Mac User with Some Questions about Using Storyline and Parallels

Hey D:

1.) The webpage says "Don't work from a network drive or an external USB drive. Doing so can result in file corruption or loss of resources."

Does that include Dropbox? I was planning to save my Storyline document to my Dropbox folder. I want to use Dropbox because then my Storyline document will be backed up in case something happens to my Windows virtual machine. Is there any chance of my Storyline file getting corrupted if I use Dropbox to store it?

You are fine using Dropbox. I run on a Mac using VMWare with shared drives and I run exclusively to a Dropbox folder on my Mac side. No problems running this way for 2 years. YMMV but I think it's safe.

2.) The webpage also says "Audio, video, and image resources must be located in the Windows environment, not the Mac. Copy and paste files you need for Articulate projects to the Windows environment prior to inserting them into your content."

I hadn't been planning to do that -- I was planning to keep all of my audio, video and graphics in folders on my Mac and then drag them into Storyline when needed. Can someone confirm that I need to move those files onto my Windows virtual machine before inserting those files into my Storyline project?

I thought I had posted a question in the forums about dragging files from the Mac environment directly into Storyline in the Windows environment and someone responded saying doing that works fine. But I can't seem to find the post. But I'm wondering: is it necessary to copy all my files (graphics, audio etc) to the Windows environment before putting them into Storyline?

Also not abiding this recommendation. I'm on VMWare but I store almost everything on the Mac side in my dropbox structure.

3) The webpage says "Save and publish Articulate projects in the Windows environment, not the Mac. For example:C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\"

Again, I was planning to use Dropbox so my files will be backed up. However, I still have a question about saving projects in the Windows environment. In the Windows environment, I went to my C drive, and then Users, then my name, then My Documents.

So my question is: Is there a difference between the Documents folder in Windows and the My Documents folder? Because I don't see a Documents folder. I only see a My Documents folder. As I said, I'm new to Windows.

Again, not abiding this one. It's just not convenient. I haven't had a single problem.

4.) As a sub question: when I finally publish my project, do I have to publish it to a Windows folder or can I publish it to a folder on my Mac? I need to get the published folder onto my Mac so I can then use my Mac's ftp software to upload the folder to my web server. If I shouldn't publish directly to a folder on my Mac, will I be able to publish to a Windows folder and then copy that folder to my Mac?

I publish to my Mac desktop and drop box all of the time.

5.) The webpage says that shared profiles should be turned off. It has a link to a webpage on Parallels' site that shows how to disable sharing a profile.

The page on Parallels' site shows a screenshot of the Shared profile settings of the virtual machine. However, it's different from what I see on my version of Parallels. I don't know if the screenshot is showing an earlier version of Parallels. I know it's showing a virtual machine for XP while I'm running Windows 7, so maybe that's the reason it looks different.

Anyway, I'm trying to understand what levels of sharing are still okay.

In the Windows 7 Options from within Parallels, I have the following unchecked in the Share Mac section:

Share Folders

Shared Profile

Shared Cloud

SmartMount

But in the Share Windows section, I have checked Access Windows Folders from Mac. If I uncheck it, I get a message saying that I can't copy and paste files between the Windows environment and my Mac, so I've kept it checked. Is that okay?

I share folders on VMWare. Copy / paste and folder share. Not sure about Parallels. Have had zero problems with Storyline and I run a similar setup on an old Macbook Air with Windows XP.

agree with steve I work exclusively on dropbox, I run it via the mac not windows

I parallels you get the option to ensure your documents and downloads folder are the same, but you need to set this up under preferences to share.

You can drag pictures into Storyline but not audio and video, as long as you set up parallels correctly finding files on the mac to use in Storyline is very easy.

I use shared profiles in fact I share everything, the only issue I have sometimes is a failed publish (often large courses), I have a folder set up on C:\ for this specific reason as when shared all drives except C:\ is treated as a network drive.

The only issue ever have is sharing files with Mac users that windows does not accept some filenames that the Mac allows, Storyline will say these are corrupt, just a simple job to rename them.

Steve and Phil, thanks for your responses. They helped a lot. Sounds like I don't have to worry much about the suggestions on that webpage. And sounds like Dropbox is a good choice. Thanks again!