• CaseWare SmartSync
  • About SmartSync
  • About SmartSync on Citrix and terminal servers
  • About SmartSync Server
  • Differences between SmartSync and non-SmartSync
  • Peer-to-peer synchronization
  • SmartSync extension index
  • Sync Log
  • Synchronization properties
  • Test SmartSync connectivity
  • Troubleshooting SmartSync
  • SmartSync: Getting started guide
  • Specify the default synchronization behavior
  • Create a sync copy
  • Manage sync copies
  • Manage the parent file
  • Lock documents for exclusive use
  • Repair a SmartSync file
  • Resolve synchronization conflicts
  • Work offline

About SmartSync on Citrix and terminal servers

You can utilize SmartSync functionality on Citrix and terminal servers to:

• Significantly reduce network resource usage when sharing large engagement files
• Enable staff to work on engagement files remotely, offline, or at a client site where they don't have access to the server

Typically when two or more staff share a file, Windows disables network caching. This significantly increases the amount of traffic that Working Papers sends across the network. By creating sync copies of the file on the network storage, Windows network caching remains active since each user has their own file.

SmartSync path customization (Citrix)

We recommended that you host SmartSync on a fast network share that is available to Citrix users and servers. This ensures that users manage their sync copies from the same location, regardless of the server they are currently assigned to. Each user should be assigned a unique path on the network share.

Paths in Working Papers always resolve to a UNC entry (e.g. \\FileServer\path\) rather than a locally specified path (e.g. C:\path\). In order to correctly store engagement files in the appropriate location, there are two paths that you must configure:

• Client file path: Set to the folder containing the top-level parent file that all sync copies are made from.
• SmartSync path: Set to the folder where you will store the sync copies for each user. This should be a different network share for each user. Users who are not in a Citrix session may set a local system path.

After the network shares are in place, create a script to set the default SmartSync path for each user during login. The following script illustrates how you can automate user login in a Citrix environment:

• SET SyncPath = \\File_Server\path\to\sync_copy_folder_root\
• IF NOT EXIST %SyncPath%%UserName% MD %SyncPath%%UserName%
• REG ADD “HKCU\Software\CaseWare International\Working Papers\20xx.xx\Settings” /v SyncPath /t REG_SZ /d %SyncPath%%UserName% /f

In this example, File_Server\path\to\sync_copy_folder_root\ is the path to your SmartSync network store and 20xx.xx is your current version of Working Papers. To test the login script, launch Working Papers through a Citrix session and verify that the correct SmartSync path is set in Tools | Options | Default Paths.

Note: Users who work off site with a local copy of Working Papers (rather than through a Citrix session) can set their SmartSync path to their local drive rather than a network share. Changes to their file will synchronize automatically when they return to the office or connect over a VPN.