Problems opening PDF files using Web Folders

We've had reports from a few users who are unable to open PDF files from within their accounts through the Web Folders interface.  After some research we've found that this is a known problem with Web Folders for XP users who are also running Office 2007.  

Microsoft has released hot fix KB943337 that should resolves the problem for most users with webfolders (also known as webdav) and PDFs. You must request this hot fix as it is not part of their automatic update process. 

 

The link to the fix on the Microsoft site can be found here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943337

When reading the directions for the hot fix please note the section requiring that a previous webfolders update, released May 18, 2007 (907306) be installed prior to installing this current hot fix.

Thanks to our friends on the Adobe forum for finding a solution to this problem, which seems to only effect XP users.  

Pie Chart for these trying economic times

I've finally found a pie chart that provides some comfort during these trying economic times.  This is the kind of pie chart that actually makes sense right now.

Telephone support hours have been expanded

We have expanded our hours for telephone support by one hour so our new hours for telephone support are 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST on Monday thru Friday.  Our course you can send us email 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we'll respond promptly.

As always if you need to speak with us outside of our telephone support hours we would be happy to schedule a call to you at your convenience.  Just send an email requesting a call at a certain time and we'll email back with a confirmation.

Top Five Reasons to use the Transporter with your account

We introduced the beta version of our MDO Transporter a a couple of months ago yet many of you haven't tried it yet for uploading and downloading files.  So, to try and encourage you to take the leap here is our top five list of reasons to use the Transporter.

1. It's fast!  Really, it's the fastest way we have to transfer files to and from your account.  It uses My Docs code on both ends which avoids many of the headaches involved with browser based uploads.

2. It uses intelligent file compression during uploads and downloads - once again making it Really Fast!

3. Cross Platform support.  Because the Transporter is a Java Webstart application it can be run on any flavor of Windows or Mac OS.  If you or your customers use Macs the Transporter is definitely something you should consider.

4. You can launch it from here or download it to your desktop from here.  If you download to your desktop it can be launched from there whenever you need to move files.  

5. Did I mention it was really fast at transferring files?  

Please give it a try and let us know what you think.  

Using a My Docs Online WebDAV server to synchronize OmniFocus with your iPhone

OmniFocus provides professional grade task management software for Mac users. With the introduction of the new iPhone version of OmniFocus it is now possible to synchronize your OmniFocus tasks through either MobileMe or through the use of a WebDAV server. If you have an existing My Docs Online account you can use it to process your synchronizations. If you don't yet have a My Docs Online account you can click here for a free seven day trial of the service which will allow you to test the synchronization process. Should you decide to purchase the annual fee for the account would be $34.95.

Once you have your My Docs Online account set up it is fairly simple to configure OmniFocus to work with our WebDAV servers. On the desktop side just launch OmniFocus and from the menu bar click OmniFocus, Preferences. From the preference window click the sync button at the top. Then select the advanced button and enter the following location address: https://webfolders.mydocsonline.com. Please refer to the graphic below for an example.

Once you have the address entered click the sync button and you'll be asked for your My Docs Online login ID and password, following which the synchronization will be initiated.

Step two is to configure the OmniFocus app on your iPhone. You'll first need to purchase and install the app from the iTunes store. Once the application has been installed go ahead and launch it and then tap the "Settings" icon. On the ensuing Settings page scroll down to the Syncronization section and enter the same URL, https://webfolders.mydocsonline.com. Please see the image below as an example.

Once again you'll need to enter your My Docs Online login ID and password here after you've entered the WebDAV server address.

Please review the instructions from OmniFocus for complete details on how the synchronization works. For the time being the only version of OmniFocus that supports the iPhone syncronization is version 1.1, which they refer to as a "sneaky peak" version.

My Docs now has users in 163 different countries

I was just looking at our latest numbers from Google Analytics and saw, buried among the reams of data, that we have users in 163 different countries. Of course the vast majority of our users are located in the English speaking countries but it is really cool to have users in so many different countries. Thanks to each and every one of you for helping to spread the word about My Docs Online!

Webfolders2 problem resolved

The problem we've experienced for the past couple of days involving the webfolders2 server has been resolved.  There should no longer be any problem creating new folders or moving files between folders using the webfolders2 server.  Thanks to everyone for their patience while we worked through the solution.  

Webfolders problem on Webfolders2.mydocsonline.com

We are currently experiencing a problem with our webfolders2.mydocsonline.com WebDAV server.   If you are connected to that server you'll get errors when trying to drag and drop between folders within your account.  You may also experience errors when trying to create new folders.

