lisabrooksga

We are in the same situation as OP. Our team has multiple users and multiple computers as well so Dropbox file storage has always worked well for us. Frictionless sync for us is critical because we might work on a plan with our studio machine and then a laptop at home a few hours later. With the PM feature it does appear you can define a folder on Dropbox (or any location) however there are numerous warnings that cloud sync could cause issues with this feature. And even if it fundamentally works, Chief won't support it so we are going to stick with the traditional file based for now. We have rarely had issues with plans and layouts getting discombobulated anyway.

Project Management is not going to work for us under the current restrictions as we have both multiple users and multiple computers. Here is what Claude has to say about it: Chief Architect X17 — Using Project Management on 2 Computers Key Things to Understand First Project Management stores all your projects (plans, layouts), user catalog, settings (toolbars, hotkeys, preferences), and assets in a hidden, managed location on your computer's file system. Files are not easily accessible outside the program — they're accessed through the Project Browser. Chief Architect Critical warning: You must NOT redirect or sync the Managed Resources folder to a cloud/network location (like Dropbox or Google Drive), as this will likely cause file corruption and data loss. Chief Architect Also, a single license can only be active on one computer at a time. You'll need to deactivate on one machine before working on the other. Chief Architect The Correct Workflow: Backup & Restore The proper method for moving between two computers is the Back Up Managed Resources tool. On Computer 1 (when you're done working): Go to File > Back Up and Restore > Back Up Managed Resources Choose a save location (USB drive, external drive, or copy it to cloud storage after the backup is created — not a live sync folder) A "Backing Up Resources" dialog will show a progress indicator. Once complete, click "Open Location" to access the zipped backup file, or click OK. Chief Architect The backup includes: Projects (plans and layouts), Database Libraries (User catalog), Settings (toolbars, hotkeys, preferences), and Assets (materials, images, PDFs, and other imported files). Chief Architect Transfer the backup file: Copy the resulting .zip backup file to your second computer via USB drive, external drive, or by uploading/downloading from cloud storage (just don't have the Managed Resources folder itself synced). On Computer 2 (when you arrive): Go to File > Back Up and Restore > Restore Managed Resources Point it to the backup .zip file you transferred Chief Architect will restore your projects and settings Switching the License Between Computers To deactivate on your current machine, go to Account > Manage License in X17, then click Yes to confirm deactivation. The program will close. You're then free to activate on the other machine by simply launching the program while connected to the internet. Chief Architect Alternatively, if you don't have access to the computer the license is active on, sign in to your Chief Architect account online, go to Digital Locker, and click the "Make Available" button. Chief Architect Scheduled Backups (Recommended to Set Up) By default, scheduled backups are enabled and set to run daily at midnight. You can adjust the location, frequency, and retention settings under Edit > Preferences > Project Management panel. Setting the backup destination to a folder you manually sync (or copy to a USB) makes the two-computer workflow much smoother. Chief Architect What NOT to Do Don't try to manually copy/paste the hashed project files between computers — this is what causes the duplicate project names (Project A, Project A(1), etc.) and broken links Don't point the Managed Resources location to Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive as a live sync folder Don't export/import individual projects repeatedly as the primary workflow — use full Backup & Restore instead The Backup & Restore method is the officially supported approach and avoids all the duplication and broken link issues.

We just started using X17 this week and have ran into some major snags with this as well. I personally use two different Mac machines and have found this new feature to be very confusing. We have always stored our plans in Dropbox which has been flawless as everything was simply files and folders. With PM that concept isn't by default going to work with two different machines as it stores the project management data locally in the Library folder which is on each Mac machine individually. We do use the iCloud feature of the Documents folder being synced to all devices which works great in general. My first idea to solve this is to go into Chief preferences and change the folder used to save project management to a folder in my Documents structure which will then be accessible across my devices. OP are you using Windows or Mac?