Jump to content

File Structure Question- Mac OS


Recommended Posts

We have updated to 2009 and are sorting through our user and workgroup folder structures and have a curiousity question for all. Why are there several duplicate folders/files for VW in the Vectorworks application folder and the user/application support/Vectorworks folder? We just cannot figure this redundency out. Thanks

Link to comment

If I follow your question, it was the same for 2008. VW looks in the User>App Support folder first for content, workspaces, library items, favorites etc. It is then added to the Default content is in the Application folder. This allows you to customize the VW installation, and very nicely maintain your custom information when updating etc.

Other than folders the information is not duplicated. It is a way to organize user data.

HTH,

Ion

Link to comment

as Ion says, this is to allow customization more easily.

If you put your customized Plug-ins, templates, workspaces, hatches, default content, etc. into your User/Application Support folder, then VW will not touch them when you do an update.

If you put them in the Applications folder, then there is the possibility that you can lose content during an update.

This format also allows you to override/overload (programming terms) functions. When it is looking for a resource, VW will look first in the Users folder. If it finds it, it then stops the search. If it doesn't find it, then it goes on to look in the application folder.

This separation also makes it easier to figure out what needs to be moved/updated when you do an upgrade to the next version of VW. If you put custom PIug-ins in the application folder, when it is time to upgrade you will need to manually go through and find all of the ones that did not ship with VW and move them. If they are in the user folder, the ones that shipped with VW are not there and it is easy to see and find the ones you want to move.

Link to comment

Thanks Ion. The folders in question are 'Libraries'; 'Plug-ins'; 'Settings'; 'VW Help'; and 'Workspaces'. The locations are both the VW folder in Applications, and the 2009 folder in user/Library/Application Support/vectorworks. It is puzzling to us this duplicity. For example, I see that VW looks into the user folder for the active workspace, not the applications folder. It seems confusing and I know we should ignore it, but it clouds our understanding of the user and workgroup folder concept.

Link to comment
It is puzzling to us this duplicity.

The OSX file system does not see these as duplicates but separate entities with different filepath locations as recommended by Apple.

To simplify & harmonize the user experience ... the naming simply follows the conventions established by NNA for installed VW directories.

Link to comment

Pat and Ion,

Thanks for the replies and info. One follow up question on this.

I understand the User Data and Preferences folder stuff better now. What purpose does the Workgroup and Project Folders preference settings serve? If the customized content is to go into the user>App Support folders, then what would I want to point at with the Workgroup and Project Folders, and where would I interact with that information while using the program?

Thanks in advance. I've been using this program for so long, I feel like a noob when these issues arise.

Link to comment

It is essentially one more layer of the above.

So the duplication you saw in the Application and User folders hits tertiary level and beyond now. If you have a Workgroup folder set in your preferences, VW will look there, the Application folder and the User folder for content.

The nice thing about the workgroup folders is that it allows a group (as long as the folder location is available to all users, like a server share) to share the same set of favorites, plugins, etc. So it allows you to set up a set for generic office resources and/or can make a set that is specific to a type of project, or even an individual project. You can have multiples, so say a workgroup folder that is office-wide, a set of resources specific to a type of project and a set of resources specific to projects you are currently working on active simultaneously.

I looked into setting up this for our office, but got lazy after getting Apple Remote Desktop, because I can simply push the information I desire people to have directly into their User folder.

HTH,

Ion

Link to comment

OK, I am starting to see how this works, but as usual, the more I understand the more questions I need to ask:

So VW will look in order of priority. First it looks at what is loaded in the Workgroups and Projects, the it looks at what is loaded in the User Data and Preferences folder, then it looks at what is on the local drive. Is this correct?

Can workspaces be loaded on a server share and referenced thru the Workgroups and Projects pane? It seems that workspaces really need to be in the User Data folder, since there is a continuous read/write between the user and the workspace, but I need to ask so we can get it straight before we try to roll this out.

And lastly, how does the filing naming need to work if you are going to have multiple workgroup folders, for the folders and the data inside them? The online help indicates that there is a method that needs to be followed, but when we try to follow them, it does not seem to work.

Thanks again for your all help.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...