Using Cad at work and on the road

[Jordan Truesdell]

I suppose this is an XP question more than a CAD question, but it mostly affects my CAD work so...

Here's my situation: I do all my work on a laptop. I dock it in the morning, then take it home in the evening. I have syncronization software (that is almost working) so that I can make a specific directory on my laptop exactly match my main directory on the server (projects, AutoCAD support files, blocks, etc.). The entire server heirarchy is mapped to a single, persistent drive letter in XP Pro on my laptop.

What I'd like to do is have AutoCAD look to the server for everything when the server is present, and fall back to the local copy only when I'm not docked. (AutoCAD executables are installed locally, with a local license, fwiw). Is anyone aware of a way to ensure that type of switchover? Can it be done so that even files in the recently-opened menu get a soft path to "server if present; local if not"?

Why such machinations? Well, if I happen to be working at home, I'd rather not accidentally open and start working on a local file while at the office, then find out that someone else has worked on the network version at the same time. Or even just have a "mix" of files - I use mostly relative paths for xrefs, so it increases the chance of a WTF?!? moment when things plot screwy.

Also, I'm not to hot on using two different configuration files, as I have been known to move things around from time to time in the interface. If I fiddle with something in one configuration, I have to go fiddle with it in the other. Not very transparent. (And, lets be honest, sometimes I change things to get stuff to work just the way I like it, and then forget all the things I've changed to get there).

Anybody have a magic elixer that will give me a write-through style functionality?

Oh, almost forgot, I'm on 2006 but I am totally innocent of the workings of the "new" CUI, and I can't ((((()))))) my way out of a lisp routine.

[bbeck]

I'm not sure if this exactly helps your situation but here's how I handle laptops in our office. When a user wants to use a laptop in the office connected to the LAN, it's no big deal they just login normally. When the laptop needs to be used off-site or disconnected from the LAN we have a different profile that the users need to login to. This "out-of-office" profile creates copy's of our network drives to the laptop's local drive. This way all of our drive mappings remain the same. This allows all AutoCAD/Revit pathing to remain static. Your support directories need to sync'd also in this setup.

Brian Beck
CAD Manager
Rainforth Grau Architects

[Jordan Truesdell]

Do you somehow fool the OS into seeing the local directory on the same path as the network drive (i.e. map C:/network -> F:/), and then change it back via a script upon return to the office? Or do you you use a second configuration with the local paths instead of the networks paths, and use the syncronization script to make sure the local tree matches the network?

[bbeck]

You do have to sort of fool the OS. Here's the trick. After creating the "off-site" login you need to have the laptop connected to the LAN in order to use UNC pathing to map the laptop hard drive to the same letter designation as your server's drives. So, when in the office you have something like, M:\ ---> \\server-2\dwgs. When not connected to the LAN your "off-site" login should have a map like, M:\ ---> \\Laptop name\dwgs. Remember, in order to setup that map XP needs to detect a network connection. Once you build those UNC maps the login profile will remember that information.

Brian Beck
CAD Manager
Rainforth Grau Architects

[Jordan Truesdell]

I'll probably have to create a dummy network connection, since there are times when I work wihtout a physical network, and I turn off the internal network cards to save power. I just have to make sure XP understands which network connection has the highest priority, so it doesn't get them confused (we're small enough we use peer-to-peer at the office).

[rkmcswain]

I'm a little confused after reading this thread. The use of "offline files" makes this task easy. There is no need to "fool the O/S", or setup a different profile.

Drive letters are retained. Offline files syncs the laptop with the network when you log off at the office. When undocked, you work with those drive letters and files as though you were connected. When you dock back up, any changes are synced back to the network.

[Jordan Truesdell]

I'm a little confused after reading this thread. The use of "offline files" makes this task easy. There is no need to "fool the O/S", or setup a different profile.

Drive letters are retained. Offline files syncs the laptop with the network when you log off at the office. When undocked, you work with those drive letters and files as though you were connected. When you dock back up, any changes are synced back to the network.

Yeah, that would mostly work. I had forgotten about it, as I didn't need the function when I upgraded to XP, and the last time I considered it, the option was not available because I had fast user swtiching enabled only workstation (they are, apparently, mutually exclusive).

Of course, now that I've tried it, it's somewhat promising, but it doesn't handle database files, so it won't syncronize any of the ADT keynote databases. It also won't do the Simpson CD/online catalog (database files are used) as well. Now, I don't use the keynote databases (yet), so perhaps this is the interim solution I'm looking for. I just have to make sure its actually working properly (after synchronizing once, an immediate re-synch should take less than a minute, but I'm going on ten for my first re-sync. I wonder if it creates a log somewhere...)

[Jordan Truesdell]

Update on the Laptop synchronization quest. Apparently, you CAN synchronize database folders, you just need to be careful in how you do it. I'm not sure if there's a way to tag certain files for one-way synchronization only (which you would want for the CAD databases).

Anyway, for those bold enough to try, you can force (or rather, allow) MS sync manager to sync database files by editing the "hidden" list of non-synchable files. Here's the MS Knowledgebase article on how to do it.

I'll try to keep this thread updated with my progress as I get time to test out the hacks I'm using.

[dmarx]

this sounds like a good application for the "Vault" program. I know very little about it, but what i do know it seems like it would work.