Connect to Service is a new feature that has been added to the AutoCAD WS web app that allows you to store the contents of your AutoCAD WS online account anywhere you choose.

Connect to Service takes advantage of the WebDAV protocol to read and write content from and to a wide variety of online or privately hosted storage solutions including Buzzsaw, Box.net, Dropbox, MobileMe, Egnyte and any file server or SharePoint portal.

The Connect to Service feature was designed to be as transparent as possible. This means that regardless of where your content is held, you will be able to reach it from the following apps:

• AutoCAD WS web app through your PC or Mac’s web browser
• AutoCAD WS mobile app available on all iOS and Android phones and tablets.

Making a Connection

In order to connect to your SharePoint or Windows Server account, you need to log in to the AutoCAD WS web app. A new Connect button has been added to the Drawings ribbon in the web app.

When you click on the Connect button, the following dialog box will open:

To connect AutoCAD WS to your SharePoint or Windows Server account, you must define the URL and enter your username and password.

Clicking on the star dropdown button offers a list of the most popular services.

Connect to SharePoint or other Windows server

When you select Other… from the list, the URL is left blank for you to complete.

Enter the URL of the server to which you you wish to connect, together with your username and password. You can overwrite the New Folder Name or leave it and click connect.

Successful Connection

Once you have connected successfully you will receive this message:

This folder will also be visible and accessible under the same name from the AutoCAD WS mobile app for iOS and Android. The contents of your folder will sync with your mobile device when it is connected to the internet and be available offline just like your other work.

You will now see a new folder with a globe icon indicating that it points to your SharePoint or Windows Server account.

Any changes you make to the files stored in your account will be applied in that account. If you delete a file using AutoCAD WS it will be deleted from your SharePoint account.

DWG files that you upload to this account will not be stored on AutoCAD WS servers.

Rules and Permissions

Sharing

Disconnect

Configuring WebDAV on your Windows Server

Before you can connect AutoCAD WS to your server, you may need to install and configure WebDAV on your server.

The following walkthrough is excerpted from a comprehensive guide called “Installing and Configuring WebDAV on IIS 7” which can be found here.

Please note: This walkthrough contains a series of steps in which you log on to your Web site using the local loopback address and the local administrator account. When using an administrator account, these steps should only be followed on the server itself using the loopback address or over SSL from a remote server. If you prefer to use a separate user account instead of the administrator account, you must create the appropriate folders and set the correct permissions for that user account when necessary.

Installing WebDAV on IIS 7.0

Prerequisites

Downloading the right version for your folder

There are two separate downloadable packages for the new WebDAV extension module; you need to download the appropriate package for your version of Windows Server 2008:

• 32-bit Installation Package
• 64-bit Installation Package

Launching the installation package

You must run the installation package as an administrator.When the installation package opens, if you agree to the license terms, check the “I accept” box, then click Install. When the installation is complete, click Finish. The WebDAV extension module is now installed.

Installing WebDAV on IIS 7.5

IIS 7.5 for Windows Server 2008 R2

1. On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager.
2. In the Server Manager hierarchy pane, expand Roles, and then click Web Server (IIS).
3. In the Web Server (IIS) pane, scroll to the Role Services section, and then click Add Role Services.
4. On the Select Role Services page of the Add Role Services Wizard, expand Common HTTP Features, select WebDAV Publishing, and then click Next.
5. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install.
6. On the Results page, click Close.

IIS 7.5 for Windows 7

1. On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows Features on or off.
3. Expand Internet Information Services, then World Wide Web Services, then Common HTTP Features.
4. Select WebDAV Publishing, and then click OK.

Enabling WebDAV Publishing by Using IIS Manager

Step 1: Enabling WebDAV and Adding an Authoring Rule

In this first step, we add WebDAV publishing to the Default Web site, and add the required settings to allow the local administrator account to edit the content.

1.  In IIS Manager, in the Connections pane, expand the Sites node in the tree, then click the Default Web Site.

2.  As shown in the image below, double-click the WebDAV Authoring Rules feature.

3.  When the WebDAV Authoring Rules page is displayed, click the Enable WebDAV task in the Actions page.

4.  Once WebDAV has been enabled, click the Add Authoring Rule task in the Actions pane.

5.  When the Add Authoring Rule dialog appears:

i. Click All content to specify that the rule applies to all content types.

ii. Choose “Specified users” and type “administrator” for the user name.

iii. Select Read, Source, and Write for the permissions.

iv. When you have completed these items, click OK.

Step 2: Logging in to Your WebDAV Site

In Step 1 above, you enabled WebDAV publishing for your Default Web Site and added an Authoring Rule for the local administrator account for Read, Source, and Write access to your Web site’s content. In this step, you log in using your administrator account.

1.  In IIS Manager, in the Connections pane, expand the Sites node in the tree, then click the Default Web Site.

2. Double-click the Authentication feature.

3.  When the Authentication feature opens, make sure that Windows Authentication is enabled. (Note: You can use Basic Authentication with WebDAV, but the WebDAV redirector will only use Basic authentication with SSL connections.)

4.  In IIS Manager, click the Default Web Site under the Sites node in the tree.

5.  Double-click the Authorization feature.

6.  When the Authorization feature opens, make sure that an Allow rule is defined that includes the administrator account. (For example, the default rule for IIS allowing access to All Users will include the administrator account.)

Logging in to your WebDAV site using your administrator account

On your WebDAV server, open a command prompt session.

Type the following command to connect to your WebDAV server:

net use * http://localhost/

You now have a drive mapped to your WebDAV-enabled web site using the local administrator account, and based on the authorization rule that we added in Step 1, you have Read, Write, and Source access to the content folder.