User Manual

Chapter 6

Transferring Files

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NetSupport PC-Duo offers comprehensive file transfer features. File transfer sessions between the Control and a Client take place in the File Transfer window.

You can perform a number of file maintenance operations on either the Control PC or Client PC, including copying, deleting and renaming files, and creating and deleting directories.

You do not need to be connected to a Client before beginning a File Transfer session; the Control automatically connects to a Client when you start a File Transfer Session.

To Display the File Transfer Window:

Use one of the following methods:

• Select the Client with whom you want to transfer files, then click the File Transfer button in the toolbar.
• Select the Client, then choose the Client, File Transfer menu command.

Using the File Transfer Window

When you start a File Transfer session with a Client, the File Transfer window is displayed. This window contains views of both the Control and Client PCs:

• The menus in the File Transfer window contain a number of commands that enable you to perform operations in the File Transfer window.
• The toolbar contains a row of buttons which provide quick access to common tasks.
• Beneath the toolbar is the Control Pane. This displays the drive and directory structure of the Control PC.
• The Client Pane, in the bottom half of the window, beneath the Control Pane, displays the contents of the Client PC.
• The currently active pane is indicated by the pane title (above the pane) being the same color as the File Transfer window's title bar. Only one pane (the Control Pane or the Client Pane) can be active at a time.
• To switch between Control and Client Panes, click inside the Pane you want to activate.
• Both the Control Pane and the Client Pane are divided into:

  The Tree View (on the left) of each pane displays the Drive and Directory structure of the PC.

  The List View (on the right) displays the items, such as files and subdirectories, which are contained in the drive or directory that is selected in the Tree View.

Working with the Tree View

To select a drive or directory in a Tree View, click on it. The contents of the selected item are displayed in the List View.

If the selected drive or directory contains subdirectories which are not displayed in the Tree View, a plus (+) symbol is displayed to the left of the item. (The drive or directory must be selected before this symbol is displayed.)

To display the contents of a drive or directory in the Tree View, either double-click the drive or directory, or click the symbol to its left.

If the contents of the selected drive or directory are displayed in the Tree View, a dash (-) symbol is displayed to the left of the item. To hide the contents of the selected drive or directory, either double-click the drive or directory, or click the symbol to its left.

Working with the List View

To select an item in a List View, click on it.

To select multiple items in a List View, then:

• If the items you want to select are adjacent to one another, select the first item, hold down the Shift key and select the last item. All items in between are also selected.
• If the items you want to select are not adjacent to one another, select the first item, then hold down the Ctrl key and select each of the other items.

To select all the items, right-click anywhere on the List View to display the shortcut menu, then choose a command from the Select Submenu. Choose:

All to select all files and subdirectories in the current directory.

Files to select all files in the current directory.

Directories to select all subdirectories in the current directory.

To display the contents of the drive or directory that is one level up from the current directory, double-click the Previous directory item at the top of the List View.

Applying a Filter to Files in List View

You can filter the contents of a Control or Client's List View so that only file names that meet specified criteria are displayed. Filter settings applied to one pane do not affect the other pane.

Filter settings remain applied to a Control or Client Pane until you reset them, or close the File Transfer window.

To Apply a Filter to Files in a List View:

1. Click in the Filter text box above the pane whose List View you want to filter.
2. Replace the default filter (*.*) with your own.

   For example, if you wanted to view all files whose names begin with the letters MKT, type MKT*.* in the Filter text box.

3. Press the Return key to apply the filter.

To Reset a Filter to Files in a List View:

1. Click in the Filter text box above the pane whose List View you want to reset.
2. Type *.* in the Filter text box. This default filter means no filter is applied to the files in the current List View.
3. Press the Return key to reset the filter.

Changing the View Format in a File Transfer Window

The contents of the List Views on the right of the Control Pane and Client Pane can be displayed in different formats. You can also sort the contents of the List Views to make them easier to navigate.

There are two types of view with which you can display the contents of a List View in a File Transfer window:

To change to Details view, click the Details button above the pane you want to change.

To change to Name Only view, click the Name Only button above the pane you want to change.

Alternatively, you can change the view type using the View, Show Details menu command, or by right-clicking in the pane's List View and choosing the Show Details command from the shortcut menu.

When you position the mouse over a file in the List View, a Tooltip displays the item's details, regardless of the current View format.

