Project Sharing - Reset

[DCarpenter]

Our company has used Project Sharing files for many years.  We are very familiar with the do's and don't of working with PF's, but for some reason, for the past 3 months we've experienced the "Do you want to Reset the Project File cloud version?" box popping up a lot.  Usually we'd only see this if a vendor moved the PF off or around Dropbox.  Just today, I told a coworker we needed to make this VWX file a PF, and he agreed.  I created it, with a Sharing Method of 'Cloud service', since we are storing the PF on Dropbox.  He and I are both admin's.  2 hours later I get the 'Do you want to Reset...' pop-up box on my first attempt of doing a Save and Commit.

 

* We are working on, and saving Working Files to our desktops, not on Dropbox.

* We are not moving the PF off or from where it sits on Dropbox.

* We are all working on the latest version of Dropbox.

* The PF on my local computer was available offline, and not just referencing the online file.

* We are all working on Vectorworks 2025.

 

Is there something I'm missing to help me understand why we're getting the "Do you want to Reset the Project File cloud version?" pop-up on a regular basis?

 

Dave

[DCarpenter]

So I'm not sure if I found the problem or just figured out a work around but we were able to have a problem free experience with our Project File when we posted it on one of our employee's person Dropbox account.  The only difference being, our company recently upgraded to an Enterprise Dropbox account, and our employee just has a standard Dropbox account.  I'm looking into this further but there might be some sort of security thing that Enterprise is doing that's causing Vectorworks to think the PF needs to be reset.  Stay tune to this bat channel for more news.

 

Dave 

[Joe-SA]

We are getting this same error.  Same long time experience with Project Sharing. We are on Dropbox for Business.  Our VWXP file is in a folder and the entire folder is set to sync.  We recently upgraded to VW2025 Update 8.

 

Just recently we started getting this error with every single Save and Commit.  One file has to be made the new starting point for the cloud due.

Something has seriously broken down with the communication between local and the cloud files.  Save and Commit takes many minutes to update. (we're on fiber internet).  I think the Check Out status is seeing a similar delay which is creating mismatched VWXP files.

 

Unless I can find a solution Project Sharing seems unusable to us at them moment. (with a looming deadline)

The VW2025 rebuild of Project Sharing has caused us far more issues than we had previously.

 

We're not quite ready to jump to 2026 but would that solve the problem?

 

Joe

[Diego Rodrigo - RV]

I'm having the same issue after a Vectorworks 2026 crash, all the PF where I'm not the admin are asking to be reseted, I've reinstalled Vectorworks with no luck

[DCarpenter]

It's good to know I'm not the only one with this issue.

 

Small update for me.  Moving our PF to a Project Managers private Dropbox account didn't make our problem any better, so we're still left to wonder what the problem is, and it's getting to a point of frustration for the team.  Some people are suggesting getting rid of the PF and just referencing a master VWX file.  That can work but it's messy.

 

I called VW tech support and I was told I would need to have the PF on the VW Cloud Server in order for their technicians to look at the metadata to see what's going on.  We haven't done that yet, but the more I thought about it, I thought, isn't the metadata is part of the VWXP file? 

 

Dave

[BartH]

On 1/9/2026 at 8:22 AM, DCarpenter said:

We haven't done that yet, but the more I thought about it, I thought, isn't the metadata is part of the VWXP file?

I was having a different issue with project files. Support had me rename the Database folder in the VW Cloud App to try to purge some conflicts.

It may be that the metadata they get comes from the Cloud App being able to see projects on the VW Cloud Server, project files on 3rd party servers might not share the same data. 

[Barbara Ann]

PROJECT SHARING HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE FAILURE AT THIS ARCHITECTURE OFFICE

 

We, a small office of 6 persons, have been unsuccessfully project sharing for about 3 years now.  We do small, domestic projects only. the building is modeled in 3D and all the details are drawn in "Annotation."

 

We have spent many weeks liasing with our own internal IT guy since last September, and then more weeks with Vectorworks Service Select team, November, December, and again this week. 

 

We have completely changed our project sharing system from "Cloud based " ( Dropbox )  to a local, in the office server base for our vwxp files, with the working files on each team members's desktops.  This worked well, for a few weeks, but problems developed again. We all log into the server individually as of a few days ago.   Always works for a few hours, then when the 3D model sections get altered a bit or anything more complicated than an annotation, it goes off - not saving to the PF, moving viewports around randomly, un linking the section lines from the viewports... absolutely maddening. 

 

The sharing is still not working!  Today colleague 1  has to go back to a vwx file to continue work, with another member working on a different file for different work. Even the vwx file has some internal issues and is moving viewports around randomly... more hours and hours of work lost with a looming deadline ! This is not what drawing software with a simple project sharing protocol is supposed to offer. 

 

The boss has been with Vectorworks for 28 years and spends upwards of £10,000 per year on licenses.... we are EXTREMELY UNHAPPY and await, yet again assistance from Vectorworks.  

