Connect Server (teamwork session)
The Connection group on the DVD Cons tab lets several machines share one teamwork session: cell data and formatting sync in real time, with per-sheet View/Edit permissions. There are two transports — LAN (one machine runs the server, the others connect by IP) and Internet over MQTT (all machines join the same "room code" on a broker).
It suits a take-off team working one BoQ in the same office, or a site engineer and the head office looking at the same schedule file instead of mailing it back and forth.
Not a cloud service
This is direct sync between the machines in a session — there is no data store on a DVDAddin server: no price books to download, no version history, no separate server account. Once the session stops, syncing stops.
Commands in this group
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| Connect | Opens the DVD Addin Sync Pro window to run a LAN server, join a LAN server, or join an MQTT room over the internet. Needs a valid license. |
| Disconnect | Leaves the session, closes every LAN/MQTT connection and clears other members' cursor shapes from the open sheet. |
| Send Format | Pushes the formatting of the selected range (font, fill, font colour, borders, number format) to everyone in the session. |
| Admin | Opens the User administration panel: who is online, Kick/Ban, and View / Edit / Range rights per sheet. |
Workflow: opening a teamwork session
- The host opens the master file and clicks DVD Cons → Connection → Connect. In the LAN Host block: enter the Port (8888 by default), a Data password and an Admin password, then click ▶ Start Server. Without an admin password the add-in warns "Host must set an Admin password!".
- Once the server is running the host IP is copied to the clipboard automatically — pass it to the team.
- The clients run the same command and, in the LAN Client block, enter the Host IP and Port, then click Connect LAN. Off the local network, use the Internet (MQTT) block instead: Broker (
broker.hivemq.comby default), Room code, User, Password, then Connect Net. - Every machine must type exactly the same Data password — it is the packet encryption key; get it wrong and incoming data cannot be decrypted.
- The host sets rights: click Admin, enter the admin password, tick View / Edit per sheet, type the editable address in the Range column, then click Save rights.
- The team works; cell data syncs automatically. When a layout is agreed, select the range and click Send Format to apply it on every machine.
- End of session: everyone clicks Disconnect; the host reopens the Connect window and clicks ■ Stop Server to shut the service down.
Example
A four-person take-off team building the infrastructure-package BoQ in one office.
| Role | Machine | Action | Parameters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead QS (host) | 192.168.1.24 | LAN Host → ▶ Start Server | Port 8888, Data password boq2026, Admin password qs@dvd |
| QS 1, QS 2, QS 3 | workstations | LAN Client → Connect LAN | IP 192.168.1.24, Port 8888 |
Rights set by the host in the Admin panel:
| Sheet | View | Edit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
Don gia | ✓ | — | |
Khoi luong | ✓ | ✓ | C6:H400 |
Tong hop | ✓ | — |
A stray machine joins the session by mistake: the host selects it in the Online list and clicks Ban.
Tips and caveats
- If clicking Connect opens nothing, the license is missing or expired — the command shows no error message.
- Closing the Connect window does not end the session. Use Disconnect to leave; only the host's ■ Stop Server shuts the service down.
- LAN connections need the same subnet and the port opened in the host's Windows firewall.
broker.hivemq.comis a shared public broker — for sensitive data use your own broker and a room code nobody can guess.- Send Format is applied by sheet name + cell address on the receiving machine: a differently named sheet or a shifted layout drops the formatting in the wrong place, and the receiver cannot undo it with Ctrl+Z.
- Clicking Send Format while not connected does nothing at all — no packet, no error.
- Kick only pushes a member out and they can rejoin; Ban blocks the next connection. Rights apply inside the session only and do not replace Excel's Protect Sheet once the file is sent out.
- After disconnecting,
Cursor_…shapes are cleared only on the open sheet; if others still carry leftovers, open that sheet and run the command again.
See also
- DVD Chat — discuss by message and attach ranges, without syncing data.
- License activation — the license state required to open a session.
- QS Tools — formula view and lookup tracing while reviewing a shared sheet.
- Admin — full detail on the rights panel and kick/ban.