We can now get network shares for the 'Files' service in GOA providers like Google and ownCloud. Put a note in here mentioning that you can use that instead for certain services. Maybe link to ?
You can connect to a server or network share to browse and view files on that server, exactly as if they were on your own computer. This is a convenient way to download or upload files on the internet, or to share files with other people on your local network.
To browse files over the network, open the
In the file manager, click
In
If you have connected to the server before, you can click on it in the
Click
A URL, or uniform resource locator, is a form of address that refers to a location or file on a network. The address is formatted like this:
The scheme specifies the protocol or type of server. The example.com portion of the address is called the domain name. If a username is required, it is inserted before the server name:
Some schemes require the port number to be specified. Insert it after the domain name:
Below are specific examples for the various server types that are supported.
You can connect to different types of servers. Some servers are public, and allow anybody to connect. Other servers require you to log in with a username and password.
You may not have permissions to perform certain actions on files on a server. For example, on public FTP sites, you will probably not be able to delete files.
The URL you enter depends on the protocol that the server uses to export its file shares.
If you have a secure shell account on a server, you can connect using this method. Many web hosts provide SSH accounts to members so they can securely upload files. SSH servers always require you to log in.
A typical SSH URL looks like this:
We should have a topics on encryption keys, possibly rolling the seahorse help into gnome-help. Then link from here.
When using SSH, all the data you send (including your password) is encrypted so that other users on your network can’t see it.
FTP is a popular way to exchange files on the Internet. Because data is not encrypted over FTP, many servers now provide access through SSH. Some servers, however, still allow or require you to use FTP to upload or download files. FTP sites with logins will usually allow you to delete and upload files.
A typical FTP URL looks like this:
Sites that allow you to download files will sometimes provide public or anonymous FTP access. These servers do not require a username and password, and will usually not allow you to delete or upload files.
A typical anonymous FTP URL looks like this:
Some anonymous FTP sites require you to log in with a
public username and password, or with a public username using
your email address as the password. For these servers, use the
Windows computers use a proprietary protocol to share files over a local area network. Computers on a Windows network are sometimes grouped into domains for organization and to better control access. If you have the right permissions on the remote computer, you can connect to a Windows share from the file manager.
A typical Windows share URL looks like this:
Based on the HTTP protocol used on the web, WebDAV is sometimes used to share files on a local network and to store files on the internet. If the server you’re connecting to supports secure connections, you should choose this option. Secure WebDAV uses strong SSL encryption, so that other users can’t see your password.
A WebDAV URL looks like this:
Also used by gnome-user-share, but we're not talking about that in gnome-help for 3.0. Hopefully it will be better integrated in 3.2, and we can discuss it better in the help. If that happens, link from here.
UNIX computers traditionally use the Network File System protocol to share files over a local network. With NFS, security is based on the UID of the user accessing the share, so no authentication credentials are needed when connecting.
A typical NFS share URL looks like this: