OneNote & Dropbox

[Amanda C]

Hey Gang,

I have been trying to figure out how to share notebooks with my boss
and have them sync back and forth automatically. I saw this article
yesterday and tried it, but am stuck.

http://al.bsharah.com/post/2009/04/...ss-Multiple-PCs-with-OneNote-and-Dropbox.aspx

It says I should be able to share and sync them, but does that mean
the DropBox account used on my computer and his have to be the same
one?

We can't be using 2 different accounts can we?

 

[rak]

You don't say what version of windows you are using, but my bet is that if
you chose "In a shared folder on this computer" in Step 7 you will have to
have both accounts on both computers.

 

[Rainald Taesler]

I have been trying to figure out how to share notebooks with my boss
and have them sync back and forth automatically. I saw this article
yesterday and tried it, but am stuck.

http://al.bsharah.com/post/2009/04/...ss-Multiple-PCs-with-OneNote-and-Dropbox.aspx

It says I should be able to share and sync them, but does that mean
the DropBox account used on my computer and his have to be the same
one?

We can't be using 2 different accounts can we?

AFAICS it will have to be the same DropBox account.

I have read the article but not gone too deep into it.
At first sight it seems to me that this concept will *spoil* ON's
automatic synching as the files are sitting on more than just *one*
computer.
It's crucial for ON not to have any other synching solution touching the
notebooks.

So I would have to test it. But no time in the moment.

Rainald

 

[Bernd]

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

Hey Gang,

I have been trying to figure out how to share notebooks with my boss
and have them sync back and forth automatically. I saw this article
yesterday and tried it, but am stuck.

http://al.bsharah.com/post/2009/04/...ss-Multiple-PCs-with-OneNote-and-Dropbox.aspx

It says I should be able to share and sync them, but does that mean
the DropBox account used on my computer and his have to be the same
one?

We can't be using 2 different accounts can we?

1. This DropBox solution is only suited for ONE person to sync his
changes made from different devices on different locations.
2. As Rainald said, it's generally not a good idea to use a second
concurrent synching method for ON if more than one user is involved.
The risk is "concurrent update" by you AND your boss. For ON alone
that's no problem.
3. A reliable solution is to find a place for a shared notebook, which
can be reached (not all the time, but at least from time to time for
sync) from you and your boss.
On a corporate server, over LAN, or over VPN if you're on the road again ...

Bernd

 

[rak]

You might want to take a look at Microsoft Groove. It will allow the
dynamic sharing you are talking about - not via ON, but in many of the same
ways.

 

[joljol2]

Or www.collaber.com

It is MUCH cheaper than Groove. But the company server does sit in Hyderabad..

 

[Bernd]

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

You might want to take a look at Microsoft Groove. It will allow the
dynamic sharing you are talking about - not via ON, but in many of the
same ways.

Same problems I mentioned in my answer referring to DropBox:

http://blogs.msdn.com/david_rasmussen/archive/2006/09/21/OneNote-2007-and-Groove.aspx

Bernd

 

[Rainald Taesler]

1. This DropBox solution is only suited for ONE person to sync his
changes made from different devices on different locations.

*NO*
Not even that.

2. As Rainald said, it's generally not a good idea to use a second
concurrent synching method for ON if more than one user is involved.
The risk is "concurrent update" by you AND your boss. For ON alone
that's no problem.

Not only the latter.
It's an "in principle" thing to never ever use any other instrument for
synching.
Even if there is just *one* person involved who works with more than
just one computer these rules have to be obtained.
And synching with something in the net having it's own synching, means a
serious conflict with ON's basic construction.

3. A reliable solution is to find a place for a shared notebook, which
can be reached (not all the time, but at least from time to time for
sync) from you and your boss.
On a corporate server, over LAN, or over VPN if you're on the road
again ...

Exactly!!
The storage place may be a place in the NET.
BUT:
It must be a place where one just *STORES* the file and no synching -
whatsoever - is done at all.

Therefore the idea of using "DropBox" - as the OP has (had) in mind - is
a true NoNo.
This - contrary to what you had said in a previous posting - also is
valid if only just one person is involved.

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

"Amanda C" wrote:

You might want to take a look at Microsoft Groove. It will allow the
dynamic sharing you are talking about - not via ON, but in many of
the same ways.

