i.Share 3.0 Readme.txt file ----------------- (c) Artisoft, Inc. Edition 2 May 19, 1998 ======================================================== CONTENTS OF THIS README FILE ======================================================== 1. Important pre-setup steps for the i.Share 3.0 server 2. Saving money by setting a Dial-Up Networking timeout 3. Using separate modems for i.Share and Artisoft ModemShare 4. What to do if the i.Share server automatically connects to the Internet Service Provider when you start up the computer 5. Running the i.Share server on a Windows NT 4.0 computer 6. Adding Web addresses to the i.Watch list on a Windows NT i.Share server 7. Running 16-bit Internet applications on Windows NT computers 8. Installing a Winsock server application (such as an e-mail server) on the i.Share server computer 9. What to do if i.Share installation runs slowly, and you're running MacAfee VShield for Windows 95 10. Application restrictions 11. What to do if i.Share Connection Manager shows closed Internet sessions to be active 12. Upgrading your version of i.Share 3.0 13. Keeping online Help screens on top 14. Uninstalling i.Share 3.0 ======================================================== 1. IMPORTANT PRE-SETUP STEPS FOR THE I.SHARE 3.0 SERVER ======================================================== When you're installing i.Share on a computer that you want to be an i.Share server (one that will share its Internet connection with i.Share clients), it's essential to follow the pre-setup steps that appear on-screen during i.Share Setup. Exception: If the i.Share server has a DIRECT CONNECTION to the Internet, you don't need to follow any pre-setup steps. If the i.Share server will be connecting to the Internet using a modem, you must complete the pre-setup steps to make sure the i.Share server is configured to use the TCP/IP stack and Dial-Up Networking for Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0. You can print out the instructions that appear on-screen by clicking the Print button in any of those Help windows. ======================================================== 2. SAVING MONEY BY SETTING A DIAL-UP NETWORKING TIMEOUT ======================================================== If you're using a modem and a dial-up connection for access to the Internet, you should set the timeout option on the i.Share server computer. The timeout option automatically disconnects the connection to your Internet Service Provider after a specified period of inactivity. If you don't set the timeout option, i.Share client activity could cause the connection to your Internet Service Provider to stay up continuously, even when no clients are currently using the Internet. This could be costly if you're being charged an hourly rate for the connection. Instructions for setting a timeout value appear in the i.Share server's online Help system, and also in Chapter 3 of the PDF manual included on your i.Share CD (Installing and Using Artisoft i.Share). ======================================================== 3. USING SEPARATE MODEMS FOR I.SHARE AND ARTISOFT MODEMSHARE ======================================================== Artisoft ModemShare (version 7.0 or 32) server computers cannot dial out on THE SAME MODEM AT THE SAME TIME that an i.Share server is using it for Internet connection. For example, if you're using a ModemShare modem to send out faxes for an extended period of time, i.Share clients won't have any access to the modem until your ModemShare connection ends. For this reason, if you expect to use a modem much of the time for ModemShare, it's a good idea to have an additional modem on your network for use with i.Share. ======================================================== 4. WHAT TO DO IF THE I.SHARE SERVER AUTOMATICALLY CONNECTS TO THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER WHEN YOU START UP THE COMPUTER ======================================================== If you have a setting for connecting to the Internet that forces a dial-up connection to be made to your Internet Service Provider every time you start the i.Share server program, you can avoid this automatic dial-up connection by making the following change: 1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Internet icon. The Internet Properties window appears. 3. Click the Connection Tab. 4. Select Connect to the Internet using a local area network. 5. Click OK. If you make this change, you'll no longer be able to set a timeout in the Internet Properties window. You can set a timeout value from the Dial-Up Networking window instead. Instructions for setting a timeout value this way appear in the i.Share server's online Help system, and also in Chapter 3 of the PDF manual that's included on your i.Share CD (Installing and Using Artisoft i.Share). ======================================================== 5. RUNNING THE I.SHARE SERVER ON A WINDOWS NT 4.0 COMPUTER ======================================================== STARTING AND STOPPING THE SERVER -------------------------------- The Start Server and Stop Server buttons on the i.Share server Status page are not supported under Windows NT. The i.Share server starts automatically when you start your computer. To stop the server, right-click the i.Share icon in the system tray (lower-right corner of the taskbar), then select Exit i.Share. After exiting i.Share this way, you can restart the server by clicking Start, Programs, i.Share, i.Share Server. CONNECTION ERRORS RECEIVED WHEN USING A WINDOWS NT I.SHARE SERVER MAY ACTUALLY INDICATE NO DIAL TONE -------------------------------------------------- When you're using certain modem resources on a Windows NT 4.0 i.Share server, you might receive one of these error messages: "COM port already in use by another application," or "Dial-up connection - Unable to establish connection." These