Network Drive Database

[kathynewman]

I am looking to run actinic where the database resides on a network drive and not a local drive (so that someone else can update the products from another machine to the one where the orders are being downloaded - these machines are only a few feet apart!)

Does anyone know if this is possible?

Thanks

Kathy

[chris ashdown]

if your rich Kathy try Actinic Multiuser, but have a brandy before you ask for a price

[george]

We are in the same boat, progress is being restricted businesswise unless we start a nightshift. Its cheaper to buy a couple more copies of catalog then it is to upgrade to Multi-User.

Mole-End does a version but it does not do all we need. (It will be enough for many users though).

Anyone who knows me well I stick up regularly on behalf of Actinic but this issue broke my head a couple of weeks ago when I looked into it.

Big red cross in the box from me.

[buspassjohn]

We use the Mole-End Multi user prog, it works fine, the main machine runs Actinic with a shared mapped drive and the machine in the packing room 20M away downloads, prints and processes the orders via the network. Try it.

[george]

Seems like (after some research) I'm not the only one finding this a bit restricting, anyone else got the same dilemma?

[pinbrook]

if your rich Kathy try Actinic Multiuser, but have a brandy before you ask for a price

at the risk of being mauled to death, it seems to me that there are 2 solutions in place

Mole-Ends Multi User or Actinic's Multi User, the price being the obstacle here

[george]

Correct Jo.

See, that wasn't so bad was it?

Sometimes in business you have to pay for a particular `thing` whatever the cost 'cos its something you `really need` to progress. You're all going to laugh at me here but I think it would be an expensive add-on (for our needs) even if it was £500.

I dunno really, this issue is mincing my brain by the day. Hopefully I still have enough molecules together to continue as normal. Just seems a lot of hard earned for shifting the ordering stuff onto another (part-time) pc.

I'm losin' it...

[pinbrook]

wow yes that was painless.... thanks!

I have to admit I feel the multi user facility by actinic is very limited in as far as it doesn't allow you to network via WWW.

I won't be looking at it until it does this, how many actinic users are there who want to network home and office? and don't want to lay a cable between the 2.

i suppose there is the option of driving home throwing cat5 cable out the car window, and driving back in the morning pulling it in - but not many people will do that.

[buspassjohn]

Got a new Office/Warehouse within walking distance of home! saves throwing out and collecting the cable, just walk around the corner (half mile).

Back to the subject, the Mole End solution seems to be the most cost effective, the Actinic is basically a rip off price for something that the software ought to do in it's standard version already.

[chris ashdown]

As a matter of interest, How are the companies who have changed to Actinic Multi-User finding the experience and is it living up to expectations

Do you run it on a "normal" server along with other software like accounts, ms office etc or is it dedicated to actinic( I often wonder how many of my little problems are caused by running everything on one computer, and although not ready for multi-user yet i am thinking of running Actinic on its own computer)

[Jan]

The main difference between multiuser Actinic and our multiuser One Stop Order Processing product is that our product is a batch order processing system, it is just perfect if you want to process several orders at a time, it also makes is really easy to find customer orders. It doesn't do everything that Actinic does, for example is doesn't do offline ordering or back ordering because these are actions for a single order at a time. This is why it doesn't suit everyone.

If your orders need individual processing then you are better off using multiuser Actinic, I personally don't think it is that expensive (although if my program suits your needs I would much prefer you to buy that ;-) ), multiuser Actinic is 1 step up from developer, so to my mind you should take the cost of developer away from the cost of multiuser to see the real cost of the 'multiuser' feature.

Regards,