Table Of Contents
An Account is a way to save the contents of a Document to a server. There are several aspects to using an account as described by the following:
- While using an account, document contents are stored on your device (Mac, iPad, iPhone or Windows). You do not necessarily have to use a server to store document contents. The document contents are stored in the application sandbox and inserted into the current document interface so working with accounts is analogous to a single window interface.
- While Logged In then document contents can be stored on, and retrieved from, a server. Saving to a server is implicit, but opening from a server is an explicit operation. Use of a server is optional.
- The server is either at cloud1.vvidget.org or is a computer running the Server within Graph IDE. The section below describes how to setup the server and establish accounts on the server computer.
- The Web Edition of Graph IDE operates through a browser and as such, due to security limitations, there is no local store on your device and all documents are directly from and to the cloud server.
- The local and cloud interaction is designed to synchronize a document and keep it synchronized to a shared server resource. That synchronization is dependent upon a network connection. When the network connection is disabled then the device if offline and only the local store is available for use. When the network connection is reestablished then the document can be synchronized to the shared server.
- The account tables shows document file names and not the Document Name as set in the Graphic View Tools tabloid.
Using an account, and the server, is a way to share documents among devices. By setting up the server (see below) on your local network documents and accounts can be very secure and private, accessed without an Internet connection, and retrieved and stored via a very fast network connection. In addition, documents on the server computer can be altered using the powerful Graph IDE application, browsed and searched using the powerful QuickLook and Spotlight plugin and archived and transported using familiar tools.
Reminder: When saving to a server please note these rules:
- You must Login to the account before using the server.
- You must select the Does Save To Server button as described below.
Using the Account consists of setting local parameters and cloud parameters as described below.
Local
Use the local settings to save and retrieve local documents (local documents are not available through a web browser).
Auto Save : When on, document contents are automatically saved. If Does Save To Server is also on then the document is also autosaved to the server. The autosave happens when the document is dirtied (edited) so saving is frequent and for this reason you may not want to autosave and save to the server at the same time because of network latency.
Does Save To Server : When on, a document save also saves its contents to the server. When off then a document save is only stored locally.
Saved Local Document Files : Shows the documents that are stored locally. Select a row entry to insert that document name into the Document File Name text field. Only the name is inserted and the document is not opened until you select the Open button.
Document File Name : Type a document name into the document name field, or select a document name from the table above it in order to define the name of the document. Once the name is defined then the document can be saved and opened. Typing a name will also limit document names in the table to those that match the textual pattern that is typed.
Save : Select the save button to save the document contents. If the Does Save To Server option is on then the document is also saved to the server (see the Cloud settings below to set the document's server values).
Open : Select the open button to open the document from the local store.
Delete : Select the delete button to delete the document from the local store. If the document is also on the server then that document is retained on the server.
Cloud
The Cloud editor is used to work with documents stored on a cloud account.
Remote Documents
Saved Remote Document Files : Shows the document names on the cloud service. To see these names you must login using the Login editor.
Document File Name : The file name of the document on the server. Once the name is set then select the Open button. Typically you should select the name from the Saved Remote Document Files table because that will enter it into this field. Typing a name will also limit document names in the table to those that match the textual pattern that is typed.
Open : Select the Open button to open the document from the server. For native device editions, this will also save the document from the server to the local file system so that the document can then be used offline.
Save : Select the Save button to save the document (transmit its archive) to the server.
Rename : Select the Rename button to rename the document on the server. To do this, first select an entry in the table, select Rename and then enter the new file name in the resulting Data Selector.
Delete : Select the Delete button to delete the document on the server. This operation is irreversible, however if you previously opened the document then the document is the current document and can be saved again. Note that this pertains to the document selected in the table.
Tools
The Tools editor adjust features of the account backstore.
Local Storage
Show Local Store : (Available on Mac) Shows the local store for the document by launching the Finder on a Mac. You can alter the document in the Finder, make new documents and then save them directly to the local store without using this Account feature. If you then go to the Local tab then the new documents will appear in the Saved Local Document Files. In this way, you can bypass the Account interface and then at a future time use the Account interface to synchronize with the cloud.
Server
The account interface can be used without a server. However, if you choose to use a server then this section defines how to setup and maintain a server (not available with Graph IDE CE). Note: You may typically use the cloud service at http://www.vvidget.org/cloud, however you may wish to setup your own cloud service for performance or security issues.
Choose a computer for the server host. To establish an account on the www.vvidget.org computer please email support@vvi.com. If you choose to use the www.vvidget.org host then the following is not needed.
To setup your own server host, first install Graph IDE on it, launch Graph IDE and then turn on the Server within Graph IDE by using the Preferences settings and select the Cloud Accounts option. The host is now an account server.
Cloud accounts can be created and maintained using the Administrator inspector editor. However, the first account which should be an administrator account needs to be created at the command line. That is because creating accounts via the Administrator inspector editor requires administrator privilege.
Maintaining accounts is via a command line interface. The following is an example of that use and assumes the currently logged in user is the one that launches the Graph IDE application. The following commands primes the account called joe with password samantha and establishes that account as administrator.
For the Mac App Store Edition (sandboxed version):
cd ~/Library/Containers/com.vvi.Graph-IDE-Mac/Data/Library
mkdir -p Vvidget/Server
cd Vvidget/Server
mkdir joe
cd joe
echo -n "samantha" > password.txt
For the Manufacturer Edition (non-sandboxed version):
cd ~/Library
mkdir -p Vvidget/Server
cd Vvidget/Server
mkdir joe
cd joe
echo -n "samantha" > password.txt
To set that account as administrator put a file named account_features_initial.vvidefinition in the account path with the following contents:
{
VVKEt = YES;
VVKEu = 2;
VVKEv = 0;
VVKF3 = 1;
VVKF4 = 200;
}
After doing so then that account as well as all other accounts can be maintained and created using the Administrator editor.
The account host should be statically routed, have a DNS entry and a valid IPv6 or/and IPv4 address. However it can also simply be a computer on your local network. If it is on a local network via a DHCP server (a usual configuration) then make sure the host is assigned a static IPv6 address (poke a hole in DHCP). In addition, pass TCP/IP port 9877 through any firewall if needed. If DNS is not running locally then the host name may possibly be looked up using a host.local syntax.
When clients save documents in their account then those documents can be altered and viewed in the usual ways on the server by browsing the account folders from the Finder. It is particularly handy to maintain documents on a Mac and then work with them on an iPad as needed.