"Servers" tab

The "Servers" tab allows you to work remotely on FTP and WebDAV servers.

FTP servers are network servers on which, for example, components of websites are placed.

WebDAV ( Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning ) is an extension of the HTTP protocol that allows you to transfer and manage documents on the server. You can read more about WebDAV at www.webdav.org .

Using this tab, you can use the server in a similar way to using Windows Explorer or the Projects tab. You see your folders, files, you can open them, rename them, create new ones as if you were working on your own computer. On the first connection, the Spider displays the contents of the user's home directory.

You can enable the "Servers" tab using the right panel, as well as from the menu under the button shown above or from the Main menu / View .

All functions performed on the tab are saved in the so-called log, i.e. a report on communication between the Spider and the server. This report is displayed in the bottom panel .

You can work with the server selected here both online (connected) and offline (disconnected). For a description of these modes, see Working Online and Offline

Content - Toolbar and server list

The "Servers" tab is similar to the Projects tab, except that the tab allows you to work remotely on shared servers in the Settings window FTP and WebDAV servers .

Main button bar and server selection
At the top of the tab, there is a bar with several buttons and a list that allows you to select one of the servers defined in the settings on which you wish to work.

Server grouping
It is possible to group servers. Groups are listed above ungrouped projects. Clicking on the group name will expand the list of servers collected in it. This is particularly useful when working on a large number of different projects. You can specify the group to which a server is assigned in the Server Properties window.

Connect/Disconnect" button
To the right of the list of servers is a button with a green plug allowing you to connect to the selected server. Once the connection is established, the plug turns red allowing disconnection.

"Abort current operation" button
This button allows you to interrupt an operation currently being performed on the server. However, it is used to abort tab operations, not to abort file queue tasks.

The following buttons are located next to the remote server directory tree:

"Server Settings" button
On the left-hand side of the above-described list you will find a button that launches the Server Settings window , where you can add new FTP and WebDAV servers or modify the settings of existing ones.

"Favorite folder list" button
This menu displays your favorite folders on the FTP server. You can add favorite folders using the button marked with a plus sign next to the remote server's file list. Selecting a folder in this list takes you to it quickly. The first item in the favorites list is the "Go to home (start) folder" item, which will quickly switch you to the main folder of your account.

"View file queue" button
Displays the bottom panel with the selected file queue view.

"View synchronization report" button
Displays the bottom panel with the selected view of the project synchronisation report.

"View server communication log" button
Displays the lower panel with the selected view of the server communication record, the so-called log.

"Start execution of file queue" button
Allows you to start executing tasks placed in the file queue.

"Stop file queue execution" button
Allows you to stop the execution of tasks placed in the file queue.

"Delete cache contents of current server" button
Allows you to delete the cache for the current server - the tree and file list will be cleared. The command only works if the connection is inactive!

Contents - Directory tree

The directory tree displays a hierarchical list of directories on the server. You can click on a directory name to switch to it and see its contents in the list below. You can also click a plus button to expand a directory and see what other directories are in it. Note: At first the Spider doesn't know if there are any subdirectories in the directory, so the plus is always available.

In the tree, you can perform operations such as deleting the selected directory (with the DELETE key on the selected directory), renaming it (with the F2 key on the selected directory), or moving the folder to another folder (without having to download its contents).

Additionally, there is a context menu with the following commands:

"Show whole tree"
Allows you to easily clear the Parent Folder field in Server Settings . Using this command will clear the list of folders and files to offline .

"Set as parent folder (root)".
Allows you to easily set the selected folder as the Master Folder for the tree. See the topic describing Server Settings for details. Using this command will clear the list of folders and files for offline operation.

"Set as startup folder"
Allows you to easily set the selected folder as your startup folder (it is its contents that will be displayed by default in the file list below when you connect to the server). See the topic describing Server Settings for details.

