Network Menu


Please keep in mind that the network functionality is not supported by the Basic Edition and the Standard Edition.

Edit Connections

The dialog for the management of network connections allows to create and maintain connections with local or remote servers. On the left side of the dialog window new connections can be created (plus symbol), existing connections can be deleted (red X), and selected connections can be copied (symbol with double document). The order of the connection items can be alphabetically or in the order of creation. If the connections are shown as created (unordered) then the connections can be sorted manually by moving the items up or down. Invalid connections due to invalid configurations (e.g. because the used protocol is not supported) are shown with a stroke. The tool tip shows a message.

In order to adjust the existing connections please select the entry in the list. The settings for this connection are then displayed on the right side of the dialog. To check the current settings, please click the Check button at the bottom. A special dialog is opened where a connection can be established using the current settings. Please let the details be shown to see all messages. Is the connection test successful, the dialog lists the capabilities of the connected file system. If the connection could not be established e.g. due to a missing password an appropriate message is displayed. Sometimes the log file of the software contains a hint why problems have occurred during connection tests (blocked/wrong ports, wrong password etc.). In addition to the connection check you can open the network file chooser dialog in order to test the selected connection.

The network protocols must have been installed in order to be listed here. When in doubt please choose the Full Installation for the installer.

Each connection can be given an appropriate name on the right side which can be adjusted later. At the top you can select the network Protocol to be used for the data exchange with the server. The combobox shows the available protocols like FTP or SFTP. The network protocols must have been installed in order to be listed here. This can be done for the installation with installer or with Web Start. A separate installation of specialized operating system drivers or similar is not required. Depending on the selected protocol the settings below may vary from connection to connection.

The connection settings are devided into Server and Expert options. The server options include:

You can set a directory on the server as path which can be accessed by the configured user. If the user bobby logs in to a FTP server and the home directory of the user is /home/bobby, then set / to access the directory directly or /temp to list the subdirectory /home/bobby/temp. Create links on the server i norder to access the root directory of the system if this is allowed for the user. Depending on the server system the access rules configured on this system are valid also for the network connection so that the access to files and directories is secure.

 

If user name and password are required please edit the data in the text fields. If the password may be stored permanently so that is available for the next connects please enable the Save password flag. If the password shall be used for the next connect only please disable the flag. The password is not remembered then and has to be typed again the next time. If you like to edit user name and password each time a connection is established (not remembered) then use the expert option Display settings before connection is established.

The input field for the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) combines all entries of the other components for this connection. You may either fill out the single fields or alternatively edit the overall URI, the other fields are updated appropriately.

A URI must apply to the follwing scheme:

    [protocol]://[username[:password]@]hostname[:port][absolute-path]

Examples of valid URIs are as follows:

    ftp://kernel.org/pub/

    ftp://root@ftp.mycompany.com/media/hdd/movie

    sftp://bobby@mycompany.com :22/Temp

The configured password is not shown as part of the URI but used only internally in order to avoid misuse and spying.

 

The Expert options include:

Once all settings shown by the dialog are as desired you can connect to the selected servers by clicking the Connect button at the bottom of the dialog. If the selected connections are valid this button is enabled, disabled otherwise. For each connection a separate tab with the name of the connection will be displayed by the network file system window. With a click on the OK button the current settings will only be saved without creating new connections.

The configured connections are used program-wide, which means that these connections are provided by the network file chooser dialog and by the sync wizard for example. If files/directories on remote servers are synchronized it makes sense to deposit user name and password for the connections, if these functions are called from the command-line or from build scripts.

The network connection management may be called also from the tool bar by clicking a button. The preferences provide further settings for network connections, for example if connections of the network file system window shall be restored or not when the program is restarted.

New Session

With the New Session menu one can establish connections with configured server systems. The currently selected connection within the tool bar is used for this. This selection is automatically set to the current list selection each time the management dialog is closed so that one can work directly with the connection that has been edited last. For each connection a separate tab with the name of the connection will be displayed by the network file system window. If configured for the connection the management dialog is presented here where you can edit user name and password to login.

The function to create a new session may be called also from the tool bar by clicking a button.

Connect

The Connect menu is enabled if the network file system window is visible and the active connection tab is disabled which means that currently there is not connection to the server. Together with the Disconnect menu it is easily possible to keep connection tabs (sessions) permanently on the screen (see preferences) while the connection is established on demand and disconnected after use.

Disconnect

The Disconnect menu is enabled if the network file system window is visible and the active connection tab is enabled which means that the tab is currently connected to the server. Together with the Connect menu it is easily possible to keep connection tabs (sessions) permanently on the screen (see preferences) while the connection is established on demand and disconnected after use.

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