posted on August 8, 2002 09:48:18 PM new
I recently installed SMBE on a second computer in another location using the same account so that I can post from either location.
I would like to duplicate the offline inventory I have in SMBE on my first computer into SMBE on the second computer. I have already synched and have the same images on both computers, now I would like to have the same inventory on both so I could launch an item from either computer. Is this possible, and if so what is the best way to get the inventory from one to the other?
Also, it appears that an unsold item can only be relisted from the copy of SMBE that created it. Is this true, or can that also be corrected with a duplicate of the inventory on the second computer?
You can copy your inventory from one computer to another by simply copying the SMBE.mdb file from the data folder of the first computer to the same folder of the second computer.
Once you have done this, though, the 2 inventories will be completely separate; for instance, quantities will update independently on inventory items on the 2 computers.
Unsold items that are in the copied SMBE.mdb file can be relisted from the second computer too, but afterwards indeed they can only be relisted from the copy of SMBE that created them.
posted on August 9, 2002 11:22:45 AM new
Thanks Radu:
New question -- If I take the smbe.mdb file from Computer 1 and put it in the data file of Computer 2, what happens with the existing smbe.mdb file on Computer 2? Is it overwritten; do they conflict; do they peacefully co-exist; or do they just sort of merge?
At the moment, each computer has different inventory. My ultimate aim it to keep the same inventory on both computers by carrying the data on disk back and forth between them. Most of the posting will be done from one computer, but there will be occasional posts from the other. My goal is to be able to conduct business with the same info from either computer. Is this realistic.
When copying the SMBE.mdb file to computer 2, the old SMBE.mdb file is just overwritten.
So, while you can have the same inventory on both computers by copying this file, please keep in mind that inventory quantities will update independently - the quantity at auction of an inventory item, for instance, will not be updated on the first computer when listing from the second computer.
To copy inventory items from one computer to another, you can also use the "Tools > Create Reports... > Inventory Export" menu entry on the source computer; you can then import the resulting .csv file on the second computer using the menu entry "Tools > Import > Inventory" and choosing the "Text file - Comma separated fields" file type.
posted on August 12, 2002 10:57:34 AM new
Thanks again Radu, and again, one more question.
You say the inventory on Computer 2 is overwritten. Does that mean the inventory on No. 2 is wiped out, or is it added to the inventory being imported? Again, the situation is that the two computers have different inventories and I want to save both while adding each computer's inventory to the other.
I tried the export techique you mention at the end, but all I wound up with on Computer 2 was basically a list, and the only thing I could do with items in the list was "Remove." I'm hoping the files I move will be fully usable for listing purposes.
Copying the SMBE.mdb file means indeed wiping out the previous inventory on the second computer.
So, it your aim is to actually merge the two inventories, the way to do it is by using the export/import technique, which I'll try to outline in more detail here:
1. On the first computer, you click on "Tools > Create Reports... > Inventory Export" and save the resulting file to a known location on your hard disk and with a name such as "invexp.csv".
2. You copy this "invexp.csv" file to the second computer.
3. On the second computer, you click on "Tools > Import > Inventory" and choose the "Text file - Comma separated fields" file type. When asked about the file location, you point to the "invexp.csv" file. On the next window of the import wizard, the default settings are probably OK for your purposes.
Then, you'll get to the field-matching window, where you can match the columns from the "invexp.csv" file to SMBE inventory fields. To do this, you use the drop-downs in the "Field" half of the window; must column names on the left are identical, or similar, to field names from the drop-downs.
Also, please change to 2 the value for "Start import from record" (as the first record in the "invexp.csv" file holds the column names), and then click "Next".
When finished, you should find the newly imported items inside the inventory on this second computer.
