Workspace setup on Microsoft OneDrive?

RE: Workspace setup on Microsoft OneDrive?

John Frampton — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 19:31:05 GMT

I couldn't figure out how to do it in OneDrive so I used SharePoint to sync it to the local machine. I used SharePoint so I could control some read write access, have a central repository that is sync'd to the local user. A concern is that each user on a machine will have a copy.

%if defined $(USERPROFILE) && ($(USERPROFILE) != "") && exists ($(USERPROFILE))
_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION = $(USERPROFILE)\SharePoint\BCE_Configuration/
%else
_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION = //$(server)/BCE_Configuration/
%endif

RE: Workspace setup on Microsoft OneDrive?

Kevin van Haaren — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 19:00:16 GMT

One Drive creates an environment variable that points to the users one drive. You can use that in the _USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION. Note that One Drive for Business creates a different environment variable than regular One Drive (OneDriveCommercial is the Environment variable for One Drive for Business). So for John's example you can instead use:

[General]
%if defined (OneDrive) && ($(OneDrive) != "") && exists ($(OneDrive))
	_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION=$(OneDrive)
%elif defined (OneDriveCommerical) && ($(OneDriveCommercial) != "") && exists ($(OneDriveCommercial))
	_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION=$(OneDriveCommercial)
%else
	_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION=
%endif

Couple of things you'll probably want to test:

what happens when you update files that are locked open on the local machine. MicroStation retains locks on many of the files in a workspace (notably .rsc files, by default vba's as well, not sure on mdls). If you update the master version of a file, if the local copy is locked by microstation what does One Drive do? Does it wait 'til the file unlocks or does it create a conflict copy.
In your configuration will any user be able to update the workspace that is then sync'd to everybody else or will the sync be one way. If any user can change the workspace then be prepared for a breaking change that gets replicated to everyone's computer and locks them out of MicroStation.

RE: Workspace setup on Microsoft OneDrive?

John Frampton — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:56:56 GMT

Interesting and totally cool if you can pull it off!!

I have not tested this in any way shape or form but here would be how I would approach it based on a single user. I am not sure how to share this easily between users, I have never seen a OneDrive Organization share, I would think that storing it in SharePoint maybe easier to do and share out to many. This is based on MSTNCE12.

Install the program.
I would copy the Configuration to the OneDrive location which by default is;
1. c:\users\(%username)\onedrive\
2. So you would have something like; c:\users\(%username)\onedrive\Bentley_Configuration\
  This would have the folders Organization and WorkSpaces in it.
I would then configure the application to look there by editing the ConfigurationSetup.cfg. Something like this;
_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION=c:/users/%username/onedrive/Bentley_Configuration/
[SetConfiguration]
%if !defined (_USTN_USER_CONFIGURATION)
%if defined (_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION) && ($(_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION) != "") && exists ($(_USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION))
_USTN_CONFIGURATION = c:/users/%username/onedrive/Bentley_Configuration/
%endif
%endif
I would then do sometesting making sure it created workspaces and worksets correctly and read the files correctly from there. I would also move the Organiztions data into the structure so it is all good to go before moving on to the next part
Unistall the application.
Install the application building a Layout with it installing and pointing to the OneDrive configuration.
Install the layout to a new PC and test.

Good Luck with this! I am interested in how it works for you. Also how it works with regards to editing files such as DGNlib and any conflicts in file editing that may occur. Please report back any findings.

RE: Workspace setup on Microsoft OneDrive?

Marc Thomas — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 11:11:36 GMT

Interesting question. How many users are involved? Are they logging into thier machines with microsoft accounts so all of the OneDrive sharing etc is handling by the login?

Will they be isnatlling on multiple machines?

With the addition of the OneDrive 'Always keep on this device option' ecah user should be able to have a local copy of all the files involved. The default path is long and tedious and will vary per user, so I'd suggest changing the local onedrive location to be the same for each user e.g. C:\_ONEDRIVE (or another drive letter if multiple drives are present to avoid filling a smaller SSD?).

You could then have C:\_ONEDRIVE\Configuration\ and C:\_ONEDRIVE\Projects synced by OneDrive and use our installer to point the Custom Configuration at C:\_ONEDRIVE\Configuration\.

These blogs may help:

CONNECT Edition - Custom Configuration - Part 1 : Initial Creation Steps

CONNECT Edition - Configuration Tips : Should I edit ConfigurationSetup.cfg?

Feel free to share more details and ask further questions.