errors may actually indicate that a dial tone hasn't been detected. If you receive these errors, check your modem cable. WINDOWS NT DIAL-UP NETWORKING MONITOR DOES NOT APPEAR IN SYSTEM TRAY ---------------------------------------------- The Windows NT 4.0 Dial-Up Networking Monitor doesn't appear in your system tray when the Windows NT i.Share server initiates a dial-up connection. To view the status of a dial-up connection: 1. Click Start, Run, then type RASMON into the Run field and click OK. 2. Right-click the Monitor icon in your system tray, and select Open Dial-Up Monitor from the pop-up menu. ======================================================== 6. ADDING WEB ADDRESSES TO THE I.WATCH LIST ON A WINDOWS NT I.SHARE SERVER ======================================================== Before you add Web addresses to the i.Watch list on a Windows NT i.Share server, you must connect the server to the Internet from i.Share's Using Dial-Up Networking window. Follow these steps: 1. Open the i.Share server interface by clicking the i.Share icon in your system tray. 2. Click the Status tab, then at the bottom of the window, click the Access button. The Using Dial-Up Networking window appears. 3. In the Select Internet Resource box, click the Internet connection you want to use. 4. Click Start Use. Once the connection has been made, you can click the Security tab on the i.Share server and click i.Watch, to set up your list of allowed or disallowed URLs, as described in the online Help (or Chapter 6 of the PDF manual that's included on your i.Share CD). 5. When you're finished adding URLs to the i.Watch Restriction List, go back to the Status tab and click Access to open the Using Dial-Up Networking window again. 6. Click the connection you were using, then click Stop Use. ======================================================== 7. RUNNING 16-BIT INTERNET APPLICATIONS ON WINDOWS NT COMPUTERS ======================================================== If you run 16-bit Internet applications on a Windows NT 4.0 computer, NT won't drop the session after you've closed the last 16-bit application. To solve this problem, you can set a timeout value in the Dial-Up Networking window. Instructions for doing so appear in the i.Share server's online Help system, and also in Chapter 3 of the PDF manual that's included on your i.Share CD (Installing and Using Artisoft i.Share). ======================================================== 8. INSTALLING A WINSOCK SERVER APPLICATION (SUCH AS AN E-MAIL SERVER) ON THE I.SHARE SERVER COMPUTER ======================================================== If you want to install a Winsock server application (such as an e-mail or Web server) on the i.Share server computer, that can be accessed by i.Share clients without having to dial out, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel. 2. Double-click Network. - Under Windows NT, click the Protocols tab. - Under Windows 95/98, click the Configuration tab. 3. Make sure a TCP/IP stack is installed and bound to your network adapter. 4. Confirm that TCP/IP is configured to use an IP address. If you don't have a valid IP address assigned to your network, you can use an IP address that follows this format: [Example] 192.168.xxx.yyy where: xxx is the same for all TCP/IP nodes on your network, and yyy is unique for each node on your network. Both xxx and yyy can range from 1 to 254. For example, enter: 192.168.27.100 Set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0 5. Click the DNS configuration tab. 6. Enter the host and domain name you want for this node. As long as you don't have a permanent connection to the Internet, you can enter a domain name of your choice. For example, smallbiz.com. 7. Make sure the DNS Server Search Order fields are empty. 8. Click OK, and close the Control Panel. 9. Under Windows NT, open the Hosts file: C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTS (where C:\WINNT is your Windows installation drive and directory) in a text editor such as Notepad. Under Windows 95/98, open the Hosts file, located in C:\WINDOWS. 10. Add the host name for this node in this format: NIC IP Address, Host name, Alias 1, Alias 2 etc. where: NIC IP Address is the TCP/Network Adapter address you entered in step 4; Host name is the name you entered in step 6; Aliases are other names that refer to the same IP address. For example, enter: 192.168.27.100 smallbiz.com www.smallbiz.com 11. Save the Hosts file. ======================================================== 9. WHAT TO DO IF I.SHARE INSTALLATION RUNS SLOWLY, AND YOU'RE RUNNING MACAFEE VSHIELD FOR WINDOWS 95 ======================================================== The presence of MacAfee VShield on your computer might cause the i.Share installation program to run slowly. This can occur when VShield is set to scan all files rather than the default (executable files only). If this occurs, you can temporarily disable VShield during installation by right-clicking the VShield icon in the system tray, then selecting Disable from the pop-up menu. The installation will then run full-speed. VShield will re-enable itself when you reboot. ======================================================== 10. APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS ======================================================== CARBON COPY 32 v5.0 ------------------- At this time, you cannot use Carbon Copy 32's Internet feature on an i.Share 3.0 client computer. INTERNET CONFERENCING --------------------- Certain Internet conferencing applications require any computers using them to have their own TCP/IP address. An i.Share client computer doesn't have to have a TCP/IP address to use an i.Share server's shared Internet connection, unless you want to use that connection for an Internet conferencing application. If you try to use an application without