JasonParsons Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Does anyone successfully sync chief files with Google Drive? I know that chief files do not work well in network drives, but I thought I would be able to sue google drive since the file resided on my hard drive, and syncs to the cloud and then back down to other hard drives. I get an error message whenever I save the files to a Google Drive Folder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I would recommend saving to another folder on your hard drive and then when done with a work session copy the file to the google drive folder Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonParsons Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 It's not just for collaborating, but for working on 1 file from multiple locations. Drive works really well for personal syncing of files, I wish it was compatible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 working on 1 file from multiple locations it is my understanding that this is not possible with Chief and would most likely end up in a corrupted file or person A's changes being lost when person B saves etc Person A needs to finish before Person B starts Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonParsons Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 Google somehow figured it out with Microsoft files. Just a pain to deal with I guess. I know some of you larger companies out there have already dealt with the network issue (I seacrched), but I figured since it is on my actual computer and not on a cloud or separate server, it would be different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kMoquin Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I use dropbox with no glitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Networking is good for library sharing even plans - for quick access by multiple PC's but not for two or more to work on the same plan at the same time you should contact CA's tech support team to discuss your "network" needs Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonParsons Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 thanks Lew. I will see if they can do anything. Kevin, we sold our sole to Google about 3 years ago. Email, calendars, phones, folders, crm. Everything is integrated and we cant go back now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey_martin Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I use Dropbox exclusively now. All my plan and layout files are worked on via dropbox from wherever I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryM8 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 thanks Lew. I will see if they can do anything. Kevin, we sold our sole to Google about 3 years ago. Email, calendars, phones, folders, crm. Everything is integrated and we cant go back now! Sorry to hear that. I tried google drive a while back and quickly ditched it. Dropbox is exactly what you are looking for and it works very easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I use Goggle Drive all day every day to transfer files to and from a colleague with no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 transfer files to and from a colleague with no issues Yep, that is what these cloud services are designed to do not so good at allowing multiple users to work on the same file at the same time Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceEngstrom Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I have been using Google Drive for about a year now and work on the same files from different computers at different times with very few issues. The ability for multiple users to work on a Chief file at the same time is a limitation of Chief, it has nothing to do with Google Drive. The only issue I have had to watch out for is closing a Chief file and then trying to re-open it within the few minutes where Google Drive is automatically syncing it. Then I get an error message saying the file is locked, and have to restart my computer to clear the problem. I work around this by just pausing Google Drive while working in Chief, and un-pausing it when I am not. I try to make sure I at least un-pause it for a few minutes before I shut down for the day to make sure everything is sync'ed so that I can open the file from my laptop at home or on the road. The advantages far outweigh this minor issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Park Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Working with networked computers has several possible additional risks that you need to be careful of. Chief works as well as can be expected in these situations, but occasionally we hear of people having problems. There are a number of shops that have multiple copies of Chief that successfully, most of time, share files on a network. Using the File Locking option is one thing that you would want to do in that situation. However, that will also prevent software like Google Drive and Drop Box from automatically syncing while you are working on a file. This makes combining the use of both local network sharing and the use of these synchronization services at the same time require even more care. If you are not comfortable or don't understand the issues of doing this I advise against it. In any case data loss in networked situations can occur even though Chief is working perfectly. That is also true in non-networked cases as well, but is less likely to occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Brown Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I appreciate Doug Park's reservations about using network drives but using the 'cloud' has worked well for me to this point in time. My workflow is similar to Bryce's with the difference that I use Microsoft's OneDrive cloud service. As long as I pay attention and do not shut down the computer before the syching has completed, I have had no issues. I suspect Doug would cringe on learning that besides plan files, I also place the 'Chief Architect Premier X6 Data' folder in the cloud as well. I have a couple of reasons for this, most importantly, I don't need to worry about keeping my 'user library' in sync between computers and the archive files are available no matter which computer I am using. This stated, I'm not a multi-user company so I have no issues around multiple user access to the same plan file, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceEngstrom Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I think Joe Carrick does the same thing with his X6 Data folder. I may do the same since I did run into a bit of an issue with libraries not being sync'd between my desktop and laptop recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Brown Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Bryce, Not sure what is going on with the 'user_library' but was finally motivated to take a look at the data folder on OneDrive. To my surprise, there are multiple libraries out there tagged with the computer names (see image). CA must have decided to 'save users from themselves' by not allowing sharing of one 'user_library' between computers. Using the cloud to keep libraries sync'd may not work after all. I will do some experimenting today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Park Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 As near as I can tell the names are not coming from Chief. I could speculate as to why you are seeing this, but since I'm not familiar with how the software you are using works I won't. I encourage you to learn as much as possible about how synchronization to the cloud works for the software that you have chosen. It is pretty obvious that if a synchronization on computer A is not complete before you start modifying the same file on computer B you will have a conflict. Since you are working with large files on a slow network you have to make sure that you give enough time for the synchronization to complete. In the past we had a fair number of issues with customers saving to slow USB thumb drives, getting impatient and pulling them out before the save was complete. Then calling us to complain that their data was lost. These slow USB drives are probably a couple of orders of magnitude faster than the synchronization to the cloud. You are dealing with some fairly large files, especially the libraries, they can take quite a while to synchronize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Brown Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Doug, thanks for the response. The cloud software I am using is just the 'standard' OneDrive cloud software provided by Microsoft for Windows Update 8.1 . Good to know that this situation is not coming from CA. OneDrive has a 'wait' icon displayed in Windows File Explorer when synching is in process (the icon is diplayed at the folder and individual file level). I use this (plus a network monitor plugin) to confirm that the 'sync' has completed before turning off the 'source' machine. My connection to the cloud is 55 Mbit/sec download and 12 Mbit/sec upload although the actual speeds are determined by Microsoft's systems. As you suggest, I need to learn more about Microsoft OneDrive. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusanC Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Our firm has 3 computers with Chief - all in different locations. We've been using Sugar Sync for several years now with no issues. We have a rule of one person working on the file at a time though. We use Google Hangout when discussing a Chief file over the phone which has been great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Brown Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Bryce, As promised, I did some experimenting with syncing libraries with OneDrive - everything works as one would expect. I'm not sure yet why extra files showed up but my test was to make sure the user_library was in sync, disconnect laptop from the network, open CA, modify contents of the user_library, and close CA. The local user_library showed the updated date/information. I then reconnected to the network and automatic syncing commenced. The only gotcha that I can see at this point, and pointed out by Doug Park, is that it takes about 10 minutes for a complete roundtrip sync to occur so shutting down CA on a desktop and immediately grabbing the laptop and leaving the office will obviously leave you un-sync'd and could be leaving one open for library data corruption. As long as one allows time for all systems to be in sync before leaving the office with the laptop, one should be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceEngstrom Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Thanks Barton. So, If I do decide to put my X6 Data folder in my Google Drive Sync'd folder, I forget where you go to tell Chief where to look for that file up on opening. How is that done? Although we do obviously work with fairly large files, I don't find that it takes more than just a minute or two to have the Chief file update after closing. At least with my internet connection, it never seems to take as long as ten. I mean, it just updates the file, doesn't it? It doesn't re-save the whole thing every time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Brown Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Bryce, the location where you tell CA where to look for the file is in Edit->Preferences->General->Folders->"My Data Folder:" The sync time issue is not because of the size of plans, layout, etc files. The real time hit comes from the size of your user_library. Mine is about 350 MB in size. It appears that CA tags the user library every time CA opens and at least the Microsoft OneDrive blindly syncs the user_library file even if it has not change, but just been opened. I may bail on this approach and just use the cloud for storing the working files and manually sync the libraries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Barton: my user library is 3.4 GB and I have thousands of items I never got around to adding I suspect manual syncing is the way to go for large user libraries Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Brown Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Lew, 3.4 GB, Wow! A library that size would definitely bring the 'cloud storage' approach to its knees, or maybe a complete face-plant. When I'm in Oregon, the cloud storage approach might be doable for a while but on Bonaire the internet speed drops by a factor of 10 so it definitely wouldn't work there, even now. Oh well, it seemed like a interesting approach... I'll still keep plan, layout, etc files in the cloud, just not libraries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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