ClarisWorks can be installed on a server and legally launched by multiple users as long as the server uses a "software mechanism" that meters usage and locks out those concurrent users in excess of the legal number of licensed copies owned. Claris has not officially tested this configuration, but informal testing indicates only a few limitations, outlined below.
NOTE: This configuraton is only recommended for sites that have Macintosh computers without hard drives or where hard drive space is very minimal.
1. Install ClarisWorks on the server using the Easy Install button.
2. After installing, open the System folder and then open the Claris folder.
3. Choose Select All from the Edit menu and drag all the files into the ClarisWorks application folder that the installer created at the root level of your hard drive.
4. Arrange the files in the ClarisWorks folder so that the ClarisWorks application, and the Sample Files and Tutorial folders are visible and all the other files are hidden from view in the window.
5. Set the access priviledges on the server according to your needs. Note that limitations differ depending on whether you provide write access or not.
In our informal testing, all of the following actions were done simultaneously on two guests to test the multi-user capabilities of the auxiliary files located in the ClarisWorks folder on the server.
Things that worked fine with read/write access
Online Help
Show Balloons
ClarisWorks Stationery
XTND
Thesaurus
Auto Hyphenation
User Dictionary - A word added by one user is accessible by another user. Thus, the User Dictionary is shared by all users.
Preferences - The Make Default button modifies the Preferences file, but this doesn't take effect for other users until they Quit and re-launch ClarisWorks. Default Preferences are loaded at launch time. The same Preferences file is shared by all users, making individual default preferences impossible in this configuration. However, each person can create preferences for individual documents without using the Make Default button.
Things that didn't work with read/write access
Main Dictionary - only accessible by one user at a time; successive users get the erroneous message "Cannot find Cannot write to hyphenation dictionary."
Claris Fonts - Only the first user to launch ClarisWorks sees WYSIWYG fonts in the Fonts menu. With access priviledges set to Read Only, no one sees WYSIWYG fonts.
ClarisWorks Labels - Only one user can access ClarisWorks Labels at once. Successive simultaneous users will only see the Custom item.
Additional things that didn't work when
access priviledges were set to read only
Clicking the Learn button in the spell checker brings up the erroneous message "Cannot find Cannot write to hyphenation dictionary..."
Recording a macro without selecting the Document Specific checkbox results in an alert that the File is Locked. The same thing happens if you try to Edit the Shortcuts pallette.
Clicking the Make Default button in Preferences results in a File is Locked alert.
Font menu is not WYSIWYG for first user to launch or any successive users.
Earlier Versions
Only ClarisWorks1.0v3 and later are capable of being multi-launched off a network server.
ClarisWorks 2.0v1 crashes when a person does a spell check when someone else is also using that feature. Only the second user crashes. The person who was already using the feature is unaffected.