Multiple user/computer access

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Multiple user/computer access

PerfectTablePlan does not support multiple users editing the same plan at the same time.

File locking is not available on Mac. If you have 2 or more users accessing the same plan then you need to be careful that they don't overwrite each other's changes.

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.

Multiple users can access the same plan from different machines.

Requires access to a shared network drive.

 

File locking is not supported on the Mac version of PerfectTablePlan. This means that users can unknowingly overwrite each other's changes.

Store your plan files in a Dropbox, synchronised across all your machines.

(Do not synchronise your Applications 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.

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 You can store PerfectTablePlan and its preferences on a USB key as a portable application, along with your plans. This makes it easy to move between computers.

If you have multiple users then please ensure you have the appropriate number of PerfectTablePlan licences.

See also:

Export to web, iPad and other devices

Using on a USB drive