VMobility Network File Sharing

The VMobility File Sharing program was created to facilitate the transfer of files between Members of the Vmobility Network. It is easy to use and unlike Microsoft File Sharing program, it requires minimal setup. The PN File Sharing program is also faster (over the secured connection) than Microsoft File Sharing as it uses native TCP/IP connectivity with minimal overhead.

The VMobility File Sharing program allows you to securely download and upload files from/to other Members in your Vmobility Network .

The VMobility File Sharing program is two programs in one:

Setting up the VMobility File Sharing

In order to allow other Members in the Vmobility Network to download/upload files using the VMobility Network File Sharing, you must enable the VMobility File Sharing settings. To enable the VMobility File Sharing settings, display the VMobility File Sharing Preferences window as follows:

  • From the VMobility Client menu, click Options + Preferences
  • Select FIle Sharing. The VMobility File Sharing Prefences window is displayed.



    The Preferences window has three settings:
    1. Download
    2. Upload
    3. Share

Download Settings

The download settings are used to enable or disable other members from downloading files or directories from your system and to secure your download area with a password. The download window setting has the following fields:

    • Download Folder Location: specifies your default download directory where files you download from other Members are saved.
    • Allow Others to download files section: allows you to Enable or Disable the capability for other Members to access your shared files/directories for download. If you Enable it, other Members can download files/directories from your shared folder.  If you Disable it, other Members will not be able to download files/directories from your shared folder. Click Apply or OK to save your changes.

      		By default, the download setting is enabled.

    • Password to access your shared folders: You can set a password for your Shared Folder Directory to prevent unauthorized Members from accessing it.  That is, nobody will be able to download files from your Shared Folder unless they have your password.
      To set the password, check the Password check box and type in your password and then click Apply or OK to save your changes.

Upload Settings

The upload settings are used to enable or disable other Members from uploading files into your system and to set a password to prevent un-authorized users from uploading files into your system.

The upload window setting has the following fields:

    • Upload Folder Location: specifies your default upload folder/directory where other Members will be able to upload files into your system. This location cannot be changed.
    • Allow Others to upload files: allows you to Enable or Disable the capability for other Members to upload files into your upload folder. If you Enable it, other Members can upload files to your upload folder. If you Disable it, other Members will not be able to upload files to your upload folder.
      		By default, the upload setting is disabled.

      		All uploaded files will be stored into your Upload Folder. To display your Upload Folder, from the File Sharing GUI, select View + My Folders.

    • Password to access your upload folders: You can set a password for your Upload Folder directory to prevent unauthorized Members from uploading files to you. Only those Members to whom you have given the Upload Folder directory password will be able to upload files.  To set the password, check the Password check box and type in your password and then click Apply or OK to save your changes.
    • Allow others to view my upload content: This setting allows you to choose whether you want others to see the content of your Upload directory.
      • Enable:  Allow others to view the content of my Upload directory.
      • Disable: Do not display the content of my Upload directory.

Share Settings

Share settings allows you to select the files and directories you want to publish for other members to download. Any files or directories you add to the My Shared Folders area will be shared with members of the VMobility Network.

To add directories or files to share:

  1. Click the Browse button and select the directory where the directories or files you want to share are located.
    • You can perform a Search for specific files using the search criteria and clicking on the Search button.
  2. To add a directory to My Shared Folders area, select the directory from the left hand pane and then click Add To Share button. The selected directory will be added to My Shared Folders area.
    		You can see and modify the content of your Shared Folders by selecting a folder and then clicking the Browse button.  Once the content of the selected folder is displayed, you can view, edit, add and delete files to that folder
  3. To add a file to be shared, select a folder/directory from My Shared Folders and then click Add To Share button. The selected file will be added to the selected folder/directory.
    		The My Shared Folders area contains a default Shared Folder where you can add files for sharing. By default, if you don't select a different directory to add files to, this folder will be used to hold all your shared files.

    		You can select multiple files/directories to add to your My Shared Folders area by selecting multiple files/directories while pressing and holding the SHIFT key or the CTRL key.

    		Another way to setup your Shared Folder, is by displaying the Shared Folder itself and modifying its content. You can either copy the files or directories in the Shared Folder or you can simply create shortcuts to those files and directories. For more details, see My Folders section.
  4. Click Apply to save your changes and continue setting up your Share settings or click the OK button to save your changes and close the window.

