Working folders

A common network location where files are stored

The HelpMaster working folders are a set of network folders that are used to store files and other resources that HelpMaster requires during operation. The Working folders section of the System Administration screen allows the system administrator to set the location of the folders where the various HelpMaster file resources are located.

These folders need to be accessed by users of the Desktop client, the HelpMaster Services and the web portal. Users of HelpMaster that wish to attach files, as well as read files require read and write permissions to these folders. Access is governed by Windows NTFS permissions.

The following folders are required:

Reports

This is the network location where all of the HelpMaster Crystal Reports files are stored. These are .rpt files. This location should be accessible to all users of the HelpMaster Desktop edition that require reporting functionality.

Custom reports

This is the network location where you store any custom Crystal Reports files (.rpt) that you have created to work with HelpMaster. This location should be accessible to all users of the HelpMaster Desktop edition that need to be able to run custom reports.

Attachments

HelpMaster supports adding file attachments to all major entities. In order to provide multi-user access to these attachments, HelpMaster will copy all attachments into the folder path specified here. For further information about attachments, see the Attachments Overview section.

HTML Images

Whenever a graphic or any other file is embedded within a HTML-style Email template or Knowledge Base article, HelpMaster will store the file in this location.

To resolve this warning, from the HelpMaster Desktop go to Administration menu > System Administration button > Working Folders tab and set the HTML images folder to a valid network share. Ensure that the IIS Application Pool Identity account has access to that location.

Themes

Themes files allow HelpMaster to be “skinned” with different colours. Use this location on your network to store common HelpMaster theme files. Themes are selected personally, so each HelpMaster user will need to select their personal preference from the User Preference Screen. The network themes folder is provided only to store common themes that everyone can use and have access to. See also Theme Builder

Emails

For use with the Email Manager. Each Email Manager Profile has an option to attach a copy of the email that was processed to the Attachment section for a job. When this option is used, this is the network folder that will be used to store the email file. When an email is attached to a job, the Email Manager will convert it to a .msg file and store it in this location. See Email Manager for further information about this.

Configuration

The working folders of HelpMaster should always be a networked location that is accessible for every user using HelpMaster.

It is highly recommended that when setting the folder paths that UNC paths (\\servername\workingfolderssharename\…) are used, rather than mapped network drives. To specify a UNC path, browse the Network tree to find your network resource. Mapped drives may be used, however every user will need to have the drive mapping configured before they can access the mapped path. Do not use mapped drives if using the Web Portal

Re-locating the Working Folders

If the working folders need to be re-located, it is necessary to update the paths from the Working folders administration screen so that HelpMaster can update all references pointing to shared files.

Network Security

It is vital that every user of HelpMaster has sufficient network permission to access the content within each of the folders specified in this screen. Each user will require read and write access to these folder locations. Access to the files and folders will be governed by regular Windows NTFS permissions.

Using other HelpMaster products / modules

The working folders are a core-part of the operation of all HelpMaster modules. When configuring the HelpMaster services and the Web Portal, it is vital that these products have read and write access to the working folders. So ensure that the HelpMaster service account has the necessary access.

Backup and archive

All of the HelpMaster working folders should be backed-up each day/night as part of regular network backup procedures. The files and information contained in these folders are referenced by HelpMaster entities and objects, so they are a vital part of HelpMaster’s data-structure and operation. Archiving information from the Attachments folder (deleting/compressing/moving etc) will affects the links in HelpMaster and should not be performed without understanding the implications.

See Also

Network Permissions

Attachments Administration

Theme Builder