Can I Store My On-Screen Takeoff, Quick Bid, and Digital Production Control Data in the "Cloud"? - OST QB DPCAA-00225Note Updated on 11/18/2024 to reflect our support for storing single-user, working databases in OneDrive, with some restrictions. QuestionCan I store my On-Screen Takeoff, Quick Bid, and Digital Production Control data (images, databases, or backups) in "The Cloud" (a service such as: OneDrive™, Dropbox™, Google Drive™, etc.)? AnswerThe answer is a qualified "yes". Using OneDriveEffective 11/18/2024... For On-Screen Takeoff®, Quick Bid®, Digital Production Control™)...
Caution If you choose to store your databases in OneDrive:
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Warnings You must set the folder where you store databases in OneDrive to always keep a copy of your file(s) on your computer and not only in the cloud. If you should lose internet connection (even for a second or two) On-Screen Takeoff or Quick Bid will terminate unexpectedly (crash) when it tries to access a file and you could lose work. As long as you have an "Always" copy on your computer, if you loose connection for a few seconds, OneDrive will "catch up" when you reconnect. You can even work offline (like on an airplane), as long as you shut down On-Screen Takeoff and let OneDrive sync all files as soon as you have an internet connection. Be sure you see the green circle-arrow in File Explorer before re-opening On-Screen Takeoff/Quick Bid because OneDrive might create a duplicate of your database. Never connect On-Screen Takeoff or Quick Bid to databases stored on remote drives (such as an individual or team network drives), that you access over the internet, even if you are using your company's VPN (this is not the same as OneDrive). You will not have a local copy of that file and you will likely experience performance and stability issues with the software. You could also lose a lot of work if the program cannot access a drive/database properly. Access databases must never be stored on anything other than your local drive, even if it's sync'ed with OneDrive. If you need assistance with copying files from your company's network to your local hard drive, please contact your IT Department. Caution If you run into problems, please remember, On-Screen Takeoff, Quick Bid, and Digital Production Control were not designed to support 'cloud' storage. You are responsible for any troubleshooting and configuration, ConstructConnect does not provide technical assistance of any kind for these scenarios. ConstructConnect cautions you to make sure your information is backed up properly in case something happens to your files/data. You are responsible for the security of our data when you store it in "the cloud". ConstructConnect does not warrant your databases as "internet-secure" - you are entirely responsible for deciding who has access to the files you store in any Cloud service. Using Any Other Cloud StorageFor On-Screen Takeoff®, Quick Bid®, Digital Production Control™)...
Options to setup database and bid sharing are included in each products' Help File/Online User Guide. Also, review the Related articles for more information on Best Practices and SQL recommendations. What about Virtual Servers and Azure?Azure SQL - We have not tested or certified using Azure SQL databases in OST or QB - at this time, we cannot recommend their use and have not added Azure support to our roadmap. If you would like to submit a feature request to add support for Azure SQL, please fill out the form in: Suggesting a Feature, Improvement, or Change to a Product (July 2024). You may store SQL databases and Plans/image files on a Virtual Server provided your workstation and whatever server you are using for storage is on the same network. Connecting to an offsite server, over the Internet, will not work reliably. Options to setup database and bid sharing are included in each products' Help File/Online User Guide. Also, review the Related articles for more information on Best Practices and SQL recommendations. |