FileMancer by MollieSoft - Frequently Asked Questions
	- Updated July 22, 2020 for Version 1.1.4.0.

What is FileMancer?
	- FileMancer is a FREE utility from MollieSoft that creates a personal website on your computer allowing you to download your files through any web browser, on any device!
	- Use FileMancer on an iPad/iPhone to easily load e-books from your PC into iBooks without using USB cables or iTunes.  Works on Android devices too!
	- There is no complicated Windows IIS (Internet Information Services) setup involved!  (FileMancer does not even use IIS.)  All the details of creating and running a website are handled transparently inside FileMancer for you.  All you have to do is run FileMancer on your Windows computer, create a user, then log in on any device through any web browser.
	- No Windows network share is required.  Your files are accessible through a web browser, and only to users with a valid login.
	- Create any number of separate users, each with his/her own files and settings.  For each user, you have complete control over which file types and folders are visible through the website.
	- By default, the FileMancer website is only visible within your local router; if desired, you can open a router port to access your files from anywhere on the internet.

Sounds nice, but why can't I just use a Windows shared folder to transfer files instead?
	- Windows shared folders are not visible on an iPad/iPhone without installing special apps.
	- Shared folders cannot be filtered by file types or file names; FileMancer allows you to filter which files are visible on the website.

How do I install FileMancer?
	- Go to www.molliesoft.com/FileMancer to download the install package.  You will need administrator privileges on your machine to perform the install and to run FileMancer.

What operating systems will run FileMancer?
	- FileMancer runs on Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.
	- FileMancer requires Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.6.1 to run.  This should normally already be present on your computer; if the FileMancer installation process detects it is not installed, go to
	https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49981
and install it.

How do I run FileMancer?
	- The install process will place a shortcut to FileMancer in your Startup folder, so it will start when you log on to your computer.
	- FileMancer should always be running so that the website will be accessible; just minimize it to the system tray instead of closing FileMancer.
	- The install process also places a separate shortcut to FileMancer on your desktop, so that you can start FileMancer manually.
	- The first thing you need to do once FileMancer is running is create one or more users, then click the website link (e.g. http://192.168.1.9:4105) in the main window to login through a browser.

I clicked the "Minimize" button (on the upper right of FileMancer); where did it go?  
	- When minimized, the FileMancer icon will appear in the System Tray (normally at the bottom right of the desktop).  If you do not see it there, click the small up-arrow in the tray marked "Show hidden icons".  Just double-click the FileMancer icon to show FileMancer in a normal window again.  Note that Windows lets you customize the System Tray to make the FileMancer icon stay in the visible portion of the tray if desired.  You can also use the FileMancer desktop shortcut to make FileMancer appear on the screen again.

How can I learn more about how FileMancer works?
	- This FAQ is the main source of information about FileMancer.
	- Please email support@molliesoft.com with any questions that the documentation does not address.

FileMancer Administration

What does the FileMancer (administration) program on my desktop computer do?
	- Runs the FileMancer website on your computer when FileMancer starts, and stops the website when FileMancer ends.
	- Allows you to select the numeric port for the website.  The port must not conflict with any other reserved port on your computer.  FileMancer will automatically handle the details of selecting a port, as described below.
	- Creates, edits, and removes user accounts.  A login for the FileMancer website will only be accepted if it corresponds with a current user account and password.
	- Shows the history log.  See the History Log section under "Miscellaneous" for more details.

How do I access the FileMancer website?
	- You can access websites on your computer using its IP address.  You will probably want to configure your router to use a fixed (static) IP address for the computer running FileMancer, so it will remain constant if you restart your computer or router.  
	- However, a website is also specified through its TCP port number.  To avoid conflict with other applications running on your computer, you must select a port for FileMancer that is not reserved for any other application.
	- The internal address of the website is shown as a link on the FileMancer main window, e.g. "http://192/168.1.9:4105".  Just click on this link to launch a login page for FileMancer.
	- If your computer is attached to a router, the internal website address is shown on the FileMancer main window.  If your computer is attached directly to the internet, the external website address will be shown instead.
	- You can freely access the FileMancer website from any computer attached to your router using this address.  However, if you wish to access the website from outside your router, some additional work is required.  You will have to login to your router, and forward this port to the computer on which FileMancer is running.  Most routers have a "Port Forwarding" table; add an entry to it indicating the external port, and the computer and port you want this to be forwarded to.  Once this is done, you can access FileMancer from outside your router as e.g. "http://176.54.104.77:4105", using the external web address of your router.  (You can easily determine your external web address using sites such as https://whatismyipaddress.com .)  Note:  if you are concerned about privacy for the files offered in FileMancer, please read "How secure is FileMancer?" below.
	- Generally, your routers external IP address is fairly stable, although in theory your internet provider could change it at any time.  In practice, it usually remains stable for periods of years.

