Connect

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Cons → Group Connection

Command ID: btnConnect

License required

This command needs an active DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO). During the Trial period it is fully available.

What it does

The command opens the DVD Addin Sync Pro window, where you host or join a teamwork session that syncs cell data and formatting between machines in real time. 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 ID" on a broker).

It suits a quantity-surveying team working on one BoQ together, or a site engineer and the head office who need to look at the same programme file without emailing copies back and forth.

How to use

1. Click DVD Cons → Connection → Connect. If the licence is not valid, the window simply does not open.
2. The DVD Addin Sync Pro window has three blocks:
   • LAN Host — the session server: enter Port (default 8888), Data password and Admin password, then click ▶ Start Server. Click ■ Stop Server to shut it down.
   • LAN Client — a joining machine: enter Host IP (prefilled 192.168.1.) and Port, then click Connect LAN.
   • Internet (MQTT) — enter Broker (default broker.hivemq.com), Room ID (default DuAn1), User, Password, then click Connect Net; Disconnect Net leaves the broker.
3. The host must set an Admin password before starting the server, otherwise the add-in warns "Host must set Admin password!".
4. Once the server is running the host IP is copied to the clipboard — pass it to the other machines for the Host IP box.
5. Successful actions show a confirmation ("MQTT connected!", "LAN stopped!" …). Click Close to hide the window; the session keeps running.

Example

A four-person QS team works on the infrastructure-package BoQ in one office.

The lead opens the BoQ file, clicks Connect, leaves Port = 8888 in the LAN Host block, sets Data password = boq2026 and Admin password = qs@dvd, then clicks ▶ Start Server; IP 192.168.1.24 is copied automatically and shared in the team chat. The other three click the same command, enter IP 192.168.1.24 and port 8888 in the LAN Client block, and click Connect LAN. From then on cell edits and pushed formatting appear on every teammate's screen.

Notes

• The window only opens with a valid licence — there is no error message, so a click that seems to do nothing usually means the licence is missing or expired.
• The Data password encrypts the packets: every machine in the session must type it identically, otherwise incoming data cannot be decrypted.
• A LAN session requires the same subnet and the chosen port to be open in the host's Windows Firewall.
• The public MQTT broker (broker.hivemq.com) is shared infrastructure — for sensitive data use your own broker and a hard-to-guess room ID.
• Closing the window does not end the session; use the Disconnect command to leave it.

Related

• Disconnect — leave the session and stop syncing.
• Send Format — push the selected range's formatting to the team.
• Admin — manage View/Edit/Range rights for session members.
• Preferences — general add-in settings to check before working as a team.