Updating (synchronizing) the First Look Pro Database
If you are using First Look Pro on multiple computers, you will need a procedure for making sure all the computers have the most current database. When you make changes to First Look Pro on your master computer, you will want those updates to also be available on the mobile computers in the apparatus.
First Look Pro’s Synchronization tools make it easy for you to keep your First Look Pro preplans up-to-date on every computer on your network. Synchronization is always set up and performed at the Client computers. When you initiate a synchronize, either manually or through the scheduler, any changes that have been made in First Look Pro on the Master computer are brought down to that Client and any changes that have been made on that Client are pushed up to the Master. This process can then be repeated on each First Look Pro Client on your network. The Schedule feature lets you schedule all the clients to synchronize as much as once each day, automatically.
The first step in synchronization is to properly establish the relationship between the Master First Look Pro installation and the Clients. This is normally done during the initial set up of First Look Pro on each computer. You can also change the Master/Client status and replicate a master database on the Setup option of the Synchronization tool. Once you have the correct Master/Client relationships established, you can synchronize any changes made to the database on any computer.
Hints! For synchronization to be effective, timing is critical! If, since the last synchronization, the same record has been edited on two different computers, the changes that were made most recently will overwrite the older edits. The rule is always that the “last edits win.” For this reason, it’s highly recommended that you synchronize frequently to prevent any conflicts. You may want to check the clocks on all your Clients and the Master to make sure they are set to the same time. Having clocks be significantly different across the network can lead to information that is more recent actually being overwritten by older data.
It’s also recommended that you avoid editing the same record on two different computers. If you prefer to edit records on the Clients, you may want to have each Client be responsible for a particular group of occupants to prevent editing of any record on two computers.
Manual
The Manual option allows you to synchronize this Client’s First Look Pro database with its current Master. The synchronization is two way. This means changes made to records on the Client computer since the last synchronization will be pushed up to the Master and changes made on the Master database since the last synchronization will be pulled down to the Client.
The name of the currently selected synchronization Master is shown near the top-left of the window. If this is not the master with which you wish to synchronize, use the Setup option to select a different master.
To manually synchronize your changes
1) Click the “Get Changed Records” button.
A list is displayed showing all the records that were changed since the last synchronization.
2) If there are particular records that you do not wish to synchronize, click the Select box on the left side of the list to deselect those records.
Warning! If there is a conflict, and a particular record has been changed on both computers, the most recently changed record is what will be kept when you synchronize. For example, suppose a particular record was changed yesterday on the Client computer to add Hazmat data (but not synchronized) and today on the Master computer to add a new contact. As soon as you synchronize, the changed record will be pulled down from the Master and it will OVERWRITE the hazmat changes that were initially made on the Client!
3) When you are satisfied with the record selection, click the “Synchronize Selected” button.
A note in the lower left tells you the number of records that successfully synchronized. Each time you synchronize, a text log is created that gives more details of the records affected. Click “Show Sync Log” to open this log in your text editor of choice.
Schedule
The Schedule option allows you to schedule automatic synchronization between the current computer and it’s Master. If you have more than one First Look Pro Client installation, you must go to each of those Clients and set up their synchronization schedule individually.
To schedule automatic synchronization
1) Select “Schedule” from the Synchronization Management screen.
The current Sync Master and the last Sync Date is shown.
2) Click to select the day or days to synchronize this client with the master.
3) Select the time when you want to synchronize.
4) Check the “Enable Scheduled Synchronization” box to complete the scheduling of this client.
Note: Both computers must be turned on at the specified time for the synchronization to be successful.
5) Close the Synchronization Management window.
Once the Synchronization Management window is closed, a task is created in the Windows Scheduled Tasks program. You can access this program from the Windows Control Panel. At the specified time, any changed records will automatically be synchronized with the Master. This synchronization will continue at that time until you choose to stop it by clicking “Enable Scheduled Synchronization” again to turn it off.
Warning! When you schedule synchronization to take place automatically, there is no opportunity to review records and choose particular records to not be synchronized. All changed records are always synchronized and the most recently updated record is the one that is kept.
Due to the time and computer resources it can take, we recommend that you do not schedule all of the Clients to synchronize at exactly the same time. For example, you may want to schedule all of the Clients to synchronize on the same day, but at 10 minute intervals.
