How To Use WebFiles From Your Desktop

WebFiles > Tutorials > How to use WebFiles from your desktop.

Summary: Mount your WebFiles directory on your desktop to allow for drag and drop copying of files and directories.

Warning: Only mount your WebFiles directory from your own personal computer. Your login information will be kept in the Windows registry allowing other people to access your account from a publicly accessible computer.

To create a Web Folder in Windows:

Windows Vista

Known Issue: There is a known issue with WebDAV access to WebFiles on Microsoft Windows Vista machines. In order to use WebDAV on Vista, you must do the following:

  1. In Windows Vista, right-click on the Windows icon and highlight My Computer
  2. Select "Map a Network Drive"
  3. Type https://webfiles.uci.edu/<ucinetid>, preplacing ucinetid with your UCInetID
  4. Below the address location, click "a different username"
  5. Type in your UCInetID and password
  6. Click Connect

Windows XP

  1. In Windows XP, click on "Start" and then click on "My Network Places".
  2. Under Network Tasks, click Add a network place.
  3. When prompted, "Where do you want to create this Network Place?", choose "Choose Another Network Location" and click on "Next".
  4. In the Add Network Place Wizard, follow the instructions to add a shortcut to a WebFiles directory. The proper format for such a directory is https://webfiles.uci.edu/<username>, replacing <username> with your UCInetID.
  5. When prompted for a user name and password, type in your UCInetID and password. Click "OK".
  6. Next, name your Network Place. When you have successfully added the shortcut, an icon for your new shortcut will appear in the My Network Places directory.

Accessing your Web Folder via the Web Interface
You can also access your Web Folder via the WebFiles User Interface in Internet Explorer. Once logged in, click on the Web Folder Icon located in the main toolbar on top.
Web Folder Icon

Using WebDAV with Mac OS X and Classic:

Mac OS X Tiger (10.4) has a built in connection using WebDAV, that supports a secure connection. Prior versions did not and would send your UCInetID and password in clear text over the network. If you are using a Macintosh with anything earlier than 10.4, we recommend using a free WebDAV client called Goliath which is freely available for download.

OS 10.5 (Leopard)

  1. Click on the desktop to be in the Finder.
  2. Select Connect To Server from the Go menu at the top.
  3. Type in https://webfiles.uci.edu/<ucinetid> in the Server Address field.
    Replace <ucinetid> with your UCInetID
  4. Click the Connect button.
  5. In the WebDAV File System Authentication window type your UCInetID and password. Click OK.
  6. A dav volume will mount on your desktop. This is your WebFiles directory.
  7. To disconnect, you can eject the mounted folder by dragging it towards the trash in your Dock. The trash icon will change to an eject icon. Drag it onto the eject icon to disconnect from WebFiles.

OS 10.3 and earlier

  1. Download Goliath from the Web site or the Macintosh Archive.
  2. Install Goliath on your Macintosh.
  3. Launch Goliath.
  4. In the New WebDAV Connection screen, type https://webfiles.uci.edu/<ucinetid>
    Replace <ucinetid> with your UCInetID.
  5. Type in your UCInetID in the "User Name" field and your password in the "password" field.
  6. Click OK.
  7. You are now connected to your WebFiles space via WebDAV.
  8. You can save this connection for future use by selecting File > Save Connection.

You can access the directory you've just created as if it were a local directory on your machine. Save files, open files, and delete files to and from this directory through any WebDAV-enabled application. You can also drag and drop files or cut and paste them directly into your WebDAV-enabled Folder.

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