SnTT - Synchronize Contacts: A warning

One of the best features introduced in the R8 code stream was the Synchronize Contacts feature on the replicator page.

 

If you are unfamiliar with this gem, it will automatically put any contacts that you have stored locally in your personal address book and place them in the hidden view $Contacts in the mail file.  Very useful for making your contacts available on iNotes and mobile devices.  Before, it was a manual process and often forgotten about.  But as I have come to find out this week, this automation also make for a very nasty mess.  

Many many moons ago, we used location documents on machines where people had to access Notes under multiple accounts.  This was very helpful for the executive assistants in the company.  Particularly for one assistant that has worked closely with both of the co-CEO's for many years.  So on her machine we had set up a location document for CEO-A, CEO-B and for herself.  When she needed to do something for CEO-A, switch to that account, log in with CEO-A's ID and work. When done, switch back to her ID and away she went.  Worked like a gem.  Well.....

About three weeks ago I was getting reports from a different executive assistant that CEO-B was getting CEO-A's contacts merged into his.  Also, CEO-B was also getting the other executive assistants contacts as well.  No mail file had the same replica ID.  No other replication of personal address books to anywhere were taking place.  So what was it!?!?!?!?

Well, it was something VERY easily overlooked.  And not sure how or who turned it on.  Especially since this is a desktop and not a laptop.

In executive assistants location documents for both CEO-A and CEO-B, this was turned on:

 

When that was turned on, guess what else was turned on?

So every time she switched between CEO's, they each got the others updates as well as the executive assistants personal updates.  Took a couple days to figure that one out.  And before anyone yells at me about the access and delegation settings, I know.  There are sometimes that she needs to be them for reasons.  They are the bosses and if they want it that way, thy will be done. 

Now comes the hard part, the clean up.  Off to the backup tapes we go!