Yes, if you can get the UNIX file permissions right. dGB-GDI is a system that works quite directly on the data. Most notably, there is no database management like e.g. Oracle, where special data management processes read and write the data. As a consequence, surveys can be used by anyone who has write permission in the survey directory. In particular, dGB-GDI must be able to update the Object management Files '.omf' in the survey directories. There are two main strategies:

- Using the UNIX group mechanism

- Using a specific dGB-GDI user account

At dGB we are using the second option for years now without any problem. The key to success is the usage of the dGB_USER environment variable. At the login procedure, the user is asked to type his/her name, which will be used to set the dGB_USER environment variable, like e.g.:

setenv dGB_USER paul

When dGB-GDI is then started up, dGB-GDI will then automatically use the appropriate survey and user settings. In this way users can have their private settings and work on either the same or another survey, without any file permissions problem ever.