Sanction II is not a "true" network app, however it does support multiple user access for case databases. If you require multiple user access, there are several things to consider and be aware of before changing the default installation settings.
The following sections detail some of the requirements/limitations of network case management. Instructions on how to set up Sanction II for network use can be found in the topic Setting Up Sanction II for Multiple User Access.
Be sure to also review the topic Relocation and Transcripts, Videos and Presentations for information on how these files are treated.
Adding and Annotating Items
If users are going to be adding new Group items to a case database located on a network, the added items will not be updated on any other user screen until that user re-loads the case. This is because the main Tree view Categories are populated when the database is loaded. Only the user adding the items will be able to see the changes in the tree.
However, if items are added to an existing Group the items will be visible to other users the next time they click on the Group from the tree. This is because the List View items are "dynamic" and loaded into the list on demand by querying the database.
Image Annotations
If a user annotates an image and saves it, the annotations will be visible to other users if they reload the image. If two users are viewing an image simultaneously while annotating, they will see only their changes unless they reload the image.
If users create new images using the Save As new feature, the new images are saved to the \Case Items subdirectory off of the root case. As long as all users are pointing to the correct case subdirectory, these new files will be accessible.
File paths
When a user adds an item to a case using drag and drop, the original file path is added to the database. Therefore, if a user has added items off of a local hard drive, no other user will be able to view the items unless they are identically mapped to the local drive. It is strongly recommended that users use UNC file paths to add items (browsing through Network Neighborhood instead network drive letters). Using UNC paths ensures that ALL connected users will be able to view the added items. Sanction II will recognize mapped drive letters, but depending on the size of the network, this can become a management headache.
Note the following file path examples. The actual server where the images are located is called IMAGESERV, and the Shared directory is called IMAGES. In the first example, users have mapped directly to the Images directory. In the second, a UNC path is used.
F:\VOL1\IMG0003.TIF - drive letter mapping
\\IMAGESERV\IMAGES\VOL1\IMG0003.TIF - UNC naming
In the first file path, every user must have a drive letter mapping that points to the "Vol1" subdirectory. Sanction II ignores drive letters and searches sequentially through mapped network drives for item paths. Thus to locate the above image Sanction II will try the following paths -
C:\VOL1\IMG0003.TIF - file not found
D:\VOL1\IMG0003.TIF - file not found
E:\VOL1\IMG0003.TIF - file not found
F:\VOL1\IMG0003.TIF - file located
All connected users must therefore have at least one drive letter mapped to this directory (any letter from C: to Z:) in order to access the image.
In the second path example, since a UNC path is used, Sanction II automatically searches for the computer named "IMAGESERV" and the share name,"IMAGES". Since no drive letters are used, no mappings are required for the user machines. For this reason, UNC naming is strongly recommended.
Drawbacks to UNC names
While UNC names eliminate the need for multiple drive letter mappings, if you relocate the case database to a laptop or trial machine, you may need to update the item path information.
If you use the Relocate (Tools Menu - Relocate) function and choose "Use Group/ID naming" this is not an issue, as every item in the case will be copied into it's own subdirectory and given new path information.
If however you wish to maintain the current path and ID information, the \\Computer Name\Share Name will be stripped off of the path. Be sure you understand how paths affect item location. The Case Editor Utility can be used to quickly correct path errors if you have difficulty relocating items.
Be sure to see the topic Relocating Cases for detailed information on moving cases and case items.