Sync and offline
Sync keeps a copy of a server's books on the phone so they open instantly and work without a connection. Offline mode makes the shelf show only what you can actually read right now.
Local sync
- Edit the server and turn on Sync to phone.
- Pick a folder with Android's folder picker: internal storage, an SD card, anywhere the picker offers. One folder per server is simplest.
- Save. Sync starts right away and shows a notification with its phase and progress. You can leave the app or lock the phone.
Synced files are named after the book's real title, so the folder is browsable from any file manager and the files are useful outside PandaReader too.
How sync behaves
- Adds, never removes. Only files missing locally are downloaded. Books deleted on the server stay on the phone, and existing files are not re-downloaded or compared, so a changed server copy needs the local file deleted to be refreshed.
- Runs in the foreground. A foreground service with a notification keeps the transfer alive when the app is minimised or the screen locks. One run at a time; a second request waits.
- Checks on every launch. Each app start checks all synced servers for new files. There is also a manual trigger on the shelf.
- Parallel over SFTP. Up to eight connections transfer at once. Throughput per file is written to the diagnostics log.
- Reading uses the local copy. Once a book is synced, opening it and extracting its cover never touch the network. A synced server whose host is unreachable still shows its books.
Offline mode
In App settings, under Offline, turn on Hide unavailable content when offline. When the device has no network, or airplane mode is on, the shelf then shows only books that are synced or were previously downloaded, and every folder, series, collection, counter and format list shrinks to match. The total count in the top bar still reports the whole library.
The check reacts live: toggling airplane mode or losing Wi-Fi while the app is open updates the shelf within a moment, and returning to the app re-checks as a safety net. When the network comes back, everything reappears.
A book downloaded once for reading, even without sync, counts as available offline. Sync is the way to make a whole server available; reading is the way to make one book available.
Launching without a network
Starting the app with no connection does not block on unreachable servers. Network checks are bounded, synced servers show their local mirror, and Wi-Fi reassociation after a long lock is given a few seconds before the app concludes there is no network. Scan errors for unreachable servers clear themselves on the next successful scan.