Cloud and file management

[SusanC]

I would love to hear how other Chief users work off the Cloud.  Chief recommends downloading the file, working on it, and uploading it again.   

Do you simply download it to your desktop to work on it? 

How do you label your folders?  Tips for file management?

Do you use the "File / Backup entire plan" option?

 

Best,

Susan

[Richard_Morrison]

1) Install Dropbox.

2) Put your files in Dropbox in a normal project folder.

3) Open and close your plan file normally. You don't have to think about download/uploading the file.

[Renerabbitt]

45 minutes ago, SusanC said:

I would love to hear how other Chief users work off the Cloud.  Chief recommends downloading the file, working on it, and uploading it again.   

Do you simply download it to your desktop to work on it? 

How do you label your folders?  Tips for file management?

Do you use the "File / Backup entire plan" option?

 

Best,

Susan

It would help to have more information about your intended office collaborative. multiple users or just switching from desktop to laptop?

I personally use Microsoft OneDrive as I had a lot of trouble with chief crashing in Google's Backup and Sync service, and Dropbox's pricing was too much for multiple business users. 

My x10 root is in OneDrive as well as my working .plan and .layout files. OneDrive does a fantastic job of authoring which allows me to work with live cloud updating. I chose to keep my files locale and constantly updating as opposed to dlownload on demand option. Something to note, if you plan on sharing the user library, you must wait for it to fully upload from one machine and fully download to the next or OneDrive will upload with the computers name tag attached to the user library essentially creating a copy that will not be seen by CA until it is renamed to "user_library." Same confliction methods apply to .plan and layout. If you have it open in both machines, one will produce a saved file with the computers name tagged to it.

 

[DRAWZILLA]

A Lot of people here use Dropbox for their job files and the Chief data files. You then just need to open any file from the Dropbox folder and draw away. Because you put the data file there also all your materials are automatically there too.

[Renerabbitt]

1 minute ago, Richard_Morrison said:

1) Install Dropbox.

2) Put your files in Dropbox in a normal project folder.

3) Open and close your plan file normally. You don't have to think about download/uploading the file.

I loved Dropbox for its mobile features and overall functionality...but was too expensive for multi user when I priced it out several years ago. 

[lbuttery]

I chose to keep my files locale and constantly updating as opposed to dlownload on demand option

 

ReneRabbit - this is my preference too

 

I see the Cloud as a "convenience" not as a workplace

 

I'm old fashioned since I started with computers in 1976 and bought my first one in 1978

 

spent 30 years as a systems analyst/programmer and I prefer to control my stuff locally

 

I have been to hotels and other places that have PAINFULLY slow internet

 

get to a clients that has "bad" internet or they don't want you using theirs and ???

 

just my opinion

 

Lew

[DavidJPotter]

I used Dropbox until recently when they charged me for services I did not order or agree to. I canceled my "Free" account. Now I use Microsoft's One Drive, I bought Microsoft Office 365 which I use every day and got a terabyte of storage space with it for just 6.99 per month.  i am liking it very much so far but I am a one-person operation, I do not know how it would be with others also using the same space.

 

DJP

[SusanC]

Thank you all for sharing your info.  I work in a small firm and we have 3 Mac computers with Chief and 2 designers who draft.  All files are stored on Google Drive.  Only one person works at a time on a file and we've been working directly off of Google Drive for several years with no issues (yes, I know this is not the prescribed method, but the manual download and upload is a pain).  Just in the past 6 months I've had odd little things happening with GD and Chief which has led me to rethink how I want to manage all of our files. 

 

1.  A couple of you mentioned Drop Box and not having to download / upload.  How is it different to store files on Drop Box and work on them without downloading and uploading?  Does DB work differently from other cloud services?

2.  Is Microsoft One Drive compatible with Mac?

 

Thanks,

Susan

[Richard_Morrison]

One advantage of Dropbox is that all files are stored (and accessed) locally, and only sync to the cloud and other computers when there is an internet connection active, and this is done automatically and transparently. If you don't have an internet connection, it works just the same, and catches up when you get a connection. Otherwise, it is just like working from your C: drive. I also have OneDrive, and it seems to work similarly, but not as fast as Dropbox. I've had a few glitches with OneDrive and Chief, but never an issue with Dropbox over a number of years. Somehow, the syncing algorithm seems much faster with Dropbox, and it will sync up even a multi-GB file within seconds.  

[SusanC]

Richard, 

The description of how you have DropBox set up sounds very similar to how I work with Google Drive.  I have access to GD on the web, but I also store a copy locally on my computer.  I access the local copy and it syncs up transparently when I am on the internet.  

What led me to make some changes were the following:

1.  A Google Hangout while working on Chief with myself and one other person works fine, but with myself and 2 other people viewing,  Chief freezes up.  Now I download the file to the desktop before beginning the Google Hangout and upload it again after we are done.

2.  Recently 2 files have gone missing.  I am able to see them if I enter GD through the web portal  and type in the search box, but I am not able to see them in the file they should be located in.  Perhaps a subtle issue with permissions.   

3.  After upgrading to X10 I am not able to open a file if it was created on one of the other computers in our office.  I must go to the computer it was created on, open the file, and save it to be read by X10 and then all 3 computers can see it.  I haven't determined if this is a Google Drive issue or a Chief issue or both.

Susan

[HumbleChief]

I started with GD, and still use it with a colleague/builder but had some weird synching problems that I couldn't deal with so I started using DropBox for my files and haven't looked back. Both GD and DB use the same strategy for file sharing/storing and act like a local drive it you choose but I prefer DropBox. I use DropBox for ALL my file which I access from a laptop and 2 other desktops. NICE. I also backup everything with Carbonite which has saved me twice which may not see like a lot but those 2 files retrieved made the cost way worth it.

[jcaffee]

I'm also a OneDrive user and the only complaint I have is CA needs to make the User Catalog a collection of separate physical files.  Even with a 50/50 internet connection, my 15GB user lib can take upwards of 20 minutes to update--effectively locking the file--after I exit Chief.  If I try to open CA again before the update is complete...

 

 

 

[HumbleChief]

13 minutes ago, jcaffee said:

I'm also a OneDrive user and the only complaint I have is CA needs to make the User Catalog a collection of separate physical files.  Even with a 50/50 internet connection, my 15GB user lib can take upwards of 20 minutes to update--effectively locking the file--after I exit Chief.  If I try to open CA again before the update is complete...

 

 

 

Interesting - I wonder if that's factor of OneDrive or a Chief setup. I moved my library/user library to the cloud/DropBox and see just the slightest slow down accessing it - maybe 2 seconds? Noticeable but not a deal breaker.. 20 minutes? Maybe tech can help with that - doesn't seem right.