# Advice on "file in use" notification



## salinagon (Nov 25, 2011)

Hi, I'm on a network in an office where each person's computer has different specs, some PC, some Mac. We all share files off a common drive, either using it directly, or, copying it to our local machine to work on it then return it to the shared drive. 

I'm looking for a way to attach a notification to a file to let everyone know it has been "signed out" by someone, to avoid two people taking the same file at the same time. 

I looked at a simple program called Shediko Badges, which puts a badge over the icon, by right clickingon the file and choosing a badge from a menu, and undone just as easily, however, it can't be seen by everyone else on the network. This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, simple, cheap or free, that somehow marks a specific file without changing the name. It could be a colour change, an icon change... whatever, ideally with several options, for example where a different colour could be assigned to each person in the office, similar to the coloured labels on a Mac.

Any advice?


----------



## Dave Atkin (Sep 4, 2009)

Hello,

I would just open the document on the shared drive, make the changes and then save. There shouldnt be any coping to local systems involved.

If another user trys to open the file whilst someone else is using it then it should show it as either locked or will be opened in read only mode.


Dave


----------



## salinagon (Nov 25, 2011)

Dave, 

Maybe a little more information will help. 

With some files being hundreds of meg, the speed of editing is slowed down substantially by working across the network. When we can (if the edits will take just a few hours), we do work over the network for smaller files (.ai), but with this type of file there is no lock file produced to prevent other editors. 

The nature of work usually includes opening and closing a file several times, or, making changes to a file in a link and never opening the original file directly. 

What we're really looking for is a simple way to communicate which files are "signed out" broadly meaning "I'm using it (through the network, or, copyed locally)", "I'm linking to it and would not like anyone to change the apprearance until I'm done", or "I just finished using it and am planning to continue using it in a moment" or any combination of those situations without the need to upgrade our network and hardware.


----------



## Dave Atkin (Sep 4, 2009)

I've just come across this whilst searching for 'file check out system' in google:
tortoisesvn.net/features.html

I have never used it before but apparently it can lock files for editing.

If you are plan to use this then I suggest that you first test it on PC not connected to your network. The last thing you want is for the software to corrupt anything.


Dave


----------



## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

"copying it to our local machine to work on it then return it to the shared drive."

bad habit. should move the file locally and then edit then return. Otherwise you end up with data loss due to one overwritting another.

it is built into the MS system that is a file is open the next user should get it only as read only [they should get a message to this effect]. But then you don't specify what the file types are.

Please don't take this wrong but looking for software to solve a operations issue is never a successful search. This is basic file management which is common to all computing systems.


----------



## salinagon (Nov 25, 2011)

Wand3r3r, please take a moment to read the more recent posts. 

As mentioned earlier, the files are CS5, such as *.ai files, which do not produce lock files when opened. We work over a network as well, when the files are a managebale size, but since there is no lock file for this type of file, the problem still remains whether we work over the network or not. When two editors are both using the same file over the network at the same time, one is prevented from saving changes, but no indication that another user has the file open pops up when the file is first opened by the second user. 

"it is built into the MS system that is a file is open the next user should get it only as read only [they should get a message to this effect]. But then you don't specify what the file types are."
I know what you're talking about when this happens with MS Office software, are you suggesting CS software should be doing the same thing and there is a problem with our software? If so, we can get support for that as a separate problem

The other issue still remains that an editor using a file indirectly by linking it through a different file, usually a *.indd, sometimes a *.ai is seeing changes to the linked file when other editors edit the linked file directly in its native form.

generally what we want, is a way to mark a file as "reserved" whether I'm going to open the file in-situ or not. I suppose we could just get up and go talk to each other, but that hasn't proven to be very effective up til now. I haven't had too much time to look into the tortise thing, but I will. Solving this issue is a bit of a side project.


----------



## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

There must be a temp file made when opening the file. There must also be a lock if the second person can't save. If you could see the temp file you would know the original is open. Explorer view set to show all files?

Assuming this shared drive is on a MS OS, if you get into computer management/system tools/shares and open files do you see the files that are open listed?

I think it would be worth your while to contact Adobe about this issue and see what they have to say.


----------



## salinagon (Nov 25, 2011)

According to the adobe website, .indd files produce a lock file when opened, .ai files do not. They say trouble saving is the result of slow speeds from working over network and recommend transfering the file to the local hard drive to work on it. Illustrator support for networks and removable media
We're on CS5, so there's no version cue.
As far as getting into the system management for the shared drive, that's just not something I have access to. We have a tech support company that deals with our server and various problems on an on-call basis, but since they charge by the hour, we're supposed to solve problems ourselves and avoid calling them in at all cost


----------

