Frequently asked questions
If you have a maintenance contract, use the links below to download and install the latest versions of Sharpeware software.
Please contact us if you have a specific question or comment regarding this software. All software is certified by Microsoft for use with Windows 32-bit or 64-bit systems.
All Editions
How accurate is file duplicates analysis?
SPACEWatch offers a range of different file duplication options depending on how you want to balance speed with accuracy. For complete accuracy you can choose binary comparison - this means that files shown as duplicates contain data that is the exactly the same in every byte contained. However binary comparison requires each file that is likely to be duplicated to be read - which an take a very long time for large and/or numerous files.
How do I speed up data collection
The speed that SPACEWatch collects data about your network entirely depends on the number of files you have stored, not their size. So if you have a large amount of stage in use this does not necessarily mean collection will take longer than a system with a small amount of storage.
Sharpeware have made progressive speed improvements for data collection over a number of software updates, so its very important that you are using the latest build available on our web site. If you have a maintenance contract you can apply any update.
With a reasonably performing PC/network/server, you should see data collection speeds of between 20 and 2,000 files/second. If you estimate the speed in these terms (i.e. how many files were collected over the given period) this will give some indication of whether there is a problem or not.
If you are collecting at an appropriate speed, but this is too slow for your purposes, you could try one of these approaches:
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Run parallel collections to different data files, either on one PC or multiple PCs or servers
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Consider installing SPACEWatch on one or more servers and running the collection locally (this typically results in vast speed improvements), then use another copy of SPACEWatch on your PC to analyse the data
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Consider using SPACEWatch Enterprise Edition, with Enterprise Edition installed on the server, hence allowing one or more PC users to share the same collected data without having to mess about with data files
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Read our white paper on tuning tips
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If the above is not sufficient, contact Sharpeware to discuss your particular network topology and the deployment model we recommend.
How do I report a problem, make a suggestion or ask a question?
Email support@sharpeware.com or complete the support form here.
Enterprise Edition
Will it work with my size of organisation?
Yes. SPACEWatch Enterprise Edition is at home with even the largest organisations. Some of our customers use it with many TB of data spread across multiple sites in different countries. Our pricing is highly competitive, so it is entirely suitable for smaller organisations who are looking for more complete storage management.
How is Enterprise Edition licenced?
To use Enterprise Edition you require a Base Licence, and then a licence appropriate to the storage size being managed. After that you can install and use SPACEWatch without limit at any sites used by your organization within one country. If you require a multi-country licence please contact Sharpeware. Request a quote for Enterprise Edition now.
Can I create Custom Reports?
Yes - SPACEWatch has a range of built in reports but with Enterprise Edition you can also generate formatted reports from any of the search or analysis results created with the tools within SPACEWatch.
You can also directly export any results from any of the tools to a variety of formats including Microsoft Word/Excel, Adobe Acrobat (pdf) or the Web. Alternatively you can simply copy/paste results into other applications directly.
You can therefore easily use SPACEWatch results with your preferred reporting tools such as Excel. These methods even work with SPACEWatch's charts - so you can quickly build up custom reports or send results via email.
Use the Customer Report Designer to create or edit custom report definitions. Reports can be run on demand, or scheduled using the Administrator. Output can be automatically distributed by email.
How can I change all scheduled task passwords at once?
It is a limitation of Windows that each scheduled task has its own password set - even if tasks use the same Windows account for their credentials. Furthermore, some versions of Windows do not synchronize these passwords with their own security database.
This means that when you reset the account password, tasks stop running until you also change the scheduled task passwords individually for tasks that are running under that account.
However, you can run a script to address this and reset all the passwords associated with Windows scheduled tasks in one go: this batch file should do the trick. Using psexec.exe (www.sysinternals.com) would allow you to execute it on any machine while sitting at your own PC.
@echo off
set Password=supercalifragilistic
cd /d "%SystemRoot%\tasks
for %%a in (*.job) do call :ChangePW %%a
goto :eof
:ChangePW
set TaskName=%*
set TaskName=%TaskName:~0,-4%
SCHTASKS /Change /RP %password% /TN "%TaskName%"
Can I include or exclude certain types of data?
Yes - you can choose different types of files to include or exclude from data collection.
For example you might only be interested in Microsoft Office documents. You can choose to include only these file types with one click from the 'Storage to Ignore' file types filter - choose the 'Microsoft Office' highlight group.
Note - this will vastly improve scan performance, but you will only be able to search and analyze files of the selected type.
Exchange Edition
Do I need Outlook installed/configured?
No - SPACEWatch Pro Exchange Edition can use libraries installed by any of the following products:
Microsoft Outlook 98 or later
Microsoft Exchange Admin Console
Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI Client
The Exchange Server MAPI Client is available for free download from the Microsoft web site. Read more.
Do I need to install SPACEWatch on my Exchange Server?
You do not need to install SPACEWatch Exchange Edition on an Exchange server.
To list your Exchange servers you should only require to be logged in with a Windows account that can access the Exchange Global Address List.
To analyse mailboxes and public folders you will will need at least Read access to those objects.
No Exchange servers are listed in the Administrator
If you do not see any Exchange servers listed to collect space from, or when you start collecting SPACEWatch Exchange Edition simply sits apparently doing nothing, try this.
Locate "swexscan.exe" in the application installation directory. Run it - this will appear to do nothing, but will actually re-register this component with your system. [<p>] Now run SPACEWatch Exchange Edition again.
You should also check that you are logged in to you PC with a domain account, not a local account.
Note: You will only see Exchange servers listed if you are using Active Directory with Exchange Server 2000 or later - and are logged in to the domain. Otherwise you will need to us the "Add legacy system" button to manually add your servers.
What username should I use for collecting data from my Exchange system?
The username you enter can be a mailbox user, address or distinguished name. E.g. "UserName", "user@mydomain.com", "/o=MyCompany/.../cn=UserName" . The user must as a minimum have access to read the Global Address List.
Domino Edition
Do I need to install SPACEWatch on my IBM Notes servers?
No. SPACEWatch can manage and analyze storage use down to file attachment level from a Windows PC or server. it does not need to be installed on your IBM Notes servers. You do need to install a Lotus Notes client on the same system as SPACEWatch - this must be at least R5.0.2b or later. Notes does not have to be running. SPACEWatch will use the default profile settings from your Notes client (and the associated id file) for access to the IBM Notes network.
Do I need a Notes client on my PC?
You do need to install a Lotus Notes client on the same system as SPACEWatch - this must be at least R5.0.2b or later. Notes does not have to be running. SPACEWatch will use the default profile settings from your Notes client (and the associated id file) for access to the IBM Notes network.
How are users displayed?
SPACEWatch integrates with Domino Directory. It uses and displays IBM Notes user IDs.
Server Edition
How is Server Edition licenced?
Server Edition is licenced per installation - you need one licence per installation of SPACEWatch. Order a Server Edition licence now.
What limitations does Server Edition have?
Server Edition does not have some of the features of Enterprise Edition - for example a Custom Report Designer or the ability to schedule tasks such as data collection and report generation. It will not work with external SQL space databases and so is single user and has limited scalability. It will typically scale to the storge sizes found in one department or a smaller organisation. For full features and scalability, and much more flexible deployment options, please consider Enterprise Edition.