Digital Workshop

A little off topic for Opus, but I hope, of relevance!

Am supplying an Opus app that can be used across a network.

It can produce user-files that are saved to <system-publication-dir>

The setup program that the end user runs put an icon on the desktop.

Some questions for the technical experts, as I’m floundering in a sea of ignorance on this topic.

Does the Opus app have to be loaded onto each machine on the network? I hope not!

Presumably each machine will need an icon that points to <system-publication-dir> - never done this before (!) so what do I provide the end user with? An icon I can cope with, but how does it get onto each desktop with the appropriate link to the app in <system-publication-dir>?

Are there any other idiot points that I should be aware of?

Many thanks for your patience.

John

My understanding of <system_publication_directory> is that it's the directory the publication is installed in. So if the program is sat on a server then <system_publication_directory> is going to be on the server too, I'd have thought?

If you want to Opus pub to sit on the server but save the files on the workstations you'll have to use a different folder I suspect.

Presumably you want to put one copy of the publication on a network drive and just run that form the local machines? There is a way to distribute shortcuts to PCs over a network but you'd have to ask a network guru - I don't know how that works I'm afraid.

On the Opus side, you probably want to save the user data to a directory under SYSTEM_DOCUMENTS_DIR - which is the user's own "My Documents" folder. Saving to SYSTEM_PUBLICATION_DIR will save onto the network drive where the publication is running. This is probably not what you want (unless you're storing the results under user names or something and the users have write access to the server).

Thanks leiafee and Duncan for the responses. Now I'm even less sure!

The app is aimed at schools - mainly primary in the UK.

Where the school has a network I guess the program will be on the server. Otherwise on stand alone PCs in the classroom.

On exiting the app the individual pupil's exit 'page' is automatically bookmarked and saved - currently, to SYSTEM_PUBLICATION_DIR.

So, now I'm not sure where to save their files, SYSTEM_PUBLICATION_DIR or SYSTEM_DOCUMENTS_DIR - don't want to use the temp directory because enthusiastic cleaning routines could wipe out the pupils' bookmarks.

Given the fact the app may well be used on both stand alone PCs and via a network, are any network gurus out there prepared to offer their expertise?

And is there a way to distribute shortcuts across the network? And how is it done manually?

Many thanks.

John