Novell Doc: Novell Filr 1.0.1 Administration Guide - Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for All Users or for Individual Users and Groups

10.2 Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for All Users or for Individual Users and Groups

The Filr desktop application allows users to synchronize their Novell Filr files with their personal computers. You can enable this functionality for all users in the Filr system, or for individual users and groups. By default, this functionality is not enabled.

In addition to enabling or disabling this functionality for users, you can also make configuration changes that affect the load that the Filr desktop application puts on your Filr system, as well as make changes that ensure tighter security.

Users need to download, install, and configure the Filr desktop application on their personal computers. For more information, see the Novell Filr Desktop Application for Windows Quick Start and the Novell Filr Desktop Application for Mac Quick Start.

10.2.1 Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for All Users

To customize the desktop application experience for your Filr system:

In Filr, click the admin link in the upper-right corner of the page, then click the Administration Console icon .
Under System, click Desktop Application.
In the Configure Desktop Application dialog box, select On.
As necessary, configure Filr to allow the Filr desktop application to support the following features:

Access Filr: Allows users to access the Filr site through the Filr desktop application.

NOTE:Depending on the amount of anticipated load that the Filr desktop application will put on your Filr system, you might want to make the application available to users in a staged process. For more information, see Section 10.1, Planning Filr Desktop Application Usage for Your Filr Site.

You must individually enable each Net Folder to be accessed by the Filr desktop application, as described in Step 11 in Section 5.4, Creating and Managing Net Folders.

Allowing access to the Filr site through the Filr desktop application can be changed on a per-user basis, as described in Section 10.2.2, Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for Individual Users and Groups.

Cache the user’s password: Allows users to enable the Remember password option on the Account Information page in the Novell Filr Console.

This option can be changed on a per-user basis, as described in Section 10.2.2, Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for Individual Users and Groups.

Be deployed: Select this option to provide a link from the Filr Web client that allows users to download the desktop application. If this option is not selected, the link is not visible to users.

If this option is selected, the Auto-update URL field must be populated (the default configuration is to allow the Filr server to be the auto-update server).

You might want to leave this option deselected if you plan to deploy the Filr desktop application to user workstations by using client management software such as Novell ZENworks. The MSI file is available to you if you are planning to deploy the Filr desktop application by using ZENworks. However, when deploying the Filr desktop application with the MSI file, ensure that .NET Framework 4 or 4.5 is also installed on client workstations. If you are updating the Filr desktop application on client workstations, see Section 10.4, Updating the Filr Desktop Application.

You can obtain the MSI file by downloading the NovellFilrAutoUpdate.tgz file from the Filr downloads page on Novell Downloads; then extracting the file.

Synchronization every xx Minutes: Specify the interval (in minutes) for how often the Filr desktop application checks the Filr server for changes to files. This lets you control the amount of load that the Filr desktop application puts on the Filr server.

Changes made in the desktop application are automatically synchronized to the server regardless of this setting.

Auto-update URL: The auto-update URL where the Filr desktop application can check for updates. This is the URL where the Filr desktop application download files are hosted. By default, your Filr server is set up to provide auto-update information to the Filr desktop application. The Auto-update URL field is populated with this information by default. The default port is 8443.

If this field is not populated, specify the following URL:

https://Filr_appliance_IPaddress:8443/desktopapp/
NOTE:When specifying the auto-update URL, consider the following:
- If your Filr system is fronted by an L4 or L10 switch, do not use the Filr server to deploy the Filr desktop application. Instead, use a separate Web server as described in Section 10.3, Configuring a Separate Web Server to Deploy the Filr Desktop Application.
- If you have enabled port redirection on the Filr server, as described in Changing the Network Configuration Settings in the Novell Filr 1.0.1 Installation and Configuration Guide, ensure that either of the following requirements is met:
  The Auto-update URL field contains the secure HTTP port, 8443 (or 8080 if the HTTP port is enabled)
  
  A separate Web server is configured to provide auto-update information, as described in Section 10.3, Configuring a Separate Web Server to Deploy the Filr Desktop Application
- To minimize load on the Filr server, you can configure a separate Web server for deploying the desktop application and to provide auto-update information. For more information, see Section 10.3, Configuring a Separate Web Server to Deploy the Filr Desktop Application.
Maximum file size that can be synchronized: Specify the maximum file size (in MB) that can be synchronized between the Filr desktop application and the Filr server.
Click OK.

10.2.2 Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for Individual Users and Groups

Individual user and group settings override global settings. This section describes how to customize the desktop application experience for individual users and groups on your Filr system.

To make the desktop application available to only a subset of users in your system, configure the application for all users, as described in Section 10.2.1, Configuring the Filr Desktop Application for All Users. Then restrict access to the users and groups who should not have access to the application, as described in this section.

In Filr, click the admin link in the upper right corner of the page, then click the Administration Console icon .
Under Management, click User Accounts.

The Manage Users page is displayed.
Select the check boxes next to the names of the users or groups for whom you want to configure the Filr desktop application, then click More > Desktop Application Settings.

The Configure Desktop Application page is displayed.
To change the desktop application settings for the selected users to be different from the global settings, select Use user settings to allow the desktop application to. Then choose from the following options:

Access Filr: Allows users to access the Filr site through the Filr desktop application.

You must individually enable each Net Folder to be accessed by the Filr desktop application, as described in Step 11 in Section 5.4, Creating and Managing Net Folders.

Cache the user’s password: Allows users to enable the Remember password option on the Account Information page in the Novell Filr Console.
Click OK.

If you have set individual and group settings for the Filr desktop application, you can change those settings back to the global settings for the individual users and groups.

In Filr, click the admin link in the upper right corner of the page, then click the Administration Console icon .
Under Management, click User Accounts.

The Manage Users page is displayed.
Select the check boxes next to the names of the users or groups for whom you want to configure the Filr desktop application, then click More > Desktop Application Settings.

The Configure Desktop Application page is displayed.
To change the desktop application settings back to the global settings for the selected users, select Use global settings.
Click OK.