How does FileMancer select a port for the website?
	- FileMancer will transparently handle all the details of reserving a port.  Note that administrator privileges on your computer are required in order to reserve a port; FileMancer will prompt you to authorize admin privileges when required.
	- Many TCP ports are "well-known", i.e. used by some application.  To avoid conflict, FileMancer will select a port that is not a well-known port, and is not a port currently reserved on your computer.
	- You can a select a different port for the website using the Change Port dialog.  This will show you the reserved ports on your computer as well as the ports recommended by FileMancer to avoid conflicts.

How do I add a user?
	- FileMancer users can only be created or removed using the administration program running on your desktop computer.  This simplifies the website and is more secure than allowing the creation of user accounts via the website.
	- The admin program also controls each user's password, base files folder, and filters controlling which files are visible on the website.

Which files can a user access through the website?
	- For simplicity, each user has a base files folder.  All files accessible to that user must reside in this folder, or any subfolder.  For example, if you select "C:\users\Bob\MyDocuments" as the base files folder for user "Bob", Bob will be able to see and download files that reside somewhere under this folder.  He will NOT have access to files under "C:\BobsStuff\Books".
	- If you have more than one base folder, just set up an additional user account with this files folder.  For example, you could set up user "Bob2" with base folder "C:\BobsStuff\Books".  Now just login as Bob2 to access these files.
	- This design vastly simplifies how the website works:  all files are deemed to reside under a fixed base folder; all searches are only within the base folder; no controls are necessary allowing the user to switch base folders, etc.

I don't want ALL the files under my base files folder to be visible!  Can I exclude some of these files from the website?
	- Yes.  You can restrict the file types (extensions) that are visible.  When you set up a new user, the default is to include only certain common file types: .epub, .pdf, .txt, etc.  You can modify this list to allow only the file types you specify for each user.  You can also make ALL file types visible for a specific user if you wish.
	- You can also exclude specific subfolders or specific file types.  In the "Add User" or "Edit User" dialog, you can provide various "excluded strings"; any file or folder whose path contains any of these strings will not appear on the website.  For example, if the base files folder is "C:\BobsStuff\books" and you exclude the strings:
		\private_stuff
		BobsPrivateFile
		.dat
then the folder "C:\BobsStuff\books\private_stuff will not be visible on the website; also, the files:
		"C:\BobsStuff\books\BobsPrivateFile_1.txt" and
		"C:\BobsStuff\books\BobsPrivateFile_2.txt"
will not be visible; and no file with the extension ".dat" will be visible.

What information does the admin program track for each user?
	- FileMancer shows the last login time and last request time for each user in the users list.
	- FileMancer creates a history log entry for each user login and logout.
	- By design, FileMancer does NOT maintain any more detailed information about a user, e.g. current folder or file, since this is available on the web page when the user is logged in.

How secure is FileMancer?
	- Names and passwords for logins are transmitted securely and cannot be intercepted.
	- However, the actual bytes for file transfers are not transmitted securely over the connection.  Also, Explorer and Search requests are returned without encryption.
	- If the files you wish to download using FileMancer are sensitive, do NOT open a router port; then only machines within your router will be able to detect FileMancer packets.

Can I temporarily turn off access for a user?
	- Just click the "Enabled" checkbox for that user in the Admin users list.  When disabled, a user cannot login to FileMancer.

How can I tell if the website is running?
	- Admin shows a green check mark next to the website (at the top left of the Admin window) to indicate that the website is running, or a red "X" if it is not running.  If not running, you can attempt to restart it using the "Restart" button next to the running indicator.
	- The history log provides timestamped entries showing when the website was started, or stopped running.

FileMancer Web Page

How do I find the file I want to download?

	- The web page provides two ways (panels) to select a file for download: Explorer or Search.

	- The Explorer panel allows you to navigate your folders, and to select a file for download.  The list shows you the files or subfolders within the current folder.  There are various controls to help you navigate the list:
•	Use   to go to the topmost folder.
•	Use   to go up just one folder.
•	Click on any sub-folder name in the list to navigate down to a sub-folder.
•	You can download the selected file by clicking on the file icon  to the left of the file name, or by clicking on the download button  above the list.
•	Type in the "Search file or folder names" text area to restrict the display to those files or folders that contain the text you have typed.

	- The Search panel allows you to search for files using parts of the folder or file name.   For example, type "alice wonderland" to search for files or folders containing the words "alice" or "wonderland".  If Match case is checked, the search will be case-sensitive; if Match any word is checked, the results will include both "alice" AND "wonderland".  Once you have specified your search terms, use  to perform the search.  After the search is completed, a list of matching files will be displayed.  As in the Explorer panel, you can then click on the file icon  or download button  to download the selected file.  Note: only the first 1000 results will be returned; if you see the message "Error: Search stopped - more than 1000 results." at the bottom of the page, restrict your search terms to reduce the number of matches.

What file will the download button retrieve?
	- Once you select a file for download, the folder and file name will be shown in the tan area at the top of the web page, e.g.:

The folder is relative to the base files folder, e.g. C:\BobsStuff\books.  In the case, the complete file path is "C:\BobsStuff\books\Fiction\LewisCarroll\Alice_in_Wonderland.pdf".

