Managing File Servers for Linked Documents

Using linked files on a file server or FTP/SFTP server can be useful if you want to set up your documents in a hierarchical structure. For example, you could create an Items folder on the server, with subfolders for each item number that contain documents relevant to that item. Then you can link the documents to the appropriate items within the application.

If you have documents that can be stored as linked files outside of the application database, use the File Servers form to set up and manage the servers or FTP sites that contain the files:

  1. In the File Servers form, specify this information:
    Active
    Select this option if you want the file server to be automatically activated when the application starts.
    Note:  If you select the Active check box, the file server is activated automatically each time the application starts. Clear the check box if you do not want the file server to be activated when the application starts. To manually activate a server without restarting the application, click the Activate button. To manually deactivate a server without restarting the application, click the Deactivate button.
    Server Name
    Specify a unique name for the server. Users can select this name in the Document Types form.
    Server Type
    • FTP - Use this option for either cloud or on-premises applications.
    • Shared Path - Use this option only for on-premises applications.
    • AWS S3 - Use this option only for cloud applications.

      If you select this option, you must also provide key/value pair settings, in the JSON Key Value Pairs modal form, for the type of encryption to use. See Step 2b.

    • SFTP - Use this option only for either cloud or on-premises applications.

      If you select this option, use the Domain setting to specify the URL for the SFTP server.

    • Mongoose Web Service - Use this option only for cloud applications.
    Domain
    Specify the domain for the server.

    If you selected SFTP as the Server Type, use this field to specify the URL for the SFTP server.

    Set As Default Bucket
    To indicate that this server is to be the default location for files, select this option. This option applies only to AWS.
    Shared/FTP Path
    Specify the root path where files are stored on the server:
    • For a shared path, use this format: \\server\share\
    • For an FTP URI, use this format: FTP_Server/folder/
    • For a web server, use this format: http://port/folder/service
    User ID and Password
    Specify the user ID and password to connect to the server. If you want to set up a common file server for all application users, provide one common set of credentials that  only has file access to the shared area of the server.
    Remote Server Name
    Specify the name of the remote server to be used to establish the connection from the local server. This is basically for a UNC server type.
  2. Optionally, to add any properties that might be required for a different server type in JSON format, perform these steps for each required key/value pair:
    1. Click Additional Properties.
    2. In the JSON Key Value Pairs form, specify the key name and value for each key/value pair required by the server.
    3. Optionally, to have the key/value pair data encrypted, select the Encrypt option.
  3. Optionally, to validate that the file server is connected properly, click Validate.
  4. To immediately activate the connection to the file server, click Activate.
  5. Optionally, to reset the connections of all active file servers, click Reset All Servers.
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