Novell Filr allows you to easily access all your files and folders from your desktop, browser, or a mobile device. In addition, you can promote collaboration around your files by sharing files and folders with others. For a more detailed overview of Novell Filr, see About Filr in the Filr 2.0: Web Application User Guide.
This Quick Start describes how to use Filr from your Windows desktop.
In addition to accessing Filr from your desktop, you can also access it in the following ways:
You can synchronize your Novell Filr files with your computer and then modify the files directly without accessing the Filr site. Additions, modifications, and other actions are synchronized between Filr and your computer.
Your Filr administrator must enable the Filr desktop application to be used with the Filr site before it can be used. For more information, see Setting Up the Filr Desktop Application in the Filr 2.0: Administration Guide .
Filr 2.0 Desktop Application introduces support for Windows 10.
Filr 2.0 Desktop Application introduces the Files on Demand feature that provides a consolidated or virtual view of all the files on the Filr server and your workstation. With Files on Demand, you do not have to download all the files from the server to your workstation. You can now download only the files you need just by accessing the file.
The files and folders are classified as follows:
Online File: The file which is available on the Filr server and has not yet been downloaded to your local workstation.
Offline File: The file which has been downloaded to your local workstation.Online Folder: The folder and its contents are available on the Filr server and have not yet been downloaded to your local workstation.
Offline Folder: The folder in which one or more files or folders have been downloaded to your local workstation. So, this folder has both online and offline files or folders.
NOTE:When an online file that is not yet available offline, is accessed either by an application or by double-clicking, the file is cached locally.
Downloading files on an as-needed basis helps as follows:
With the Filr 2.0 Desktop Application, you can perform the following operations:
For more information about the Filr operations, see Understanding Filr Operations.
You can use the Filr 2.0 desktop software to upgrade the following desktop versions:
IMPORTANT:Before you upgrade the Desktop Application, you must do the following to exit the Filr client:
If you upgrade the Filr Desktop Application while a previous version is running, the overlay icons might not display. For more information about this issue, see the Filr Desktop Application Release Notes on the Novell Filr 2.0 Documentation website.
The default language that the Filr desktop application is displayed in is defined by the language set on the workstation where the application is running.
The Filr desktop application supports the following languages:
If the language on the workstation is not supported, the application is displayed in English.
After you download and install the Filr desktop application, you are prompted to log in to the application. For more information about downloading and installing the Filr desktop application, see Downloading and Installing the Filr Desktop Application.
To log in to the Filr Desktop Application:
Server URL: Specify the URL for the Filr site where you want to synchronize files to your computer. For example, https://Filr. mycompany .com:8443 .
To log in to the Filr application subsequent to the first time login, right-click the Filr icon in the notification area and click Login .
Synchronization from the Filr desktop application to the Filr server occurs immediately after the file is saved and closed; synchronization from the Filr server to the Filr desktop application occurs at an interval designated by your Filr administrator. The default is every 15 minutes. If the server becomes unavailable, the desktop client attempts to contact the server every minute until a connection is re-established.
You can manually synchronize files if you do not want to wait for the scheduled synchronization. For more information, see Manually Synchronizing Offline Files and Folders.
Filr synchronizes files to your workstation when the files are located in the following locations:
My Files: Files that are located in your My Files area on the Filr site are synchronized to your workstation by default. When you add files to the My Files folder from your workstation ( C:\Users\ username \Filr\My Files ), the files are automatically synchronized to Filr at the next synchronization.
Shared with Me: Files that are located in your Shared with Me area on the Filr site are synchronized to your workstation by default. You can edit files in your Shared with Me area and the edits are synchronized to Filr, if you have Editor or Contributor rights. However, you cannot add files to the root of the Shared with Me folder from the Filr desktop application on your workstation ( C:\Users\ username \Filr\Shared with Me/ ). If you do, the files are not synchronized to Filr. You can add files to folders that have been shared with you, if you have Contributor rights to the folder.
Net Folders: Files that are located in Net Folders are not synchronized to your workstation by default.
Net Folders are folders and files on your corporate file system. Corporate files can be files on your home directory, files on a mapped drive, or files on a remote server. Filr gives you seamless access to these files, regardless of their location. The corporate files that you have access to are defined by your Filr administrator.
Files located at the root of the C:\Users\ username \Filr folder cannot be synchronized. Instead, add files to one of the appropriate subfolders ( My Files or Net Folders ).
When you perform any of the following actions on folders and documents within the Filr folder on your file system, the action is synchronized between your computer file system and the Filr server at the next synchronization:
After you install the Filr desktop application and log in to the application, the Filr desktop application runs and the Filr icon is visible in the notification area. Clicking opens the Filr folder. You can do the following:
and then click Open Filr folder .and then click Open Filr console .and then click Visit Filr on the web .and then click Synchronize now .and then click Login or Logout respectively.and then click About Filr .and then click Help .NOTE: When you right-click , the Exit option is no longer listed. To exit the Filr desktop application, press Shift key and right-click . Then, click Exit .
The Filr Desktop Console include the following options:
