Can two or more computers share the same ChurchTrac data?
Can we use ChurchTrac on both home computers and church computers?

You are able to share your data between multiple computers, and there are several options for doing so depending on how you use ChurchTrac and where your computers are located.

ChurchTrac 2009 Data Sharing Feature (2009 version only)
ChurchTrac's new data sharing feature gives you the ability to share your data between two or more computers using your internet connection. When you enable this feature, the data changes on Computer A are automatically copied to Computer B, and vice versa, so both computers always have the most up-to-date data. This works even with remote (or offsite) computers. For more information, see the data sharing screen in ChurchTrac 2009, or read an overview of the process here.

Shared Networking Data Sharing Method
If all your computers are under the same roof and connected to the same local area network, then you can also use the shared network method to share ChurchTrac data. Follow the network setup instructions to share data using this method. This allows all your computers to share a single data file that is located in a shared folder on your local network. Be sure to read the knowledgebase article entitled What's the difference between Shared Networking and ChurchTrac 2009's Data Sharing Feature?

Backup/Restore Data Sharing Method
Thirdly, you can manually transfer data from one computer to another by using the backup/restore feature in the utilities menu. You can backup the data on Computer A and then take the backup file to Computer B and restore it. Note: This method will permanently replace the data on Computer B with the data from Computer A. This cannot be undone. This is only recommended in situations where Computer B is designated as a read-only computer (in other words, all the changes and updates in your ChurchTrac database take place on Computer A and then are transferred to Computer B. Therefore Computer B is used only to view the latest data, not to update it or make changes).

You must be extremely careful however when you use the backup/restore method because when you restore a data file on a computer, the previous data will be overwritten. For example, if you make changes on the second computer, and someone else is making changes simultaneously on the first computer, someone's changes will be overwritten when you perform the backup/restore. For this reason it is recommended that you designate a "main" computer where all the changes and updates are made. Any other computers would be designated "read-only" so they can access the data in ChurchTrac, but cannot make changes. From time to time you should backup the data on the main computer and restore it to the "read-only" computers so they have the most up-to-date information. If you need to make changes and update information on more than one computer using this method, you should be very careful, noting that any changes made on a computer will be overwritten if data is restored from the other computer.