 Work with non-FirstClass documents more efficientlyMinimum version: FirstClass 8.0
Audience: Administrators
Experience:
 Features we use:
 Common Internet File System protocol (CIFS) Summary NoteThis process is not supported on Mac OS X.
Want an easier way to work with non-FirstClass documents in a FirstClass environment, and have them automatically saved on your FirstClass Desktop whether you're logged into the client or not? Updating external files (such as Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or html files) in FirstClass can be a cumbersome process: you have to open the uploaded document as read-only, save or download it to your hard drive, edit it in the appropriate program, then upload it to FirstClass again. This process can be frustrating, especially if multiple users download and make changes to the document.
Simplify this process by using the FirstClass Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol, which uses your FirstClass system as a file server. This allows you to streamline the editing process by eliminating the need to constantly upload and download documents to and from your hard drive through your FirstClass Desktop.
Using CIFS, your users can update non-FirstClass documents either in a container on their FirstClass Desktop, or on their mounted hard drive. When a document in one location is updated, the other gets automatically updated as well. This provides flexibility to users who are not using the FirstClass client to work on documents in a FirstClass container without having to log in.
These diagrams compare the old method of editing non-FirstClass documents with the new method using CIFS:
 This way of working with multiple documents makes the editing process much more efficient, and ensures that only one person at a time can edit the document � if someone else opens the document while it is already being edited, it will open as read-only. When you use CIFS, you do not need to log in with a FirstClass client, but you must authenticate using FirstClass credentials (a user ID and password).
NoteSince CIFS is an Internet protocol, you require Internet connectivity on both your local machine and the Internet Services (IS) machine.
ExampleMichael Green is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Husky Planes. He has just assigned five of his employees an important project. In order to complete this project successfully, the team members have to access and update a number of non-FirstClass documents on a daily basis.
Michael discusses this with the FirstClass administrator and they decide to use the CIFS protocol to help his team to work more efficiently.
Step 1: Create the project conference
Michael creates the Sales and service conference on his Desktop and gives the appropriate permissions to the team members. He then uploads the necessary non-FirstClass documents to the conference and subscribes the team members.
This is what the Sales and service conference looks like:
 Step 2: Enable the CIFS protocol
Susan Bunting, the FirstClass administrator, enables the CIFS protocol.
Susan needs to disable file sharing on the IS machine before enabling CIFS. To do this she follows the instructions in the Configuring and Activating CIFS document in the Internet Services conference of the FirstClass online help.
Susan then follows these steps to activate the CIFS protocol on the IS machine:
1 From the admin Desktop, she opens the Basic Internet Setup form in the Internet Services folder.
2 She selects "Enable CIFS/SMB" on the File tab.
 NoteSusan can also configure advanced options (such as standard timeouts, port numbers, and security options) on the CIFS tab on the Advanced Web & File form, found in the Internet Services folder.
Step 3: Map the FirstClass Desktop to a local machine
Each team member must map his or her FirstClass Desktop to their local machine. Susan sends each member of the team a set of user instructions to perform this task.
Once team members map their FirstClass Desktops to their computers, they can access the non-FirstClass documents stored in FirstClass from their hard drive. Sara Parker, one of the team members, opens the Sales and service conference from the drive where she mapped her FirstClass Desktop. This is what she sees:
 Sara edits the non-FirstClass documents stored in the Sales and service conference directly from her hard drive. When she edits these documents, her changes automatically show up in the conference. Sara can also edit documents directly from the conference in FirstClass.
Other advantages provided by the CIFS protocol:
� Team members do not have to log into FirstClass to update documents.
� A document can only be edited by one team member at a time.
� Documents are protected and backed up because they reside on the FirstClass server.
User instructions to map the FirstClass Desktop to a local machineFollow these steps to map your FirstClass Desktop to your local machine:
1 Open My Computer or Windows Explorer.
2 Choose Tools > Map Network Drive.
You will see a window like this:
 3 At Drive, choose the drive onto which you want to map your FirstClass Desktop.
4 At Folder, enter the IP address of the destination machine pointing to the FirstClass Desktop. For example:
 NoteMount only a portion of an account by specifying a more refined path. For example, "\\111.222.111.222\Desktop\Conferences\PublicFiles", would mount the Public Files container and its subcontainers. Not all CIFS clients support this option.
5 When prompted, enter your FirstClass user ID and password. For example:
 Once you have successfully logged in, all of your FirstClass Desktop objects will be listed on your hard disk in the drive you specified. For example:
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