Before you begin to use iFolder, it is important to understand the following key features:
The iFolder client integrates with your operating system to provide iFolder services in your native desktop environment. iFolder supports the following operating systems:
The iFolder client allows you to manage your own iFolders and to select which shared iFolders to set up on each computer. For information, see Managing iFolders.
You must configure at least one iFolder account before you can create iFolders. An iFolder account is created when an iFolder services administrator provisions you as an iFolder user for an iFolder server. The administrator provides you with a username and password. For an enterprise, this might be your username or e-mail address and the related password.
An iFolder session begins when you log in to an iFolder services account and ends when you log out, or when you exit the iFolder client. Your iFolders synchronize files with other active iFolders only when your session is active and you are working online. You can access data in your local iFolders at any time, whether you are logged in to the account, or not. For information, see Section 2.3, Configuring an iFolder Account.
An iFolder is a local directory that selectively shares and synchronizes files via a central computer with a user-specified group of users. The iFolder files are accessible to all iFolder members and can be changed by those with the rights to do so. You can access your iFolders across multiple workstations and share them with others.
You work with iFolders directly in your file manager or in the iFolder browser that is part of the client. Within the iFolder, you can set up any subdirectory structure that suits your personal or corporate work habits. The subdirectory structure is constant across all member iFolders. When you share an iFolder, member users with the Write right can modify the directory structure, and those changes apply to all copies of the iFolder. Each user can locate the shared iFolder anywhere on his or her own computer that satisfies the Section 3.1, Guidelines for Locating and Using iFolders.
The iFolder client supports the owner and three levels of access for members of an iFolder:
Owner: Only one user serves as the owner of an iFolder. This is typically the user who creates the iFolder. The owner user can use the iFolder client to transfer ownership to another member of the iFolder.
The owner of an iFolder has the Full Control right. This user has read/write access to the iFolder, manages membership and access rights for member users, and can remove the Full Control right for any member.
Full Control: A member of the shared iFolder, with the Full Control access right. This member has read/write access to the iFolder and manages membership and access rights for all users except the owner.
Read/Write: A member of the shared iFolder, with the Read/Write access right to directories and files in the iFolder.
Read Only: A member of the shared iFolder, with the Read Only access right to directories and files in the iFolder. This member can modify a file, but the local changes are not synchronized to other members’ copies of the iFolder.
Any iFolder user can own some iFolders and be a member of other iFolders. As an owner user, you always have the Full Control right. As a member user, your level of access in each shared iFolder can differ, depending on the access granted to you by any member with the Full Control right.
When you set up an iFolder account, you can enable
so that iFolder can synchronize iFolder invitations and files in the background as you work.You can configure the iFolder client to run automatically each time you log in to your computer’s desktop environment. The session runs in the background as you work with files in your local iFolders, tracking and logging any changes you make.
You can synchronize the files at specified intervals or on demand.
The synchronization log displays a log of your iFolder background activity, such as uploading and downloading files for different iFolders.