Starting with Workspaces

Connecter has three Workspace types: Personal, Shared (local Workspaces), and Connecter Suite. 

• The Personal Workspace best suits individual 3d artists who need a simple working environment that is easy to set up and maintain.
• The Shared Workspace allows the synchronization of the asset library metadata across up to five Connecter instances connected to a shared Workspace within the local area network (LAN). This Workspace type allows for a maximum of 10,000 assets in the library. 
• The Connecter Suite Workspaces offer advanced collaboration workflows for demanding teams and come with paid SaaS subscription with a 90-day free trial.

The Connecter app organizes all Personal and Shared Workspaces data in folders on the file system. Connecter Suite Workspaces are hosted on Connecter's cloud or a self-managed PostgreSQL database hosted on-premises.

When you start Connecter for the first time, it’ll ask you to create a Workspace (Personal or Shared), activate an existing one (Personal or Shared), or log in to a Connecter Suite Workspace.

The Workspaces interface when Connecter starts for the first time or there's no last-used Workspace available.

• To create a new Personal Workspace, click the button to browse a local or network folder, and when ready, click the "Select folder" button in the browser. 
• Never use a cloud-synced local folder (e.g., Dropbox, Drive, etc.) as the synchronization process will corrupt the Workspace irrevocably.
• To create a new Shared Workspace, click the button to browse a shared local or network folder, and when ready, click the "Select folder" button in the browser.

IMPORTANT: You must select a shared folder to which all Connecter instances that will use the Workspace have access.

• To connect to a Connecter Suite Workspace you are granted access to, click the "Log in" button, use your credentials to log in, and select the Workspace you want to access. Contact your team admin if you manage to log in but don't see any Workspaces available to connect to. 

Logging in to a Connecter Suite account and connecting to a Workspace.

• To use an existing local Workspace (Personal or Shared), click the "Activate existing local Workspace" button to navigate to a folder containing the Workspace, and when ready, click the "Select folder" button in the browser.

What data is stored in the Workspace?

BEFORE WE BEGIN: Your assets' content (e.g., the local files you browse in Connecter) isn't part of the Workspace. The Workspace only holds the information necessary to provide Connecter's organizational and management features. None of the files in your asset library will be changed, moved, or otherwise altered by Connecter.

Following are some main types of data Connecter stores and manages in the Workspace:

• The locations of the root folders you add to Connecter.
• The locations of all assets you catalog by adding metadata and custom previews plus:
  • The metadata you add and modify: tags, descriptions, ratings.
  • The locations of any custom previews you add to your assets. 
  • The custom previews' content (for Personal and Shared Workspaces).
• All Version Control and Feedback metadata that is being added while you use these features.
• Folders colors.
• The tags you add and modify and their colors and custom icons.
• Custom properties you add and change.
• Changelogs with all events that happen in the Workspace.

If you use Connecter as part of a team with a Shared Workspace or Connecter Suite, all these types of data you add or modify in the Workspace sync with all other team members who connect to the same Workspace.