.pln Files not locked to other users

[Anonymous]

Greetings from a long-time lurker, first-time poster! I have a slightly vexing problem that I can't seem to figure out.

Normally, if one user on a network is using a .pln file, any other user who tries to open that .pln file will receive a message stating "This file is currently in use by...", with the option to open as read-only, or take exclusive access. However, we occasionally run into a situation where ArchiCAD apparently fails to recognize that the file is in use, and allows multiple users to open the file concurrently. As you might imagine, this causes significant problems when the first user goes to save his or her work, only to find that another user has "stolen" access to the file!

This problem seems to appear randomly - I haven't found any specific circumstances (network outage, etc.) that will cause it to occur reliably. As the resident "computer guru", it's become my responsibility to figure out how to fix this. I know that switching to Teamwork would probably help us with this, but I'm reluctant to use it because a few members of our firm have had trouble "getting" the whole sign-in/sending changes/sign-out procedure in the past. (Yes, I know, it's really not that hard, but.. )

Does anyone have any ideas as to how I could solve this problem, or at least identify its cause? Any help is greatly appreciated!

[tsturm]

Dear Michelle

When our office was running Vectorworks, what we did was relocate the file (.pln) to a folder for that individual. They are in a sense checking out that file. As long as no one goes into that folder to get that file then no one else will be able to open it. This idea goes back to the day of drafting on mylars. No one else can draft on the sheet if you had it at your desk.

Otherwise Teamwork would be the other solution. And I understand about the signing in and out. Our team is doing much better of it here.

Remember the whole file should be moved. Leaving behind copies will only confuse matters. Hope this provides a work around.

FYI, we also kept everything on a single machine. That way when the files are moved around copies are not left behind. However, people often liked to have the file on their machine in case the server freaked out. So they would start out by moving the file(s) they wanted to their folder on the server and then to their machine to work on. This for some provided a backup system. But it was clear who had what work each day.

[TomWaltz]

we found that problem quite common when users open a file using "Recent Documents" instead of "File-> Open"

[Greg Kmethy]

Dear Michelle / Tom,

What type is the server the files are located on? Does the problem occur when two users try to access the same file just about simultaneously, or is there a few minutes time gap between the two users trying to access the file?

Thanks for any info,

Greg.

[TomWaltz]

Ours is on a Linux server (previously submitted to US Tech Support).

It occurred when they were a few minutes apart. We ever tested it by opening it on one user, then walking to the other's desk, and doing it again.

With File->Open, it was fine.

With File -> Recent Documents... it happened quite frequently.

[TomWaltz]

BTW, that problem was with both Archicad PLN and Plotmaker LBK files.

[Anonymous]

Greg,

We don't use any type of server - our network is very small (5 computers, all PCs). We store the .pln files on the computer of whichever architect is the Project Architect for that project.

The problem seems to occur for us when one user has been using the file for some time - more than 30 minutes. It doesn't seem to matter if the file has been saved recently or not.

I'm still not sure why this is happening, but thanks to everyone who has offered advice so far. I think we might have to switch to Teamwork or develop some other method of ensuring that the files are only used by one person at a time. In the meantime, I'll keep trying to figure it out...