Using Dropbox for Sharing Files within Firm
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By njeff3368
I just posed a question about collaboration with a tech support rep and she steered me here as she did not have and answer for me.
Question: Is there an efficient way to collaborate with colleagues on a single drawing file? Ideally, we would like to store our Chief files on some sort of server that we can both access remotely without the ridiculous process we go through now (described below). Tech support says they have seen many issues/file corruption with this type of system. This seems crazy to me as team collaboration is commonplace in today's workplace.
Note: We each have our own licenses on our own computers. We are a residential remodeling company and do a variety of projects (kitchens, baths, additions, decks, etc.)
Scenario: In our office there are two of us who work on every project in Chief. One person is responsible for all the structural components and permit drawing sets. The other person is responsible for all the interior components including interior/electrical/cabinet drawing sets. We find our current workflow cumbersome and are looking for a more efficient way to collaborate on our Chief projects.
Here's our current workflow:
- Structural: Inputs the field measure info then has to export the file as backup, save to computer, send to shared drive.
- Interior Designer: Downloads file from shared drive, opens file on her computer, designs concepts for client review. After a concept has been accepted by a client, and some detail work completed, the file is exported as back-up again, saved to computer, sent to shared folder.
Structural: Downloads the file, refines structural drawings to send to engineer. Exports file as back-up yada yada yada........
This inefficient process continues back and forth multiple times until all the client requested revisions, structural revisions and details are done and the drawings are completed. BTW, we also have to do this with our layout file as we want all of the information in one layout.
This method has lead to multiple files and back-up files on each of our computers making it confusing which one's is current and which ones are safe to delete. It got to a point where we just started using different files to complete each or our parts of the drawing sets. This obviously leads to discrepancies in the final drawings. So, we recently started doing the same program with the file saved to a physical thumb drive which we have to physically pass back and forth to each other (another inconvenience since we are not always working in the same office).
Frustrated, please HELP!! We are eager to hear how others deal with this issue and appreciate any input.
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By Michael_Gia
This is a warning.
If you're like me and use either Dropbox or iCloud or any other cloud storage solution then this is for you.
As you know Chief actually works well for keeping your plans/layouts in ICloud or Dropbox folders. Great for road warriors, and I've never had a problem.
The only downside is that your user library should NOT be relocated to the cloud. Although this would be great as it would eliminate the added step of continually exporting and importing your user library back and forth between your desktop and laptop.
Well,... yesterday I decided to give it a try. I called Chief technical support first and they told me that they don't recommend it. They also said that if I've been using iCloud with success for some time then I could give it a try and the gentleman gave me the how-to.
So I took the plunge and ported my user library with success to my iCloud folder.
It worked for the first plan I opened up.
The next plan I tried was a disaster.
From that point on Chief was not able to "find" or "locate" any of my plans in iCloud. I apparently broke Chief's path to iCloud. I called support and they then said, yeah, we are aware of this problem, but don't have a fix yet.
My first point is that Chief should have told me DON'T move your user library to the cloud - period!, - and not the nonchalant, give it a try....
I can still open plan/layout files that are stored on my hard disk locally or even on Dropbox but iCloud is broken for chief now, aparantly forever.
My solution was to move all my files from iCloud to Dropbox so it's not the end of the world but it was a pretty bad experience.
Wanted to share in case anyone had plans to do the same.
Yes, I even tried using time machine to go back before the point where I had moved my user library, no luck.
At this point I would also say that it's about time Chief offers its own Cloud storage solution and plan sharing capabilities for sharing and collaborating on projects.
I would not mind paying the same amount I already fork out to Dropbox and iCloud, to a new ChiefCloud bundled with SSA.
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By Synergy
Hi, Can anyone tell me if its possible to share or use the same files across MAC & PC? Is the plan and layout files the same format/file type?
We currently are using windows PC but are considering adding a MAC in the mix.
Are there any issues with using both MAC and PC?
Can we share the same plan and layout files, library, etc between PC and MAC? or do we need separate files for each?
Cheers
David
Chief Architect Premier X7
Chief Architect Premier X8
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