Web Folders
WebDAV, which underlies the Web Folders / “Open in Explorer” functionality, is a legacy file-access protocol whose security depends entirely on how it is implemented and configured on the server. By itself, WebDAV does not provide encryption or strong authentication; protection must be added via the surrounding stack (for example, HTTPS/TLS and modern authentication mechanisms). This makes improperly configured WebDAV endpoints more susceptible to certain types of attacks.
In November 2023, Microsoft announced that the WebClient (WebDAV) service is deprecated in Windows 10 and Windows 11, and it will no longer be developed going forward. In alignment with this direction and to help ensure the ongoing security and integrity of the TeamConnect platform, TeamConnect Enterprise (TCE) version 7.0 and later no longer support WebDAV-based integration.
Microsoft’s announcement and current status of the WebClient (WebDAV) service can be found in the Windows client deprecation documentation at:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features
TeamConnect includes a WebDAV server to enable management of TeamConnect documents through a compatible WebDAV client application. WebDAV is a standardized protocol for accessing and sharing files over a distributed environment. If you enable it, your users can access the TeamConnect Documents area through WebDAV clients. Mitratech supports two clients: Windows Explorer and the Mac OS WebDAV client. The WebDAV server is certified with the Windows Explorer client.
There is one place where access to the TeamConnect WebDAV server is client-specific. If the system setting "Enable WebDAV" check box is checked, then the Documents tab of any TeamConnect record will include a hyperlink, Open Attachments Folder in Windows Explorer. This same hyperlink will also appear in the Documents area of TeamConnect. Clicking this hyperlink opens a Windows Explorer Web Folder to the current record's (or current user's) documents folder. For this hyperlink to work, a Web Folder must be established on every client machine, pointing to the TeamConnect root documents directory. Any client machines that do not have this Web Folder established are not able to use the hyperlink to access WebDAV (though they may still access the WebDAV server through other clients).
Note: Web Folders are a standard Windows feature; for more information on what Web Folders are and how they connect to servers, refer to the Microsoft Windows help.
The following are the points that you should keep in mind when setting up Web Folders in TeamConnect:
- You can create Web Folders through the Add Network Place wizard. For specific steps and instructions, see the Microsoft Windows documentation.
- The URLs that you need to provide as the locations of the Web Folders are based on your TeamConnect URL:
http://Hostname:port/TeamConnect/login
Where you should make the following replacements:- Hostname:port—with the IP address and port of the machine on which TeamConnect is deployed.
- login—with davroot for the Root folder in the TeamConnect Documents area. So the resulting URL for the Web Folder on each client machine is:
http://Hostname:port/TeamConnect/davroot
If a user needs to access their My Documents area through Web Folders, she should use URL
http://Hostname:port/TeamConnect/davroot/Users/<username>
- Every time users access the Web Folder, they are prompted to enter their TeamConnect username and password.