Brisbane Area WICEN Group uses the NextCloud synchronisation and file sharing service for organising events and keeping contact information current. It is hosted by one of the members here in Brisbane.
Why is it called “OwnCloud” if we use NextCloud?
…because originally, we were running OwnCloud. When NextCloud forked, most of the plug-ins we used moved to the NextCloud fork, so WICEN’s OwnCloud migrated as well. We still call it “OwnCloud” however, and both systems are similar to use despite the fork taking place 10 years ago.
What is needed to access NextCloud?
To access NextCloud, you only need a recent web browser. Windows XP users may have difficulty reaching the site using Internet Explorer, other browsers should work fine.
Recommended configuration is:
- Operating System:
- any modern GNU/Linux (released since 2010)
- Android 4.0 (or later)
- Apple MacOS X 10.5.6 (10.7 or later preferred), or iOS 4
- Microsoft Windows 7 (or later)
- Web browser
- Apple Safari (as shipped in MacOS X 10.5.6+, iOS 4)
- Google Chrome (version 6 or later)
- Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 7 or later)
- Mozilla Firefox (version 2 or later)
Accessing Brisbane WICEN OwnCloud
There are two addresses you can use for accessing our NextCloud instance:
https://owncloud.brisbanewicen.org.au (preferred)
http://owncloud.brisbanewicen.org.au
The former is strongly preferred as it encrypts the communications between your web browser and the server. Using a clear-text (“not encrypted”) link is bad for these reasons:
- People can see all traffic, including the log-in request containing your password, allowing that other person to possibly log in and impersonate you on the OwnCloud site.
- All content you see can be seen by those same third parties, including content such as peoples’ contact details (that they may wish to be kept private).
- The content you see can be manipulated by third parties (e.g. injecting malware)
The latter site is provided as a fall-back option if you absolutely must log-in and have no other way of doing it. Internet Explorer on Windows XP for example cannot access the site as it lacks support for Server Name Identification. Please do not use this link on a public WIFI hotspot or untrusted network!
Using NextCloud
For documentation on how to use NextCloud itself, your best resource would be the official NextCloud documentation. In particular, the Groupware section covers the use of the calendar and contacts features, including synchronisation with email clients and mobile phones/tablets.
Logging in
You’ll have been issued with a username and password… the username is usually your radio call-sign in lowercase. The NextCloud log-in screen looks like this, you enter your username and password as shown here.
You can either press ENTER or click the “Log in” button either will work. Having done this, it’ll likely take you straight to the calendar, so let’s start exploring there.
The Calendar
When you first log in, the default application that displays is the calendar.
Adding new events
Adding an event is a simple operation. First navigate to the week in which the event starts, then click on the day where the event starts and drag with your mouse, releasing when you get to the last day of the event. NextCloud will then pop up a dialogue box for you to fill in the event details.
For some members, there may be more than one calendar, and if so, you’ll see at the very top of the dialogue that appears, there’s a down-arrow beside the name of the calendar. It may be set to another calendar such as “Personal Calendar”, if you click on the down-arrow, it will let you choose another calendar. If you wish others in WICEN to see the event (and for it to appear on the public calendar), you must select “Brisbane Area WICEN (BAWG OwnCloud Admin)” as seen here:
Viewing, editing and deleting events
To view an event, click on it and a dialogue box will appear.
From here, you can edit the event by clicking on the Edit button, or to delete, use the ellipsis button (…) to reveal the delete options.
Moving between applications in NextCloud
We started with the calendar since that’s where you are by default. Along the top of the page are a row of icons, one for each application within NextCloud. Clicking on these will take you to that application. Some of the applications installed are:
- Calendar: We just looked at this, this is the event calendar.
- Dashboard: This takes you to an overview page. This can be configured to your liking if a overview page is what you’d prefer.
- Files: This is where meeting minutes, event notes and other documentation is kept. It is also where you go to add photos to a gallery.
- Photos: This is a photo gallery, put one or more photos into a directory (via the Files application) and they’ll appear here.
- Activity: This is basically just a report of what you and others have done in the recent past on the NextCloud system.
- Contacts: If you’re looking for contact details for other WICEN members, this is where you’ll find them. They can be edited here too.
- GpxPod: This is a GPX track-log viewer. You can upload GPX files via the Files application, and view them here.
- Bookmarks: This is where you can keep, and share, links to other websites.
- Tasks: This is a TO-DO list application.
- Passwords: This is a password manager application, mainly used by the executive.
- OTP Manager: This is a tool for storing TOTP secrets for two-factor authentication.
- Maps: This is a OpenStreetMap map viewer.
Contacts
If you select Contacts from the application menu, you’ll be taken to a page that looks like this:
The “+ New Contact” link on the left is how you add new contacts to the system, or you can click on an existing contact to view and edit. When you click on a contact, the pencil icon allows you to edit the contact, and the ellipsis button beside it reveals additional actions such as downloading the contact, deleting and generating a QR code (for scanning and loading into a smartphone).
Files
Here, you’ll find the file storage area.
Directory listings
The root directory is what you’ll see. Any files you upload here are seen by you and you alone, unless you tell the system to share them with others.
You’ll notice certain folders have a “shared” icon on them. These are directories that are owned by another user, and have been shared with you. In most cases, you’ll have write permission to these directories, meaning you can upload, overwrite and delete files in these shared directories.
Clicking on a directory takes you into that directory and displays its contents. Your browser’s BACK button is used to navigate back, or you can use the “bread crumbs” that appear up the top of the directory listing.
Viewing a file
To view a file without downloading (if it’s supported), simply click on it. It’ll open up in the browser.
To get back to the directory, use you browser’s BACK button.
Other file operations
To the right of each file is an ellipsis icon (…). Clicking this reveals other operations that may be performed, including renaming, deleting and downloading.
Adding files and directories
To add items to a directory, use the plus icon up the top of the page. Here, you can create text files, directories, or upload files from your computer.
User Profile settings
Another important feature to know, is the user profile settings. Up the top-right of the page, you’ll see either your name or your profile photo (if you set one). Click that, and a drop-down appears.
This is also where you go to log out. But for now, click Settings.
Here are a number of parameters. Most useful being the Email field. Setting an email address allows you to recover your password should you forget it. Over on the left menu you’ll notice Security, clicking on that link, it is here you will find the fields needed to set a new password or to enable two-factor authentication if you choose.
Getting Help
If you’re stuck, the best approach would be either to see us at a meeting, or to contact owncloud@brisbanewicen.org.au for assistance.