Changing Sort Orders in a File Transfer Window

The contents of List Views in a File Transfer window can be sorted using the following options:

By Name

The contents are sorted by file name

By Type

The contents are sorted by file extension. (This is not applicable to drives and directories in the List View)

By Modified Date

The contents are sorted according to the date they were last modified

By Size

The contents are sorted according to the size of the file. (This is not applicable to drives and directories in the List View)

By Short Name

The contents are sorted using the truncated version of their names (to 8 characters for the file name and 3 for the file extension)

Ascending

The contents are to be sorted in ascending (A-Z) order. Choose this option again to sort the contents in descending (Z-A) order.

To Change the Sort Order:

1. Click the Sort Order button above the pane you want to work with. A drop-down menu is displayed, containing the Sort Order commands.

2. Choose the sort order you want to apply from this drop-down menu. (The current sort order is indicated by a check symbol.)
3. If you want to change the order direction, redisplay the menu and choose the Ascending command. This command is a toggle command - if the items are in ascending order, the ascending command is checked.

When the List View is displayed in Details view, you can also click the Column headings to sort the order by the column's contents.

Clicking on a column heading a second time reverses the sort order; the order is indicated by an arrow on the right of the column heading by which the List View is sorted (An up arrow indicates the list is sorted in ascending order).

Copying Files and Directories

You can use the File Transfer window to copy files and directories to and from the Client PC.

To Copy Files and Directories from the Control PC to the Client PC:

1. In the Client Pane's Tree View, select the destination drive or directory to which you want to copy the items.
2. Select the items you want to copy from the Control Pane's List View.
3. Click the Copy File button on the toolbar.
4. A message is displayed asking you to confirm the operation. Check the files and the destination are correct, then click the Yes button to copy the files to the Client PC.

To Copy Files and Directories from the Client PC to the Control PC:

1. In the Control Pane's Tree View, select the destination drive or directory to which you want to copy the items.
2. Select the items you want to copy in the Client Pane's List View.
3. Click the Copy File button on the toolbar.
4. A message is displayed asking you to confirm the operation. Check the files and the destination are correct, then click the Yes button to copy the files to the Control PC.

Renaming Files

To Rename a File:

1. In the Control or Client Pane's List View, select the file you want to Rename.
2. Click the Rename button in the toolbar.

   The file name is displayed with a black border enabling you to edit it.

3. Type the new name for the file, then press the Enter key to rename it.

You can also rename a selected file by clicking on it a second time; by right-clicking on it and choosing Rename from the shortcut menu; or by choosing the File, Rename menu command.

Deleting Files and Directories

You can delete files and directories from either the Control PC or a Client PC using the File Transfer window.

To Delete a File:

1. Ensure the correct pane is active.
2. Select the files you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button in the toolbar.
4. In the Delete Files message, click the Yes button to confirm the Operation.

To Delete a Directory:

1. Ensure the correct pane is active, then select the directory you want to delete.
2. Click the Remove button in the toolbar. The Remove Directory dialog is displayed.
3. Select the Include Contents check box, then click the Yes button to confirm the Operation. If you don't select the Include Contents check box, the directory is deleted only if it is empty.

You can also delete the selected directory using the Directory, Delete menu command, or by right-clicking on the directory and choosing the Remove Command from the shortcut menu.

You cannot remove more than one directory at a time (excluding any subdirectories). If you have several directories selected in a List View when performing a Remove operation, only the last selected directory is removed.

Creating Directories

To Create a Directory:

1. Ensure the correct pane is active.
2. In the Tree View, select the drive or directory in which you want to create the new directory.
3. Click the Create button in the toolbar.
4. In the Create Directory dialog, enter a name for the directory, then click the OK button.

Synchronizing Directories

NetSupport PC-Duo enables you to synchronize the contents of selected directories on the Control and Client. When you synchronize two directories, any new or updated files in either directory are automatically copied to the other directory.

To Synchronize Directories:

1. In the Tree View of the Control Pane, select the directory you want to synchronize with the Client.
2. In the Tree View of the Client Pane, select the directory you want to synchronize with the Control.
3. Click the Synchronise button in the toolbar.
4. In the Synchronise Directories dialog, check the displayed paths of the two directories you selected. If you want to include subdirectories, select the Include Subdirectories check box.

5. Click the OK button. In the warning message, click the Yes button to continue.

   The Directory Synchronization Progress dialog is displayed, showing the progress of the synchronization operation.

