"Network" AutoCAD on a Laptop

Question for you all: How do you handle "network" versions of AutoCAD on
office laptops? What I mean by networked, is that our desktop computers
with AutoCAD all point at a network drive for all the support files,
including all the menu files, palettes, etc.

When we have AutoCAD on a laptop, it should point to the network location
when plugged in at the office, and then point to a local directory when the
laptop is mobile, away from the office.

How do you keep the laptop support directory sync'd with the network support
directory?

How do you path items in Options>Support File Search Path, so that they read
a local location and a network location? I know I can use profiles, but I
also know people will forget to switch profiles, so I was hoping for a
behind-the-scene solution, transparent to the user.

Thanks!

Scott Davis

 

Use the Offlne Files feature of Windows 2000/XP.

--
R. Robert Bell


Question for you all: How do you handle "network" versions of AutoCAD on
office laptops? What I mean by networked, is that our desktop computers
with AutoCAD all point at a network drive for all the support files,
including all the menu files, palettes, etc.

When we have AutoCAD on a laptop, it should point to the network location
when plugged in at the office, and then point to a local directory when the
laptop is mobile, away from the office.

How do you keep the laptop support directory sync'd with the network support
directory?

How do you path items in Options>Support File Search Path, so that they read
a local location and a network location? I know I can use profiles, but I
also know people will forget to switch profiles, so I was hoping for a
behind-the-scene solution, transparent to the user.

Thanks!

Scott Davis

 

A slightly more convoluted approach?:

In your ACAD.LSP file, check for the presence of your network target location. If it's found, set your network profile current. If it's not found, set your local profile current.

Dave

 

Thanks! Both ideas sound good. The Offline Files may work, although I have
to get the network guys to configure my laptop for it. It cuurently wont
allow Offline Files.

The LSP could be a good approach, now I just need to figure out the code!

Thanks!

Scott

location. If it's found, set your network profile current. If it's not
found, set your local profile current.

 

Just talked to our IT guys.....they don't like the idea of Offline files,
because it's subject to user error. Someone could take their laptop
offlline, make some changes to the PGP file, maybe a custom menu, delete
some files, who knows.....then plug into the network at the office, and
those changes with update on the network, and mess everyone else up.

Is there a way to limit Offline folders to particular folders, or once
Ofline Files is enabled, any network folder can be set to Offline?

Thanks!

Scott

 

The IT guys, if they are worth anything, should have made the support
folders on the network RO. If that is the case, there are no issues when
syncing, other than browbeating the idiot that deleted/modified files that
they should have touched while offline (i.e. they get sync errors because
the sync won't happen).

You can select any folder, or folder tree, or individual files to be
offline. I support 6 laptops with offline files for years now.

--
R. Robert Bell


Just talked to our IT guys.....they don't like the idea of Offline files,
because it's subject to user error. Someone could take their laptop
offlline, make some changes to the PGP file, maybe a custom menu, delete
some files, who knows.....then plug into the network at the office, and
those changes with update on the network, and mess everyone else up.

Is there a way to limit Offline folders to particular folders, or once
Ofline Files is enabled, any network folder can be set to Offline?

Thanks!

Scott

 

There are several ways to do the checking and switching, but here are a few suggestions:

Use FINDFILE in an IF statement to search for a specific file in your network location. Be sure to include the full path and use double back slashes.

(if (findfile "T:\\ACAD_support\\acad.mns")
(setq profile_name "Your network profile name here")
(setq profile_name "Your local profile name here")
)

Then plug the profile_name variable into Jimmy Bergmark's putActiveProfile routine. You can get that, along with several other nifty profile routines, at http://www.jtbworld.com/lisp/profiles.htm


Dave

 

This is what we did. Archaic but it works. The user sees the environment
just as in a network environment.

- this runs when the notebook is started

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\LocMode.bat

em LocMode.bat
rem sets drives for Local ModeAcad applications
rem
rem 6.11.2002

if exist m:\acad\sys\acad.lsp goto network

:Local
rem Mode drives
subst m: c:\mode

rem Project drives
subst p: c:\project\xxxxxx

:Network

:endbat

 

Subst can cause trouble. See MSKB articles for trouble spots.

--
R. Robert Bell


This is what we did. Archaic but it works. The user sees the environment
just as in a network environment.

- this runs when the notebook is started

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\LocMode.bat

em LocMode.bat
rem sets drives for Local ModeAcad applications
rem
rem 6.11.2002

if exist m:\acad\sys\acad.lsp goto network

:Local
rem Mode drives
subst m: c:\mode

rem Project drives
subst p: c:\project\xxxxxx

:Network

:endbat

 

What kind of trouble do you mean?

Have you had some yourself?

I've used subst in tens of XP notebooks without problems. This doesn't prove
anything but I would like to know more....

Regards,
Juha

 

Just search Microsoft's KB. I haven't used Subst ever since leaving
Win98/Novell behind.

--
R. Robert Bell


What kind of trouble do you mean?

Have you had some yourself?

I've used subst in tens of XP notebooks without problems. This doesn't prove
anything but I would like to know more....

Regards,
Juha

 

I did a quick search and didn't find anything alarming. We are using Windows
XP Sp1 anyway, some of the problems were before sp1.

the bees fly....

J.

 

Juha,

I use a similar batch file using SUBST all the time for my XP laptops, works
pretty well w/o problems.

Matt