ProVideLink is a small, one-time-install client that lets you edit files stored on your ProVide server directly from the web interface, using your normal desktop applications. To use it, right-click a file in ProVide and choose Edit. If ProVideLink is already installed, the file opens in your default application and you work and save as usual, with changes written straight back to the server. If it isn’t installed yet, ProVide shows a link to the ProVideLink installer; run it, and the file opens. ProVideLink is available for Windows and macOS.
Installing ProVideLink #
The first time you choose Edit on a file, ProVide shows a link to the ProVideLink installer. Run the installer for your platform, and the file opens automatically once it finishes. If it doesn’t open, right-click the file and select Edit again.
On Windows #
For a single computer, click the ProVideLink installer link in ProVide and run the MSI. For shared machines, use the separate multiple-user installer instead. It’s worth it on computers with many user accounts, because one install makes ProVideLink work for every user on that machine.
On macOS #
Download and run the macOS version of ProVideLink, then choose Edit on your file as usual. Recent releases added fullscreen support for the Mac client, so the editing experience matches the desktop app you’d normally use.
How it works #
When you edit a file, ProVideLink receives an encrypted, password-protected link along with a specific access token. Because Windows and macOS only open files that are stored locally, ProVideLink downloads the file to temporary local storage and hands it to your default application. When you save and close, ProVideLink uploads the changes back to the server and then removes all traces of the file from temporary storage. If your internet connection drops while the file is open, ProVideLink waits and reconnects using the same link, password, and token to complete the update. If it still can’t reach the server after you close the app, it opens a file window so you can manage the file yourself.
ProVideLink also relies on standard file locking, plus file and folder versioning and backup through Windows Shadow Copy at the source.
Enable editing on the server (admin) #
Before users can edit files this way, an administrator needs to allow it on the server:
- Log in to the web-based admin interface with an account that has admin privileges.
- Click HTTP (the HTTP(S) settings) in the top menu.
- Turn on file editing and specify which file types ProVideLink is allowed to open. You stay in full control here: only the file types you list can be opened for editing.
- Save your changes.
Once this is enabled, the Edit option appears for users when they right-click an allowed file type in the web interface.
Keep ProVideLink up to date #
ProVideLink is updated alongside ProVide Server, so the client stays current as you update the server. Keep your ProVide Server installation up to date from the admin interface (click the update button in the top-right menu; the server updates once no users are connected), and make sure users are on a current ProVideLink build so they get the latest fixes and platform support, such as the recent macOS improvements.
Good to know #
ProVideLink can edit any self-contained file. Files that pull in data from other files, such as some linked Excel workbooks or AutoCAD drawings with external references, can be a problem unless you work on them locally. Your administrator controls exactly which file types ProVideLink is allowed to open.
