Thanks guys for all your answers ! So I'll try it very soon. I've just another question : Does BrickSync has to run at full time on my computer ? I think yes because an order can be made at any time and I don't want to sell a part on both BL and BO. But I'd like to be sure. Thx ;)
Couple of different schools of thought on this depending on your amount of sales. Some users login a few times a day because they do not have a dedicated computer. Others like myself (even though I don't get a lot of sales) run all the time. Not sure what big stores that have tons of orders do, because it only checks every 10 min (I believe) and some large stores that's not often enough.
If you can leave your computer running 24/7 it saves you much headache. I would check on it at least once at day in case something is running amiss.
Tyson.
PS type help and it gives you a list of all commands. You can also get more information on all the commands through the same command. Make sure to read about it or understand the background of the command before use, as I had to start over a couple of times because I wasn't careful enough with the commands at the beginning.
It's a powerful tool and has saved me a couple of times.
Hey leopard37 ! Thanks for your answer. Actually I work at home nearly all the day long on my computer for my videomaker company and i nearly never shut it down except for some reboot or upgrades. So I'll let the script run all the time. (especially at the beginning to check if all works fine !)
A big thanks for your advice about the HELP command and to use it carefully ! I'll check it when the script will have finish the inventory update ! Which is long because of my 110k parts inventory.
I recommend reading the FAQ, it covers some of your questions: http://www.bricksync.net/guidefaq.html
As for large stores for whom an order check every 5 minutes may not be good enough, I know at least two of them have set up something that monitors emails and sends a SIGUSR1 signal to the BrickSync process whenever a new order is received. The SIGUSR1 triggers an instant order check.
Thanks Stragus, i've read the FAQ but some things wasn't so clear for me so that's why I asked ;) I hope i'll be in need for this kind of system, but actually the default interval set for check is large enough for me !
I've got another question about the fact of shut down BrickSync. Is it possible to have Bricksync installed on 2 computer, but not working at the same time. Just for doing a relay because sometimes i have to shut down my desktop computer for a couple of day and i take my laptop with me.
Is it possible ? Will be any kind of problem ? I though putting the data folder on dropbox with a symbolic link on the 2 computers so the 2 Bricksync will always have the exact same inventory save and all the other files.
I hope i've been clear because it's hard to explain.
I have the whole Bricksync folder, including the application files, in Dropbox. Whenever the main computer in my "office" is down; I can instantly start BS on another computer. Just make sure you run a version of BS suitable for both computers and don't try to start BS on both computers simultaneously ;)
Hello ! Thanks NelisSolis for your advice. So I've put the Bricksynck script and data folder on a dropbox folder. But I have to launch it manually every time because he asks to be on the original folder. How can I change that ? I can launch it on console by going on the folder and execute it, but if I close it, I have to do this again... I'm searching but I didn't find the way to change the original directory parameter... Thanks ;)
I’m not sure on the ‘original folder’ message, because I’ve never seen that. My folder structure is: Dropbox — NelisSolis — — all kind of administrative files and folders — — bricksync-win32 (This is the folder from the installation package, if I remember it correctly) — — — bricksync.exe — — — some dll files —— — data (with all files and folders from the installation package)
BrckSync expects to find data/ in the current working directory, that's where it will read and write files.
On Windows, I think you could write a .bat that changes to the desired directory, then run BrickSync by providing a full explicit path? If you just double-click, the current working directory will be the executable's directory.
Stragus, this work you have done for the AFOL reseller community is amazing!!! Thank you soooo much! I am getting ready to open my first store, and this will be a godsend as I determine whether BO or BL (or both) is the best platform for outreach of my products. Though BL's recent decisions to expand beyond Lego as branded content is steering me to BO...
All of that aside, it's extraordinary that we have folks like you contributing to this community in such a profound way! :-)
Thank you Stragus! I just got this set up took me a little while to figure out how to change directory, but now all is working. Is there a way to make it so I don't have to change directory every time I want to launch it? Ideally I'd like to have this always running, but it may get quit from time to time. Thanks Again!
@MBoss I assume you are on OSX, where double-clicking use "home" (or such) as the current working directory. Perhaps you could make a bash script, such as "cd /my/bricksync/path/ && ./bricksync" ? My only experience ever with OSX is remotely over a terminal, so I'm not well informed on its interface...
@MBoss I do believe that I changed the directory only once and it has had no errors since... But I set it up so long ago I may have moved it to where it wanted to be... I'll double check when I get home.
Having an issue updating the polling interval. Last night I had 10 of the same parts bought on both sites. I attempted to change my polling interval but it will only drop to every 5 minutes instead of the 200 seconds I tried first and the 120 seconds I have it set at now. Any ideas?
BrickSync doesn't allow an interval lower than 5 minutes, to remain a friendly user of the API servers. Also, BL has a limit of 5000 calls per day, you wouldn't want to waste too much of it just checking for orders.
