved. See Restore a version.
When syncing keeps failing
A conflict is a question, not a breakdown. But if the same book fails to push several times in a row for the same reason, Slima stops retrying quietly in the background: automatic retries for that book are paused and it tells you so, and syncing the book by hand starts them again.
There is one more case it now says out loud instead of acting on silently — if the copy on the server has been rolled back to an earlier version, your local versions are kept and queued to go back up, rather than being replaced by the older one.
How to avoid conflicts
The simplest habit: before switching devices, confirm the previous one finished syncing (status bar 🟢 green).
See Sync status and pending items.
Related
Open the app and do this with your own book. Free to start, no credit card.