Cloud vs. Local, FIGHT!

Note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions. You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)

• Intro/TOC
• What Do We Mean by “Data”?
• The LandFX Folder
• How to Find Out Your Current Install Configuration
• Cloud vs. Local Requirements
• How to Switch to Cloud
• Migrate to a Shared Online Folder
• Reconfigure Every Workstation
• How to Use Cloud When Your Internet is Down? Tether Your Phone

0:00 – 3:23: Intro/TOC

3:24 – 4:50: What Do We Mean by “Data”?

In this context, “data” includes Land F/X projects and Preferences:

• LFX file extension
• Managers (Plant, Irrigation, Detail RefNote, etc.)
• Does not include DWG files

Example: plants that have been added in the Plant Manager (3:58)

Data server: Single-User, Multi-User, Cloud (4:23)

4:52 – 5:58: The LandFX Folder

The LandFX folder contains everything from custom plant blocks to hatches, linetypes, layer settings, and details.

The LandFX folder:

• Is created automatically during installation of Land F/X
• Stores details, blocks, linetypes, plant labels, etc.
• Location depends on installation configuration

Example of LandFX folder stored on the C: drive (Single-User configuration) (5:45)

5:59 – 8:35: How to Find Out Your Current Install Configuration

Finding your installation configuration through CAD from the Land F/X General Preferences screen (6:28)

Examples of Multi-User configurations (7:43)

Examples of Single-User configurations (8:15)

8:36 – 9:08: Cloud vs. Local Requirements

Local Data (8:49):

• IT staff
• Physical server
• MySQL
• SQLite

Cloud Data (9:02):

• Internet access

9:09 – 15:03: How to Switch to Cloud

Planning on working from home? (9:15)

• First: Switch to Cloud
• Second: Migrate to a shared online folder
• Third: For Multi-User setups, configure all workstations

Switching to Cloud (9:48):

• Make sure your installation is up to date (Update tool)
• Back up all projects and Preferences
• Type Enterprise in the CAD Command line, enter your Support ID, and choose the option to use Cloud Data
• Send us a technical support ticket to verify that you’re on Cloud Data

How to confirm that your computer is using Cloud Data: your listed server (or Project Data Server) has changed to a geographical location (Example: US West California) (13:35)

Final step: Restore all the backed-up projects and Preferences (14:20)

15:04 – 19:16: Migrate to a Shared Online Folder

Examples of shared online folders (15:14)

Migrating the LandFX folder to a shared online folder using an online file-sharing service (example: Dropbox) (16:00)

• Copy the LandFX folder into the shared online folder
• Rename the old LandFX folder
• Uninstall F/X Workstation
• Map a letter drive to the LandFX folder in the shared online location
• Download and install the latest version of F/X Workstation (setup64)
• Update the Support File Search Path in the Options dialog box to reflect the new location of the LandFX folder
• Restart CAD
• Verify that Land F/X is mapped to the correct drive

19:17 – 25:10: Reconfigure Every Workstation

Repeat the steps to switch to Cloud on every workstation (19:22)

25:11 – end: How to Use Cloud When Your Internet is Down? Tether Your Phone

How to tether using an iPhone or Android Information and instructions (25:25)

Question: Is there a way to work offline – for example, in the field? (27:10)

Answer: Use our phone-tethering steps. If you don’t have phone service, you can switch to Local Data temporarily. However, we only recommend this solution as a last resort, or if you know in advance that you’ll be offline for a long period of time.

How to switch from Cloud to Local temporarily (30:15)

Question: Do we need to back up if we’re using Cloud? (31:40)

Answer: Yes, we recommend backing up just in case. Another user could rename a project delete your data from a project by mistake, for example. In these cases, you can simply restore from the backup.

Restoring projects you’ve removed from your list (34:50)

Question: We are using the Cloud setup with Land F/X saved on a mapped Office 365 Sharepoint site. We have been having issues with the sync being blocked by AutoCAD .bak files. This has been preventing the suns from completing. Any experience with this or fixes? (35:55)

Answer: We’ve seen multiple issues with Sharepoint Sync. You may be able to have Autodesk retrieve the .bak files. Above all, we recommend finding a different syncing service.

Question: We have some issues with Xrefs being “not found.” When using a cloud setup, should our project CAD files be saved into the LandFX folder as well? We currently save in separate project folders in Sharepoint. What is the best practice? (40:00)

Answer: We recommend finding a different file-sharing service from Sharepoint. Also, we recommend using relative paths rather than full paths when attaching Xrefs.