Multi-user access

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Easy PDF Search uses SQLite as the underlying database.  While SQLite supports multiple users, it is still at its core a file-based database.  Multiple users can access the database file, but it will not be as efficient as a client-server based database engine.  If you want to have multiple users access the same Easy PDF Search database, you need to do the following:

 

Store the database file on a network share

 

When you create the database, enter the shared network path where all users can access.

 

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PDF files path

 

To open the PDF files in the search results, each user needs to be able to access the PDF files.  This means that the paths in the library needs to be network shares e.g.

 

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Performance

 

By default, every time you perform a search, Easy PDF Search first scans for new PDF files and index them.  In a multi-user scenario, this is inefficient. 

 

You should designate a single user to update the index for new files.  Other users should use any of the other options that skip the indexing process:

 

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Search only indexed files

Easy PDF Search will scan the selected libraries' folders for PDF files, and only return results from files that have been indexed.  New or updated files are not indexed.

 

Search index only (selected libraries)

Easy PDF Search will search all indexed files in folders used by the selected libraries.

 

Search index only

Easy PDF Search will search all indexed files.

 

 

Points to note

 

We do not expect this multi-user access implementation to support a client-server experience.  It will probably work for database files of a modest size, supporting a small number of users.  The exact numbers will vary, depending on the network infrastructure and machine specifications in use.

 

Consider using the hotspot functionality to better support multi-user access.