Shared Downloads feature allows multiple users to share the same set of downloaded documents. In this mode, users can access and open a common set of downloaded documents from a shared network directory. The following are some of the important features of this functionality:
- All users must have read access to the shared network directory.
- Multiple users can have the same document open at the same time.
- Downloading new versions of documents is allowed, even if other users may still have opened the previous version.
The Shared Downloads feature also allows multiple users to download documents. The following are some of the important features of multiple user downloads:
- All users who download documents must have write access to the shared network directory.
- If you download a new version of a document that another user already downloaded, the old version is removed the next time the original user who downloaded the document synchronizes or reopens the application.
- When multiple users download and use shared documents, more processing time is necessary to coordinate these downloads.
To enable the Shared Downloads feature, open the Shared Downloads tab in the Settings Dialog. Select the Enable Shared Downloads checkbox and specify an existing network directory that is shareable. Documents previously downloaded to the local Download Directory remain in place. However, these documents are not available from within the Documentation Navigator while the Shared Downloads feature is turned on.
When this feature is in operation, the application periodically checks the Shared Download Directory to see if other users have downloaded documents. This check is only run when the Catalog Viewer is visible and only when the user is not actively interacting with the application. This check is also run automatically whenever the user opens the Download Manager to avoid downloading documents already downloaded by another user. If the application detects other users have downloaded new documents, the toolbar icon changes from green to orange.
Click the toolbar icon to synchronize the Grid View with any newly downloaded documents. Deleting download documents is not allowed when the Shared Downloads feature is enabled. Users only can share downloaded documents.
Other settings such as user preferences, catalog management, filters, etc. are all specific to each individual user and are not affected when using the Shared Downloads feature. When using the Shared Downloads feature, some additional data files are created. In the Shared Download Directory, separate XML files are created for each user who downloads documents. These XML files record the download data for a single user and point to files located underneath a user-specific directory in the Shared Download Directory. Other users read this data to determine what downloaded documents are available. If a user downloads documents from different machines then additional XML files are created.
The shared-downloads.xml file located in the Application Data Directory stores the data for all the documents downloaded to the Shared Download Directory. This file is updated whenever a user downloads documents directly. Each time the application opens, the shared-downloads.xml file is updated (or synchronized) to reflect any new downloads performed by other users. While an application is open, user can trigger this synchronization step using the Synchronize Downloads button on the toolbar.
If the download information appears corrupted, close the application and delete the shared downloads.xml file located in Application Data Directory. On reopening the application, the file is regenerated using the data stored in all the XML files stored in Shared Download Directory.