Remote File Access via Browser - MyFiles

Now it is possible to retrieve files stored on the WWU campus Novell network from nearly any computer in the world. Here's how it can be done:

1. You can access “MyFiles” by going through MyWestern. Visit the website http://mywestern.wwu.edu/ and log in using your universal username and password.
   
2. Towards the top of the page appears a link called “MyFiles”. Click on it.
   
3. After selecting “MyFiles,” a pop-up window will ask you for your login credentials. For students, your username will be in the following context: username.students.wwu; For faculty, your username will be in the following context: username.facstaff.wwu
   
4. Your password is the same as your universal password.
5. In the page that appears, double click on the folder reading “Home”.
   
6. Navigate to the file you want to open, and double click on the file to open it in the browser.

7. For most files, that's it!! If the browser displays your file properly, and if you only need to look at the file, that's all you need. However, there are two things to note. First, a file opened in the browser window is open only for reading. You can save it to the local computer's hard disk, but not directly back to the location from which you opened it. Second, some types of files will not properly display in a browser. For these files, you will need to download the file to the local hard drive and open it with the appropriate application.
8. In order to download a file for editing or opening in an application other than the browser, right-click on the highlighted filename and choose Download from the menu. Or you can highlight the file and choose Download from the File menu near the top of the page.

9. It would be wise to have a special place to put your downloaded files so you can more easily keep track of them. For example, you can create a folder named downloads in your My Documents folder, and use that to store files downloaded from the Novell server. Open the files in the appropriate program and save the edited version back to your downloads folder. Then, in the NetStorage page, you can choose Upload to put the edited file back in to the Novell folder from which it came. You can also save the file to any other Novell folder to which to which you have access simply by highlighting that folder before initiating the upload.
10. To Logout, click on the File menu below the NetStorage and Novell symbol, and then click on Logout. Or, click the icon near the top of the screen that looks like this:

Possible Problems

Macintosh with OS 9.x

Macintosh users with OS 9.x seem to have the best results using Netscape. Internet Explorer v 5.2 will also work. Mac OSX users find Safari works well. While authenticating, there may be some error messages concerning the processing of the certificate, but once you proceed past the error messages, your NetStorage access should work. You may find it easier to click on the Text Mode icon at the bottom of the screen, if using a Macintosh. Also, turning the security setting to low security in your browser may help.

Security Certificate

If you are using this access method extensively, you might want to permanently install the security certificate on your computer to save one click on the way on. Read full instructions for installing the security certificate.

You can find the context of your account by checking the Advanced tab from the Novell login screen while on campus. Or contact the ATUS Help Desk or your college or department's technical representative.

Only good with TCP/IP Protocol

This NetStorage technology can only connect you to your mapped drives on a Novell server running the TCP/IP protocol. Not all WWU servers have been upgraded to TCP/IP, and you will be unable to attach to drives mapped on these servers. For example, the Shannon Point server has not yet been upgraded to run the TCP/IP protocol, and therefore cannot be accessed with NetStorage technology.

Not for use with Shared Files

NetStorage uses FTP to open and transfer files. When you have transferred a file to your local hard disk for editing, that file is not marked as being opened on the server. It is possible that someone else could access that file, edit it, and save their edits while you are working on the file remotely. Thus, when you upload the file, you will overwrite the other person's edit. NetStorage is not a technology to be used to access shared files. If you need to work with files that other folks also use, or if you are accessing enough files to need drag-and-drop access (such as for folks working out of remote offices), please contact the ATUS Help Desk for other options to connect to Novell resources from off-campus.