basilbabaa Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Is there a way to sync the Preferences between multiple machines. I see that you can change folder locations in X11, but it does not seem to affect the environment when opening Chief on another system... I have a sit down desk, standup desk and laptop computers that I'd like to run Chief on... I'd like to be able to get up from my desk and go stand at my standup desk and resume working with whatever environment changes I made to automatically appear without having to manually do anything. I managed to get my Libraries all to relocate to the cloud and those all come through, but the environment is not the same across each computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 This question is best posed to Tech Support or Customer Sales. I say this because in order to sync "Preferences" (which is set in each PC or Mac on a single computer and the only way I know of is to do that manually on each computer's Chief Architect instance), ".plan files" is another separate matter. The reason I suggest Tech Support or Sales is that they sell "Seats" of Chief Premier designed for classroom use where multiple students then can use a single seat of Chief the technical details of which I am not privy to or I do not know exactly how that works or if it might fit your situation. My solution of doing it manually, making a list of Preference changes and then manually making those changes on each of your target computers will work. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 I'll assume you are aware you will need to change the activation of Chief as you switch computers. The Preferences ( enviroment? ) are saved in the Chief .ini file, there will be more than one if you have more than 1 version of Chief Installed, this previous thread has the location etc of the File you'll need to copy to each computer.... this won't "sync" them , you would need to do it occasionally your again. M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 I am aware of how to manage my license and deactivate and reactivate on the other machines... I'm also on a Mac and looked all through the OS including hidden files and files that may be buried in places it ought not be... I could not find anything resembling the likes of an .ini file. Called support they said they could not support that... I guess I'll have to manually sync my changes... seems sad for this day and age of cloud computing that it's not a simple syncing of a few settings files... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 6 minutes ago, basilbabaa said: I could not find anything resembling the likes of an .ini file. Even on a Windows system that is a hidden file. Maybe a Mac user will step in here and help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 13 hours ago, basilbabaa said: I am aware of how to manage my license and deactivate and reactivate on the other machines... I'm also on a Mac and looked all through the OS including hidden files and files that may be buried in places it ought not be... I could not find anything resembling the likes of an .ini file. Called support they said they could not support that... I guess I'll have to manually sync my changes... seems sad for this day and age of cloud computing that it's not a simple syncing of a few settings files... Editing the INI File or playing with it is not supported by Chief so you do this at your own Risk.......... To find the location of the .ini files goto Preferences>General>Folders> click the button under All Program Paths... and find the location of the Preferences Folder in the list. (3rd to last on a PC and is usually C:\Users\{Your-USERNAME}\AppData\Roaming\Chief Architect Inc. on a Windows Computer) M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennw Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Go to Preferences>General>Folders> Under All Program Paths, click Show. Scroll down to Preferences Folder and click Show In Finder. You should see the .ini files for all your Chief versions. Foe each Chief version you should see Chief Architect Premier X11.ini and Chief Architect Premier X11 Dialog Sizes.ini Do you have finder set to show hidden file extensions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renerabbitt Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 4 hours ago, basilbabaa said: I am aware of how to manage my license and deactivate and reactivate on the other machines... I'm also on a Mac and looked all through the OS including hidden files and files that may be buried in places it ought not be... I could not find anything resembling the likes of an .ini file. Called support they said they could not support that... I guess I'll have to manually sync my changes... seems sad for this day and age of cloud computing that it's not a simple syncing of a few settings files... Cloud computing is still in its infancy and its a rare occasion when core dll/ini or other native filetypes central to a programs execution are available for authoring and syncing...for many reasons, but namely, because of its implied volitility. Need some clarification as to what exactly you are trying to sync; libraries, preferences, plan/layout defaults, toolbars? Dependent on what you are looking for I would recommend different methods or would encourage you to change your workflow. I see no reason to sync preferences as they are simple to duplicate and would only complicate things trying to sync them in cloud. Defaults settings can be saved using the SAM method or simply saving plans as templates etc. Toolbars can be synced using symbolic links, same as libraries...though more temperamental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 8 hours ago, Renerabbitt said: Cloud computing is still in its infancy and its a rare occasion when core dll/ini or other native filetypes central to a programs execution are available for authoring and syncing...for many reasons, but namely, because of its implied volitility. Need some clarification as to what exactly you are trying to sync; libraries, preferences, plan/layout