WebDAV stands for “Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning”. It allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote web servers from Windows PCs and Macs. WebDAV is the term used in Mac OS X.

In the case of My Docs Online the “remote web server” is your My Docs Online account folders and files, which can also be accessed via our other interfaces (through our web site at www.mydocsonline.com, and via tools like our Transporter).

Why use Web Folders? Two main reasons:

First, it’s an easy way to store, retrieve, and share files “in the internet cloud” while seeing the remote files and folders on your PC pretty much as if they were on your PC’s harddrive.

Second, Office applications (notably Word and Excel) can use File Locking via Web Folders to make sure two people don’t edit the same document at the same time.

If you and a colleague, for instance, both try to open and edit the same spreadsheet at roughly the same time, the first one to open the file can do so, and the second one will get a warning that another user has the file open for update, and all the second user will be able to get is a “Read-Only” copy of the file (until the first user closes it).

What about security?

In the case of My Docs Online, access to an account via Web Folders is secured using a Login ID and password. Also, security-conscious users set up their web folder to automatically use SSL encryption.

How do I get started?

Choose your operating system from the list below for specific setup instructions:

• Windows 7
• Windows Vista / Server 2003
• Windows XP / Windows 2000
• Mac OS X
• Microsoft Word / Excel

Folders other than the Group “Root Folder”
If permissions for the sub-account are set to “View Only” the user will be able to open, but not update or save an Office file.

Files in the Group “Root Folder”
The “root folder” is by design always “view only” for all users except for the administrator ID.

The solution is to create a folder to hold the files instead, set the permissions as needed, and move the files.

In general files should not be in the Root Folder, only folders.

For users who need to share the frequent updating or editing of Word or Excel files, the ability of the WebDAV protocol used by MS Web Folders to “lock” a file while a user has the file open for update provides a simple yet powerful way to share editing responsibilties for a given file, without having to worry about the “intervening update” problem.

“Intervening updates” refers to the situation where user “A” opens a particular file for update, and before the file can be updated and saved user “B” also opens the same file. Whichever user saves the file last will wipe out the other user’s changes.

The WebDAV protocol supported by the My Docs Online server includes a provision for “Locking” a file, and Microsoft Office applications “know” how to keep a My Docs Online file locked while it is being edited. All that is required is to open the Office file via Microsoft’s Web Folder support, either directly via the Office File Open dialog, or by locating the Web Folder and then the file via Windows Explorer and opening the file to launch Office.

If user number two attempts to open the same file at the same time, he or she will be notified that the file is open and locked, and he or she will be offered a “read-only” copy of the file. When the first user closes the file the “lock” is released so user number two can open, and edit, the file.