Help i cant find files

My Cryptomator was accidentally uninstalled.
So I reinstalled it and when I click Open Existing Vault, then Choose I don’t see or understand how to find my old file.

I thought the vault was hidden unless I unlock, but I don’t see the choice to unlock or locate the vault.

It was on Google Drive but I do not see it. How can I do this? Hope that makes sense and someone cna help

Hi. Can you see the Masterkey file in your google drive folder? This is the file you have to select when adding an existing vault.
Was the google drive sync completed?

Not in Google Drive. Don’t know about a sync. Thanks for your help!

Well, you have to make your Google drive files available to the cryptomator app. This is done with the Google app for syncing. Cryptomator desktop app does not connect to your online storage.

OK. I don’t remember doing this when I set up Cryptomator in the beginning. Did I have to do that to start? Am I downloading this Google App for Sync then? Sorry a bit confused.

Yes, this is mandatory. Yes, you have to download a sync app for Google drive.

And if I do that I can recover my files? Is that a separate app or in the Google Drive desktop app? Download - Google Drive

I have sync going across my machines for Drive but I also needed an additional app for cryptomator? I don’t think I ever remember doing that. Are my files totally lost if so? Tx for your help!

Again. Yes. Cryptomator desktop does not have a build in sync function.
No your files are not “lost”. They are stored in your online storage. Somehow you have to make them available on your PC if you want to work with them.
This is nothing special for Cryptomator, this is how online storages work.

If you do not want to sync them, you have to download them manually and then add the vault to Cryptomator, but then you will of course have your files only offline.

This is nothing new. This is how Cryptomator works.

https://docs.cryptomator.org/en/latest/desktop/getting-started/

Hello Michael,

Hope you are doing well.

So let me tell you what is happening now.

I have installed google drive app synced everything to my phone. I have installed cryptomator along with the driver it was recommending. Unfortunately when I am trying to open existing vault I am nor finding my masterkey file anywhere in the drive nor in my pc.

What do you think? Please advise as per my situation.

I dont get it. Why are you talking now about your phone?
Whats your setup?
Have you made sure that your complete googlde drive content was synced to your local PC? If the masterkey file is on your google drive and not on your PC, I dont think the sync is was done or is correct configruated.
This is not a cryptomator issue.
You have to set up your google drive sync in a way that it is syncing your google drive vault files to your local PC.

Sorry yes we did the PC. Meant to say the PC. We did that. We have already synced everything but there are no traces of masterkey file or cryptomator contents.

Please advise.

Can you find the encrypted vault files if you log into your google drive via browser?

Already checked and not there

well, if they are not in the online trash bin as well, they are obviously gone. Nothing much you can do about it if you do not have a backup.

We are looking at doing a restore point

Michael-Might there be any way I could chat with a Cryptomator developer via phone? I think that might help clarify a few things. It appears my files were in Google Drive but the reinstall does not show a way for me to point toward the vault or enter my password. I could chat via skype if that is possible.

Im afraid telephone support is not offered.

I also struggle to understand your problems.
In one post you say the files are not on gdrive, in the next you say they are there.
Its just that easy:
If your vault is on gdrive, sync it with your local storage, just the same way you would make all other unencrypted files local available when you want to work with gdrive.
Then open cryptomator, hit the “add vault” button and select the (now local available) vault.cryptomator file to add your vault.
That’s it.

Thanks but yes we are not understanding each other here.

Cryptomator would display my vault after my password was entered.

So now I have the reinstall of your software, hit open existing vault, it wants me to choose the file but It does not display

Prior it would not display w/o a password entered. I believe I did use Google Drive as the location, but I don’t know how it would display w/o a chance to enter a password.

Hope that makes sense.

Im afraid, it does not for me.

Where exactly on your local machine is the file “vault.cryptomator” located/available. Please name an exact path to the file. If its not local available, you cannot add a vault.

Sorry, I do not understand at all what you are trying to say with that. Which password? The vault password? Well, you enter it the first time when you want to add your vault. And to do that, you need to have the vault files and the file vault.cryptomator local available (see my comments above)

You should be sure and know exactly the old path of your vault files (not the files IN the vault, I really mean the vault files, the encrypted ones).