Odivo FAQ: how Odivo works

In the Windows app, your garage is saved on your PC, in your Documents folder. Copies of the documents you attach (receipts, photos, PDFs) go in a folder there called garage_files.

In the web app at odivoapp.com, your garage is saved inside the browser you use, on that device only. Odivo has no server that keeps your cars.

No. There's no Odivo account and no sign-up. The only sign-in is your own Microsoft account, and only if you choose to turn on OneDrive sync.

• The Windows app checks bitsbybm.com for a newer version when it opens.
• When you press Look up on a VIN or Check for recalls, Odivo asks NHTSA, the US road safety agency. Only the VIN is sent.
• If you turn on OneDrive sync, your garage goes to your own OneDrive and nowhere else.

That's all. Your cars and documents are never sent to bitsbybm.com or odivoapp.com.

Not yet. Odivo counts miles and shows costs in dollars for now.

The same Odivo, in your browser, so there's nothing to install. It works on a computer or a phone. It's a free beta, so back up now and then.

Yes, if the browser's data for odivoapp.com is cleared. That can happen when you clear your history or "site data", in a private or incognito window (everything is gone when it closes), or when a phone frees up space. To be safe, turn on OneDrive sync or make a backup now and then.

Each browser keeps its own garage, and so does each address. https://odivoapp.com and http://odivoapp.com count as two different sites, as do Chrome and Firefox on the same PC. Open https://odivoapp.com in the browser you used before, and your cars are there.

In the showroom, click the save icon at the top right, then Back up my garage. You get one .zip file with everything: every car, service, schedule item, fill-up, mileage reading and attached document. On Windows you choose where to save it. In a browser it goes to your Downloads folder.

Keep a copy somewhere other than the device itself, like a USB drive or a cloud folder.

Click the save icon, then Restore from a backup, and pick the file. Restoring replaces everything in the app with what's in the backup, and it can't be undone. If you might want what's in the app now, back it up first.

Yes. Backups from the Windows app and the web app are the same kind of file, so a backup made in one restores in the other. Back up on the old device, then restore on the new one. Backups made before the rename, when the app was called Garage Showroom, work too.

If you want both devices to stay the same from then on, use OneDrive sync instead.

Odivo is a beta, so after any big batch of changes, and every few weeks. Sync is not a backup (see below), so keep making backups even with sync on.

It keeps the same garage on all your devices: the web app on your computer and phone, and the Windows app. In the showroom, click the cloud icon, then Connect OneDrive, and sign in with your Microsoft account. Do the same on each device.

Sync is free during the beta. It's in the web app and in the Windows app from version 0.14.0.

Into a folder in your own OneDrive: Apps › Odivo. It holds garage.json (your cars and records) and a files folder (your attached documents). Please don't edit or move these.

Odivo asks Microsoft only for permission to use that one folder. It can't see or change anything else in your OneDrive. There's no Odivo server in between: your devices talk to OneDrive directly.

When the app opens, a few seconds after each change you make, and every 5 minutes while it's open. You can also click the cloud icon and press Sync now. The icon shows how it's going: a check mark when your garage is synced, and a different color when you need to sign in again or the last sync didn't work.

They're merged, and nothing is lost: each device ends up with every car and record from both. If the same record was changed on two devices, the newest change wins.

No. Sync is a mirror: deleting a car or a service on one device deletes it on all of them at the next sync. If you delete something by mistake, sync won't bring it back. A backup file will, so keep making them.

Microsoft only lets a sign-in last so long. In a browser it lasts about a day. The Windows app stays signed in for months. When it runs out, the cloud icon changes color. Click it and press Sign in again. Nothing is lost meanwhile: your changes stay on the device and sync once you're signed in. From Windows version 0.15.1, the saved sign-in is also locked to your Windows account on that PC, so after moving to a new PC you'll just sign in once more.

Odivo works as usual and saves on the device. The cloud icon shows the sync didn't work, and it tries again every few minutes. Once you're back online, your changes sync.

Click the cloud icon and press Stop syncing. Nothing is removed, on the device or in OneDrive. The device just stops sending and getting changes. To remove the copy in OneDrive too, delete the Apps › Odivo folder there.

Yes. The restored garage wins: at the next sync it replaces the garage in your OneDrive and on your other devices. Cars and records that aren't in the backup are removed everywhere. Odivo reminds you of this before it restores. Only changes made on another device after the restore are kept.

If another device is offline, it catches up the next time it syncs.

• Cars: how many cars are in your garage.
• Overdue: services that are past due.
• Due soon: services coming up soon.
• Update miles: cars that are due for a mileage update. This isn't about services. It counts cars whose odometer you haven't updated as often as you asked to.

Click the bell to see the full list, overdue first.

Edit the car, and under Reminders set Remind me to update the mileage to every week, every month, every 3 months, or no reminder. Updating the car's mileage clears the reminder until the next one is due.

In the Windows app, yes: a Windows pop-up a month before a service is due, on the day it's due, and when it's time to update the mileage. The web app doesn't show pop-ups. Its reminders are in the showroom's reminders list.

When a new version is out, the showroom shows an Update notice at the top left. Click Download to open the Odivo page, then download and run the new installer. Installing a newer version keeps your cars, documents and reminders.

Windows keeps the icon of a pinned item. Right-click the old icon on the taskbar and choose Unpin from taskbar. Then open Odivo from the Start menu, right-click its icon on the taskbar, and choose Pin to taskbar.

The installer is code-signed by Bernardo Moreno, but the certificate is new, so SmartScreen may warn for a while. Click More info, then Run anyway. You can also check the file against the SHA-256 listed on the Odivo page.