Project Sharing is a great new feature that arrived in Vectorworks 2016. In Vectorworks 2017, it received some enhancements that made it even better, including adding support for cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Box.
We strongly recommend that before you start using Project Sharing with your colleagues you should:
1) Watch this video series:
2) Read the Introduction to Project Sharing: The Multiuser Environment
3) Review the Project Sharing FAQ here.
4) Review this article reading network sharing protocols, if you are using your own server (as opposed to a cloud storage service.)
5) If you will be using a Mac OS Server with Project Sharing, please review this video.
Here are a few other things to keep in mind:
- It takes time for saved changes in one Working File (WF) to propagate to everyone else's WF. If you are waiting for someone else's changes to arrive at your WF, please wait a few minutes.
- The Refresh button in the top left corder or your Vectorworks file window checked for updates (in the Project File it's connected to) every 30 seconds.
Project Sharing Don'ts:
- Don't duplicate Project Files or Working Files
- Don't send or share Working Files
- Don't rename the Project File in a cloud storage service folder
- Don't make all team members Administrators. (We do recommend having 2 Administrator level users though.)
- Don't "Save & Commit" too frequently, or too infrequently.
- Don't restore working File backups - Copy & Paste into a new Working File
Project Sharing Do's:
- Do have 2 users with Administrator level permissions, just in case one such user is unavailable at any given time
- Do save your Working Files locally, not on a server or in a cloud storage service folder
- Do remember where your Working Files are saved
- Do Close & Release before deleting a Working File