a TCP/IP address, you may see an error message similar to this one: "User is not able to take calls." WINDOWS 98 REGISTRATION WIZARD ------------------------------ Windows 98 registration cannot be performed from an i.Share client that doesn't have its own modem. However, once initial Windows 98 registration is complete, an i.Share client can use the Windows 98 Update wizard over an i.Share Internet connection. PING ---- PING.EXE, which comes with Windows 95/98 and NT, isn't supported because it doesn't use Winsock; it uses ICMP. ======================================================== 11. WHAT TO DO IF I.SHARE CONNECTION MANAGER SHOWS CLOSED INTERNET SESSIONS TO BE ACTIVE ======================================================== Some applications, such as Internet Explorer 4.0 and active desktop components, don’t close an Internet session when you stop using them. Connection Manager still shows an active session, and the modem connection isn’t dropped even though this was the only session running on the server. You can safely ignore this situation, but if you need to release the session, you can either: - Log out of Windows and log back in again, or - Set an inactivity timeout on the server (this is recommended). Instructions for setting a timeout value in the Dial-Up Networking window appear in the i.Share server's online Help system, and also in Chapter 3 of the PDF manual that's included on your i.Share CD (Installing and Using Artisoft i.Share). ======================================================== 12. UPGRADING YOUR VERSION OF I.SHARE 3.0 ======================================================== If you have the evaluation version or the 3- or 10-user version of i.Share, you can purchase an upgrade from Artisoft that will let i.Share support up to 32 concurrent users. (To check your current maximum, click the About tab on an i.Share server.) Note that regardless of whether you have the 3-, 10- or 32-user version, i.Share will support the same number of concurrent Internet sessions: 32. The evaluation version allows no more than three users. In other words, you can only install the i.Share client software on three computers. The evaluation version can be used for 45 days. When it times out, a message will appear on-screen. For information on purchasing the upgrade, visit Artisoft's World Wide Web site at www.artisoft.com or call Artisoft's headquarters at 520-670-7100. Callers in the U.S. and Canada can call the Artisoft Sales Consultation Center's toll-free line at 1-800-846-9726, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST. When you purchase the upgrade, you'll receive a new serial number and verification key. Then follow these steps on every i.Share client and server computer: 1. On the i.Share server computer, click the About tab, then click Upgrade. On i.Share clients, click the About button in Connection Manager. The Upgrade i.Share window opens. 2. Type in your new serial number and verification key. 3. Click OK, and restart your computer. ======================================================== 13. KEEPING ONLINE HELP SCREENS ON TOP ======================================================== When you use online Help in i.Share, the Help topic windows may open underneath the i.Share window. To correct this problem, set the Help window to always appear on top. In Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4.0 or 3.51: With a Help topic open, click the Options button at top and select Keep Help on Top. In Windows 3.x: From the Help topic's File menu, choose Keep On Top. ======================================================== 14. Uninstalling i.Share 3.0 ======================================================== The original Windows 95 setup installs Winsock 1.1, an older version of the interface used by Internet applications. When i.Share 3.0 is installed on Windows 95, it installs the Microsoft Winsock 2 update, the latest Internet application interface. Upon uninstalling i.Share 3.0, Winsock 2 is not removed. The Microsoft Winsock 2 update is fully functional without i.Share installed and is backwards compatible with the older Winsock 1.1; you should not experience any difference while running your Internet applications. However, if you would like to revert back to your old version of Winsock, the Microsoft setup of Winsock 2 provides a batch file to do so. To remove the Microsoft Winsock 2 update installed by i.Share: 1. Click Start, Shutdown, Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. 2. From your Windows directory type CD WS2BAKUP. Typically Windows 95 is installed to the C:\WINDOWS directory. In cases where the Windows 95 files are installed to an alternate directory, substitute the appropriate directory in place of C:\WINDOWS; continue to use the appropriate Windows 95 directory for the steps below. 3. At the C:\WINDOWS\WS2BAKUP prompt type WS2BAKUP.BAT. Ignore the message at the end which says "This program cannot be run in DOS mode." This will restore the old Winsock files. 5. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to restart Windows 95. If your Startup folder has any applications that use the Winsock interface, you may see them return errors. Alternatively, press the Ctrl key during login, to bypass the applications in the Startup folder. 6. Double click on My Computer and open the Windows folder. Double click on the folder called WS2Bakup (this is the folder where the Microsoft Winsock 2 setup backed up your old files). Double click on the batch file called WS2Bakup (ignore "file not found" or other errors you may see). This restores the remaining old Winsock files and registry entries. 7. Reboot. The next time Windows 95 comes up, your old Winsock 1.1 files will be loaded. note: If you already had Winsock 2 installed prior to installing i.Share 3.0, do not follow these steps. - End of file -