The danger of multiple FM instances running at the same time

[Stefan]

Hello,

I got into a situation where most of the work I had done in FM was not saved on exit (despite having the save on exit option set). And when I traced it, it was actually due to having 2 instances of FM open, where I probably closed the second instance I was not updating over the newly updated one.
My question: is there a way to make FM detect it has already an instance running a disable the second instance from running. Something like "FM is already running" pop out which would have saved me a few hours of lost work?
I think I remember seeing a similar problem somewhere in this message board some time ago. I do not remember what was the resolution then, but I believe this to be a common mistake many users make and it can be easily avoided by disabling multiple instances from running, by default, and only enabling it only with user action and a companion warning.

[Mark]

Hi Stefan,

Sorry to hear about the loss of work. I can see how that could have happened. Currently, there is no such option to have FM detect another instance is already running and give you a warning. We purposely allow multiple instances to run, so you could have multiple portfolio files open at once. I do like the idea of giving you a warning though when you start the 2nd instance. It would probably be a warning that you could disable, so if someone worked this way often, they wouldn't be forced to always acknowledge that message. Thanks for the idea, we'll see about getting this added into a future version.

One possible suggestion, to find your lost data... If you happen to have the autoback set to run every session, your data may be saved in an automatic backup that you could restore. See "Options / General Preferences... / Data" and see if it is set to "Every Session". If so, find that backup based on modified date/time, and use "File / Restore...".

[ThomasK]

I'm reviewing the new FM v2016 features, one of which addresses user control over the number of instances/copies of FM that can be running at one time.

Mark,

Why would we want to run multiple instances?

Does not the Master Portfolio Hierarchy suffice?

Would running a "Holdings" portfolio on copy 1 + a "Open Orders" portfolio on copy 2 be a good idea?

Thank you,
Thomas

[Mark]

Hi Thomas,

I suspect most users would not want to run multiple instances. Unless you have 2 separate portfolio files you want to have open at the same time there isn't usually a reason to run more than 1 copy. You can have an unlimited number of sub-portfolios in a single portfolio file, with as much hierarchy as you want, so usually it is best to just have a single portfolio file. If you want something separate, like a "watch list" or something, just put it in a separate hierarchy within your 1 portfolio file.