Contents - File List

The file list displays the contents of the currently selected directory. Both files and folders are displayed in the same way as in Windows Explorer or on the Projects tab. The list is arranged in columns, and the information presented in the columns is:

File name - displays the name of the file or folder located on the server
Size - file size displayed depending on FTP and WebDAV client settings.
Modified - date and time of last modification.
Access rights - presents information about the access rights to the item. You can read about access rights in the description of the Change remote file attributes window.
Type - the name of the file or folder type, e.g. "HTML document".

In the file list, you also have access to a context menu where there are commands that allow you to manipulate the contents of the remote server as well as the list view. The content of the menu is identical to the button bar next to the list. The commands there are described below.

Contents - the toolbar next to the file list

Next to the button list there is a button bar. The file list menu has the same content and consists of the following buttons:

Open the selected document in Spider
With this button you will open the documents selected in the file list for editing in Spider. You will be able to change them and they will be uploaded back to the server when saving.

Create a new document on the server
With this button you will create an empty document with the given name on the server. This allows you to open it later and edit it right from the server.

Create a new folder
This command allows you to create a new empty directory on the server.

Rename a selected item
Use this button to rename both the directory and the file.

Changing the access rights to a selected item
Use this button to change the access rights to the selected element. The access rights and their setting are described in the Change remote file attributes window. Changing access rights is only supported by FTP servers, so it is hidden when using a WebDAV server.

Delete selected files
This button allows you to delete the selected files or directories from the server.

Refresh the file list
If you wish to refresh the list of items displayed use this button, which will download and display the contents of the current directory again.

Lock selected documents
When working on files, you may wish to block access to currently modified files for other users. Use this button to impose a lock. The rules for group work are described in the Publishing topic. Depending on whether you are working on an FTP or WebDAV server, the corresponding window will open: Lock file.

Unblocking selected documents
You can unlock documents locked with the above command using this button.

Blocking information for the selected item
With this button, you can check the blocking information assigned to the file that is blocked. This will allow you to see the name of the person who blocked it and additional information if the user has provided it.

List of favorite folders
This menu displays your favorite folders on the FTP server. You can add favorite folders using the button marked with a plus. Selecting a folder in this list takes you to it quickly. The first item in the favorites list is item "Go to home directory", which will quickly switch you to the main folder of your account.

Add the current folder to the list of favorite folders
Use this button to add the current folder to your list of favorite folders, so you can quickly switch to them.

Deletion of selected favorite folders
Click to indicate the folder to be deleted from the list of favorite folders. No folder will be deleted from the hard disk!

Selection of all elements
This button allows you to quickly select all items in the list.

Filtering files by various criteria
In the menu under this button you can select the type of files that are displayed on the list. The names of the files in the list will be colored depending on the selected filter.

Changing the list view
Using the menu under this button, you can choose how the items are presented in the list. You can select different views just like in Windows Explorer.

Copy the URL to the clipboard
Click to copy the reference to the selected file to the clipboard. If a preview mapping is assigned to the server, the copied reference is an HTTP:// address, which can be used to view the selected file in a web browser. If no mapping is available, the address of the link is created to the file on the FTP or WebDAV server.

Paste the URL into the editor
Click to paste a link to the indicated file into the editor. This function also uses the mapping described above.

File list help
This button displays this help page.

To learn more about the rules for using the Servers tab, see the Spider publishing help topic. There you will find a description of how to use the tab for various purposes.

Connection status

At the bottom of the tab, there is a bar displaying information about the connection and the currently performed operation. The information consists of an icon and a description:

Disconnected (offline)
This information is displayed when the Spider is not connected to the server, no operations are being performed.

Operations on the server are in progress
This information is displayed when various operations are performed on the server. Additionally, it displays information about the operation that is currently being performed (e.g. Connecting to the server , Downloading the directory , Renaming the file , Retrieving information about blockade etc.). NOTE! This is where information about operations performed with FTP file queues in the bottom pane , in particular file uploads and downloads, is not displayed even after the file has been dragged to / from the FTP and WebDAV Servers tab! These operations take place independently as a separate process!

Connected (online)
This information is displayed when the Spider is connected to the server, but no operations are currently taking place.