To prepare folders for the synchronisation with the local PC, at first these must be filed in the briefcase. By using the action to case, arbitrary folders can be put in the briefcase. The folder itself of course remains unchanged at its original location.
Note: the actions for briefcase filing and synchronisation are only available in the user level 'advanced' and 'expert'. If necessary choose another user level to use these actions. To remove a folder from the briefcase, open the briefcase and select the corresponding folder. Use the action remove to directly remove the folder from the briefcase. You may start the synchronisation of the briefcase with your PC directly in the BSCW system: open the briefcase and select the action synchronise from the context menu. Alternatively you may use the according symbol   from the shortcut bar to start the synchronisation process.
For the synchronisation a new window is shown indicating the progress if the synchronisation process (cf. illustration). Finally, a list of the folders and documents which have been transferred is shown. The following symbols are used

•  information about an action carried out during synchronisation,
•  warning about an action carried out during synchronisation,
•  an error occurred during carried out during synchronisation.


•   a document has been transferred from BSCW server to the local briefcase folder (PC)
•   a document has been transferred from the local briefcase (PC) to the BSCW server
•   a synchronisation conflict has been detected (a document may be versioned in BSCW)

Note: depending on the amount of data stored in the briefcase and number of changes to documents the synchronisation process can take some minutes. Please wait until the progress bar has reached 100% and the list of the changes is shown. You may then close the window by using the provided close button. You can set the path to the local briefcase folder (on your PC) in the system by choosing the action options / synchronisation in the menu bar. Provide the new location for the local briefcase folder.
Note: if a local briefcase has already been synchronised, the current briefcase folder is not taken into account at the next synchronisation. To prevent any loss of data you should change the path to the local briefcase folder only after a successful synchronisation. After changing the path to the local briefcase perform another synchronisation to create a new local briefcase. You may finally want to delete the old briefcase folder from your PC. After a successful synchronisation a list of folders and documents which have been transferred is shown. Documents may be transferred from the BSCW server to the local PC (into the local briefcase folder) and vice versa (from the PC to the BSCW server). The following has to be taken into account:

• For the synchronisation only folders and documents are taken into account. Other objects within BSCW (such as Calendar, URL or Note) are not considered.
• Documents (or folders) in the BSCW briefcase which aren't available in the local briefcase yet will be transferred to the local briefcase (PC).
• Documents (or folders) created in the local briefcase, are uploaded into the according workspace in the BSCW briefcase (subject to access control).
• You may now create documents (or folders) in the local briefcase at a topmost level, but only within there already available folders.
• Documents (or folders) which have been deleted within the BSCW system, are deleted from the local briefcase during synchronisation (given they have not been edited locally). This also holds for renaming of documents (or folders).
• Documents from the BSCW briefcase which already are available in the local briefcase but haven't been changed there are transferred to the local briefcase if they have been changed in the meantime on the BSCW server.
• Documents from the local briefcase, which have been edited there, are transferred to the corresponding folder in the BSCW briefcase. Already existing document on the BSCW server are processed as follows:
  • The document will be replaced if it already is not yet under version control and hasn't been changed in BSCW.
  • A new version will be created if the document already is under version control.
  • In any case a new version will be created if the document has been changed also in BSCW (conflict!). If necessary, the document is put under version control first.

Note: During the synchronisation conflicts arise if a document has been edited locally and on the BSCW server after the last synchronisation . In case of a detected conflict the document changed locally is uploaded in the BSCW system and provided with a corresponding version comment as a new version. In addition, the conflict is indicated in the result list. To resolve the conflict, it must be decided by the user, which change has the highest priority. If the change on the BSCW server has a prior ranking than the local editing, then you should delete the last version in BSCW (this is the one from the local briefcase) and also delete the document from the local briefcase to prevent another conflict. If the change on the BSCW server has lower ranking, however, then no action is necessary in BSCW (the document changed locally corresponds to the current version on the BSCW server).
It's advisable to lock documents on the BSCW server before editing them locally (if planned) to avoid conflicts.