This topic describes restrictions associated with file sharing workspaces as well as activities that may result in warning prompts.
Folder sharing restrictions
Groove disallows sharing the following types of folders in a file sharing workspace:
- A folder on removable media, such as a CD-ROM or floppy disk.
- A folder on a network drive.
- Any folder within the Groove data directory.
- Any folder for which you do not have write permissions; that is, folders in which you cannot create new files.
- Any folder already being synchronized in a file sharing workspace by another Groove account.
Additionally, Groove posts a warning given the following circumstances:
- If you select the root folder of a computer drive for sharing. This activity is strongly discouraged.
- If you select any folder within the Windows system directory.
- If you select a folder (or parent) folder that you're already synchronizing in another file sharing workspace.
Although this activity is not discouraged, it's important to be aware of the following security issue: Folders shared in multiple file sharing workspaces are available to members across all those workspaces. You should be certain that all members in all file sharing workspaces are authorized to access all the data in all folders.
File sharing workspace restrictions
The following files and file types cannot be shared in a file sharing workspace: Any file that has a file name that starts with a ~ character; all files with gfs, tmp, bak, sav, or lnk extension.
Additionally, files with the following attributes cannot be shared in a file sharing workspace: Hidden, System, Temporary, or Offline.
To see a list of file sharing workspace restrictions, open the Folder Synchronization Properties box.
Groove cannot synchronize any files that are larger than 1 GB. Additionally, Groove will stop synchronizing any file sharing workspace that exceeds the following file limits: More than 5000 files or a set of files that exceeds 2 GB in total size.
In addition to the file types that are specifically restricted from file sharing, there are other types of files that may not work well in a file sharing workspace. These include file types that have dependencies on other files in order to run properly, or files from applications that run properly only on the computer where the application was originally installed. Examples of these file types include Outlook PST files, Quicken Quickbook files, and Access database files. In short, some file types are not intended to be shared on multiple computers.
Recommendations for optimal performance
For optimal performance in a file sharing workspace, keep the following in mind:
- Avoid adding large files (>50 MB) to a file sharing workspace.
- Avoid adding large numbers of files (>100 files) at once.
- Avoid storing large numbers of files (>500 files) in a file sharing workspace.
These numbers are recommended based on Groove's minimum system requirements. Systems exceeding the minimum requirements will be able to handle larger numbers of files with less performance degradation.
Other factors that may impact performance include:
- Degree of change to files in the file sharing workspace. The more frequently files are changed, the more performance is degraded. Larger workspaces can function with less degradation if they do not have a high degree of change.
- Download settings of workspace members. Members who use manual download settings avoid requiring other members to send data on each update. This improves overall performance for all members.
- Starting and stopping Groove frequently. For optimal performance, keep Groove running.
- Running earlier versions of Groove. All members of the workspace should use the latest version of Groove to ensure optimal performance.
In addition, pausing communications for a workspace also pauses the synchronization of local changes to the workspace. In larger workspaces, pausing communications until updates are really needed can help overall performance.
