Teamwork question...another one

[Tom Krowka]

I've made a draft copy of the .plp file. Now it appears the only member who can acess the plp file is the administrator until the draft copy send changes back to the plp copy. Only one person was signed into the plp file, as team leader, who is the same person who made the draft copy.

I'd like to be able to send two draft copies home with the staff, but continue working on some parts of the plp file while they are out. Then incoporate both draft copies into the plp file. It does not seem this is going to work.

Hopefully I'm doing something wrong here and this idea will work.

[__archiben]

Tom wrote:
Getting closer and closer. Hypothetical question..... I have two draft copies, and they both have the same reservations made. Two different people work on them. Now I have to send and recieve to the PLP to update the project.
Draft copy A sends his changes and the plp updates.

Draft B send his changes and the plp udates.

right. stop. before you go any further with this:
i. RTFM
ii. explain just what it is you are trying to achieve because there are two ways of working with teamwork drafts....

• firstly, the conventional way as described by the guys above: it allows several members to EACH sign-in to their OWN workspaces to work on DIFFERENT elements within a single PROJECT. i.e. one person can work on the ground floor another the first, or somebody can work on the external envelope of the building whilst another plans the interior. the workspaces are mutually exclusive of each other.
• the second way is used to manage project VARIATIONS and must be very carefully planned and implemented: by signing in ONCE and duplicating ('Save As...') the draft file, you can work on several different options of the same thing. and depending on the workspace that you reserve when you sign in, this can be the entire building or just certain aspects of it. BUT: only ONE of these duplicate draft files can be sent back to the PLP file. each of the DRAFTS are mutually exclusive of the others, therefore sending changes from one will invalidate all of the others.

it sounds as though you are wanting to work as described in the first (traditional) sense of teamwork, but have duplicated the files as explained in the second?

imagine the PLP file as simply a storage repository for the project data. nobody works on this data directly, they 'check-out' copies of certain parts of that data. the rest of the information is also brought along for the ride, but is simply contextual: unless it's a part of the checked out data it CANNOT be worked on. if it is this that confuses you, it's possible to 'Show my workspace only' by using the relevant command from the 'Teamwork' menu. this hides all of the information that you do not have access to work on (the stuff that's just along for the ride).

when you have finished working on that checked out data, you take it back to the central storage repository ('send and receive' to the PLP) where the original data is compared - element by element - with the data that you've worked on. anything that you may have changed replaces the data held in the PLP, everything else is remains as is.

HTH and good luck . . .
~/archiben

[Tom Krowka]

Actually, what I did with the drafts was create one from the PLP, using save as, then I copied it on to another machine via the network and renamed it. Does that change the ID no.

If I work on B (the second draft) would I be prohibited from sending changes to the PLP?

Otherwise, the way I see it, the best way to do it would be to save two different draft copies from the .PLP. But what if they both have the same reservations. Wouldn't the send/receive issues I asked about in the previous post still be a problem?

[__archiben]

Tom wrote:
Actually, what I did with the drafts was create one from the PLP, using save as, then I copied it on to another machine via the network and renamed it. Does that change the ID no.

If I work on B (the second draft) would I be prohibited from sending changes to the PLP?

Otherwise, the way I see it, the best way to do it would be to save two different draft copies from the .PLP. But what if they both have the same reservations. Wouldn't the send/receive issues I asked about in the previous post still be a problem?

NO NO NO!

never OPEN a PLP file: from the teamwork menu, choose "Sign-In" and then navigate to the PLP file. EACH 'PERSON' HAS TO GO THROUGH THE SIGN-IN PROCESS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A VALID DRAFT

i really think that you should read the teamwork section of the manual before you go any further! you have the potential here to lose and awful lot of work if you don't understand the process . . . and read my post just above your last one. i think we posted at the same time . . .

~/archiben

[Tom Krowka]

Also, to speak to Archiben's question....

I'm trying to have two people work on the same project, but each person would have access to the whole project. The draft copies were saved by the team leader, who had access to the whole project as his workspace. We are working on a four story custom house, and there are changes all over all stories and layers.

Each person has his own assignment, but they consist of changes over all stories and layers. Each person is doing his own changes on two different draft copies.

I thought that then each person could update the PLP separately. Now that I've read everyone's posts, I don't think that is going to work.

Maybe time for plan B

How about this question then. I'm not at my computer since it is Friday night and my wife insists I get the he out of the office, so I can't try it out.

Can I cut and paste a section from one drawing to another. I mean the section mark, it's associated view, and 2D drawings added onto the view.
That would make the whole teamwork situation go away,which I'm about ready for.

Thanks to all who have contributed. Learned a lot today.

[Tom Krowka]

Archiben:

Actually, I did sign in to the PLP file. Went through the standard procedure to get to that file. Then I save as to get the draft file. I thought that is how it is supposed to work. And I did get that idea from the teamwork section of the manual.

So now I have two draft copies that are being worked on. But I don't think that is the way togo.

See my previous post. Must go and drink heavily now. Will be back on Sat.

[__archiben]

Tom wrote:
So now I have two draft copies that are being worked on. But I don't think that is the way togo.

no - for two VALID and mutually exclusive workspaces you need to sign-in TWICE and 'Save As...'

~/archiben

[Aussie John]

Let me first say that the workflow for TEAMWORK Sucks, but it is what we have, so refer the following for some more info.

For every draft version to be worked on by separate people, they must be signed in separately, each with their own workspace.
It is not possible for more than one draft to have control over the whole project.

Not to confuse with the above you can COPY as many version of a draft as you like and onto different machines (even different names). BUT …( read this!!!!!!!!)

every time a version is sent back to the PLP file only THAT files information will be used and any previous sends from other copies will be over written.

The only reason to make duplicate versions of the same Sign-in draft is if you are experimenting with different design options. You can go back to which ever version you like as long as they are from the SAME sign-in

DONT do multiple saves from the sign-in to create the duplicates as this will create a new ID - just copy the file.

Also to answer a previous query if you have the PLP file open and you want to "close it down" just click the close button on the window (red button on Mac). and you will stay signed-in without the file staying "Open"

[Tom Krowka]

When working with Drafts, NEVER, EVER, EVER sign out of the project. This is counterintuitive, but after you've created the draft file you need to end your ArchiCAD session without signing out of the project. If you do, you've orphaned your draft and can't send it back to the PLP.
_________________


The manual says I can still get the draft back into the plp by doing a FILE>MERGE. Does this work?

[TomWaltz]

The manual says I can still get the draft back into the plp by doing a FILE>MERGE. Does this work?

kind of, but not really. A "merge" only copies in the plan/model information. No section, detail, or attributal changes (like layer combination or view set) will be included.

[Tom Krowka]

Here's what I did. What did I do wrong.

Created a PLP file from a PLN. Got that part down.
Team Leader has exclusive access.
TL creates draft copy.
Through explorer, copies draft copy and renames one. Now has two different copies of the same thing,different names.
Signs off PLP, closes file, shuts off computer.

Computer on this am.
Sign on to PLP file, only have admin and viewer access.
How do I get Tleader access, or any access that will allow me to send and receive changes from the draft copy
How do I send & receive draft copy changes (from only one of the draft copies)


Will I be able to ever figure this out.
I've read the manual several times, does not really address some of these issues.