Hey Folks, just wondering for those that use their desktop computer and their mobile laptop or in my case Microsoft Surface Pro 3. What kind of set up do you use to access files from both. My situation is I have an office in New Brunswick but travel to Newfoundland to work with some tax clients. I have tried using one drive, but not getting it to work as well as I would like. I would like to keep all my files on my desktop and be able to access them from my Surface and have them updated on my desktop when I save them on my surface. Looking for any suggestions or advice.
We use Remote Desktop Protocol built in to Windows (terminal services). Once logged in it is like we are at the office computer.
The set up works very well for us – we can access our files and information from anywhere in the world that we can access the internet. And since the files never leave the server and are not stored on the laptops, even if a laptop is stolen we haven’t compromised any client data/privacy.
This is what I have always done. I find it is very slow though. For just accessing and reviewing with the client is fine but to do any work is frustrating. Is it slow for you as well or do you think I’m doing something wrong?
Generally the performance is good for us, but it really has to do with the quality of the internet for us.
We use terminal services in our office as well (each desk has a thin client connecting to the servers), so our system is optimized for RDP. There might be tweaks you need on your system that could improve performance for you – but what those tweaks would be are beyond my expertise.
I have been using a Surface Pro 3 for a bit over a year now. I use it outside the office (mostly at home but have used in from much further) to access my desktop at the office and the data files on the NAS. I connect using MS`s Remote Desktop. I have no speed issues. I think that would have more to do with your network connection. I use a wireless keyboard with a numeric keypad since the Surface Pro 3 keyboard does not have a separate numeric keypad.
I find it easier doing this than trying to make sure I have the software on my SP3. And I feel safer knowing that my data remains in the office so I don’t have to worry about copying back the files that I have changed on my computer.
Something to try with your Surface is to use the Terminal Services shortcut to start TaxCycle. Along with a few other things, TaxCycle uses a different method to render itself on screen. This improves performance in remote environments, but you may also find it improves responsiveness on your surface.
I’m using the surface book with onedrive and have found it to work perfectly. Had a few bumps with the doxcycle file linking when moving to my desktop (which is rarely used now) and then figured out that the user folder had to be the same name on both and the onedrive account had to be the same (not sure if this can be fixed somehow). Once that was fixed up had no problems at all. It does also help that i have an office 365 subscription so i get 1 terabyte of storage for free
Thanks matthew. It should have been obvious to me perhaps, but while my download speed was good, my upload speed was abysmal. I have now upgraded and performance is greatly improved.
Thanks guys. I have been wanting to get my
Surface Pro working on TaxCycle. Since I am out of the country 4 months of the year, it would be so much easier to carry it than my laptop.