EDV:Nextcloud
Nextcloud Server
Nextcloud is an open source file sync and share software, a fork / follower of ownCloud.
The Nextcloud-Server is located in the KIP, so no data is shared and exposed to third parties by default.
The web server address is: https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de
The addresses of the Nextcloud itself are:
https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud
You can also use the shortcut, and a combination of these URLs is possible.
https://nxc.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/n
File access & synchronization
Please refer to the full Nextcloud User Manual for all dirty details.
In general there are three ways to exchange your data with the Nextcloud-Server.
- Web-Interface
- Nextcloud Clients
- WebDAV-Protocol
Web Interface
This may be the easiest way to interact with the Nextcloud by using a web browser of your choice. No additional software and settings are required.
The URL of the login page is mentioned above in the server section.
After login to the web interface you can create, preview, edit, delete, share, and re-share files, as well as doing many other things.
Sync Clients
The desktop clients can be downloaded here: https://nextcloud.com/install/
Use the desktop clients to keep your files synchronized between the Nextcloud-Server and other devices.
During or after the installation of the client, you can specify or create one or more directories on your computer that you want to synchronize
from or to the Nextcloud-Server, depending on if already existing on your local device or on the server.
This files and directories will be automatically synchronized in the background as long as the client is running.
Migration of data from Owncloud to Nextcloud
This can be done in two ways as mentioned below
- Using the Nextcloud web interface https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud
- Using Owncloud desktop Client
Using web interface
Once you logged into nextcloud https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud, you will find a new folder called "ownCloud-Daten" which is nothing but a folder having all your owncloud files.
To migrate the data, follow the steps below.
- Click the folder "ownCloud-Daten", you will be able to see all your Owncloud files
- Select the folders/files that you would like to migrate to Nextcloud or select all by ticking the checkbox in the top, depends on user's choice.
- Click "Move or copy", you find this icon on the top right (near Download),
- In the target folder, you don't have to select anything just click on copy or move,then you will have all your migrated data in the home directory. But if you want to
have them in a separate folder then create a new folder in the home directory, eg, "migrated-data"
- Select the target folder "migrated-data" and click on copy or move, It should be noted that if you choose "move" then the data will be
no longer available in owncloud.
Using Owncloud Desktop client
Then we recommend the users to synchronize the files in Owncloud server with the Nextcloud server so that you have all your files in the latter,
its very easy to configure & also you don't have to install a Nextcloud client separately.
Here is how :
- Open the Owncloud client, go to Settings
- On the right side, simply click Account > Add new button then follow account creation wizard
- Enter the server address https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud
- Enter the username & password of the kip account
- Do not make any changes in server but for the local folder, choose the correct location of the local Owncloud folder & select "Keep local data"
- Click on Connect, now it will start synchronizing your owncloud files with the Nextcloud server.
So from now onwards, your files / folders will be synchronized with Nextcloud server too.
Accessing Files Using WebDAV
Linux
Install davfs2 (if not already installed)
aptitude install davfs2
create a mountpoint / directory somewhere in your filesystem e.g.
sudo mkdir /mnt/nextcloud
and mount it
sudo mount -t davfs https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud/remote.php/webdav /mnt/nextcloud
MacOS
Open the Go / Gehe zu menu and select Connect to a server / Mit Server verbinden
https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud/remote.php/webdav
Windows
Mount it on the command line (cmd)
net use Z: https://nextcloud.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/nextcloud/remote.php/webdav
Sharing files and folders
To share files or folders, click the share overlay icon on any file or folder opens the Details view on the right, where the Share tab has focus.
Here type the name of the user or email id that you want to share with or an external mail address. After selecting the user you have the options below & you can check them as you want
- "can edit" allows the user to change the file
- "can reshare" allows the user to share the shared file with other users
- "set expiration date" sets up the till what date the sharing will last
- if the sharing still is enabled - you can disable the sharing with "unshare"
Any folder that has been shared is marked with the Shared overlay icon. Public link shares are marked with a chain link. Un-shared folders are blank.
By selecting "Share link" on the bottom, a link is created with which the file can be downloaded by everybody who knows the link. You can prevent this by setting a password, and for the link you can also set expiration date.
Note : If you want to share a file or folder with a group, make sure you mention the email address of the group in full, eg, "f3@kip.uni-heidelberg.de" instead of selecting just "f3" alone from the list, otherwise the notification email will not be sent.
Group folders
This enables to have a folder shared between one or more groups. Unlike with normal shares,they will not be able to unshare these folders. Only EDV has the privileges to create a group folder and assign it to one or more groups, users can not create the group folders on their own. After a folder is created, EDV can give access to the folder to one or more groups.
Available permission settings:
- write -> read and write permissions for all
- share -> group members can share the content with others
