Cloud Mode.

[aviator]

Hi Mark,

I've installed FM onto a cloud drive. On my desktop computer, it runs fine in cloud mode. However, my laptop produces a series of errors that, I believe, may be related to permissions.

On my desktop, I created a shortcut that points to fm.exe in the cloud. I tried to do the same on my laptop, where I'm getting the error messages.

Anything obvious I'm doing wrong?

Here's the error message, with personal info removed.

[Mark]

Hi aviator,

I'm not sure, it seems from that description it should work the same on either your laptop or desktop, as long as you have permission to access the cloud location from both PCs.

[aviator]

OK, not sure either but it appears to be working now. I had an issue with file locking (desktop had a lock) but ignored it and am now able to see all my FM data on my tablet.

Very nice.

What are your thoughts/best practices on backups when in Cloud mode? In the past, my FM data was stored locally but backed up to the cloud. Now that everything is in the cloud, should I backup to my local drive? Or to another cloud service? Do I need to backup at all?

Thanks in advance.

[Mark]

Hi aviator,

Glad it is working now. I would suggest backing up to multiple locations, just in case one fails. The cloud services are usually more reliable than your own local hard drive though, as the big providers are professionals at backing up data, so data loss is usually not an issue on a reputable cloud service. That being said, having a local backup is still nice too. You might set the automatic backup to go to the cloud, and periodically make local backups manually with "File / Backup...". It is really personal preference, but having backups on more than 1 location is always good.

[aviator]

OK, got it.

I'm currently running FM off OneDrive. I want to backup to Google Drive, which is mapped G. When I select the Google Drive path I wish to backup to, I get the following message. (You can see the drive I'm trying to use above the error message.) I couldn't find anything in the online help to determine what's wrong with my backup choice. Does portable mode require me to backup to the same drive as FM? Thanks.

[Mark]

Hi aviator,

In portable mode the backup destination must start with a "." meaning from the same location as fm.exe. The idea is that the "G:" drive in your example may not be available from any computer, so the path must be relative to the fm.exe folder. This does mean the automatic backup in the portable mode would need to be on the same drive as FM.

[aviator]

That makes sense. It also seems to apply only to automatic backups? I did a manual backup before exiting FM, and it prompted me for a backup location. I chose my G drive (Google Drive) and it the backup worked as it should.

Only weird thing about cloud mode is the FM logo. I'm accustomed to the green and white. Here's what it looks like when FM is not installed locally.

[Mark]

Hi aviator,

Not sure about the logo. Windows might not be able to display it properly since the EXE is on the cloud drive, which maybe wasn't available when the shortcut was first being shown. If you wanted, you could keep a local copy of FM.exe, and go to the properties of your shortcut, and choose "Change Icon..." and browse to the FM.exe, and you should be able to pick the main icon.