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The Keep Under Dropbox

JohnTaberJJohnTaber
edited September 2011 in The Keep General
Hi Nbos: I am really enjoying The Keep. I investigated several other similar tools but decided to try this one. So far it is working really great. I have it setup in what I think is a really interesting way that I thought other folks might want to know about...here is a brief summary of the problem then what I did...

The Problem
I wanted to run The Keep at home and at work. Don't worry...I am only using it at lunch. At first I tried a flash drive but found taht The Keep reacts slowly on a flash drive...especially when my PDF got larger. What now?

The Solution
At work we started using an online tool called Dropbox to juggle synchronization of file across various devices. It is a free tool that is very easy to setup and quite powerful. Once setup it appears as a folder under My Documents called My Dropbox. What you put in that folder syncs to other devices or PC securely.

I installed The Keep into My Dropbox using the flash drive installation option. I then run it from the My Dropbox folder using a simple batch file. Now I can run The Keep at home, make changes, upload PDF, work on my Fractal Mapper 8 campaign map, then go to work and continue. No copy to a flash drive, no slow response,...awesome!

If you want to try Dropbox using this link. This way I can get some additional free storage space. Thanks!
https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTE1NTQ5MTY5

If Nbos reads this I have a question...

1) Why do you not ALWAYS default to the flash drive installation option where all of the files are under The Keep folders? It just seems like that avoids lots of issue. Just curious.

Thanks folks! :D

Comments

  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    That sounds like a great solution, John!

    Regarding the question, basically by default in Windows Vista/Windows 7 (and previous versions if configured in a certain way), programs cannot write into the Program Files directory for security reasons, and instead should write their data to the specified Application Data directory. So programs have to take care to do this, or they will have problems if run under such systems/configurations. You can, of course, run as administrator under Vista or 7, which would allow you to keep the files in the 'program files' directory, but even then I dont recommend it for a desktop installation for several reasons that most people might not be familiar with (such as the details of how the 'virtual store' system in windows works).

    Under the portable installation, everything is stored with the program in it's directory. Its a much simpler setup, but can only be used outside of the Program Files directory on most PCs.

    you can, by the way, via the command line, specifiy a location for the database if you want to keep them someplace other than the application data directory. You can also just use the 'portable' option under XP & earlier to keep the data files with the program, even if on a desktop installation.
  • JohnTaberJJohnTaber
    Ah gotcha. Thanks for the nice detailed reply. :)
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    Hi John,

    Just wanted to follow up - I've been using The Keep & DropBox together, and it does work really well :-)

    Thanks for the tip!

    Ed
  • IrondeaconIIrondeacon
    ppJohn,

    Great Idea! I've been using Dropbox for about 3 months to store campaign hand outs, etc., and The Keep and Drop Box seem to be a natural fit.

    I picked up The Keep Thursday from RPGNow, and did a quick install before visiting these forums. Naturally, the next thing I did was set up a basic infromation structrure, and start stuffing it with my current campaign. Three days later, I'm taking the time to review some of the forum content, and wishing I'd visited the forums before installing the utility, so that I could have taken advantage of this right from the start.

    Oh well, I don't think it will be too dificult to export what I've got so far, un-install the utilitiy, and then re-run the installation to set it up for a portable install.

    Thanks for the great tip!

    The Iron Deacon
    Id Fiat Iron Deacon Si
  • gwydionggwydion
    I have a question regarding The Keep and Dropbox.I have an assistant GM and we use a shared Dropbox folder to share information about the game. If we both have The Keep installed on our machines, in a standard installation telling it where the database is, would we be able to share the same data file or should we use the Dropbox to hold a backup of the database and do an import/export?
  • JohnTaberJJohnTaber
    Hi Gwydion: Sorry I did not see your post until now.

    I would think you could both use the same db if you are not accessing at the same time. I would NOT try and access it at the same time without careful testing. :)
  • dpmcalisterdpmcalister
    Just wanted to say thanks to John. I've been using The Keep and Dropbox (separately) for a while now but, for some reason hadn't spotted this thread nor had the idea myself. Then, during a recent visit to the forum, came across this thread and it was like a lightbulb going off. I now run The Keep on my Dropbox account which means I can use my lovely bit screen on my desktop to prep my campaign, and my netbook at the gaming table.

    Thanks John :)
  • JohnTaberJJohnTaber
    dpmcalister wrote:
    Just wanted to say thanks to John. I've been using The Keep and Dropbox (separately) for a while now but, for some reason hadn't spotted this thread nor had the idea myself. Then, during a recent visit to the forum, came across this thread and it was like a lightbulb going off. I now run The Keep on my Dropbox account which means I can use my lovely bit screen on my desktop to prep my campaign, and my netbook at the gaming table.

    Thanks John :)

    You're welcome. :)
  • jecklarjjecklar
    Hello, fellow gamers!

    I've also been using Dropbox for my D&D campaign notes for several months. I've been looking into getting The Keep, and was ESPECIALLY excited by the prospect of being able to access it anywhere via my Dropbox. While I'm not completely computer incompetent, I'm no expert, either. So I have a couple questions. :)

    1. I downloaded the trial version, so I can figure out how to get things working before buying the full item. Whether I save the install file to my PC or my Dropbox, it only wants to install to my C: on the PC. Do I just "browse" folder options and tell it to install to Dropbox instead? (Didn't want to mess with just trying this before I asked.)

    2. The original poster mentioned running it from Dropbox using a "simple batch file." Is this something the computer will do for me automatically? Or do I have to write something?

    Thanks in advance for your input, guys!

    JE
  • JohnTaberJJohnTaber
    jecklar wrote:
    Hello, fellow gamers!

    I've also been using Dropbox for my D&D campaign notes for several months. I've been looking into getting The Keep, and was ESPECIALLY excited by the prospect of being able to access it anywhere via my Dropbox. While I'm not completely computer incompetent, I'm no expert, either. So I have a couple questions. :)

    1. I downloaded the trial version, so I can figure out how to get things working before buying the full item. Whether I save the install file to my PC or my Dropbox, it only wants to install to my C: on the PC. Do I just "browse" folder options and tell it to install to Dropbox instead? (Didn't want to mess with just trying this before I asked.)

    2. The original poster mentioned running it from Dropbox using a "simple batch file." Is this something the computer will do for me automatically? Or do I have to write something?

    Thanks in advance for your input, guys!

    JE

    Hi Jeklar: When going through the installation choose the option to install to a flash drive. After making this selection choose the My Dropbox location for the installation. That will do it. I have instructions on the version posted to my blog. http://usandacat.com/thelair/?p=227

    Re: Batch file. Yes, that is something that I did on my own. Here is what I setup. I created a file called "runthekeep.bat" in the My Dropbox folder. The batch file looks like this:
    cd nbos\TheKeep
    start KeepCM.exe
  • jecklarjjecklar
    Thanks, John! Your advice -- and the batch code :) -- have everything working via my Dropbox just fine!

    For other folks' reference: I also made sure that my Inspiration Pad was installed on Dropbox (in the nbos folder with The Keep), based on some posts elsewhere on the forum about The Keep having trouble finding Inspiration Pad files with a portable installation if your only copy of Inspiration Pad was on a desktop / laptop.

    Also, for clarification: The Keep installation asks what drive you want to install onto BEFORE it ever asks if you want to do a standard or portable installation. So I had to navigate around my file tree (using the Browse button) and tell it to install on Dropbox, THEN tell it to make the installation portable. Otherwise it installed the program onto my C:/ by default.

    Again, thanks for the help! I'm loving the program already! :D

    JEcklar

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