If 5 minutes isn't quick enough for you, there's another way: having a program or script that checks your emails, and whenever an order is received, send a SIGUSR1 signal to the bricksync process. That will trigger an instant order check.
That's a shame, at 5 minutes per order check I have used about 300 API hits in the last 24 hours a mere 6% of the 5000 allowed. I would think that even using 25% of my daily allotment of API hits would be acceptable. Unfortunately my knowledge of Linux is quite limited. I may look into email monitoring to send a signal to bricksync.
You might check out a tool I built to automatically download your Brickowl-orders into a bsx-file. With Brickstock you can import the downloaded file. The tool tries to find the matching ID from Bricklink, as well the conversion of the colourcode. Still, Brickowl only provides prices in the currency you bought the order (pay attention !). So, now it is possible to merge your inventories from both Brickowl and Bricklink. Good luck.
Feel free to have a look and test the tool. Feedback and suggestions are welcome !
I may look into email monitoring to send a signal to bricksync.
If you want to monitor emails on your Linux box for this purpose, there are a few things you need to set up. We do this as well, but it is not click-and-go, you will need to do a fair bit of work. Our setup uses "procmail" on the Linux box to trigger actions for specific incoming emails.
We have full control of our email as we run our own mail servers. If you are able to use POP3 to pull emails, you could try following:
- Install postfix, procmail and fetchmail. - Configure postfix and fetchmail. - Create a small shell script that, when executed, sends a SIGUSR1 signal to the bricksync process. - Set up a ".procmailrc" that specifies which emails will invoke the shell script. - Create a ".forward" in the home directory of the receiving user that invokes procmail on incoming email.
Comments
Does BrickSync has to run at full time on my computer ? I think yes because an order can be made at any time and I don't want to sell a part on both BL and BO. But I'd like to be sure. Thx ;)
Couple of different schools of thought on this depending on your amount of sales. Some users login a few times a day because they do not have a dedicated computer. Others like myself (even though I don't get a lot of sales) run all the time. Not sure what big stores that have tons of orders do, because it only checks every 10 min (I believe) and some large stores that's not often enough.
If you can leave your computer running 24/7 it saves you much headache. I would check on it at least once at day in case something is running amiss.
Tyson.
PS type help and it gives you a list of all commands. You can also get more information on all the commands through the same command. Make sure to read about it or understand the background of the command before use, as I had to start over a couple of times because I wasn't careful enough with the commands at the beginning.
It's a powerful tool and has saved me a couple of times.
Tyson.
A big thanks for your advice about the HELP command and to use it carefully ! I'll check it when the script will have finish the inventory update ! Which is long because of my 110k parts inventory.
;)
Always better to consult the manual as Stragus suggested or ask the forum if you are unsure.
Tyson.
Thanks !
http://www.bricksync.net/guidefaq.html
As for large stores for whom an order check every 5 minutes may not be good enough, I know at least two of them have set up something that monitors emails and sends a SIGUSR1 signal to the BrickSync process whenever a new order is received. The SIGUSR1 triggers an instant order check.
I hope i'll be in need for this kind of system, but actually the default interval set for check is large enough for me !
I've got another question about the fact of shut down BrickSync. Is it possible to have Bricksync installed on 2 computer, but not working at the same time. Just for doing a relay because sometimes i have to shut down my desktop computer for a couple of day and i take my laptop with me.
Is it possible ? Will be any kind of problem ? I though putting the data folder on dropbox with a symbolic link on the 2 computers so the 2 Bricksync will always have the exact same inventory save and all the other files.
I hope i've been clear because it's hard to explain.
Thanks for your anwsers ;)
Dropbox
— NelisSolis
— — all kind of administrative files and folders
— — bricksync-win32 (This is the folder from the installation package, if I remember it correctly)
— — — bricksync.exe
— — — some dll files
—— — data (with all files and folders from the installation package)
On Windows, I think you could write a .bat that changes to the desired directory, then run BrickSync by providing a full explicit path? If you just double-click, the current working directory will be the executable's directory.
All of that aside, it's extraordinary that we have folks like you contributing to this community in such a profound way! :-)
@Calibrick You are welcome! :)
Tyson.
If 5 minutes isn't quick enough for you, there's another way: having a program or script that checks your emails, and whenever an order is received, send a SIGUSR1 signal to the bricksync process. That will trigger an instant order check.
Feel free to have a look and test the tool. Feedback and suggestions are welcome !
http://www.eidio.be/bo2bl/
We have full control of our email as we run our own mail servers. If you are able to use POP3 to pull emails, you could try following:
- Install postfix, procmail and fetchmail.
- Configure postfix and fetchmail.
- Create a small shell script that, when executed, sends a SIGUSR1 signal to the bricksync process.
- Set up a ".procmailrc" that specifies which emails will invoke the shell script.
- Create a ".forward" in the home directory of the receiving user that invokes procmail on incoming email.
Niek.