Setting Up and Using WebDrive

Transcription

1 Setting Up and Using WebDrive Rutgers University has a site license for WebDrive, an SFTP program used to transfer files to and from servers such as crab and clam. Both employees and students may download and use it. This tutorial is for the Windows version of the program. By installing and configuring WebDrive, your home and/or web directory can be accessed just like any other drive on your PC, such as C:\ drive or D:\ drive. Installing WebDrive 1. Go to and download a copy of WebDrive. 2. If you already have a version of WebDrive installed, uninstall it. 3. Double-click on the downloaded WebDrive file to start the installation. 4. A Welcome screen will appear. Read the information and click Next >. 5. The License Agreement screen will appear. Read the license, click on the I accept choice and click Next>. 6. The Destination Folder window will appear. Use the default path and click Next>. 7. The Ready to Install the Program window will appear. Click the Install button. 8. WebDrive will now install, and you may be prompted to restart your computer once it is finished. Click Yes to restart. Preparing to Activate the License 1. Go to the University Software Portal, log in and get the Rutgers registration code. Make sure you get the current code for the version you downloaded; different versions of WebDrive have different registration codes, and the code changes annually. 2. If you are using any firewall software, you will need update its settings to allow WebDrive to run. Activating the License 1. Launch WebDrive. If it prompts you to connect, click Cancel and then click the Help/Info icon. 2. Click the License Information option on the left and then Activate License (or Reactivate License) on the right. 3. In the window that appears, click Activate License (if the button is grayed out or you see a Deactivate button, then a WebDrive license is already activated. If you know you have the current license, you may quit the activation process at this point. 4. If WebDrive is activated but you know the license is old, click Deactivate, confirm with choice and click OK. Then click Reactivate License and continue. 5. Enter the registration code obtained from the University Software Portal, then click Activate. 6. If you are successful, a pop-up window will come up. Click OK, click Finish and then click OK to close the Program Settings window. Creating a Server Connection 1. Click the New icon. A list of connection types will come up. Choose SFTP, not Secure FTP, then click Next>. Setting Up and Using WebDrive Page 1! of 5!

2 2. Add the appropriate server name. Students connecting to clam should use clamshell.rutgers.edu. Employees connecting to crab should use crabshell.rutgers.edu. 3. Enter the login information. This will be your NetID username and password. You may use the Test Connection button to see if they re working. 4. Click Advanced Settings. 5. Enter a Drive Letter. This may be any letter not already in use. The default, W, is fine, but if you will be setting up more than one connection you may want to assign different letters to each. Avoid using the letters C, D and E and any others your computer uses. 6. If you want to set any of the connection options Connect at Login/Startup, Save Password, and Always Prompt for Login Credentials check those boxes. 7. Click OK, then click Next>. 8. Enter a Site Name for the connection, such as Rutgers Clam or Rutgers Crab. 9. Confirm the drive letter and whether to connect at login/startup. 10. Click Finish. Connecting with WebDrive 1. Any server connections you ve created will appear in a list. Double-click the entry to connect. 2. If you didn t save a username and password when setting up the connection, you will be prompted to enter them. 3. When you connect successfully, a window will appear with your home directory open. You should see any files you have in your directory. Managing Files After you connect, working with files using WebDrive will be similar to working with files on other drives such as a USB drive. To move files around you may drag and drop, copy and paste or cut and paste them. When you create a new document, you will have the option of saving it to an active WebDrive drive. SYSTEM FILES WARNING: When you connect to a server, you may be able to see nameless system files on it such as.dt or.xresources. These files are normally hidden. They re required by Rutgers systems, and deleting, renaming or otherwise changing them may damage your account and cause it to malfunction. If you re not certain about a file, ask the OIT-Camden Help Desk. Tip for Advanced Users: Adjusting Directory and File Permissions The Clam and Crab servers are good at setting file permissions correctly when they are uploaded, but the permissions sometimes need to be adjusted for web sites. To change the permissions: 1. In WebDrive, connect to the server where you need to adjust permissions. 2. Right-click on the file or folder whose permissions you want to change. 3. A menu will come up. Choose Properties. 4. In the window that appears, click the Permissions tab. Setting Up and Using WebDrive Page 2! of 5!

3 5. Set the permissions. For web files, the default is 644. For directories, it is 755. Using larger numbers indicates broader permissions, which may create security holes; if the permissions are too narrow, visitors to a web site will be unable to load the web page. 6. Click OK. If you want WebDrive to change permissions for you, see the section later in this document for setting automatic permissions changes. Disconnecting 1. Right-click on the WebDrive icon in the lower-right corner of your PC desktop and select Disconnect. Tip for Advanced Users: Changing the Home Directory When you connect, WebDrive will display your home directory by default. For most users this is fine, but a few may be working from a different directory, such as one associated with a web site. You may change the setup to open to that directory instead. 2. In the left column, choose SFTP Settings under General Settings. 3. Add the path to the directory you want to access in the Root Directory field, then click OK. Tip for Advanced Users: Creating Multiple Connections You may set up more than one connection to a server, each opening to a different directory. This is useful if you work on more than one project on the same server. There are two constraints: 1. If you will be using these connections at the same time, you must use different drive letters for each. Setting Up and Using WebDrive Page 3! of 5!

4 2. If you won t be using the connections at the same time, you may assign the same drive letter to each, but you need to uncheck the Connect at Login/Startup option for all but one of the connections using the same letter. You must to disconnect from any connections using the same drive letter before connecting to a new one. Tip for Advanced Users: Disabling the Cache In an attempt to run more efficiently, WebDrive tries to cache files, folders and other information from the server on your PC. Some users have reported issues with this behavior, especially when accessing a shared area such as a website. To prevent problems, you may disable the WebDrive cache and force the software to check with the server at all times. 2. In the left column, choose Basic Cache Settings. 3. Check the option None-download files from server on each access by an application. 4. You may also change the Cache Limit to 0MB. The default is 2000MB. 5. Click OK when the changes are completed. Tip for Advanced Users: Setting Automatic Permissions Changes Users working on web sites may set WebDrive so it will change the default permissions when you add new files and folders to the server. 2. In the left column, choose File Permissions under File Settings. 3. Check the Set attributes on new or modified files by extension. 4. In the Extension field, enter the file extension. Use dir to create a permissions rule for directories. Use * to set a permissions rule for all files regardless of extension; if you then add other rules for a specific extension, those will override the rule for *. Setting Up and Using WebDrive Page 4! of 5!

5 5. After the extension is added, check the boxes to set permissions. For web site directories, this is normally 755 (user read, write and execute; group read and execute; other read and execute. For web files, this is normally 644 (user read and write; group read; other read). 6. Click Add, then click OK to return to the main WebDrive screen. Troubleshooting: License Expiration If you encounter problems such as being prompted to pay for WebDrive when downloading an update or being prompted to activate or re-activate WebDrive, then the license you used when you installed the software may have expired. Go to the University software Portal and get the newest registration number for the version of WebDrive you are using. Getting Help For information about the WebDrive software it self, click its Help button. For help with connecting to a Rutgers server, contact OIT-Camden Help Desk. Setting Up and Using WebDrive Page 5! of 5!