Shared Workspaces

A Shared Workspace best suits single artists or small teams that access it from a maximum of 5 instances of Connecter within a local area network (LAN), where all changes one Connecter instance makes are synchronized in real-time with the other instances.

In contrast with the Connecter Suite, a Shared Workspace doesn't work with real member accounts (user) but only registers individual Connecter instances that connect to it.

A maximum of five Connecter instances (installed on different computers) can connect and register to a Shared Workspace. When a new Connecter instance connects, the Shared Workspace associates a unique ID with that instance and records one connection slot (out of the five allowed). 

Setting up

When you create a new Shared Workspace, you'll need to select a shared local or network folder Connecter will use to store and manage all Workspace's data. This must be a folder all Connecter instances can access. 

IMPORTANT: Shared Workspaces can be created ONLY in a network (shared) folder. If you choose a local and un-shared folder, Connecter won't set up the Workspace, giving you an error. Following are a few examples of typical network folders: 

\\

\\file-server\

\\assets-library\

A Shared Workspace folder doesn't store actual assets' content (files). It only serves as a centralized hub for all metadata linked to the assets – root folders, asset locations, custom previews, tags, and others. So when a Connecter instance connects to the Shared Workspace, it gets all that metadata and shows all assets added to the assets catalog.

IMPORTANT: Ensure full access to the folder – you can create, edit and lock files. Without these permissions, Connecter won't work correctly. Contact your network administrator if you need help with the permissions and security settings.

Managing connections

Each connection represents an individual Connecter instance. Think of Workspace connections as Connecter installations within the local area network rather than actual user accounts offered with Connecter Suite. So if you're a team of four, there will be four Connecter instances, each having its unique ID and connection name for accessing the Shared Workspace.

Connection name

You should assign a name to each Connecter instance (installed on a different PC) you connect to the Shared Workspace. Typically you'd want to give names that will help you distinguish the different connections like "laptop", "Mark's PC", "Render_box", etc.    

IMPORTANT: Each connection name is associated with a unique Connecter instance; therefore, you can't use it to connect to the Shared Workspace from another PC (Connecter instance).

To see a list with all Connecter instances (Connections) registered to the Shared Workspace:

1. Click the "Shared Workspace" icon at the top right of Connecter.
2. In the Workspaces dialog box, click the "Manage" button.

Why is there a limit of a maximum of five shared Workspace connections? 

Connecter's teamwork functionality through a Shared Workspace is designed to suit the needs of small teams collaborating in a local network environment. 

The way Connecter stores and handles shared Workspace data, connections, and permissions allows its fast and hassle-free setup process – an ideal solution for small teams with limited resources to deal with more sophisticated server-hosted databases and user administration. But this easy-to-deploy teamwork functionality comes with certain technical limitations on how many simultaneous connections and significant numbers of assets are managed.

After testing hundreds of practical use cases, we've determined that five simultaneous users and 10,000 assets are the maximum loads at which Connecter can still offer good performance and reliability of the Shared Workspace data. We designed Connecter Suite as a reliable solution for bigger teams and assets libraries for anything above these numbers.

Reaching the maximum number of connections

Suppose you need to connect a new instance, and a maximum of five connections is already reached. In that case, you'll first need to remove one of the existing connections registered on the Shared Workspace before a new instance of Connecter can connect. To remove a connection: 

1. Click the "Manage" button in the Workspaces dialog box.
2. Click the "x" button on the right of the connection you want to remove.
3. Click the Save button. 

Connection permissions

In the "Manage connections" interface, you'll see all Connecter instances successfully connected to the Shared Workspace. You can grant a selected connection full permissions (read, write) or just read access. A connection with read-only access won't be able to make any changes in the Workspace (add custom previews, categories, remove or add folders, etc.). It'll still be able to personalize by using options like starring and hiding files and folders, filtering folders, changing Connecter settings, and others.

To change connection permissions:

1. Click the "Manage" button in the Workspaces dialog box.
2. Select or deselect the "Can edit Workspace" checkbox after a connection to grant the following permissions:  
   • Selected (Write permissions): full rights to edit any part of the shared Workspace. 
   • Unselected (Read permissions): no rights to make changes in the Workspace, including adding assets folders, organizing assets, adding custom previews, and others. 
3. Click the "Save" button.

Using password to manage connections

When you create a new Shared Workspace, you can set a password for accessing the Manage Workspace functionality. Each Connecter instance connected to the Workspace will then ask for that password to access the connections list.

IMPORTANT: Though the connection name and Workspace password are grouped in a single interface when you create the Shared Workspace, they're unrelated. The connection name is the name that this particular Connecter instance will use to connect to the Shared Workspace. 

If you decide to set a Workspace password to manage the Workspace connections and their permissions, you'll need this password and a Connecter connected to the Workspace whenever you want to manage it. You can set up a Shared Workspace from one instance of Connecter and then manage it from another.

IMPORTANT: There's currently no option to retrieve a lost password automatically, and you'll need to contact us if you forget your password.

To manage a password-protected Shared Workspace:

1. Click the "Manage" button in the Workspaces dialog box.
2. Type in the password used to create the Workspace.
3. Click the "OK" button.