We are working on this problem now and should have a solution shortly.  In the near term you can still create folders and move files through the web interface (www.mydocsonline.com).   You can also reset your webfolders connection to webfolders.mydocsonline.com.  Servers using that domain are not experiencing the problem.

We'll post a note as soon as this problem is resolved.

Reinstalling Webfolders on an XP Computer

It is not uncommon for the web folders / WebDAV support in Windows XP to just stop working for no apparent reason.

 

As a last-ditch solution you can usually reinstall the original Web Folders support by finding and executing webfldrs.msi with specific options.

 

webfldrs.msi is probably in one of your system directories. It is easiest to search for it (remember to set advanced search options to include system and hidden folders). When you find the program (it's a normal Microsoft install package) launch it, then do these steps:

 

Click "Select Reinstall Mode"

• Uncheck "Repair all detected reinstall problems".
• Check "Force all files to be reinstalled, regardless of checksum or version".
• Check "Verify that required user registry entries are present".
• Check "Verify that required machine registry entries are present".
• Check "Validate shortcuts".
• Press OK

Click REINSTALL

Normally no reboot is required. Now the web folder client should have been restored as it was shipped.

 

If you previously installed Software Update for Web Folders (KB907306) from the Microsoft site, you may have to install it again.

 

( that link is http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=17c36612-632e-4c04-9382-987622ed1d64&DisplayLang=en  )

Uploading Keynote Files to your account

Unlike PowerPoint, Apple's Keynote uses XML and folders called "bundles" to package multiple files and folders into a presentation.

As a result, when uploading or downloading you are actually uploading and downloading a folder structure, and a lot of files.

To make things trickier, OSX and Safari understand the special nature of Keynote "bundles". The Finder will treat the folder bundle as a presentation, and if you try to upload one to My Docs Online via Safari, it will be grayed out (you can't select it for upload).

If you use FireFox, you can select the "presentation" but it won't upload, because it isn't really a file.

However, if you use the Transporter to upload the presentation it will upload the entire bundle (all folders and files).

Then, when you want to download the presentation to another Mac, use the Transporter again to "download folder" and the result will be a working Keynote presentation.

For more detail about the technical aspects of Keynote, see this very technical piece:

http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2004/01/07/keynote.html

Video tutorial for connecting to a My Docs Online account to Webfolders using Windows XP

There is a better quality copy of the video available on our Webfolders setup page which can be found here.

Webdav problems with OS X 10.5.3

The latest release of OS X, 10.5.3, has changed the way Finder handles Webdav. The change results in failed file uploads where you will see two file names for the file you're attempting to upload, one with 4 bytes and one with 0 bytes. We are actively working on a fix for this problem and we will post a notice here when the fix is in place.

If you've installed 10.5.3 and need to transfer files please use the Transporter which which can be launched from here:

http://b2.mydocsonline.com/mdotransporter/mdotransporter.jnlp

The Transporter is a Java web start application which includes drag and drop capability as well as file encryption and compression for file transfers.

New features added to "Give" processing

The My Docs Online “Give File” processing has been enhanced to include additional information about the files you share.  For all files "given" after June 5th, 2008 you can review the exact date and time that the file you shared was first downloaded as well as the date and time of the last download.  This information is a valuable confirmation that the file you've given has been accessed by your recipient.

In the example listed below a single file was given to two different email addresses.  In the second example the “given” file was cancelled so that it was no longer available to the recipient.

 

File Was "Given" To 2 Users

richardviets@gmail.com

            Comment you provided when you gave the document to this user

            No comment was provided with this file

            Given to this user

            Jun 03, 2008 12:46ET

            First download

            Jun 03, 2008 12:47ET

            Last download

            Jun 03, 2008 12:47ET

            Cancel file delivery for this user and this file

srcnaples@gmail.com

            Comment you provided when you gave the document to this user

            No comment was provided with this file

            Given to this user

            Jun 03, 2008 12:44ET

            First download

Jun 03, 2008 12:44ET

            Last download

            Jun 03, 2008 12:45ET

          Give for this file was canceled

 

We hope you find this enhancement useful and thanks to those users who suggested these changes!

Welcome!

Welcome to the My Docs Online blog.  We'll use this blog to keep you up to date on what's going on with My Docs Online.  Please stop by often to keep up to date on what's new and what's coming with the My Docs Online family of web services.

The My Docs Online Team