Product Drive FAQ

What is OX Drive?

OX Drive allows users to synchronize and share files and folders from the desktop and from their mobile devices.

OX Drive is available through the browser as part of OX App Suite. OX Drive native apps are available for Windows, OSX, iOS and Android and allow users to synchronize files between their PC’s, notebooks and mobile devices and OX App Suite.

What does it mean to sync files and folders?

Syncing files and folders is handled differently on desktop and mobile devices. Syncing files and folders on desktop computers (Windows and Mac) means that a copy of the file will be stored on your computer as well as in the cloud. Any changes to files and folders will be synced automatically.

On mobile devices files and folders are downloaded on demand, when needed. This means that OX Drive for Android and iOS does not eat into your data plan and storage space unnecessarily.

What are the requirements for OX Drive clients?

You will finde the client requirements under [Drive clients requirements]

How do I install OX Drive?

Download and install the correct OX Drive app for your mobile device and follow the instructions in the Wizard. Be prepared to enter the server URL and your credentials for the server.

How do I share a file or folder?

There are two ways to share files or folders in OX Drive. The first option is to share files or folders via a simple link. This link can be sent to anyone via email, instant message, text message, etc. Link sharing also allows you to set an expiration date or a password for additional security.

The second option is to invite others to collaborate on both files and folders. This means that authorized users can not only see all your content, but also edit and upload their own.

Can I share files and folders with non-OX Drive users?

Yes, you can share files and folders with anyone, even with users who don’t have an OX Drive account.

Can I limit access to a shared link?

There are two ways to limit access to a shared link (“Get link”). The first way is to set an expiration date for any shared link that you create. This enables you to provide temporary access to shared content. The second option is to set a password for a shared link. This ensures that only recipients with the password can view your shared content.

Some files are missing, where can I find them?

Technically speaking, there are some cases when a file does not get synchronized immediately because it's still being modified. This is normally true for office documents. As soon as the document gets released it will be synchronized. But there are also some cases that the file is ignored by OX Drive because of the filename contains one or of the following reserved characters:

• < (less than)
• > (greater than)
• : (colon)
• ” (double quote)
• / (forward slash)
• \ (backslash)
• | (vertical bar or pipe)
• ? (question mark)
• * (asterisk)
• Characters whose integer representations are in the range from 0 through 31
• The last character is a . (dot) or ' ' (space)
• It's case-invariant name without an optional extension matches one of the reserved names CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, or LPT9
• It consists solely of whitespace characters

In addition folders have some more reserved conditions:

• The last character of any subpath (i.e. the last part of the whole path or the part preceding the separator character /) is a . (dot) or ' ' (space)
• It not equals the root path /, but ends with a / (forward slash) character
• It contains two or more consecutive / (forward slash) characters

Unfortunately, there are more constraints: The maximum allowed length for some path segments, i.e. the parts between forward slashes (/) in directory and filenames, is restricted to 255 characters. Synchronizing a file or directory version that contains path segments longer than this limit leads to those versions being put into quarantine.

Can I synchronize a shared or public folder?

If a user is working with “Public” or “Shared” folders, OX Drive for Windows and Mac can sync these folders as well. Please note that these folders will take additional space on your computer hard drive, so only selected folders will be synced. Also be warned that selecting everything can create problems if your hard drive does not have enough free space available.

There are two ways to select additional folders for syncing. Either choose “Customize folder settings” after the initial configuration, or change the folder settings in the “Sync options” tab.

Which files types can I view on my mobile device?

On iOS devices the following file formats are natively supported:

• Images (jpg, png, gif)
• Audio (mp3, m4a, wav)
• Video (mov, mp4, m4v)
• Word documents (doc, docx)
• PowerPoint presentations (ppt, pptx)
• Excel spreadsheets (xls, xlsx)
• PDF (pdf)
• Keynote presentations (key)
• Pages documents (pages)
• Numbers spreadsheets (numbers)
• Text files (csv, txt, rtf)

On Android devices the following file formats can be opened natively:

• Images (jpg, png, gig)
• Text files (txt, csv)

Other file types like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF need an application installed on your device that can open these file types. If you have more than one application installed that is capable of viewing your file type, you will be asked which App you want to use.