6. When the operation is complete, the results are displayed in the Directory Synchronization Results dialog. Read the information in this dialog, then click the OK button.

Arranging Multiple File Transfer Windows

In the same way that you can connect to more than one Client at a time, you can also have more than one File Transfer window open simultaneously. These File Transfer windows can be arranged using the commands in the Window, Tile submenu.

To Arrange Multiple File Transfer Windows:

1. Ensure a File Transfer window or the Control window is the active window.
2. Choose the Window, Tile, File Transfer Windows menu command. All open File Transfer windows are arranged to fill the Control PC screen.

   When working with multiple File Transfer windows, use the File Transfer window's title bar to check which Client is displayed.

Ending a File Transfer Session

You can end a File Transfer Session with a Client and still remain connected to the Client.

To End a File Transfer Session:

1. Ensure the File Transfer window for the Client is displayed.
2. In the File Transfer window, choose the File, Close menu command or click the close button in the top right corner of the File Transfer window.

   If you disconnect from a Client with which you have been transferring files, the File Transfer window for that Client is closed automatically.

Managing Files on the Control PC

You can manage the files on the Control PC using the File Manager window. This is similar to the File Transfer window, but only displays the contents of the Control PC.

To display the File Manager window, choose the Tools, File Manager menu command.

When you have finished working with the File Manager window, click the Close button in the top right corner of the File Manager window, or choose the File, Close menu command.

Introducing the File Manager Window

The File Manager window contains two panes:

• The Tree View on the left of each pane displays the drive and directory structure of the PC.
• The List View on the right displays the files and subdirectories which are contained in the drive or directory which is selected in the Tree View.

Navigating the File Manager Window

Navigating the Tree View

To select a drive or directory in the Tree View, click on it. The contents are displayed in the List View (on the right).

If the selected drive or directory contains subdirectories which are not displayed, a plus (+) symbol is displayed to the left of the item.

To expand the contents of a drive or directory so that its subdirectories are visible in the Tree View, double-click the entry or click the plus symbol.

If a drive or directory contains subdirectories which are displayed, a dash (-) symbol is displayed to the left of the item.

To hide the contents of a drive or directory so that its subdirectories are not displayed in the Tree View, double-click the drive or directory, or click the dash symbol.

Navigating the List View

To select an item in the List View, click on its entry.

To select multiple items in the List View, then:

• If the items you want to select are adjacent, select the first item, hold down the Shift key, then select the last item. All items in between are also selected.
• If the items you want to select are not adjacent to one another, select the first item, then hold down the Ctrl key and select each of the other items.

To select all the items in the List View, right-click anywhere on the List View to display the shortcut menu, then choose a command from the Select submenu:

All

selects all files and subdirectories in the current directory.

Files

selects all files in the current directory.

Directories

selects all subdirectories in the current directory.

To display the contents of the drive or directory that is one level up from the current directory, double-click the previous directory item at the top of the List View.

Distributing Files to Groups

Using NetSupport PC-Duo, you can easily distribute files to whole Groups on your network. To do this, specify the Group to which you want to distribute the files, then select the files you want to distribute in the Group File Transfer window.

The Group File Distribution window is similar to the standard File Transfer windows that are used to copy files to and from individual Clients.

The top part of the Group File Distribution window is the Control Pane. This displays the drive and directory structure of the Control PC, and enables you to select the files you want to distribute to the Group.

In the bottom part of the Group File Distribution window is the Group pane. This lists the Clients in the Group to which you are going to distribute the files, and also shows the current Destination Directory for each Client. This is the location on the Client PC to which the files will be copied.

To Distribute Files to a Group:

1. Select the Group in the Group List.
2. Choose the Group, File Distribution menu command to open the Group File Distribution window.
3. In the Control Pane (the top part of the Group File Transfer window), select the files that you want to distribute to the Group.
4. In the Group pane (the bottom part of the window), check the Destination Directory path of each Client in the Group.

   If you want to change the Destination Directory for a Client, right-click the Client and choose the Set Destination command from the shortcut menu, then use the Copy Files dialog to specify a new Destination Directory.

5. Ensure the Destination Directories for all Clients in the Group are correct, then click the Copy File command in the toolbar.
6. When the confirmation message is displayed, click the Yes button to distribute the files. A Copy Progress dialog is displayed, showing the progress of the distribution operation.

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