Deploying client settings

Changing settings in the default client configuration file

Basically you can add whatever settings the client supports.

For a list of supported settings you can check out the ConfigurationEntry.java and the PreferencesEntry.java file on GitHub as parts of the client source code are Open Source.

Overwriting local changes on the client

To overwrite local changes on the client, please change the following entry in the Default.config:

config.overwrite=true

To not overwrite local changes on the client, please change the following entry in the Default.config:

config.overwrite=false

Useful examples for client settings

Adding a shortcut fo the favorites

The client usually creates a shortcut to the default folder path in the Windows Explorer's Favorites. To disable it:

pref.use.pf.link=false

Automatically sync online folders

The client automatically starts syncing folders available online to the local disk by default. To disable it:

auto.setup.account.folders=false

 If there is not enough disk space to sync all online folders to the local disk, the client will automatically set the parameter to false.

Disabling client-side folder mapping

Some folders with names related to Windows user directories (e.g. Documents) are mapped automatically to the corresponding folder in the user home directory, if the synchronization is started for that folder. To disable it:

create.folder.map.user.directories=false

Enabling the beginner mode

The beginner mode provides only the most basic operation elements in the client user interface, hiding everything else which could confuse users.

 Please note that the beginner mode restricts users to only create folders in the default folder path (on current Windows systems C:\Users\<Username>\PowerFolders). All folders already existing outside the default folder path will be ignored when deploying this setting to existing clients and enforcing it with config.overwrite=true.

To enable the beginner mode in the client:

pref.BeginnerMode=true
pref.ExpertMode=false

Forcing users to update their clients

When the client starts it check if it's on the latest version. If not, it will issue a notification to the user. It's also possible to force users to update. If they don't, the client will not continue working.

update.force=true

Hiding hidden files in the file browser

The client shows hidden files in the internal client file browser. To disable it:

pref.show.hidden.files=false

Hiding user interface elements

It's possible to hide certain elements of the user interface like the files, members, problems and settings tab:

files.enabled=false
members.enabled=false
problems.enabled=false
settings.enabled=false
webdav.enabled=false

Restricting the creation of folders to the default folder path

The client allows by default to create or share folders outside of the default folder path. In some environments this might not be wanted, since users could also share their whole Desktop, Documents or even network drives. To prevent that:

create.folder.basedir.only=true

Deploying desktop client help links for users

In the desktop client there are some help links for the users that helps in troubleshooting in many problems, Server administrator can control these links and provide the user a better experience and also this reduces the support for the service. Some example of these help links are as follows:

PowerFolder-Client uses different URIs and set them together to compile a complete URL for a help link that can be given in client GUI or as a notification or warnings. A list of these URIs is given below:

String SETTINGS_GENERAL = "General";
String SETTINGS_UI = "User_Interface";
String SETTINGS_NETWORK = "Network";
String SETTINGS_DYN_DNS = "DynDNS";
String SETTINGS_EXPERT = "Expert";
String SETTINGS_DIALOG = "Dialogs";
String SETTINGS_PLUGIN = "Plugins";
String SETTINGS_INFO = "Information";
String PROBLEM_UNSYNCED_FOLDER = "Unsynchronized-Folder";
String PROBLEM_FOLDER_DATABASE = "Folder-Database";
String PROBLEM_DEVICE_DISCONNECTED = "Disconnected-Device";
String PROBLEM_DUPLICATE_FILENAME = "Duplicate-Filename";
String PROBLEM_ILLEGAL_END_CHARS = "Illegal-End-Chars";
String PROBLEM_ILLEGAL_CHARS = "Illegal-Chars";
String PROBLEM_RESERVED_WORD = "Reserved-Word";
String PROBLEM_FILENAME_TOO_LONG = "File-Name-Too-Long";
String PROBLEM_NO_CONFLICT_DETECTION_POSSIBLE = "Version_Conflict_With_Old_Client";
String PROBLEM_NO_OWNER = "No-Owner";
String PROBLEM_FILE_CONFLICT = "Conflict_handling";
String SCRIPT_EXECUTION = "Script_execution";
String DEFAULT_FOLDER = "Default_Folder";
String TRANSFER_MODES = "Transfer_Modes";
String SECURITY_PERMISSION = "Security_Permissions";
String SERVER_CLIENT_DEPLOYMENT = "Server_client_deployment";
String UI_LOCK = "User-interface-lock";
String SYSTEM_SERVICE = "System_Service";
String EXCLUDING_FILES_FROM_SYNCHRONIZATION = "Excluding_Files_from_Synchronization";
String MEMORY_CONFIGURATION = "Memory_configuration";
String LIMITED_CONNECTIVITY = "Limited_connectivity";
String WEBDAV = "WebDAV";

For example the users are given for transfer mode a help link after clicking 

In the code there is the following URI as string encoded:

String TRANSFER_MODES = "Transfer_Modes";

The client will use the URL that is provided in the PowerFolder.config under "provider.url.wiki=wiki.powerfolder.com " and combines it with the string "String TRANSFER_MODES = "Transfer_Modes";" so the result would be: http://wiki.powerfolder.com/Transfer_Modes.

There are two ways to handle these URIs:

• Create an article in User-Wii that is related to transfer mode, e.g Transfer Mode Configuration

After creating this article a server administrator can create a redirect in the Apache (.htaccess) file as:

RewriteRule "^Transfer_Mode" "https://wiki.powerfolder.com/spaces/PF/pages/302081/Transfer+Mode+Configuration" 

• Redirecting all the URIs to the main Wiki as:

RewriteRule "^Transfer_Mode" "https://wiki.powerfolder.com/$1" 

 There is no global rule to redirect all the URIs, all the URIs should have to be redirected individually in the Apache dealing the Wiki-Webserver.