By default, your records stay on your device. File sharing lets you make them available to a team, open them on a phone or back them up, with no account and without going through a pulpSuite server. It is available in pulpClient, pulpForge, pulpProduct, pulpArchive, pulpHome, pulpBuild, pulpSheet, pulpPlan and pulpSlide. To compare this way of working with the others, see Where your data lives and how to work with others.
Getting started
- Open the app, then the menu File › Save as a shared file….
- Choose Shared (synced folder or company network drive) and a file name. Copy your current records into it, or start with an empty file.
- Click Choose the synced folder… and pick a OneDrive, Nextcloud or kDrive folder, a network drive, or any folder that your sync service copies to other computers.
- On a colleague's computer (or your second computer), open the same app, then File › Open a shared folder… and choose the folder you received. The file opens, and everyone sees the others' changes as soon as the folder has synced.
The shared file is a folder (for example Clients.pclient). Do not rename it, move it or open what is inside by hand: let the app manage it.
Common tasks
How do I know whether my changes reached the others?
The badge in the title bar shows the state of the file: On this computer (not shared) or Shared · 3 devices, with a check mark (up to date), arrows ("5 changes not yet seen by Paul") or an alert. Click it to see, device by device, who is up to date and since when, whether your changes are safely written to the folder, and to Sync now. A lightning bolt means another computer is connected to yours directly.
If Folder sync seems to have stopped appears, check your sync tool (OneDrive, Nextcloud…) or the network drive: your changes stay on your device in the meantime.
What happens when two people change the same thing?
The file never locks and nothing is lost silently. If two people changed the same field without seeing each other's change, the most recent value is kept and a notice tells you ("Paul also changed 'Phones' of 'Jean Dupont': his value was kept"). You can Keep that choice or Use the other value. Changes to different fields, even on the same record, simply add up with no notice. The number of notices is shown in the badge; if someone deletes a record while you are editing it, a notice says so and you can Restore it.
What happens to a number that was given twice?
While offline, two people can give the same number to two items (two tickets "PRJ-42", two parts with the same reference). When the changes are merged, the more recent one is renumbered ("PRJ-42 became PRJ-57: number already taken by Paul") and a notice tells everyone. The old number can still be found: "Former number" in pulpForge, "Former reference" in pulpProduct, and search understands it. pulpBuild (snags "R12", reports "CR3") and pulpArchive (version numbers, section codes) renumber the same way. If you quoted the old number in a text, it is still understood.
Do attachments follow the file?
Yes. Attachments (images, drawings, data sheets…) travel with the shared file: in pulpArchive, each version is an attachment; in pulpHome, pages, bills and prescriptions; in pulpBuild, site photos and floor-plan backgrounds. pulpClient has no attachments apart from support requests. Files up to 8 MB are copied to each device automatically; larger ones show To download with their size, and you fetch them with one click. An attachment that has not arrived yet shows Not arrived yet: try again in a moment, once the folder has synced.
How do I encrypt a shared file?
When creating it, tick Encrypt the file with a passphrase (at least 8 characters). Give that passphrase to the people who will open the file. It cannot be recovered: without it, nobody, pulpSuite included, can read the content again. Keep it somewhere safe. It is asked once on each new device. The sync service and anyone with access to the folder then see only unreadable data.
How do I open my file on my phone?
On the computer where the file is open: File › Open on my phone…. A QR code appears (valid for 2 minutes, usable once). Scan it with the phone's camera: a 6-digit code appears on the phone. On the computer, check that the digits are the same ("Is this your device?"), choose Read only or Edit and the duration (this session, 1 hour, 1 day or Always (trusted device), which makes your phone a trusted device), then accept. If the codes differ, refuse.
The phone then shows the file live from your computer: nothing is kept on the phone, and the session ends when you close the app on the computer. The computer must therefore stay on, with the app open. Next time, a trusted device reconnects without a QR code: Open from my computer on the phone.
How do I show a record to a colleague, or have them complete it?
Open the record (a contact, organization or opportunity in pulpClient; a ticket in pulpForge; a part in pulpProduct; a document in pulpArchive; a paper or the shopping list in pulpHome) and click Invite to this record. In pulpBuild, pulpSheet, pulpPlan and pulpSlide, the Invite buttons in the title bar invite someone onto a plan, a sheet or the whole file. Send the QR code (or the copied link) to the person. They see only that record and what is attached to it, nothing else. An approval window appears on your computer with their name: compare the code, choose Refuse, Read only or Edit, the duration, then confirm. A guest cannot add attachments; they can open those of the record (up to 32 MB).
A read-only person sees a banner "Read only: the computer refuses changes". If they want a copy of their own, Save a copy (only for the Edit role) creates a new file, independent of the original.
How do I see who is connected and cut off access?
As long as a device is connected, "N device(s) connected" appears in the header (an eye: viewing; a pencil: editing). File › Connected devices… opens the panel: who is there, on which file, with which role and since when. Cut access ends that person's session immediately. The panel also lists your trusted devices (Remove to revoke one), the log of connections, views, changes and refusals, and lets you Rename this device. Notifications report connections, departures and refused edit attempts.
How do I back up my records automatically?
File › Automatic backup…: choose a folder once (external drive, synced folder…). A complete copy is made every day, in one sub-folder per app, and the last 30 are kept. Back up now makes a copy on demand; Restore reopens a backup from the list. Without a backup, a discreet reminder appears when your records have never been backed up or after 7 days; Later postpones it by a week. The same folder serves the whole suite.
How do I go back to my personal records?
File › Back to this device's data. Recent shared files are under File › Recent shared files.
Limits to know
- A computer with Chrome or Edge for the shared folder. Firefox, Safari and phones cannot open a folder: Open and Save as (a single file) still work, and phones use Open on my phone.
- No per-person permissions inside a folder: anyone with the folder can see and change the whole file, even if you invited someone as read only. Permissions only apply to devices served by your computer. Encrypt if needed.
- No real time through the folder: changes arrive when your sync service copies the folder, from a few seconds to a few minutes. When two computers have the file open at the same time, they exchange changes within about a second, directly (this needs an Internet connection so the devices can find each other, works best on the same network, and the content does not go through a pulpSuite server).
- Folder access: the browser asks for permission to access the folder again each session (Give access to the folder again, one click; your changes stay on the device meanwhile). Once pulpSuite is installed as an app, access is kept.
- Changes made from a phone are recorded under the name of the computer hosting it; the log in the devices panel says who made them.
- A device that disappears (lost, broken) before its latest changes were copied into the folder takes them with it. Automatic backup and direct exchange reduce that risk.
Common problems
"Folder unreachable" or "Give access to the folder again": what should I do?
Click Give access to the folder again. If the folder is on a network drive or external disk, check that it is connected. Your changes are kept on the device and go out as soon as access is back.
"This file exists in two places": what should I do?
The same file is known at two locations (for example a network drive and a synced folder). Click Reunite to keep only one: nothing is lost.
My sync tool created a "conflicted copy": do I need to do anything?
No. pulpSuite recognises these copies, reads them, merges their content and tells you; nothing is lost. If your sync tool deletes part of the file or replaces it with an older version, the app rebuilds it from your device and says so.
The phone shows "Computer unreachable" or "This code has expired"
Check that the computer is on, connected to the Internet, with the app open. A QR code is valid for only 2 minutes and once: ask for a new one (New code).
My shared file will not open: "This folder is not a shared file" or "newer version"
Choose the folder of the file itself (for example Clients.pclient), in the right app. If the file was created by a newer version, refresh the page.
I lost the passphrase
It cannot be recovered. Restore a backup made before encryption, or recreate the file from an export.