Sharing Njord Player Documents

Njord Player (both the Desktop Player App and Njord Web Player) works locally on your computer. Boat data or media files that you add to Njord Player are not automatically uploaded and are only available on your computer. This is different from Njord Analytics where data is uploaded and easily shared with others.

You can save your work in a Njord Player file to reopen that file on your computer and to share it (with limitiations, see below).

What's included in a Njord Player file (.sail2 file):

  • Any boat data that you loaded
  • Races, trainings and course information
  • Comments
  • A reference to, timestamp information, time adjustments and fallback source (see below) of each media file
  • Window and view configurations

What's not included:

  • The actual media files (for size reasons); when reopening the Njord Player document you have the option to re-link the original files if they have moved or when opening the Njord Player document on another computer

When sharing a Njord Player file with others, the question therefore arises how to make media files available together with the Njord Player file so that both data and media can be played back on another computer. Different methods are possible, each with pros and cons.

Using External Hard Drives

After copying the Njord Player file and media files onto an external hard drive, you can open that Njord Player file on any computer just by plugging in the drive. The Njord Player file or media files do not need to be copied to the internal hard drive to be used.

This option works well with very large media sizes and/or limited internet connectivity. It often requires one hard drive per person to share data with.

Using Online Storage Services

After uploading the Njord Player file and media files into a shared drive (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, or others), all files will need to be downloaded to the destination computer before they can be used.

This option works well with limited media sizes and requires a potentially lengthy upload and download process.

Using Online Media

After adding a media file in the media group's file list, you have an option to enter a fallback source for that media file in case the Njord Player document is opened on a computer that does not have the original media file available (Play if local file not available). A fallback source can be:

  • A URL (for video, photo, or audio files); in most cases this needs to be a publicly accessible http:// or https:// URL that points directly to the actual file, links to files uploaded on Dropbox or Google Drive are not suitable
  • A Youtube ID (video files only); enter only the short ID (like JuiyzGAMLZO) and not the full link to the video

You will need to upload each media file accordingly before entering that fallback information.

When sharing a Njord Player file whose media files are configured in this way, the Njord Player file can be transferred to other computers alone and opened there. Media will play from the online source instead of a local file.

This option works well with limited media sizes and requires a potentially lengthy upload process. However, the download process is easier than with the "Using Online Storage Services" method as media will automatically be downloaded on demand during playback.