Use this forum to ask questions about DataCAD 21 and DataCAD LT 21.
#77943 by Dave
Sun Apr 26, 2020 6:54 am
Mark Bell wrote:Hi Jim, Giuseppe ,

As mentioned earlier, it's not always possible for each user to mimic exactly the full file paths on my system.


May be on the wrong track here but could you create a folder on any of your local drives c:, d:, or?, let's call the folder shared. Then share the folder as shared or work or what ever, next map the folder as let's say s:. I usually do this from a cmd prompt run as administrator -
net use s: computername\sharename
-
Have found I sometimes need to restart win 10 as the mapped drive doesn't always show up straight away.
In file explorer find s: drive and create a new folder for Dropbox. I would install datacad to s: apps\datacad. Setup Dropbox to sync s:\dropbox.
This could be done on each machine within the group and then your paths would match.

Would that work? It is getting late here and I probably need some sleep.
#77944 by Dave
Sun Apr 26, 2020 7:18 am
Sorry Josh,hadn't seen your reply when I posted mine.
#77946 by Giuseppe Barberio
Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:06 am
I was thinking of using one drive as well. In my case what I am trying to do is have folders and files (this would include x-refs) on one drive. My co-worker and I would access one drive and see the same files and folders. The files and folders from one drive would be synced to the files and folders on our hard drives. Once we save changes to our files they sync back to one drive. Right now, that’s all I need. This is for a single project. We just want to be able to work on a single set of CDs that would be synced and up to date. We would have to communicate to each other regarding what files we are working on so we don’t overwrite each other’s work.

I guess this could be done with DropBox as well. One thing about one drive, that I had seen in a YouTube video, was that you can create multiple project folder file structures to share. If I understand correctly, I can create a project file folder structure to share with one person and then create another for a different project to be shared with someone else.

I’ll have to experiment and post what I learn.

Thanks for all the feed back
#77986 by pjdixit
Mon May 04, 2020 2:58 pm
I have not tried it myself but this is an interesting option:

"ownCloud is a suite of client–server software for creating and using file hosting services. ownCloud functionally has similarities to the widely used Dropbox. The primary functional difference between ownCloud and Dropbox is that ownCloud does not offer data centre capacity to host stored files. The Server Edition of ownCloud is free and open-source, thereby allowing anyone to install and operate it without charge on their own private server."


https://owncloud.org/
#77993 by pjdixit
Tue May 05, 2020 1:58 pm
Neil Blanchard wrote:That does look interesting.



Interesting aspect of it being open-source is that I can develop functionality to view DataCAD files (2D/3D) right in the browser. Let me clarify what I mean - Imagine you are using DropBox or One Drive and you can click on the DataCAD file and it can open a viewer (2D/3D) right in the web-browser - Just like a PDF or a Word file. Now since Dropbox or Onedrive it proprietary/closed source, I cant add that functionality to Dropbox or OneDrive, but I can for ownCloud.

In addition, you can configure it so that when you select a DataCAD file, you can add an option to add Zoom meeting like functionality to discuss the file with clients, co-workers or other collaborators over a video call and share the 2D/3D model on the screen. It is a much better workflow for collaboration than jumping through 10 different tools like FTP, Dropbox, constant exchange of emails to keep everyone in sync.

The problems I see discussed here are faced by software developers for very long time (many people working on same file simultaneously at different locations across the globe) and there is a very good solution to it already - Git (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git). It is developed by Linus Torvals, father of Linux and it has changed the software development for good forever.

It was meant for Software development but it is SO useful that advanced CAD development houses started making Git like functionality an integral part of their CAD software. For example:
1. Onshape: https://www.onshape.com/cad-blog/tech-t ... ng-designs and
2, Fusion 360: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusio ... usion-360/

It is hard to explain it to non-programmers but trust me, once you understand it, there is no going back.

The future of CAD Applications is that they will have some sort cloud functionality integral to it - either being the CAD software cloud based itself or leveraging other tools such as file storage, versioning, collaboration tools such as screen sharing, video calls etc.
#78002 by pjdixit
Tue May 05, 2020 5:47 pm
Neil Blanchard wrote:If we could map drives with ownCloud - that would be fantastic. Or, even copy and save to a remote location, or sync automatically - this would make it better for those of us who are working remotely.


I believe that's doable.

In that case, you will be syncing in two cloud based storage systems - OneDrive (Using Micrsoft's Servers) and ownCloud (Your private server).
#78387 by artmanvt2000
Wed Jul 15, 2020 9:58 am
With the assistance of an I.T. professional, we had a Synology NAS installed on our network. It provides central access to files within our office and a robust backup features. We also have cloud access and VPN access to the NAS. During the stay at home orders, we were all working from home with a lot of sucess.
#78390 by Neil Blanchard
Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:40 pm
We are now using an app that does everything much better - we can working directly on the NAS, which is HUGE. The icing on the cake, would be if we could map drives, to get to the symbols, and to insert XRefs, etc. But, no more manual copying files to back them up.

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