Connecting to shape files on one drive with multiple users

[ray.harli]

Hi All,

I need help with regards to connecting to shp files located on onedrive. We are a small team working on one map which is  not a problem when you have a traditional setup ie a normal mapped network drive

the problem is when I link shp files from my one-drive they have a path that is specific to my computer

such as:

C:\Users\rharl\UrbanSoup Architects\UrbanSoup Architects - 2014\11_2014 Kazerne TOD\04-DATA\4-03-DRAWINGS

When another user opens the same file it looks for the external file using that same path

and obviously it doesn’t work for them and shows a broken link. They then have to manually update the link which is just not practical.

I have tried using a sharepoint url link but Map 3D shp connector doesnt seem to work with a link I created using sharepoint.

Any ideas?

[Thomas_Stuehle · Accepted solution]

Hi @ray.harli 

Welcome to the Map 3D forum.

Does it work when you and your colleague redirect your OneDrive folder to another path which also exists on other machines? I found this article which could give a good starting point: "How to Move Your OneDrive Folder".

This way you do not focus on a folder like the one mentioned which only exists on your machine, but e.g. "D:\share\OneDrive"

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Thomas

[ChicagoLooper]

Putting the shapefile in a folder where just one user, that's you, has access e.g. Users\rharl\UrbanSoup Architects\etc...... is not considered a best practice since other users, as you already know, won't be able to connect. You could put your shapefile in a centralized location such as your firm's server. If all users can access this server, for example through a VPN, then your problem is solved. This is guiding principle behind a single shapefile being shared by multiple users: everyone is using the exact same data. This data may be displayed in different ways or analyzed differently by different users, but 'data source' regardless of the user, remains consistent.   

Alternatively, all users can put the shapefile on their own local drive just like you, but be forewarned, this is not an ideal solution either, even though it would work. In fact,the same file, copied over from local-drive-to-local-drive is a bad, very bad idea.

[ray.harli]

Hi @ChicagoLooper 

I fully understand the principle but the whole reason why we are on OneDrive / SharePoint is precisely to avoid the costly alternatives to having a VPN with a dedicated server etc.

It has become common practice for small businesses to have a NAS drive syncing to OneDrive which is our current setup.

Surely with a massive surge of users shifting to cloud working there must be a solution to this?