Smart Contractor is able to run on multiple computers simultaneously on any type of Windows local area network (LAN).
It is not necessary to install Smart Contractor on a server. Smart Contractor uses "peer to peer" data management, so the database can reside on a network server, or in any shared folder (with read/write/delete access) on any drive anywhere on the network.
To run Smart Contractor on multiple computers on a network, follow these steps:
| Install Smart Contractor |
|
Install Smart Contractor on all computers on which you want to use it. You do not need a network server, and Smart Contractor does not need to be installed on a server unless you will be running Smart Contractor on the server. |
| Select Database Folder Location |
|
Decide where you want the Smart Contractor database to reside. This must be a "shared" folder which all users have read/write/delete access to. Let's call this folder the "Smart Contractor data folder". The Smart Contractor data folder does not have to be on a server. It can be on any computer on the network, but it should be located on the fastest computer on the network, and a computer that will always be on whenever anyone wants to run Smart Contractor. |
| Copy Database |
|
If you have already been running Smart Contractor, you will want to continue to use the database you have been using. So you will want to copy that database to the shared Smart Contractor data folder. To do that, please follow these steps: - Run Smart Contractor on the computer where you have been running it. - In the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, go to File > Backup Data. Browse to a folder to back up the Smart Contractor data. When that's done... - In the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, go to File > New Database... and browse to the shared "Smart Contractor data folder" on the network. - The program will prompt for a company name, type of company, and locale version. These will be overwritten so it doesn't matter what you enter. - In the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, go to File > Restore From Backup. - It will display a message saying "Warning Data Will Be Lost!...". Click Yes. - Browse to the folder where you backed up the data and select the "SC (company name).Zip" file. - It will prompt you "Was The Data You Are Restoring Backed Up On THIS Computer?". Click No. - It will prompt "....SC.mdb exists, do you want to overwrite it?". Click "Yes to All" When it's done (you'll have to click OK a couple of more times), you will be connected to a copy of the data that now exists on the shared drive. |
| Open Database |
|
After a copy of the Smart Contractor database has been placed in the "central data folder", you must go to each computer that is running Smart Contractor and tell it to look for the data in the central data folder. To do this, please follow these steps on each workstation: - Download Smart Contractor from here: www.SmartContractor.com/Download. - Run Smart Contractor. - Go to Help > Enter License Key, - If you use Outlook, or Windows Live email, then click "Email License ID". This will open an email message in your with the computer's license ID in it. Type your name and company in the email (so we know who sent it), and send it. - If you don't use Outlook (or another Windows email system, copy and paste the License ID from the Smart Contractor screen into an email (along with your name and company name) and send it to support@SmartContractor.com. When each computer's license ID is received, we will send the license key for that computer (each computer requires a unique license key). When you receive the license key for each computer, install it in the appropriate computer. Then... - In the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, go to File > Open Database... and browse to the shared "Smart Contractor data folder" on the network. That will open the database on the shared drive. |
Once you have opened the database, you do not have to do it again. Smart Contractor will automatically open the same database every time it starts.
Important: Now that you have set Smart Contractor to use a database on the network, the computer containing the data must be operational in order for Smart Contractor to work! If either the network, or the computer containing the data on the network are not working when you start Smart Contractor, it will display a message indicating that the database file is not found. When you click OK, it will display a "Smart Contractor Database Folder" window prompting you to select the database folder. Click Cancel. Smart Contractor will quit. Resolve the network problem and then try again.