[Pat Stanford]

@JuanP???

[Christiaan]

7 hours ago, Barbara Ann said:

Always works for a few hours, then when the 3D model sections get altered a bit or anything more complicated than an annotation, it goes off .... moving viewports around randomly...

 

.... Even the vwx file has some internal issues and is moving viewports around randomly... 

Hi Barbara, sorry to hear all the trouble you're having. I've experienced major problems in the early days of PS, but not so much these days. One of the difficulties is in trying to tease apart Project Sharing VW problems vs standard VW problems vs user behaviour.

So—just to try and tease one aspect apart and maybe eliminate an issue—the above comment makes me wonder if one of the people working on the file (possibly the person who experienced "Even the vwx file has some internal issues and is moving viewports around randomly") is adjusting the length of Section Marker lines? Adjusting Section Marker lengths will move Viewports. Maybe everybody already knows this and this is not actually the problem, but I thought it worth pointing out to check.

[DCarpenter]

@Christiaan Thank you for jumping into this thread.  Any suggestions as to why my company is receiving some may "Reset Project File" windows popping up?  We've tried two different Dropbox accounts, we've been using PF's for a number of years.  I've never seen so many "Reset Project Files" windows pop up, as I have in the last 6 months.  In the last two days, my partner and I have had 4-6 Reset widows pop up so far.  This has been happening on at least two PF's that I'm aware of.  I'm out of ideas, any suggestions on what I should I do?

 

Dave

[Christiaan]

I'm not sure Dave. I've had a couple of terrible experiences with Dropbox speeds recently, which can lead to issues with PS. Or perhaps it's particular change to one of Vectorworks' updates?

 

But I would definitely give Vectorworks Clouds Services a go. Either you'll still have the problem and VW can take a closer look at it, or the problem will go away.

[Barbara Ann]

On 1/22/2026 at 6:45 PM, Christiaan said:

Hi Barbara, sorry to hear all the trouble you're having. I've experienced major problems in the early days of PS, but not so much these days. One of the difficulties is in trying to tease apart Project Sharing VW problems vs standard VW problems vs user behaviour.

So—just to try and tease one aspect apart and maybe eliminate an issue—the above comment makes me wonder if one of the people working on the file (possibly the person who experienced "Even the vwx file has some internal issues and is moving viewports around randomly") is adjusting the length of Section Marker lines? Adjusting Section Marker lengths will move Viewports. Maybe everybody already knows this and this is not actually the problem, but I thought it worth pointing out to check.

THANKS  for checking in,  Christiaan.

 

I hear what you are saying re project share vs user behaviour.  Yes someone had moved the section marker lines,  but later on duplicated viewports, moved viewport  behaviour was not initiated by a user. We are currently unable to share VW files reliably at all. When a vwx file gets made into a project file, the section lines and grid lines become disassociated/ unpredictable.  something is up. 

We have been talking primarily with a VWmService Select person named "Nuno" who has been helpful, but unable to explain/resolve. Despite the months of issues with project sharing by experienced, intelligent VW users at this office, no one at VW  Service Select can "take the bit in their mouth" to get to the bottom of our project sharing issues. 

Our director had written directly to Vectorworks last week to try to get more targeted,  meaningful assistance. No answer so far. Any help you could offer, or drawing attention to our plight would be super !

[Christiaan]

@Barbara Ann has Nuno been able replicate the problem at his end with your files (and submit a bug report to engineers)?

[Barbara Ann]

15 hours ago, Christiaan said:

@Barbara Ann has Nuno been able replicate the problem at his end with your files (and submit a bug report to engineers)?

No, he has not.  There was an issue since Friday am where the zip file of the problematic  .vwxp file sent via email from us to Nuno was empty but he didn't let us know.  We sent it again yesterday. A bug fix submitted to Engineers is what would be ideal. Thank you and I'll keep posting until this is over. 

[Christiaan]

@Barbara Ann if privacy is not a problem, or if you've managed to isolate the problem into a simplified file, feel free to post it here too and we can take a look at it too.

[ThreeDot]

Project Sharing has been a nightmare for us. We can rarely check out layers or commit changes without errors. We get the "reset" error multiple times per day. I frequently get errors that an administrator has released checked-out elements, but I am the ONLY administrator. It's maddening.   I cannot tell you how many hours we've spent trying to reset project sharing, manually copying and pasting changes into new working files. I've spent hours on the phone with technical support, and there is no resolution.

 

Even the smallest changes often require dozens of layers and hundreds of elements to be checked out. Vectorworks Cloud is supposed to support delta sync, but it syncs the entire file every time. Something is severely wrong with Project Sharing. It's extremely frustrating and time-consuming, and we cannot run a business like this. We're actively looking for alternatives. Vectorworks is our #1 impediment to work, by far.

