PerfectTablePlan does not support multiple users editing the same plan at the same time.
On Windows PerfectTablePlan uses file locking to ensure that only one user can open a plan file to write (even across a network). Any number of users can open the same plan file with read-only access. You can disable file locking in the 
Preferences window, but this is not recommended.
If you open a plan with read-only access then PerfectTablePlan will prompt you if it is modified by another application (e.g. by PerfectTablePlan on another computer) and give you the option to update. You can disable checking for updates in the Preferences window.
There are various different ways you can share a plan file between multiple computers with one or more users. Which is best depends on your circumstances:
Approach |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Copying plan files backwards and forwards by email attachment |
No effort to set up. |
Time taken to email plans.
Requires careful coordination if more than one person is editing a plan.
You have to be careful not to lose changes by copying an old file over a new one. |
Storing the plan file on a USB memory stick |
No synchronization problems. |
Requires a USB memory stick.
Only one person can be accessing the plan at any time. |
Shared network drive. |
A plan will be locked when one user has it open to write. Other users will only be able to open it as ‘read only’, preventing conflicting changes. Users that have opened the plan as read-only will be notified of any changes and be given the option to update. |
Requires access to a shared network drive.
File locking can be restrictive when you have multiple users trying to access a file. |
Store your plan files in a Dropbox, synchronised across all your machines. (Do not synchronise your Program files\PerfectTablePlan folder, this could cause all sort of problems) |
Changes on one machine are automatically synched to all other machines. Conflicts (.e.g. two users making changes to the same file at the same time) are handled automatically. Easily manage sharing with other users on a plan by plan basis. You can still access your plan even if you have no Internet access. Dropbox keeps a 1 month history of changes and allows edits and deletions to be undone. Works across Windows and Mac OS X. |
Requires a small amount of effort to set-up. Changes only sync to other machines when you have Internet access. If 2 users simultaneously edit the same plan on different machines at the same time you will end up with 2 versions of the plan. An encrypted copy of your data is transmitted to and stored on the Dropbox server. This may not be appropriate for highly confidential plans. Dropbox requires a payment if you want to store more than 2GB of file. |
Note If you have multiple users then please ensure you have the appropriate number of PerfectTablePlan licences.
See also: