Document reversion when multiple users access the same parent file with another user accessing a child copy

Summary

An issue occurs where after a user makes changes to a specific document in an engagement file, the document would revert to an older version instead of showing the current version. To encounter this issue, a user would have opened the Document Properties of the document at some point before it reverted. In addition, this issue only occurs when:

1. Two users access the same copy of the client file, AND
2. A third user access a child copy of the same client file.

For an illustration of this scenario see the section Additional Information. 

Affected Versions

The following table outlines the affected Working Papers SmartSync versions and their corresponding fix versions:

Affected SmartSync versions	Fixed SmartSync versions
2011.00 (all builds)	2011.00.110 and higher
2010.00 (all builds)	2010.00.104r27 and higher
2009.00 (all builds)	2009.00.195r37 and higher

 

Resolution

This is fixed in the latest Working Papers SmartSync updates (see table above). In these updates, the scenario that results in this issue will no longer cause documents to revert. 

Workaround

Please note that this update does not automatically correct files that have already encountered this issue. When this issue occurs, all changes made to the document still exist and can be recovered using the Show Versions dialog.

 

For SmartSync 2010 and 2011 users, from the Document Manager:

1. Right-click on the affected document and select Show Versions.
2. In the Show Versions dialog, click on Show All Versions to list all versions of the affected document.
3. Use the View button to open a temporary copy to review each version.
4. Once you identify the correct version of the document, select it and click Set As Current to restore this version as the current version.
   
   

For SmartSync 2009 users, from the Document Manager:

1. Right-click on the affected document and while holding down Ctrl, select Show Versions.
2. The Show Versions dialog appears and lists all versions of this document including all Backup Versions.
3. Use the View button to open a temporary copy from this dialog to review the version of the document.
4. Once you identify the correct version of the document return to the Show Versions dialog. Select the correct version from the list and click Set As Current to restore this version as the current version.

 

The safest way for users to avoid this issue with document versions is not to have multiple users working on the same parent or child copy of the client file simultaneously. Rather, in-office desktop sync copies should be used.

To help you identify other files with documents potentially affected by this issue, CaseWare has also developed a Scan Utility. Please contact CaseWare Technical Support at support@caseware.com to request this utility. 

Additional Information

The following replication steps illustrate how document reversion occurs:

Step	User 1	User 2	User 3
1.	Opens the Parent file
2.		Opens the Parent file
3.			Opens a SmartSync copy of the Parent file
4.	Opens Document 1 and keeps it open
5.	[Still has Document 1 open]		Opens Document 1 and makes a change, saves and then closes the document
6.	[Now has a pending version waiting to be applied to Document 1 because of User 3]
7.	Either user then opens, makes a change, saves and closes Document 2
8.		Opens the Document Properties in Document 2 and clicks OK
9.	Either user then opens, makes a change, saves and closes Document 2
10.	Closes the Parent file

 

The result of this scenario is:

• A short period of time later, User 3 will see that Document 2 has reverted from its version in Step 9 to its version in Step 7.
• If any user runs a SmartSync Repair in the parent file, then Document 2 will also revert in the top-level parent.