Projects folder / sharing folder configuration

Omniscope Evo : a modern BI web app

Omniscope Evo is a web application - a client-server program that you access and interact with through a web browser on any device.

In case Omniscope is installed as a server for a whole Team or Enterprise, the app backend runs on the server machine whereas the users access it from any device. Nonetheless you can install and run Evo as your professional tool on your machine, in this case both the backend and app UI will be running on your machine.

Projects folder

Now, regardless your licence and installation, the projects, workflows and reports you create and share are persisted into a folder, called "Sharing folder", a sort of root location from which all your sub-folders and files are organised, stored and served by Omniscope.

The default sharing folder is called “Files” and by default is located on the machine where Omniscope (the backend) is running in the user home directory, typically /home/yourusername/omniscope-server/files

To change this location, go to Admin app -> Web Server section -> Settings and edit the Path to your desired folder. Restart Omniscope to apply the changes.

We recommend configuring the Projects folder on a local SSD drive on the same machine where Omniscope is running to optimise performance and to ensure a smooth user experience.

Using a network drive

Albeit not recommended as it can impact app performance, you can configure Omniscope to store and serve the projects from a network drive.

To start, you have to map your network drive to obtain a folder path available on your OS to be used by Omniscope.
On Windows 7, 10, you can follow the Microsoft guide . Once mapped, go to the Omniscope Admin app to set the "Sharing folder" with the mapped drive path.

Using OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive

Provided you have the OneDrive, Dropbox or Google drive app installed where Omniscope (server/backend) app is running, you can have the Sharing folder be the local OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive folder which is kept in sync and backed up automatically with the cloud by their service.
To bypass the local to cloud synchronisation and save and serve data directly to/from your cloud folder, there are tricks. For instance you can assign a specific drive letter to it using network mapping in File Explorer. See a guide here about OneDrive.

FAQ
Multiple Omniscope Evo instances running against same shared network drive Sharing folder

Imagine the case you have several Omniscope Evo apps (server or local installations) running on different machines, but all using the same network Sharing folder to store projects.
Simply put, this is not recommended, although Evo can detect another app instance is using the same project, syncing the projects (every 5 seconds) and warn you showing a message saying "Another Omniscope seems using the project . This can lead to data corruption".

Evo has been designed to have a universal UX, a modern app, where users can either work in their private area or share and collaborate with other users. For this, rather than running multiple Omniscope apps, you should prefer installing Omniscope on a server in your local, enterprise secure network or private cloud, and have your users connecting to it just by using their web browser.

In case you cannot install Omniscope as a server on a machine, and you are forced to have several Omniscope for example running on each user laptop, wanting to store the files in a central shared location, then by all means you can configure and map a network drive, but this, as already pointed out, can affect performance and UX, and when your network connection is unstable even lead to file corruption. Omniscope will try hard to keep your files integer, warn you, and recover, but we recommend you consider a server installation to avoid all this for your peace of mind.