File shortcuts to resources not supported

[vsd]

The office where I'm working is about to switch from Microstation to VW. With these premises, I began to organize standard resources on the server. Confident to be able to load them as shortcut/aliases files in the local application folders of my colleagues in the future, when the office will make the switch.

But it doesn't work.

Resources must be "real" files in order to be recognized.

Example: a class standards file (.sta) as alias will not be "seen" when creating new classes and choosing "from standards".

Since the VW guide is stating that it should be possible, I have no other choice but to consider this a bug in the current Application version.

Any workaround known?

VSD

[vsd]

Please, is nobody else interested in a network usage of the application?

Katje, do you know a trick? Do you have a suggestion?

Is it an aknowledged bug?

[_c_]

To organize common resources for a network proceed as follows:

- move a resource folder from a local application folder to the location of your choice on a server

- create a shortcut/alias of this moved folder back to the local application folder

From that point on you'll be able to share the resources contained in the folder even if they reside on an external partition/drive.

Please note that you MUST use original folders created by VW, and THEN link them back to the local application folders.

If the folder was not created by VW it doesn't work. The files contained in the folder are not recognized.

I personally do not understand how come it has to be a folder created by VW, why it is not possible to simple create a folder and name it according to the usual resource standards. This is particularly uncomprehensible for me under Windows, who do not emploies ID for the creation of aliases/shortcuts. But this is not the place to explore this kind of things.

I must thank my local distributor for this hint, who found the solution and kindly helped me out.

Orso

[dcont]

I'm very interested in using resources over the network. We have specific files that we reference and each time it needs to be updated, I have to replace the resource file on each networked computer.

There has to be an easier way. How are large firms using this program?

I tried orso's directions using my template folder with no luck.

Is there a known way of dealing with office standards?

Thanks in advance

[_c_]

Hallo dcont, sorry for the delay.

It doesn't work for you? This is surprising. It works well for me under Mac. My VW dealer confirms that it works under Win Architect.

VSD, does it work for you?

The template folder is anyway created by the user if it is missing, so you shouldn't have limits there.

The whole network usage is anyway horribly tricky as to the rest of the "special" folders. For example the complete set of Defaults. Defaults are fantastic and should be used at any cost.

In order to be able to share default resources you cannot use aliases, both for folders as for the included files, but you can do as follows:

-- Open a local default file (local app folder for each user on the network)

-- Create in the file a workgroup reference to a file on the server containing the resources that you like to share. Set it on A, reload automatically on.

Now the resources are shared. You can maintain them in the file on the server, but the user must open the file in order to upgrade it. Which is better than doing a manual copy of the files.

Every user should update the resources, you have no access to resource folders outside your own app folder and cannot coerce them to new values. But you can script a simple 'Open file...' wich upgrades the file according to the workgroup reference automatically. The users on the network should run it on your request.

Most resources can be anyway easily accessed by Resource Browser, if one knows how to search, but for the classes.

The classes are not to be accessed from the resource browser, only as standards, moreover they do not restore to the standard values if their name is already in the name list of the doc.

Solution: workgroup reference to a standard with "Update class definitions" checked. Or a proper VectorScript.

Also, horrible, scary, VP class overrides are tremendous to change from one doc to the other. The pipette transfers class visibilities from one doc to the other but not the overrides (TRUE under VW Fundamentals, perhaps a bug). And you cannot copy a viewport from one doc to the other.

As to myself, I didn't yet find the way to access Class overrides in ViewPorts with VectorScript. Didn't look that hard either, might be a question of parent that I didn't exploit properly.

So as to VW Fundamentals there is no way to transfer class overrides across documents. Even less can you create a network standard for the overrides, this should also apply for VW architect.

You can only create a template. New file from template, copy/reference the layers from the original file, load in the template VP with proper class overrides on, delete original file.....

Awful.

I think VW is moving towards network facilities, but we are not quite there. It doesn't work without special plugins/scripts. It should be standard.

VW 12.5 is a fantastic product, fancy, fast, (a bit buggy still, but let's wait for VW 12.5.1 ) perhaps we'll see soon important improvements as to the network as well.

Orso

[vsd]

Yes it works fine!

As to class overrides, the Pipette works under VW 12.5 Architect across documents.

[PeterT]

VSD,

I don't know about on a PC, but on a Mac, what you are trying to do works fine. I just sucessfully moved the entire Standards folder from my local machine, put it on my File Server, made an alias (shortcut) of the folder and put that back on my local machine.

When I create a new class in VectorWorks all the class standards are available.

The two things to remember though are that standards load in VectorWorks when the application launches, so the alias to the folder must already be present with the server volume mounted before VectorWorks is launched. So if you make the change with VectorWorks running, be sure to relaunch it.

The other thing is that the folder name has to be "Standards" and nothing else. "Standards Alias" did not work as a name.

I also tried this leaving the Standards folder on the local machine, and just moving one of the .sta files to the Server, making an alias, and putting that alias back into the Standards folder on th local machine. This also works, as long as VectorWorks is launched after the alias is placed in the folder.