I take the liberty to seriously disagree.
"in many of the same ways"
means that the mechanisms are not the *same*.

To say it *clearly*:
Groove has it's *own* way of synching.
It uses *file*-synching.
And that is a true killer for the synching built-in in ON.
The latter does synching on the base of *objects* inside a file. And
file-based synching - naturally <!> - just kills that.

IMHO Groove is not usable if more than just *one* computer is involved.

Rainald
P.S. You might also see David Rasmussen's article "OneNote 2007 and
Groove"
http://blogs.msdn.com/david_rasmussen/archive/2006/09/21/763982.aspx

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Or www.collaber.com

It is MUCH cheaper than Groove. But the company server does sit in
Hyderabad..

IMHO in this "globalized" world of today it really won't matter *where*
a server is *physically* sitting.

Having visited the place I must say,however, that it is rather
chaotic.
On my short visit I could not make out which kind of services they
offer.

What is needed for ON just is:
(a) pure *storage* of notebook-files
(b) shared usage.

Any kind of "synching" features would mean a "killing" feature in so
far.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Rainald

 

[Bernd]

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

*NO*
Not even that.


Not only the latter.
It's an "in principle" thing to never ever use any other instrument for
synching.
Even if there is just *one* person involved who works with more than
just one computer these rules have to be obtained.
And synching with something in the net having it's own synching, means a
serious conflict with ON's basic construction.

Ok, Ok, by pure theory you're right.

But I didn't want to take all hope off the OPs searching for a solution,
because I think, that it would work in practice with reliable network
connections to the DropBox server plus not so big ON files; so that the
sync process by DropBox is done before the user starts changing his
notebook. But there is a "Restrisiko" ;-)

Bernd

 

[rak]

Notice I said "not via ON". The idea was to use groove tools vice ON tools.

 

[rak]

See my reply to Bernd. Groove is a unique animal and does sync differently.
Actually much, much more efficiently than ON. It allows major real time
(and deferred) collaboration, good security and a number of tools that could
be used for what the op wants to do. I agree it probably will not play nice
with ON.

 

[Bernd]

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

See my reply to Bernd. Groove is a unique animal and does sync
differently. Actually much, much more efficiently than ON. It allows
major real time (and deferred) collaboration, good security and a number
of tools that could be used for what the op wants to do. I agree it
probably will not play nice with ON.

We didn't evaluate Groove, we evaluated a combination of ON with other
sync tools. And you CANNOT exclude what you call ON tools.
ON will always sync, even with local notebooks, because it uses a cache.

Bernd

 

[rak]

I think we're agreeing. By "tools" I mean groove tools. In other words, ON
would not be used.

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Ok, Ok, by pure theory you're right.

I think that this not a question if "theory".

But I didn't want to take all hope off the OPs searching for a
solution, because I think, that it would work in practice with
reliable network connections to the DropBox server plus not so big ON
files; so that the sync process by DropBox is done before the user
starts changing his notebook. But there is a "Restrisiko" ;-)

Sorry, IMHO the OP should not be encouraged to use something like
DropBox which is not a proper instrument for the usage with OneNote!
Any web-storage place *WITHOUT* synching would be OK.
Any external synching mechanisms spoil ON.
I can only *WARN* to follow such kind of path.

But perhaps this is only a problem for the time being.
I hope things will be ways better once the "Live"-components of ON2010
will be ready.

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

See my reply to Bernd. Groove is a unique animal and does sync
differently.

YES, i know.

Actually much, much more efficiently than ON. It allows
major real time (and deferred) collaboration, good security and a
number of tools that could be used for what the op wants to do.

For any other kind of application. Not so for OneNote, however.

I agree it probably will not play nice with ON.

So pls do not recommend it for the usage with ON!!

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

I think we're agreeing. By "tools" I mean groove tools. In other
words, ON would not be used.

Sorry, I do not understand the latter.
Do you agree that ON-files/directories should be excluded from Groove?

Rainald

 

[rak]

I think you misunderstood my posts. My suggestion was to use Groove instead
of ON, not/not together.

 

[rak]

See my other response. You are getting wound up over something I did
not/not recommend. In short, my suggestion was Groove instead of ON.