Managing Files

Uploading and managing Storefront and Electronic Software Delivery (ESD) files on the server is accomplished through an easy to use interface very similar to Windows Explorer. To access the file management feature, click Configure / Manage and Upload Files.

Once a file is uploaded to the ESD folder, it can be linked to a specific Product Option, and customers who have a license for that Product Option can download the file through the Customer License Portal. The benefits of using SOLO Server's integrated downloads feature are:

1. Limit download access to only licensed users, and log which software version is being downloaded (based on the Product Latest Version field).
2. In addition to tracking End User License Agreement acceptance before allowing file downloads, limit software download access to a software maintenance subscription so that only paying customers enjoy continued access to new software versions.
3. Expired maintenance customers can instantly purchase renewals to once again gain immediate access to the software update/download.

File Location Information

On the left "Folders" pane of the file management interface, you will see root level folder(s):

• ESD Files - Users with Add or Edit Products permissions will see this folder. This is the root Electronic Software Delivery folder. When Setting Up an ESD Product Option for a SOLO Server hosted download, this corresponds to the leading backslash in the Product Option File to D/L field.
• Storefront Files - User with Manage Storefront/Files permission will see this folder. This is the root storefront folder. When Customizing the SOLO Server Storefront, this corresponds to the following when building URLs to these files:
  • SOLO Server Shared URL: https://secure.softwarekey.com/solo/products/custom/[Author ID]/
    • replace [Author ID] with your Author ID, which can be found in the footer at the bottom of every page in the SOLO Server administrative interface.
    • If using SOLO Server Shared / Custom URL, replace secure with your custom sub-domain.
  • SOLO Server Dedicated URL: https://[Domain Name]/solo/products/custom/[Author ID]/
    • [Domain Name] is replaced with your domain name.
    • [Author ID] is replaced with your Author ID (generally 2451871), which can be found in the footer at the bottom of every page in the SOLO Server administrative interface.
  • SOLO Server Self-Hosted: https://[Domain Name]/[SOLO Root]/products/custom/[Author ID]/
    • [Domain Name] is replaced with your domain name.
    • [SOLO Root] is replaced with your SOLO Server root directory or removed if you are running SOLO Server from the web site root.
    • [Author ID] is replaced with your Author ID (generally 2451871), which can be found in the footer at the bottom of every page in the SOLO Server administrative interface.

Managing Files and Folders

Common file and folder management tasks are handled using the either the buttons along the top or the right click context menu, both of which very similar to latest version of Windows Explorer:

• To create a new folder, simply right click on either a folder in the left pane or in the right pane and choose New Folder, or use the New Folder button at the top to create a new folder in the current folder.
• Similarly, to rename or delete a folder, simply right click on the folder and choose Rename or Delete, or use the Rename or Delete button at the top to rename or delete the currently selected folder.
• You can also cut, copy, and paste folders through the right click menu or the Cut, Copy and Paste buttons at the top.
• Finally, you can download individual files (optionally as a zip) and zipped folders.

Uploading Files

Uploading files is also very straightforward:

• To upload files, simply right click in the location you want to upload the file to or click the upload button at the top to upload to the current directory. You will be prompted to choose a file or files to upload. Simply choose your files and click Upload.
• For the Storefront Files folder, you can also upload multiple files as well as directories in a zip package, and then unzip them on the server. This allows you to create your directory structure locally. This entails a few simple steps:
  • On your local machine, build the directory and file structure. When complete, zip up the contents of the root folder.
  • In the file manager interface, navigate to the folder you would like to unzip the package to. Then upload the zip file as described above.
  • Once the file is uploaded, simply right click and choose "Extract to Here".

Note the following restrictions:

• If you are using SOLO Server Shared or Dedicated URL, there is currently a 300 MB upload limit for all software installers. If your file does not upload, check the file size to make sure it is lower than the limit. You may also see a "The specified file does not exist" error message in this scenario. You can contact support@softwarekey.com for information on changing this value. SOLO Server Self-Hosted customers can see the information below on how to change the file size limit.
• Only the following file types can be uploaded to the Storefront Files directory:
  • .gif
  • .jpg
  • .css
  • .ico
  • .js
  • .swf
  • .htm
  • .html
  • .svg
  • .webp
  • .zip - In addition, any files within a zip that are not one of these file types will not be extracted on the server.
  • .eot
  • .ttf
  • .woff
  • .woff2
• Note that depending on the browser you are using, some of these file types may not appear in the default filter of the browser file picker dialog. If you do not see a file you are expecting, choose "All Files (*.*)" from the filter drop down in the file picker dialog of the browser.
• If you are using SOLO Server Shared or Dedicated URL, the file upload dialog may appear to show no progress being made while uploading files. This is due to the load balancing device which SOLO Server is running behind. The load balancer will buffer the entire file before passing it along to the web servers, making it appear to the web servers that no progress is being made. Simply wait for the file to upload and disregard the apparent lack of progress.

Self-Hosted Instance Configuration for Upload Size Limits

The maximum file size allowed to be uploaded is controlled by the MaximumFileUploadMegaBytes web.config entry, which by default is set to 300 MB.

In addition to the web.config entry, starting with IIS7, ASP.NET uses a configuration file entry to control the maximum request size. If IIS Request Filtering is in use on the web server, an additional configuration file entry is also used. In the case of SOLO Server, both entries are located in the web site web.config file within a location element pointing to the fileuploader.ashx file used by the file management control, since that is the only place in SOLO Server where uploads are allowed.

Newer installations of SOLO Server likely have the configuration already in place in the web.config file and set to the default maximum value of 300 MB. If not present, the following can be added to the root configuration element in the web.config file (be sure to comment out the system.webServer section if not using IIS Request Filtering):

XML

<location path="fileuploader.ashx">

<system.web>

<!--Value is in KB-->
<httpRuntime maxRequestLength="307200" />

</system.web>
<system.webServer>

<security>

<requestFiltering>

<!--Value is in bytes-->
<requestLimits maxAllowedContentLength="314572800" />

</requestFiltering>

</security>

</system.webServer>

</location>