I have an office and house on my property. I finally have successfully networked the two buildings together so I’m thinking I should move my projects to my NAS so I can open them from either location. I have no concerns about copies being opened at both locations at the same time for numerous reasons, namely I always shut my computers down when I leave either building.
I just want my Mac Mini at the office and my MBP at home to pull from the same folder so I can work on the projects whenever I feel like it without having to worry if a sync has happened etc.
Simplistically, make a folders in your “home” folder on the NAS, use macOS “Finder” app to copy across using care and understanding the folder names thus created, reconfigure your applications to find the data they previously expected on your local drive to now be on the NAS.
You’ll likely get a performance hit as access the NAS across the network surely won’t be as performant as your local disk, so hopefully your apps can withstand that. Some don’t.
Me, I’d probably store the files on the NAS but sync with local and continue to run the apps off the local synced copies. Just my preference which I understand is opposite your preference.
What I ended up doing was opening all the projects in Scriv, did “Save As” and saved them to the new folder on the NAS. It’s a tiny bit slower, but negligible. I’m a frequent backup saver, plus the main book is currently in beta with Word docs and PDFs of everything saved as well I think I’ll be safe.
Just gotten tired of getting an idea at home and thinking, “I’ll have to add that in the morning!” Would rather strike while the iron is hot.
I am running Scrivener for Windows ver 3.1.60 64-bit on Windows 11.
I have been using my laptop for a while now, but will be moving back to my Windows 11 desktop box soon.
That said, I want to have a shared storage location for Scrivener projects so I can work with them on either computer.
I have tried using Dropbox, but it has been so frustrating I have given it up.
I now use the ‘sneaker net’ to share files between the two Windows computers. That works, except that I worry that I will someday overwrite the newer project files with the older ones because I wasn’t paying attention.
For this reason, I am considering a NAS which will be accessible from both computers.
Has anyone had experience working with live Scrivener files on a network share?
I’ve merged your post with an existing recent topic on this matter, but do also run a forum search for in:title NAS #scrivener, where you will find many years worth of discussions. Not much will have changed with the fundamental technology over the past few decades, seeing as how they are all based on established file sharing protocols. The main difference is that nowadays you can find an NAS that will fit into a coat pocket, instead of a server closet.
In short though, file sharing works fine, just a little slower. I use it between my systems on a daily basis to avoid copying projects around or resorting to slow internet-based cloud syncing (and the added risks and complications those bring).
I now use the ‘sneaker net’ to share files between the two Windows computers. That works, except that I worry that I will someday overwrite the newer project files with the older ones because I wasn’t paying attention.
As to that though, have a look at the File ▸ Back Up ▸ Back Up To... menu command. Target your thumb drive (or whatever) with that, and you’ll greatly reduce risks along those lines, as this command adds a date and time stamp, and also offers optional Zip compression, which introduces the protection of being unable to accidentally edit the transit copies directly (never mind saving space and speeding up copy times enormously).
I use google drive (100 gigs for 2 dollars a month) which is much cheaper than the Dropbox paid option) with zip compression and dates to share between locations. I will move project being updated out of the folder where I store projects on computer X, then unzip the updated project backup into the project folder on computer X. It takes a minute or two, so I check mail while it downloads. Never lost anything.
Seeing as how they indicated not being pleased with how cloud sync works, I am not sure if I understand the purpose of promoting cloud sync in a thread about using local network file sharing (a superior method on almost every front if one is willing to set it up).
I have tried Windows 11 netowrking out of the box, but it never works. My laptop cannot see the share on my desktop or v/v. I gave up in frustration the last time I tried it.
That is a pity. I have been using local network file sharing successfully for probably almost 40 years. It does work. I accept you cannot make it work but the alternatives you seek are probably more complicated. Perhaps rather than seek help here get some help from a local expert who can set things up for you and support you as you progress your writing projects.
