I use DesignSpark PCB on my main machine for designing schematics and circuit boards. Recently I’ve set up a new, small PC for use just in my workshop. The setup is exactly the same as the main machine, the user, paths, environment and so on. My documents and projects reside inside the SkyDrive folder. As soon as the account was created the entire folder synced. Then I installed the DesignSpark PCB. I also wanted it to use the same paths as the copy on the main PC. For some reason it could not overwrite the existing files. I pressed “Ignore” as the files already existed so it shouldn’t be a problem. The program launched OK but it refused to open my project files presenting an unknown error.
I was just about to give up with the conclusion that DesignSpark doesn’t like such environments when I remebered something what might be the cause.
Integrated with Windows 8.1 Skydrive uses offline files to save space on mobie devices. A file exists on the drive but the content is in the cloud until you open it. Then it gets downloaded. You can also force the download by selecting “Make available offline” option from contextual menu. After performing this step all the problems were gone.
