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Connect Nextcloud, Synology or another WebDAV server

The details JUDLEX needs to store data on Nextcloud, ownCloud, a Synology or QNAP NAS, or Koofr, and where to find them.

WebDAV is the way many servers let you store files over the internet. Nextcloud, ownCloud, Synology and QNAP NAS devices, and services such as Koofr, all offer it. Box has withdrawn it, so it can no longer be used.

What JUDLEX asks for

In Settings → Data → Add a connection, choose WebDAV (Nextcloud, Synology…) and fill in:

  • WebDAV address: it starts with https://; if you leave it out, JUDLEX adds it when you leave the field. Ideally it should already point to the folder where you want to store things. JUDLEX works inside a JUDLEX folder that it creates there. The username and password do not go inside the address, but in their own fields.

  • Username.

  • Password: if your server has app passwords (Nextcloud, Koofr…), one created just for JUDLEX is better, because you can revoke it without changing your own. If not, your normal one.

Click Connect and test. If the test fails, the window stays open with your details and the reason in red: correct them and click again.

A NAS with its own certificate

Many NAS devices use a certificate they made themselves, which your computer does not know. The same happens if you use the IP address (https://192.168.1.20:5006/) instead of a name. JUDLEX does not connect to a server whose certificate it does not know, unless you have compared it:

  1. Click Check the certificate, next to the address. (If you click Connect and test first and it fails for this reason, the check runs by itself.)

  2. JUDLEX shows the certificate's fingerprint: a string like 3A:F1:….

  3. Compare it with the server certificate's fingerprint: the NAS control panel shows it, or whoever runs it can give it to you.

  4. If it matches, tick I have compared this fingerprint with the server certificate's (shown in its control panel or given by whoever runs it), and it matches. and click Connect and test.

From then on JUDLEX trusts that certificate and only that one. If it ever changes, JUDLEX stops connecting and warns that the certificate is no longer the one you compared. It may have been renewed, or someone may be impersonating your server: ask whoever runs it. If it was renewed, in the connection's menu choose Change the details… → Check the certificate, compare the new fingerprint and tick it.

With a proper certificate (the free Let's Encrypt one, for example) none of this is needed: Check the certificate will tell you that this computer already trusts it.

Nextcloud

  1. In your Nextcloud, open Files and, at the bottom left, Files settings. The address is in the WebDAV section. Copy it with its button rather than typing it: the username in it may not be the one you type when you sign in.

  2. If you like, create a folder for JUDLEX and add its name to the end of the address.

  3. For the app password: your picture, top right → Personal settings → Security. At the end of the list of devices there is a field for creating a new one: type "JUDLEX" and create it. Copy it there and then: Nextcloud does not show it again.

With two-factor authentication turned on, your normal password will not work: you need the app password.

To cut off JUDLEX's access, go back to that list and revoke the "JUDLEX" password.

ownCloud

There are two different versions of ownCloud; ask whoever runs yours which one you have.

  • ownCloud Server: the address is usually https://<server>/remote.php/webdav. You create the app password in your account settings, in the Security section.

  • ownCloud Infinite Scale: app passwords have to be enabled by the administrator, and by default they expire quickly. Ask for one without a short expiry, and for the WebDAV address of your space.

Synology

This is done by whoever runs the NAS:

  1. In Package Center, install WebDAV Server and, in its settings, enable HTTPS (the default port is 5006).

  2. Give the JUDLEX user read and write permission on a shared folder, and permission to use WebDAV.

  3. Preferably, install a valid certificate on the NAS (for example, the free Let's Encrypt one, from Control Panel → Security → Certificate). If you keep the one it came with, compare its fingerprint as explained above.

  4. To use it outside the office: a domain name that points to the NAS (Synology's DDNS will do) and port 5006 open on the router. QuickConnect does not work for this: Synology does not allow it for third-party apps.

The address then looks like this: https://myfirm.synology.me:5006/Firm/, with your own domain and shared folder.

QNAP

Whoever runs the NAS turns on WebDAV in Control Panel → Network & File Services → Win/Mac/NFS/WebDAV, with HTTPS, and gives the user access to a shared folder. The address is https://<your-domain>:<port>/<shared-folder>/. As with Synology, using it from outside the office needs a domain, a certificate and the port open.

Koofr

  1. On the Koofr website: Preferences → Password, generate an app password and copy it.

  2. Address: https://app.koofr.net/dav/Koofr, with a capital K.

  3. Username: your account email.

If you get the password wrong several times, Koofr blocks access for a while.

Sharing with a WebDAV server

Backups work with any of these servers. To share with a colleague:

  • By link: only with Nextcloud and ownCloud, and only if the server can be reached from the internet. With an office network address (192.168…) or one on this same computer, a colleague outside could not open the link, so JUDLEX does not offer it. If Nextcloud has public links turned off, or requires a password on them, JUDLEX tells you: whoever runs it changes that in Administration settings → Sharing.

  • With the firm folder: with any of them, as long as your colleagues see the same folder. The simplest way is for everyone to use the same firm account, or a shared folder that sits in the same place for everyone. See Share a matter or a case file with a colleague.

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