After many e-mails starting out "Well, I've downloaded Mactella. What do I do now?" we've finally put a little something together to help folks get going right out-of-the-box. Hopefully enough bases get covered that the confusion level tapers off. Also, we'd like to thank the droves of people who have downloaded, tried out and given feedback on Mactella. This has been enormously helpful. If you have any questions or comments regarding this tutorial or Mactella, please mail us at us@cxc.com. Long live the Mac!
Mactella is the only Macintosh native client for the Gnutella file sharing system. CXC has taken the liberty of producing this product and releasing it for free (with full source code) to the public. To get a better understanding of what the Gnutella network itself is, pop your browser on over to http://gnutella.wego.com/ and click on the "Gnutella?" link. This will provide you with a plethora of information on the fundamental ideas and technological aspects of Gnutella.
ii. how to get connected and search
This process of getting connected to GNet and searching for files is relatively simple. Follow these steps three and you should be good to go.
1) Begin by starting up Mactella.
2) Either click the "Auto-connect" checkbox...
...or enter in your own IP address of a host to connect to and click "Add". Mactella has a list of built in hosts that were at one time able to be connected to. This may or may not be the case at the point of your downloading and running of Mactella. If you are unable to get connected, give one of these host cache IPs a whirl: gnutellahosts.com:6346, gnet.ath.cx:6346, gnet1.ath.cx:6346, gnet2.ath.cx:6346, gnet3.ath.cx:6346. These addresses can either be copy-and-pasted individually into the "New Connection" field or drag-and-dropped on the lower right portion of the Gnutella Net pane (ex. the scrollable rectangular area of the below picture that has the mini Mactella icons to the left of IP addresses).
Once connected you'll notice the rounded arrows (upper right corner of each pane) spinning around. Also, the word "connected" will tip you off to your connection to GNet. :)
3) At this point you will be able to enter in a query and search to your hearts desire. (i.e. Searching is available only while connected to GNet, for obvious reasons.)
*NOTE* Please refer to the "Common Problems" section for help with getting connected.
iii. download/upload folders
The download folder defaults to the current directory Mactella resides in. In other words, when you start downloading a file it will be put in the same folder that Mactella is housed. The Upload folder is not initially enabled until the user has designated where the Upload folder should be.
Selecting the Upload folder is as simple as dragging the directory you want as the Upload folder onto the folder icon in the Upload pane of Mactella. These are the same steps used for setting the Downloads folder (if you would like to adjust it outside of the default). (a QuickTime movie of the forementioned drag-and-drop extravaganza is shown at our site: http://www.cxc.com/faq.html#7)
iv. enabling/disabling sharing
New with this release is the option of giving other Gnutella users the ability to download files from you. When checked, Mactella will allow files in the Uploads directory to be "available" to all. Of course, when the box is unchecked no other users will be able to query or download your Upload folders contents.
v. preferences
The Preferences dialog box provides basic setup and application behavior. Currently you are given the the following changable items:
• Outgoing connections: Checking the "Auto-connect at startup" checkbox will make Mactella do just that, connect to a host(s) at startup time. Also provided here is a pulldown menu asking how many hosts you would like to attempt to connect to at startup time. You have the option of 1-10 hosts for connection to.
• Incoming connections: Pretty self explanatory, choose how many clients you would like to allow connected to you and how many upload connections you would like those clients to be able to have (uploads are for total connections, not two per client).
• Connection speed: Two options here: Actual: this is the speed of your connection to the world. Choose from the pulldown the the correct line speed (dial-up, DSL, T1, etc). Minimum: select the slowest connection that you will receive files from. This applies to the rate at which a host would be able to send files to you.
• Are you behind a firewall?: By telling Mactella whether or not you're behind a firewall will disallow file sharing functionality of persons on the same firewall protected network that you are on. It will allow for sharing with Internet users outside of your local, secure network. The reason for this is that private networks have a ranges of IPs (RFC #1918) set aside for them that the Real World knows nothing about. Clicking this checkbox filters out those private network addresses so that they are not routed out to the Real World. "Using External IP Address" lets you enter in the address of your firewall if your System Administrator requires this. (FYI: IP addresses are like phone numbers, individual and unique to each node (computer, device) on a network. Check your TCP/IP Control Panel to find out what yours is. Mactella also displays your IP along with the port number that you are "listening" on.)
• Check version: This option will give you a read-out of what version of Mactella you are running and compare that to what version is currently available from CXC, Inc. Download a new version here if necessary: ftp://ftp.cxc.com/servents/Mactella_PPC.sit
Steve Bryan (Mactella's Dad) has included some additional options for the über-tweaker (and those who need to change them to make the program work). These options are available by clicking the "More settings" arrow in the lower left corner of the preferences window.
CXC recommends that these default settings remain as they are. Optimal performance and usability will stay constant with these preferences left in their initial state. In the event that the port mappings, etcetera have been modified, simply click the "Set Defaults" button to reset the values back to their original state.
vi. common problems
1) Mactella takes forever to get connected. What's the deal?
Due to the nature of Gnutella, getting connected is possibly the hardest part about using Mactella and any Gnutella clone. On an initial download of Mactella or if you haven't used the program for some time, the built-in list of IP addresses can become stale. At one time these IPs were live Gnutella clones and were accepting connections. Due to people using DHCP which has their address change periodically, just plain being offline or are no longer accepting connections makes the list fill with seemingly bogus IPs. This problem can be circumvented by letting Mactella run online for an amount of time which allows the built-in list to refresh itself for later attempts at getting connected.
2) I've downloaded a file but Mactella seems to "own" it. How can I work with the file?
Mactella's current state still carries limited file mapping capability which in turn will usually leave you with a downloaded file showing off a Mactella icon. We use a files extension to try and guess what application should be associated with it. For MP3s, Mactella would associate the downloaded file with SoundJam if this application is available on your hard drive.
An addition to the problem is that, on occasion, the mentioned size of a file is larger than what is actually sent which results in an unfinished download. Right now, Mactella does not know what to do with this partial file and leaves it as Mactella owned. Double-clicking on the file will bring up a window requesting that you drag-and-drop a file onto it to change the file type and creator of the double-clicked file to that of the drag-and-dropped one. After doing this the original downloaded file will now be associated with the program requested. Another solution is using a tool such as FileTyper to help modify a files type and creator.
Until a more solid file mapping solution is implemented the above steps will be necessary. We regret that this is still an inconvience and are working diligently to resolve this issue.
vii. outro
Hopefully we were able to enlighten folks with some handy info on the use of Mactella and its features. If you feel there is anything absent and should be added or that something should be removed please don't hesitate to send a message or two, us@cxc.com. Thanks for trying out our product and have a great day!
