Hi Weavers, do any of you have experience maintaining a Foundry website from two physically separate but otherwise identical machines/systems? Exchange and central storage of the RW file is of course assumed…!
Thanks in advance.
Roger
I save my RW files and website files on the cloud storage site then I can access them from anywhere. Both computers can save them at the same site. Easy.
Hi Georg, thanks for your answer.
So both Macs have the same system and konfiguration, yes?
Do you think that is necessary…? And do you save out of RW direct to a cloudservice?
The story behind it is, to prepare certain work for a client and then support them whenever they have questions. I don’t know why this question has never been discussed before, would this be such an unusual workflow?
Best
Roger
Having the same versions of RW, Stacks and all the tools (stacks) in use in your project would be required, in order to avoid some of the potential problems.
If you can 100% GUARANTEE that the project file won’t be updated from both machines at the same time, you might be OK.
That said, if one of your computers has the project open and makes a change, but doesn’t publish, save and exit immediately, then the other one opens and modifies the project, publishes and saves it, you’ll end up with whichever version gets saved last.
Saving to the cloud can also cause synchronisation issues, so that’s something to be aware of, too.
All in all, unless you have very strict procedures and version control, you’re asking for trouble.
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Hi Adam, thank you for your input
Yes, I know, a certain “hygiene” is necessary, but I think in today’s age of communication this will be manageable. It would be an interesting feature for an extension - just a small signal or warning, if two users have a doc open at the same time. i remember early versions of Claris Filemaker server with host/client. Already worked with AppleTalk over phone lines at 9600 baud…
thank you both, i will give it a chance and report back
Best
Roger
A few other points. A few days ago, for the first time, I read about one person having his RW file corrupted within iCloud. I never had this happen to me, but clearly it’s possible.
Definitely, definitely, definitely make sure you turn on the “backup frequency” feature in the Publishing section. By default it is set to “never” (which is a terrible default, btw).
You might want to consider naming your project file using an archiving type of approach. Definitely not needed with all projects, but with some it is really helpful. For instance I’m teaching a course right now and the website gets updated every 2 or so days. I typically make it clear (to myself) what file I’m working with. So if my project file is named “mycourse” then my archived names are:
- mycourse-2023-09-21
- mycourse-2023-09-27
- and so on
There are times I don’t update the naming for 1-2 weeks. In the end, if you combine archive naming plus backups to your server (via RW), then you have a very healthy way to compensate for things if anything goes wrong.
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Hello Mathew,
I have also read about the possibility that a file is damaged in ICloud or in dropbox - also in the old RW forum, this was once a topic.
We will see, a timestamp is the first thing I have thought about and now it is time to try;-)
Greets
Roger
For what it is worth, I have an older imac that is my main machine but it is stuck at Catalina. Then I have a macbook air that I got a couple of years ago and it is updated past Catalina. I am able to work on both successfully (though I use the macbook much less).
I used dropbox/MS One drive previously and found it very unreliable with RW files (but great with most other files). I switched to icloud and have not had any issues. Definitely be aware of not having files open on both machines
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Hello Jason,
good point about the different generations of computers as well as systems, that helps me - don’t need to confuse my customer. ICloud is also my choice.
Rog
@RogerB I use this method - two Macs set up the same and iCloud for central storage. I have found that iCloud get confused sometimes and serves up a corrupted file or older version of a RW file. My way around this is to add version numbers/backups just in case I need to go back. If I travel overseas I them create a back up copy on a usb drive - just in case. I am planning to to try a different cloud service to see if that makes any difference.
Hi @fg8, thanks for replaying.
I think, in general, copies in the cloud should give you the security to be able to access them - otherwise there is no security here…
But the workflow, which I strive for, should give my customer and me the possibility to provide the same file after agreement. As already described by @mitchellm, according to a comprehensible code. This should save all involved ways and long phone calls. Short agreement and one hour of service and the problem is solved. This would also be a good way to bypass complex CMS systems if the customer insists on being proactive. Currently he uses CONTAO and is highly dissatisfied with it. A first presentation with Foundry and Stacks convinced him completely. I as a designer am also a service provider and so I am looking for a viable way.