Collaboration

With Renga, different users can collaborate on a project published on a collaboration server:

• edit the project on different computers at the same time, with the automatically coordination of changes made by different users;
• synchronize project changes using the Sync command;
• synchronize project changes automatically in real-time;
• edit the project when disconnected from the server, synchronizing changes when the connection is restored.

Preparation

To start collaborating:

1. Install Renga Collaboration Server on the server.

   To configure a server, launch the Collaboration Server application and follow the instructions. Click Options to specify the installation folder, server connection port, access key and polling interval. Configure a polling interval for detect and disconnect an invalid connection in time. To limit access to the server in the global network, set the Server access key. Prepare the server and client computers for collaboration by opening the port for incoming and outgoing connections in the Windows firewall.

2. In Renga, set the connection settings in the Collaboration tab in Settings . You need to restart the application after changing the connection settings.
3. Check the server connection in the Renga's title bar:
• Working offline – not connected to server.
• Connected to server.
4. On the Primary panel, on the Sync menu click Publish . The status Is Shared appears in the title bar.
5. Save project.
6. Send a copy of rnp-file to all participants of the project. Provide connection settings and server access key.

Connecting to collaboration

When receiving a project published on the server:

1. Save a copy of the project to your local disk.
2. In Renga, set the connection settings in the Collaboration tab in Settings . User name must be unique. You need to restart the application after changing the connection settings.
3. Check the server connection in the Renga's title bar:
• Working offline – not connected to server.
• Connected to server.
4. Open the project. The project name and the status Is Shared appear in the title bar.
5. If the Automatically sync changes option in Settings is disabled then click Sync (F5) to synchronize the project with other participants. If this option is enable sync will happen automatically.

Syncing changes

When collaborating on a project in Renga, you can sync changes:

• Using the Sync (F5) command on the Primary Panel. All the changes that were made before sync are retained in a local copy on the user's PC, the changes are not visible for the rest participants of the project. Sync must be done by the user who made the changes, otherwise the changes will be discarded by the server. Sync changes as often as possible.
• Automatically, if the Automatically sync changes option is enabled in Settings. All changes in the project become visible to all project participants instantly when the Select tool is active in the current tab.

Project journal

After the project is published, a project journal is maintained on the server in the Renga Collaboration Server\Projects folder. The journal describes all project changes. The journal describes all project changes after publication.

A journal is also maintained on the user's computer in the %LocalAppData%\Renga Software\Renga folder, which displays user actions and changes that occurred during synchronization.

The names of the project journals on the server and on the users ' computers and the name of the project file on the server are the same.

To save the current state of the journal on disk:

1. On the Primary panel, on the Sync menu click Open project journal.
2. In the Notepad select File - Save As....

We recommend using a spreadsheet editor or business intelligence system to view the logs.