Using File Sharing
From BitWise DocuWiki
See file sharing from both sides: how to share a folder on your computer and how to request files from others. In the screenshots, the screenshots from Windows show what the user sharing the files sees, and the screenshots from Linux show what the user browsing the shared files sees.
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Open the file sharing preferences
Open the preferences, and find the item File Sharing. Select it to open the file sharing preferences.
The preferences can be opened from the File menu or the toolbar of the contact list or any conversation window.
Default file sharing preferences
By default, file sharing is off for your privacy and security peace of mind. This is why BitWise requires you to both un-disable and then enable file sharing, serving as a double-layer of reminders and required action.
As shown at right, file sharing is completely disabled. As long as that top checkbox is checked, any incoming file request will be unquestionably denied.
Enabling file sharing
By unchecking Do not share files..., the rest of the options will become editable. If you check Enable file sharing with contacts... then anybody whom you have on your contact list will be able to request your shared file list. If you leave this checkbox disabled, only those contacts for whom you override their file sharing setting using the right-click menu from the contact list will be able to retrieve your shared file list.
You must select a shared file folder once you enable file sharing. All files in this folder will be shared, so choose very carefully which folder you select! You may optionally share all subfolders of the selected folder.
Three other options are available. If I must approve all requests is checked, no shared files will be sent until you approve the request. Without this option, your contacts will be able to request any number of files, which will be sent automatically. Show file transfer manager when a file is sent is self-explanatory. Lastly, if Allow users not on my contact list to request files is checked, anyone whether on your contact list or not will be able to view your shared file list and request files.
Viewing shared files
You may access a contact's shared file list from the contact list or from a conversation. From the contact list, right click on a contact and select Get Shared File List, or find the same item on the Actions menu in a conversation. The shared file list will be retrieved, and when it is finished being retrieved, a split view of the files will be displayed.
The tree on the left side of the window shows the folder structure of your contact's shared files. The list on the right hand side shows all of the files in the selected folder, or the file details if a file is selected. All of the files are shown when the list is first displayed.
Browsing shared files
You may view the contents of any folder by clicking on the folder name. All of the files in that folder, as well as all of the subfolders and their files, will be displayed in the list on the right. This allows you to very easily browse or "drill down" depending on your specific needs.
Searching shared files
You may search through shared files by typing in a search word in the search box at the top of the shared file window and clicking Search. By default, the search word is only matched to file names, not folder names. In the next frame we will see how to also search folder's names for the search word.
In the example at right, the word "src" has been used as the search word. Notice that each file shown in the list on the right contains the word "src" somewhere in it.
Searching shared files, with folders
By checking Include Folder Names, the search word will also be matched to any folder names containing the search word. Notice that we have again searched for "src," but this time the results are quite different. Shown in the shot at right, the list now contains all of the files in the \contrib\src folder, because we are now using the search word to match both files and folders.
Requesting a file
Once you have found a file that you wish to request, you may click on the file name in the file list on the right hand side of the window, and then either double-click or press Request File. The statusbar will change to note that the file request has been sent, and then Request File button will be disabled for about five seconds. This is to prevent overwhelming the user sharing the files if each shared file request must be approved.
File share approve request
If the preference I must approve all file requests is checked, anytime that a file is requested an approval window will be displayed. You may approve or deny the individual request, or there are Always buttons that allow or deny all future requests from the requesting user only. If you use one of the Always options, you can use the File Sharing context menu from the contact list to reset access for that user.
If multiple files are requested, you can selectively approve only certain files by using the Shift or Ctrl keys to make the appropriate selections, and then clicking Allow. If no files are selected, all of the files will be approved. Deny will always deny all of the requested files, regardless of the current selection.
Request denied
If your file request is denied, a window announcing this will be shown. You may want to send a message to your contact asking why the request was denied.
Request approved: incoming file from file share request
If the request was approved, an incoming file window will be displayed. Notice that the language at the top of the window indicates that this is shared file that you requested, as opposed to a normal file transfer which announces that your contact is trying to send you a file.
From here, receiving the file is no different than a regular file transfer.
