Simultaneous Edits

[mdouslander]

Hi all,

I am currently evaluating several document management solutions, and
can't seem to find one that fits my needs. Basically what I want is
a software package that allows for simultaneous editing documents. An
example of what I am looking for:

I have a Word document that has to be updated and edited by several
users. What I want is one centralized location where each user can log
on and access the document. As they make their changes I want version
tracking capabilities so the document management system can keep track
of past versions of the software. Now these are simple requirements
and I know of a dozen or so software packages that can handle this. My
problem is I want a system that doesn't use a check-in check-out
process.

My ideal system would allow for simultaneous edits of the same
document. Basically two or more users could open the document at the
same time, make their updates, and the document management solution
would continually append their modifications to one master copy as each
user saves their changes.

I don't know if this is even possible; it seems a system like this
would result in sharing violations. But if such a solution does exist
I would be very interested in knowing about it. Any feedback would be
greatly appreciated.

 

[Jezebel]

I've seen quite a few doc management systems. I've never seen one that will
do what you describe. Even in theory it would be hard to write a
specification for it. User A deletes a block of text, while User B modifies
that block, while User C replaces it ... would would you want to end up
with? Version control or change-tracking always assume that the
modifications are sequential -- what you end up with is always the output of
the most recent modification. If you allow simultaneous edits, you remove
the concept of 'most recent' -- what's left is, well, hard to define.