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How to Map your On-line Storage as a Windows Drive Letter
Arrowmail's on-line storage is published as Web Folders using the
WebDAV protocol and is also made available through an FTP server.
With Web Folders, access is via the firewall-friendly HTTPS protocol which
also strongly encrypts the data.
FTP is a simpler protocol to use for those who
understand and prefer it.
Web Folders makes your on-line files
appear very similar to how Windows Explorer represents local files and folders
and also prevents more than one person editing the same file at once by
"locking" any file that's open for editing.
Many
non-Microsoft programs, however, don't understand Web Folders and so
can't open and save files directly to them.
This includes many
utility programs for backing up local files to on-line storage.
Wouldn't it be good if there was a utility that could make Web
Folders and FTP sites appear to Windows as drive letters so that all
programs could work with them?
Enter NetDrive from Novell, the company
that was the king of PC networking until Windows NT came along.
From
all the licence information I've seen, NetDrive is a free program for anyone to
use for any purpose.
Novell only distribute it with their own products
so it's not available for download from their website, however, you
can download it from our website
here.
The NetDrive user manual can also be downloaded from
here.
NetDrive is up to version 4.1 and
it looks like a mature, capable and polished program with advanced features such
as caching and mirroring to speed up file access.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Mapping a Drive with NetDrive
After downloading and installing NetDrive, run the program from the
Start menus:-
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Click on New Site
and enter a name for the site and the URL:-
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The full URL above, which is partly hidden is:-
https://exchange.arrowmail.co.uk/webfolders/john.smith
Click Finish
The Server Type for Arrowmail on-line storage can be either WebDav or FTP.
We recommend using WebDAV.
If you decide to use FTP for the server type then the correct information to enter in
the
site address/URL line, shown above, is:-
exchange.arrowmail.co.uk
Based on your username, our FTP
server will automatically connect you to the top level of your on-line
storage area.
NetDrive has the 3rd Server Type option of iFolder which is something
specific to Novell servers and probably explains why Novell went to all
the trouble of providing this program.
For Drive choose the letter of the drive you want the on-line
storage to appear as.
Choosing a letter towards the end of the alphabet will keep it away from all
the hard drives, DVD and USB flash drives you may have on your PC.
Connect at login/startup is usually something you want to
enable.
Enter your Arrowmail Username and Password and, if this is a PC at
your work or home, it's usually safe to tick Save Password.
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Click Advanced and on the WebDAV tab select Enable DAV
Locking Support to prevent more than one person having a file open
for editing at the same time.
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Back on the main screen click Connect and the driver should appear in My
Computer.
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In the NetDrive main window, under File - Program Settings… there's a
whole bunch of other settings.
The only one we recommend changing is the percentage of your hard
drive space to devote to cache.
Set this to match the amount of on-line storage space you are using -
maybe 1% or 2%.
By default, NetDrive places an icon in the System Tray to give access
to its settings:-
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The Show Monitor option is useful for trouble-shooting.
Problems with Some Anti-Virus Programs
We've found that some anti-virus programs don't get along with
NetDrive.
The worst example is the, otherwise excellent, NOD32 which crashes
the computer when trying to access a file in on-line storage to the
point where the only way out is to reset the power.
If you have NOD32 you have to make the following change to the
program's setting to allow it to co-exist with NetDrive:-
Deselect Network in the AMON module:-
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We haven't tested NetDrive with every anti-virus program so if you
experience a problem with an antivirus or other security program then
let us know and, preferable, also what you did to fix it:-
support@arrowmail.co.uk
When Can't You use NetDrive to Access On-line Storage?
You have to install NetDrive on every computer where you want to
access your on-line storage as a drive letter, so here are some
situations when it can't be used:-
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If you are using an unfamiliar computer such as in
an Internet Cafe you may not be allowed to install the NetDrive
software.
In such situations you should still be able to access
on-line storage as Web Folders. |
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There's no version of NetDrive that we know of that
runs on a Mac. |
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There's no version of NetDrive that we know of that
will run on a Windows Smartphone. |
Netdrive and Windows Vista
To put it bluntly, Netdrive doesn't work with Windows Vista -
not really a surprise, but still a disappointment.
Netdrive was originally created by a company called
South River
Technologies.
Novell licensed the program for a several years but
it's now back under the control of
South River Technologies where it's
called WebDrive and is up to version 7.34.
WebDrive does work with Windows Vista but there
are a few catches:-
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WebDrive is no longer free but costs US$59.95 |
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There's a bug with Vista's implementation of the WebDAV
protocol which may be fixed wiith Service Pack 1 but, for now,
you have to use WebDrive in FTP-mode |
Using WebDrive under Vista in FTP-mode still works very well
as a way to access your files over the Internet.
You can obtain WebDrive from
here.
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If you prefer, you can, instead, email your comments to
support@arrowmail.co.uk
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