iFamily database on network drive

torsten · Post by **torsten** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:09 pm

I want to store the iFamily database on a network drive and use it from two computers. Not necessarily simultaneously but alternatively. However the logic with which iFamily stores data and moves its data directory seems to interfere with this. Is there a possibility to accomplish this?

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:45 pm

I believe you can copy the iFamily Data folder in your user folder and move it to your network drive. Make a backup first of course. When you use the Open option under Files in iFamily you can specify what you want to open. I haven&#39t tried this on a network drive but it seems to me this should work. I remember having a similar discussion with Keith and I don&#39t believe there was any prohibition against it, and, according to Keith the database itself could handle multiple/simultaneous access.

torsten · Post by **torsten** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:32 am

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the response. I can move the database to the network drive from one computer with iFamily&#39s move database command, working just fine. On the second computer, if I use the same command it also works, but then the first computer recreates it&#39s home directory on the internal disk with the Royal Family dataset again and complains about me having moved the directory with Finder.
What I can also do is moving it on one computer and then opening the FtkSql file from the network drive on the second manually. However the home directory for this computer remains the local drive and iFamily keeps starting up with the Royal Family.
I could not find any related post on the forum yet.

Rgds, Torsten.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:11 pm

What I was suggesting did not involve using iFamily&#39s move command. I meant that you should copy the iFamily data folder and paste it wherever you choose on the network drive. Before you do that compress the iFamily data folder as a backup, just in case things should go awry. Once you have moved the iFamily data folder to your network drive drag the iFamily data folder in your user directory to the desktop, otherwise iFamily will simply start up as it always did. If you use iFamily&#39s move feature then it changes plists to accommodate the move and of course the second Mac has no way of knowing about this change, etc. In fact neither of the Macs should have an iFamily data folder in the user folder if you want the network drive technique to work. When you finally open iFamily it will open with the Royal family and will complain on its initial start up that you appear to have moved the data folder and should quit iFamily immediately and use the move feature in iFamily. However, no harm is done. With iFamily now open to the Royals select Open in the File tab and navigate to the iFamily folder and your ftksql file and select choose. Now you will have both your genealogy database open as well as the Royals. Close the Royals and work with your database. You will access the network iFamily data folder the same way on your other Mac. I have simulated all of this by moving my iFamily data folder to the desktop without using the move command, etc. and it works. I do not have a network drive so I cannot completely validate that this will work with a network drive; however, it really should. I hope my verbose response is not too confusing.

torsten · Post by **torsten** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:26 pm

Your description is very clear and it works in the same way with the network drive. I have tried this before. However, if you delete the iFamily folder on the home directory it is recreated each time iFamily starts and the Royals are loaded first. Even with the plist file and the data folder deleted iFamily behaves this way. Therefore I think iFamily for any reason is at least not happy with such an interference and I suspect there is a more thorough reason, why the move command and the warning were programmed into iFamily. Therefore I have not gone so far as to work in such a way and to see where my externally linked files, etc. will end up.
I might refer to properly moving the database from one computer and use the other just in read-only mode - if I don&#39t forget!

Thanks,
Torsten.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:39 pm

I don&#39t know if using a symbolic link to the network iFamily data folder would work. Perhaps the plist could be manually modified to reference the network drive location, etc. rather than merely deleting the plist as iFamily will recreate it if it is missing. Just a thought.

torsten · Post by **torsten** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:25 pm

I finally got it to work:
- Copy the complete iFamily folder with your database from your home directory to a safe place
- Open iFamily on computer 1
- Close the database window - but not the program
- Move the folder to the network location using iFamily&#39s Move ... command
- Close iFamily on computer 1
- Delete the iFamily folder on the network
- Open iFamily on computer 2
- Close the database window - but not the program
- Move the folder to the same network location as before using iFamily&#39s Move ... command
- Close iFamily on computer 2
- Copy all your files and folders from the safe place to the new iFamily folder on the network
From now on both computers will use the same iFamily folder on the network. The catch is, that you have to connect to this network folder before opening iFamily. Unlike e.g. iTunes iFamily does not not find its data folder otherwise. I have added the drive to my startup objects.
I hope this works and will not present me with further glitches. At least iFamily now starts up without any warnings and with the correct database.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:57 pm

Glad you got it working. Perhaps iFamily ought to have an option in its preferences to select where one wants to put the data folder but still retain the default location for those who do not want to make such changes.