defaults, toolbars? Dependent on what you are looking for I would recommend different methods or would encourage you to change your workflow. I see no reason to sync preferences as they are simple to duplicate and would only complicate things trying to sync them in cloud. Defaults settings can be saved using the SAM method or simply saving plans as templates etc. Toolbars can be synced using symbolic links, same as libraries...though more temperamental. I was hoping for the following workflow: Deactivate licence at sit down desk walk to standup desk open Chief & activate license choose from Recent Files (which synced during my move to other desk) goto work... as if nothing changed I am unfamiliar with the SAM method. I have successfully used symbolic links before, but with new Chief 11, pretty much everything is syncing, except for preferences and the recent files list... mainly because I cannot figure out where on a Mac that these files are stored/hidden. I even moved the entire Application and everything to the cloud with symbolic links, but that still did not sync the Recent Files List, so it must be recording to a MacOS file somewhere??? If I could only just find this, but for now, I've manually configured my preferences and I know from where on my cloud synced drive to open my most recent file... Was just hoping with Chief 11 for Mac, to get the Mac experience where we never have to think about setting up to sync anything... many of my Mac apps ask now what preferred cloud storage medium we prefer to sync our configurations to whether it be DropBox, iCloud, etc... and if you choose iCloud, they just setup a hidden space in iCloud and start syncing there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 17 minutes ago, basilbabaa said: the Recent Files List, so it must be recording to a MacOS file somewhere??? The Recent File List is in the .ini File under the heading [Recent%20file%20list] , typically near the bottom. If the information I ( or Glen) posted above doesn't help find the File , I have no idea why sorry. M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinWaldron Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 The program Alibre Design 2019 has auto open and release of the program....... not sue why other programs find this impossible. Not sure why Chief can't do the same!........ (Open on one machine shut the program down and walk to another machine and the program will automatically open when you only own the license rights to one program and still yet go to a third machine if the 2nd machine program is shut down...... you can still only run one instance of the program) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renerabbitt Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 57 minutes ago, basilbabaa said: If I could only just I would encourage you to change your methods...having worked with clouds since their introduction I would be very hesitant to trust the recent files list to always be up to date. What is wrong with getting to know your file structure and opening the files directly from finder/explorer? It's just as fast and with the added benefit of having a higher likelihood that you won't be opening up an earlier version of the file I can also guarantee that you will start getting redundancies in your library over time. I have a video that goes over a method that works for me in the symbols and content thread in my signature. Syncing the inf file will occasionally crash your computer..I've tried it personally, not to get into the finite details but it has more to do with the cloud authoring methods than Chiefs handling of it's core structure. From a programming standpoint it wouldn't be a good decision to make chief cater to a moving Target...I know I wouldn't spend a ton of money developing something to work with a platform that could change next year just so someone can have an added convenience that they could achieve by other means Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renerabbitt Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Also what preferences are you changing so frequently? .just for my own curiosity and so maybe I have a better solution for you...I maybe tweak a preference once or twice a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 9 hours ago, Renerabbitt said: Cloud computing is still in its infancy and its a rare occasion when core dll/ini or other native filetypes central to a programs execution are available for authoring and syncing...for many reasons, but namely, because of its implied volitility. Need some clarification as to what exactly you are trying to sync; libraries, preferences, plan/layout defaults, toolbars? Dependent on what you are looking for I would recommend different methods or would encourage you to change your workflow. I see no reason to sync preferences as they are simple to duplicate and would only complicate things trying to sync them in cloud. Defaults settings can be saved using the SAM method or simply saving plans as templates etc. Toolbars can be synced using symbolic links, same as libraries...though more temperamental. 25 minutes ago, Kbird1 said: The Recent File List is in the .ini File under the heading [Recent%20file%20list] , typically near the bottom. If the information I ( or Glen) posted above doesn't help find the File , I have no idea why sorry. M. You guys rock! I found the .ini files they are in a hidden folder under my user folder "Macintosh HD/Users/USER/.config/Chief Architect Inc/" Chief Architect Premier X11.ini Chief Architect Premier X11 Dialog Sizes.ini Everything syncs w/ one change as follows: Setup Chief on 1 computer Move the hidden "user home folder/.configChief Architect Inc/" into a cloud space Use symbolic links on each system to replace the moved "user home folder/.config/Chief Architect Inc/" BOOM everything syncs! ALL PROGRAM PATHS ARE SYNCED You cannot tell you've moved to a different machine. NICE! