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The Basics of eSignal File Sharing

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The Basics of eSignal File Sharing


What is eSignal File Sharing?

File Sharing is sort of like a public storage facility. It's a place where you can store personal files that are then accessible from anywhere in the world, as opposed to storing them on your own PC and having to worry about security, remote access, etc. The files you store can be made public, so other users can view and download them, or private, so only you have access (like putting a lock on your storage room).

What makes File Sharing so useful is that it's built-into the eSignal program so with just a few clicks of your mouse, you can save pages, individual files or chart pictures up to your personal File Share Group. You can also just as quickly retrieve files from File Share so if you ever have to borrow someone else's PC to use eSignal, you would simply download eSignal, enter your username and PSW and then access your File Share group for whatever personal files you stored.

Getting Started

First thing you want to do to use File Share is to register. When you register for File Sharing you'll automatically be registered for the eSignal Support Forums as well (also known as Bulletin Boards). If you are already registered for the Forums, you are ready to go.


Using eSignal File Share

Anyone can browse through eSignal File Sharing. You don't have to log in to the site to browse the groups. (This is called anonymous access.) The main page of the eSignal File Sharing site lists the most active content. This is a good place to begin your search for information important to you. Beyond the main page, you can find new content using the directory or the Find Group function.

You can find any type of file in eSignal File Sharing. Among the most common are:

  • PNGs (Portable Network Graphics) (images files)
  • Most any type of eSignal file (single file layouts, aka pages)
  • Advanced Chart files (.ach)
  • Level II windows (.nl2)
  • Quote windows (.quo)
  • Word documents
  • PDFs

These files can be downloaded from any browser. If you are using a browser within eSignal, files that are native to eSignal (e.g., ach, nl2, quo, pages) will automatically download and open inside eSignal.

Publishing to eSignal File Sharing

To publish files to a group, you need to be one of the following:

  • An administrator of a group
  • A moderator of a group
  • A member of a group that has Open Publishing

To become an administrator of a group, you need to either create your own group or have a group owner provide you with administrator access to his/her group. Administrators can do anything to a group. They can change the group properties, delete the group, create folders, upload, overwrite or delete any file.

To become a moderator of a group, you need to have a group owner/administrator provide you with moderator access to that group. Moderators can upload files and delete/overwrite only the files they "own."

Open Publishing

Some groups support "Open Publishing." This means that any member of that group can upload files. Members don't need special permissioning, such as administrator or moderator privileges. In a group that has open publishing, users can upload files and delete/overwrite only the files they "own."

How to Publish

From outside the eSignal application, you can upload files to eSignal File Sharing by going into a group and selecting the Upload File link. This link is only available if you have permission to publish in a group.

Within the eSignal application, tools are provided that allow you to publish directly to eSignal File Sharing.

  • opens a browser directly to the eSignal File Sharing site
  • publishes the active eSignal window directly to eSignal File Sharing, for example:  Advanced Charts (.ach) Quote Windows (.quo)  Level II (.nl2)
  • publishes a picture of the active eSignal window
  • publishes a page; a page is a single file layout that contains all the active windows in one file
  • shows the Lesson Manager
  • Additionally, in the system tray, a camera is available. With the camera in the system tray, you can take a picture of ANY window (inside or outside of eSignal).
Sending a Published File
If you publish something to eSignal File Sharing, we put the URL to the image you just published in the clipboard. What this means is, if you take a screenshot and want to give a user a direct URL to it, you can paste the URL into an email message, chat room, etc. To see this in action, follow these steps:
  1. Click on the Publish Image to Fileshare icon on the eSignal Central toolbar (looks like a camera).
  2. Crop the image to the desired size.
  3. Select Save to Fileshare.
  4. Uncheck the Save to Clipboard option.
  5. Click the Browse button and select Save Location.
  6. Click Publish.
  7. Click OK on the Image Publisher window.
  8. Go to your email and paste into an email message. The URL will appear in the body of the message.

Lessons
A lesson is a collection of pictures. You can add pictures to a lesson by using the camera in the eSignal Central Bar or the camera in the system tray. With lessons, you can create a collection of pictures, put them in the desired order and publish the pictures when the lesson is complete. This feature lets you upload all the pictures at once rather than one by one. One additional benefit to Lessons is that, when the pictures are published to eSignal File Sharing, a PDF is automatically created. This PDF, then, contains all the images from that lesson.


Tools->FileShare Preferences

When using eSignal File Sharing, you may need to log in to publish. A dialog box will automatically appear when you publish to eSignal File Sharing.

                            

Among other things, you can elect to have your ID and password automatically remembered and activate auto login. If, at any time, you want to change these options, you can go to the Tools menu and select FileShare Preferences.