[Christiaan]

What version of VW are you using ThreeDot?

[ThreeDot]

We've been wrestling with this since last summer, so versions 2025 and 2026.

[Joe-SA]

We recently had issues with Project Sharing we narrowed down to slow WIFI.  Some edits to our firewall caused WIFI to slow down. Non-CAD users didn't really notice but VW slowed to the point where a simple object checkout would take many minutes to reach the VWXP file in the Dropbox Cloud and while it was trying to send that data the entire VWXP file was locked down waiting for the update so no additional checkouts could happen for anyone else until the VWXP completed the status update.  A full sync would lock things up and never even complete the task.  Moving people off WIFI to hardline fiber internet fixed most of these problems.  People working from home on slower internet speeds had similar problems.  We've all gone wired there now as well.

Oddly, however, we were doing a lot of Project Sharing working from home on those same slow internet speeds through Covid and over the years since and never had these same issues so something changed on VW's end over that time with the various version upgrades.  Seems to need to sync way more data far more often even when you are choosing to NOT commit but just notify the VWXP file which objects and layers you've checked out. 

 

[BartH]

I wonder if any of this could be attributed to WiFi QoS settings?

It might be an irrational fear, but I don't trust ISPs to optimize our Routers and Gateways for CAD use.

I am sure they are prioritized for streaming and gaming. I only seek with a minimal knowledge of the subject.

 

just a thought

 

 

[Andy__M]

On 1/23/2026 at 1:38 PM, DCarpenter said:

This has been happening on at least two PF's that I'm aware of.  I'm out of ideas, any suggestions on what I should I do?

 

Dave

Hey, I know you! Ive had the same issue and also with the dropbox enterprise account. I have not had it happen since moving to 2026 but can't say for sure that made a difference.

[Christiaan]

@ThreeDot @DCarpenter @Barbara Ann do you have any users on Wifi (or slow connections)? As Joe-SA mentions above, this can be a source of problems.

 

I just came across this issue the other day when Shorter mentioned it here. I've realise that my own experience has always been either collaborating with users who are all on ethernet or collaborating with users who are using Wifi but in different time zones and don't crossover when working on the project file, so I think I've been lucky to avoid the issues that Wifi can cause.

 

[Joe-SA]

I'll add that I think the biggest switch in the technology was when the prescribed method of sync'ing moved from just the VWXP file to the FOLDER that file is in.

Any Commit causes the VWXP file to delete and get replaced with a new file.  This ideally takes a minute or two but I'm finding these slow internet connections might stretch this out for 10-20 minutes for a full commit.  If the connection is really bad it might not fully sync at all.  I'm currently sharing a VWXP with a co-worker who is traveling and just had to wait that long for his upload using the hotel wifi.  In the meantime I only had available to me what I had already checked out.  No new communications with the VWXP were possible because the file literally did not exist in my local Dropbox folder.   It had been deleted at the start of his commit and 20 minutes later it finally returned.  Impossible way to collaborate effectively.  We are currently in VW2025 and I know I'm running Update 8 on a M4 Max macbook.   He's on a M2 Max macbook.

[Christiaan]

10 hours ago, Joe-SA said:

I'm currently sharing a VWXP with a co-worker who is traveling and just had to wait that long for his upload using the hotel wifi.  In the meantime I only had available to me what I had already checked out.  No new communications with the VWXP were possible because the file literally did not exist in my local Dropbox folder.   It had been deleted at the start of his commit and 20 minutes later it finally returned.  Impossible way to collaborate effectively.

But what you're describing here is how I want project sharing to work over a slow connection. I want it to ensure that everything that I haven't signed out is locked down until I receive the other users changes, so as to avoid conflicts. Yes, it's no way to collaborate effectively, but that's down to the slow internet connection, is it not? One thing to remember is that when somebody has a slow internet connection, the upload speed is usually worse.

[Joe-SA]

I see two layers of communication...one being the full commit of new objects and the other being what I call the 'status update' where the only communication that is happening is the to tell the VWXP that the check out status of certain objects have changed.  I expect the former to take a long time but not the latter.  We try not to check out objects one at a time and pepper the sync queue with one off changes in status but rather check out full layers or collections of layers in one go.  Before the safe guards were added we would end up with conflicted copies where both parties made changes to the same objects prior to the Dropbox sync completing.  Being locked out ensures better control and solved those problems.  However, this lock out used to not be no more than a minute or so and would not interrupt our work flow much more than an AutoSave if it were just due to a status update.  This was our experience when we were all working from home on slow wifi internet connections in VW2020.  These latest slow downs we have only been dealing with for the last couple months where we are finding both types of communications have increased the lock out time significantly.  VW2025 rebuilt all the background coding that drives Project Sharing. That led to the new requirement of FOLDER SHARING instead of FILE SHARING which I suspect is the root of this problem because VWXP files now have to more often be deleted and replaced instead of just internally modified.