Collaborate via Shared Drive

You can collaborate on ReqView projects stored on a shared local network or cloud drive using the following simple workflow:

• Open a ReqView Project Folder from a shared drive
• Edit documents exclusively by locking ReqView document files on the shared drive
• Update the ReqView project from the shared drive to display project changes made by other users

This workflow allows more editors to edit different documents at the same time. For instance, one editor can edit a system requirements specification document while another editor is editing a system verification document.

Shared Drive Setup

Set up Network Drive

The easiest option is to set up a file share service using Server Message Block (SMB) file sharing protocol on a Windows or Linux server in your local network. This configuration will result in the best performance and the highest security when the server is behind a firewall.

Set up Cloud Drive

If a local network is not an option, you can set up a file share cloud service using the SMB file sharing protocol, such as Azure Files or Amazon FSx for Windows File Server.

We do not recommend mapping a network drive connected using WebDAV protocol (such as SharePoint or OneDrive) because of very poor performance.

Edit Workflow

To open a shared Project Folder in ReqView, click File, then Open Folder and select the folder from the shared drive.

Edit Projects

To open a document, click on the document in the Project pane. The application displays icon in the top right corner of the screen to indicate that the document is read-only.

To edit the document exclusively, click Document and select Start Editing Document, or press CtrlShiftE, or click . The edited document is locked on the shared drive automatically to prevent merge conflicts with other users.

To save intermediate changes to the shared drive during editing, click File, select Save, or press CtrlS, or click .

To finish editing the document, click Document and select Finish Editing Document, or press CtrlShiftE, or click . The edited document is unlocked on the shared drive automatically to allow other users continue on editing. All edited documents are also unlocked on the shared drive when the project is closed or saved as another Project File or Project Folder.

Update Projects

To update the current project by changes from the shared drive, click Project and select Refresh Project, or press CtrlR, or click in the Project pane.

To update the current project including all loaded linked projects by changes from the shared drive, click Project, select Linked Projects and then Refresh All Projects, or press CtrlShiftR, or click in the Linked Projects pane.

To enable updating projects opened from a folder on the application startup automatically, click Edit, select Preferences, and check Refresh project on startup and open.

Project Baselines

You can manage ReqView project baselines using Project Files stored in a separate folder. We recommend setting the folder permission as read-only for users who should not update project baselines.

Example: Store ReqView project baselines in the subdirectory of the Project Folder called baselines.

+--- attachments
+--- baselines
+--- documents
\--- project.json

Manage Baselines

To create a new baseline, click File, select Save As File, choose the folder storing baselines and enter a proper file name (e.g., Project_v1.reqw). In the Save Project as File dialog, leave the Project ID text box and Save History option unchanged.

Open Baselines

To open a project baseline in ReqView, click File, select Open File and select the corresponding project file storing the baseline.

Compare With Baselines

To compare the current project with its baseline, click Project, hover over Compare Project, select Compare Folder, and select a project file storing the baseline.

For more details, see Manage Requirement Changes > Compare Projects.