How to start the VMobility File Sharing Client

  1. There are 3 ways to start the File Sharing program:
    1. Right click on a joined member and select File Sharing.
    2. Double click on a joined member and then select File Sharing.
    3. Select a joined member and then click the File Sharing icon button.
    OR
  2. A question window comes up asking if you want to connect to the selected Member. Click OK to continue.
  3. The VMobility File Sharing client will attempt to connect to the VMobility File Sharing of the selected member. Depending on the state of the VMobility File Sharing of the target member and its security settings, you'll be presented with one of 3 possible outcomes:
    • If the target member has Allow Others to download files enabled with no password protection, the content of the VMobility File Sharing directory of the member being contacted is displayed in the right pane of the VMobility File Sharing Client window.
    • If the target member has Allow Others to download files disabled or if their VMobility Client version does not support VMobility File Sharing, you will not be able to make a connection. The following error message is displayed: The file sharing service was not enabled by this member.
    • If the target member has Allow Others to download files enabled and is protecting its Shared Folder directory with a password, you'll be prompted to enter a password before proceeding. After you successfully enter the password, the content of the Shared Folder directory of the member being contacted is displayed in the right pane of the VMobility File Sharing Client window.
  4. Once the connection to the selected Member is established, the File Sharing window is displayed.



    Local Resources
    The left hand pane of the File Sharing window shows your Local Resources. Under this section, you can change the directory in which all the files downloaded to your system are to be saved. It is also the directory from where you can select files to upload to other Members.
    By default, the default download directory is used. You can change the default download Local Directory in one of the following ways:
    • From the VMobility File Sharing client, click on the Browse button (left pane) and select a new directory or
    • Create a new directory by clicking the New Folder button.

    Remote Resources
    The right hand pane of the File Sharing window shows the remote Member's resources - its Shared Folder directory and its content.
    This section contains the files and directories shared by the remote Member.  You can select files and directories from this section and download them into your Local Resources directory.

How to View Upload History

    The View Upload History button allows you to view the history of files you have uploaded to other Members of your VMobility Network.  

    The Upload History window shows the uploaded file names, to whom they were upload, and the upload status.

  • Refresh: updates the history with the latest information.
  • View: displays the detailed upload information for each file.
  • Close: closes the window.

How to Download Files using File Sharing

To download files from other Members using the VMobility File Sharing, start the VMobility File Sharing client as described above. Once the connection is established, select the file(s) or directories you want to download from the Remote Resource section and either drag and drop them into the Local System panel or click on the [<< Download] button. This will initiate the download process.

To stop the download process, click the Abort button.

 You will only be able to download files if the remote Member's Download setting is enabled.

How to Upload Files using File Sharing

To upload files to other Members using the VMobility File Sharing, start the VMobility File Sharing client as described above. Once the connection is established, select the file(s) or directories from your Local System panel and drag and drop them into the Upload Content/History panel or click on the [Upload >>] button. This will initiate the upload process.

To stop the upload process, click the Abort button.

 You will only be able to upload files if the remote Member's Upload setting is enabled.

How to Use My Folders

The VMobility File Sharing program has 3 default folders:

  1. DonwloadFolder: used to hold files you download from other members.
  2. SharedFolder: used to hold files you want to share with other members.
  3. UploadFolder: used to store files other members upload to you.

These folders are located under the directory: <drive letter>:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\My Documents\VMobility\

You can display all default folders used by your VMobility Network File Sharing program by selecting View + My Folders from the VMobility Client's FIle Sharing GUI. From here, you can quckly access each of the default folders used by File Sharing.

For example, another way to add files to your default download Folder is by displaying it using View + My Folders and modifying its content. You can either copy the files or directories in the SharedFolder or you can simply create shortcuts for those files and directories.

It is recommended to create shortcuts to minimize disk space usage.

To add files/directories:

  1. From your VMobility File Sharing GUI, click View + My Folders.  This will open a File Explorer window with the VMobility File Sharing folders in it.
  2. Double click on the ShareFolder to access its content.
  3. Drag and drop (or manually copy) the files/directories you want to share into your SharedFolder.

    To add shortcuts of files/directories:

    1. Open up Windows File Explorer
    2. Select the files/directories you want to share, right-click on them and then drag and drop them into the SharedFolder folder. When you release the mouse's right button to drop the files, you'll be prompted to Copy Here, Move Here, Create Shortcuts Here and Cancel.  Select Create Shortcuts Here to create shortcuts to your files/directories.

    Once you populate your SharedFolder folder with files/directories, Members in the Vmobility Network can start downloading those files/directories from your system.

    		 Don't forget to enable the Allow Others to download files on your File Sharing Preferences window. If Allow Others to download files is not enabled, Members in the Vmobility Network will not be able to access your Shared Folder. Also, it is good practice to password protect your files.