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 4 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said: Also what preferences are you changing so frequently..just for my own curiosity, I maybe tweak a preference once or twice a year. It was not the preferences so much, more so I was wanting the Recent Files List to sync across them.... Kinda silly I know, but it was such a simple fix once I started thinking about everyone's suggestions... just find those preference files... and boom you don't have to change anything else, just use symlinks and boom the machines are identical every detail, all the time no matter what I change on either one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renerabbitt Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 5 minutes ago, basilbabaa said: You guys rock! I found the .ini files they are in a hidden folder under my user folder "Macintosh HD/Users/USER/.config/Chief Architect Inc/" Chief Architect Premier X11.ini Chief Architect Premier X11 Dialog Sizes.ini Everything syncs w/ one change as follows: Setup Chief on 1 computer Move the hidden "user home folder/.configChief Architect Inc/" into a cloud space Use symbolic links on each system to replace the moved "user home folder/.config/Chief Architect Inc/" BOOM everything syncs! ALL PROGRAM PATHS ARE SYNCED You cannot tell you've moved to a different machine. NICE! Thank you. Please report back in time, curious to see if you start running into CA crashes over time. The way authoring works on most cloud systems is that a file is locked for editing when syncing to a cloud often times longer than what your machine represents..when a new system tries to sync it will attempt to access this file, this can cause a corruption in system files, essentially crashing the program and at times even making you restore the program.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 1 minute ago, Renerabbitt said: Please report back in time, curious to see if you start running into CA crashes over time. The way authoring works on most cloud systems is that a file is locked for editing when syncing to a cloud often times longer than what your machine represents..when a knew system tries to sync it will attempt to access this file, this can cause a corruption in system files, essentially crashing the program and at times even making you restore the program.. Will do. I have manually backed up everything, now that I know where all the settings are. I'll try iCloud first then Dropbox, then even my local SAN to see how performance differs, and give an update... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renerabbitt Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Also periodically check to see if you have multiple user libraries in your sync location, when CA writes a big user library at the close of a program it takes a while for the cloud service to upload ..if your other system is trying to download at the same time and then CA is opened on the new machine the cloud authoring system will write a new user library with a different file pathing, making you lose any new symbols without any warning or alert. Their is a workaround as I describe earlier..good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 59 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said: Also periodically check to see if you have multiple user libraries in your sync location, when CA writes a big user library at the close of a program it takes a while for the cloud service to upload ..if your other system is trying to download at the same time and then CA is opened on the new machine the cloud authoring system will write a new user library with a different file pathing, making you lose any new symbols without any warning or alert. Their is a workaround as I describe earlier..good luck! Because I use this same process with my accounting software, I never access another system until the uploads and downloads have synced. I am familiar with duplicate files and corruption so I avoid opening synced apps until I have confirmed syncing has completed. And while not great for business and collaboration as compared to DropBox or OneDrive, so far, iCloud has been the fastest to sync with for applications such as this. Sync speeds for me typically measure at a rate of 130MB /sec. to/from Apple's servers, which is typically 5 times as fast as I receive with DropBox; and OneDrive is so slow for me it's not worth it to me to measure. So far I am noticing it takes about 20 seconds for CA to sync once I close it and move to another. I will keep you posted... thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basilbabaa Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 14 hours ago, glennw said: Go to Preferences>General>Folders> Under All Program Paths, click Show. Scroll down to Preferences Folder and click Show In Finder. You should see the .ini files for all your Chief versions. Foe each Chief version you should see Chief Architect Premier X11.ini and Chief Architect Premier X11 Dialog Sizes.ini Do you have finder set to show hidden file extensions? Oh Glenn, I just now saw your post! LOL. You had the answer all along. Ha Ha. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownTiger Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 ln - s (symbolic links ) are fine. They are processed at the OS level, vs cloud services that asynchronously updates the cloud images. Dropbox /google drive is too pitifully slow IMHO. I suspect with a good SAN, times will be the fastests. I assume you have SAN and not NAS. With MacOS I would have no issues with mounting SAN volumes placing shared components on them, with SANs computers communicate with SAN disk arrays using the SCSI protocol. The network is formed using SAS/SATA fabrics, or mapping layers to other protocols such as Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) that maps SCSI over Fibre Channel, or iSCSI that maps SCSI over TCP/IP. The SANs are much faster, the issues observed by Renerabbitt are not necessary applicable to SANs. They are not a synchronized images - rather direct reads and writes. SANs were designed to handle the shared components multiple access, etc issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now