File locking

[braikes]

Oops - actually the old version (9) of Coreldraw does warn you that the file is open somewhere else if you go to save it.

Bob

[RTK]

I'm not sure how the feature would kill productivity, though?

Switching out a great vector drawing application for a less effective one, simply because employees can’t learn, or can’t remember, the difference between “save” and “save as” seems like over-kill to me.

That’s all.

Good luck to you.

Risto

[Scotty]

hi,
If one goes into the directory containing the file in question by examining 'prperties" I thin you can make it read only, therefore one shouldn't be able to write ove the file.
Jim

[jclements]

Doesn't windows warn you if someone tries to save a while it is also open by another user? If so, then save to a new filename or add your intials and date to the existing filename.

[braikes]

This doesn't happen in Xara, but would be what I would generally expect for a Windows application. You can test by running two instances of Xara on the same machine with the same file open.

Bob

[standay]

hi,
If one goes into the directory containing the file in question by examining 'prperties" I thin you can make it read only, therefore one shouldn't be able to write ove the file.
Jim

You could, but then no one can open it up for editing again (including you!) until it's made writable by taking the readonly flag off. You could agree with others in the office that if they open a shared file, try to save it and it comes back as read only that they save their version with a new name. This would allow you to go back and review/merge the changes.

Doesn't windows warn you if someone tries to save a while it is also open by another user? If so, then save to a new filename or add your intials and date to the existing filename.

No, *unless* the app that opens the file "locks" it. The system does lock certain system files but not application data files. The app does that.

This doesn't happen in Xara, but would be what I would generally expect for a Windows application. You can test by running two instances of Xara on the same machine with the same file open.

Bob

There are a number of schemes an app can use to lock it's current file. However, this is not necessarily a non-trivial programming task. There can be a number of underlying issues with the rest of the code.

Best way for real collaborative work is a 3rd party solution with document check-in/out. You can also design a workflow where the originator of the file keeps the file on their machine, and only they upload a copy to the server for others. If someone makes changes have them email that to you so you can work out merging their changes.

Stan

[raynerj1]

Throw the master on a server with read only capabilites... then save it to your directory where you have write capability.

[RedWombat]

I wouldn't worry about file locking, what's the point!

Any large, mid sized and perhaps even small companies use versioning! Hard drives are cheap enough these days. I version all my design and development just for myself. I always have a restore point in unfortunate circumstances!

Yes, There are document management systems that will do it for you, but they're pricey. The law firm I used to work for paid over $100,00 for one. Do it yourself, just add a number before the extension!

That's what I do. Then I archive all the past work when the project is done to a DVD.

[steve.ledger]

This makes it very difficult for me to recommend Xara to our company for graphics.

Does anybody have a fix for this?

To be honest, I think workflow and colaboration practices are what really count in these senarios.

Following on from the two previous posts - a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive setup as mapped drives on each workstation is a good alternative. I can vouch for these as being a workable solution, having actually sold them to small businesses for this pupose.