Yet another newbie pdf question

[tshapiro]

Hi,

I've downloaded the demo, and also placed a "lostgirl" test web viewer on a layout in a remotely hosted file. Success on both fronts, though I don't entirely understand what is happening. I've read a number of the threads in the forum, as well as much of the documentation from the 360 website but find I'm still slightly confused about whether and how to implement the process I have in mind.

I will soon have:

1) A mac mini w/OS X server

2) FMS 11

I would like to:

1) upload pdfs to a shared file

2) have users be able to open, edit, and save the pdf

In the "lostgirl" sample scenario, I've got this:

1) I double click on the icon displayed in the web viewer

2) the pdf opens in preview, I make an annotation

3) I close and save the pdf

4) I double click to re-open the pdf

5) the pdf opens in preview, I can see my annotation

However, if I then switch to a different computer and follow the same procedure, I see the original, without my annotation.

So SuperContainer is actually downloading the file to my local machine, right? How would I handle this so that changes are actually saved to the pdf on the server?

Thanks! Great product!

Ted

[Smef]

You are correct that you are editing the file on your local computer. When you double click the file it is saved into your cache/temp directory, which is where you are editing it. When you open it again you are opening you cached file, and not actually getting it from the server again (which is why you see your "Saved" changes but other users do not).

You can't save directly onto the server. You will need to save the file to your local system, make your changes, and then re-upload the file to the server.

[tshapiro]

You are correct that you are editing the file on your local computer. When you double click the file it is saved into your cache/temp directory, which is where you are editing it. When you open it again you are opening you cached file, and not actually getting it from the server again (which is why you see your "Saved" changes but other users do not).

You can't save directly onto the server. You will need to save the file to your local system, make your changes, and then re-upload the file to the server.

Thanks for your reply.

1) cache/temp is a hidden directory, right?

2) does the cached file remain in the temp directory or is it deleted (end of session? restart?)?

3) given how easy it will be for a user to think she has saved changes, how do you handle this situation? (custom dialog "don't forget to re-upload"?, or does the plug-in offer some method for coordinating the re-upload?)

Thanks again!

Ted

[Smef]

The cache may or may not be hidden, depending on your user's settings, and may clear at different points, again, depending on your users settings. Some computers may clear it once per week, some on a restart. The SCClearLocalCache function will clear the cache of files downloaded by SuperContainer Companion plugin, but not that of the user's access through web viewers.

You may want to put a warning on your layout to let them know that double-clicking it downloads it to their computer. SuperContainer file access is like that of a regular container or a website. You need to save it to your computer either through exporting or downloading it before making any changes, and then you must upload it again to save your changes. Double-clicking is like selecting "open" when you get a download prompt from a website.

If this is something you are very worried about you may want to remove the web viewer entirely and use scripting exclusively (download/upload button) to download the file to a user's computer where they choose using SCChoose rather than giving them web viewers to drag files into.