How will the browser handle a downloaded file?
	- Browsers differ in how they handle a file download request, depending on the browser and the operating system.
	- On a computer with a user-visible file system, e.g. Windows or Mac, the browser will offer the option to simply save the downloaded file to the file system on the computer, or you will be offered a choice of applications that can open that type of file (based on the file extension).
	- On a device with NO real file system (e.g. iOS on iPad or iPhone), the browser will only offer the option to dispatch the downloaded file to another application on the device.  For example, when you download a pdf or epub on an iPad or iPhone, you will get the option to open the downloaded file in the iBooks app, or in any other app on the device that is able to handle that file type.
	- Depending on the browser you are using, you may see a file download page in addition to the normal FileMancer web page; just close this additional download page once the download is done.

What is the Search Cache?
	- To speed up searches (using the Search tab of the web page), FileMancer maintains a cached list of the available files in the base files folder for each user.
	- This cache is constructed for each user when FileMancer starts.  The history log indicates when search cache updates start and end.
	- You can optionally rebuild the search cache using the button "Update Search Cache" in the Settings dialog.  This should only be necessary if you have added a file and the web page Search cannot find it.  It can take several minutes to rebuild the Search Cache for large file collections.
	- When a user is added, the search cache for the files in his base files folder will be automatically constructed.
	- If a user is edited, and his base files folder is changed, the search cache will be automatically reconstructed.
	- Search may be slow at program startup before the search cache is constructed.  After the search cache is constructed, searches will be almost instantaneous.

Splash Screen

What does the splash screen show?
	The splash screen shows:
•	FileMancer version information.
•	Starting the website.
•	The remaining time for initialization of the program.

The splash screen is annoying!  Can I turn it off?
	- MollieSoft is deeply sorry that you do not appreciate our beautiful splash screen.  However, to mollify the occasional customer with a distaste for splash screens, we have provided a check box in the "Settings" dialog that you can use to turn the splash screen off.

Miscellaneous

The text in FileMancer is too small for me to read comfortably; is there a way to make it bigger?
	- Yes; press the key combination Control+Numpad-PLUS to step the font size up, and Control+Numpad-MINUS to step it back down.  That is, hold down the Control key while pressing "+" or "-" on the numeric keypad.
	- There are four step sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large.  (These correspond to the Windows font point sizes 8.25, 9, 9.75, and 10.25 respectively.)
	- Of course, increasing the font size will make all the views and dialogs correspondingly larger, and decreasing it will make them smaller.
	- The new font size will be remembered whenever you re-open a view or dialog, or restart FileMancer.
	- You can also set the font size using the Settings dialog.  Select the appropriate font-size radio button (small, medium, large, extra large); the new font size will be applied once you press OK.

What is the History Log?
	- Every time FileMancer is started, a new History Log file is created in the directory 
		%localappdata%\FileMancer\Logs.
Just type the preceding into a Windows Explorer navigation bar to display the contents of this directory, or press the button "Explore Logs" above the History Log text area.  The files are named using the format
		 FileMancerAdminLog.YYYYMMDD_hhmmss.log,
e.g. FileMancerAdminLog.20190417_143932.log is the file created 2019/04/17 at 14:39.  These files contain diagnostic information relevant to the operation of FileMancer, and can be opened with Notepad.
	- The current history log entries are displayed at the bottom of the FileMancer window.
	- At startup, the History Log will display the current FileMancer version and license information, which users exist, which port is being used, and any errors encountered.
	- The History Log shows when a user logged in or out.
	- The "Explore Logs" button at the top right of History Log will open a Windows Explorer, and navigate to the logs directory.

What else is in %localappdata%\FileMancer?
	- This directory contains your free license information.
	- The "WebSite" subdirectory contains the files required to run the FileMancer website.
	- The "Config" subdirectory contains FileMancer configuration files, which hold various FileMancer program and user settings.
	- The "Logs" subdirectory contains FileMancer log files (the current log file is what is shown in the History Log).
	- Never modify any file in this directory or any subdirectory, or the results will be "unpredictable".

What happens if I minimize FileMancer?
	- When minimized, FileMancer is only visible as an icon in the System Tray area.  Double-click the tray icon to restore the window.
	- If you close FileMancer while minimized (using "Exit" on the right-click menu available on the tray icon), FileMancer will remember that you prefer to start it minimized.

I am trying to install FileMancer, and it says it cannot create the website.  Help!
	- If you are installing a new version of FileMancer, and creating the website fails during initialization, wait 5 minutes, delete the directory "%localappdata%\FileMancer\website", then rerun FileMancer.  See the history log for details of the error.

When I try to login to FileMancer, I get the error "Bad timestamp."  What's going on?
	- For security, the Windows computer running FileMancer and the device running the web browser attempting the login should have roughly synchronized clocks (within about 1 minute of each other).  Check the time on your Windows computer running FileMancer and make sure it is synchronized with an internet time server, or synchronize it manually to the same time as the device attempting the login.

Where do I send comments or suggestions about FileMancer?
	- Email comments or suggestions to:
		support@molliesoft.com
	 or to
		molliesoft@comcast.net