Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion

Cool Open Source file-sharing app: HTTP File Server (HFS)

(1/6) > >>

zridling:
Added a really cool Open Source app tonight to the Great Software List called HFS, for "HTTP File Server", and I love it. You may have heard of it.



HFS, HTTP File Server is file sharing software which allows you to send and receive files, very much like a webserver (only it doesn't host websites). You can limit this sharing to just a few friends, or be open to the whole world. HFS is different from classic file sharing because there is no network. HFS is a web server which uses web technology to be more compatible with today's Internet. Since it is actually a web server, your friends can download files as if they were downloading from a website using a web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. Your users don't have to install any new software. HFS lets you share your files. Most web servers are used to publish a website, but HFS is not designed to do that. You are, however, free to use it in any way you wish, but at your own risk. HFS needs no installation. Just put the "hfs.exe" file in a folder of your choice (perhaps named HFS), and run it. The first time it runs, you are prompted to see if you wish to integrate it into the context menu. If you pick "yes," and then in Windows Explorer you can simply right-click on a file to add it to HFS (and make it downloadable). (This option can also be accessed after installation in Menu > Other options > Shell context menu, or you can use a download manager to obtain multiple files quickly and easily.) What an incredible app, give it a try and hell, donate something, anything to this fantastic open source software!

My thanks goes to Peter Herbert of Copenhagen for sharing it with me.

mouser:
looks great.
ps. there are a few of these similar tools, i think we've posted about a couple on the forum but i can't find the posts.

f0dder:
That kind of stuff is really great when you just need to share a few not-insanely-large files (like my younger brother with his weird home-made music :)). It's also okayish even for larger stuff, but then the downloader should preferably use something like flashget to grab - or at least something with resume and a bit more solid than internet explorer...

For larger stuff, I prefer the torrent protocol. Even if there will only be one "seeder" (ie, you're a file sending directly to a friend), the per-piece hashing and retransmit on error makes it worthwhile. And with µTorrent with it's built-in tracker and .torrent file creator, it's easy-peasy as well :)

herbiman:
HFS works with most download managers, including Flashget, so resuming downloads isn't a problem.

I'm a great Torrent fan too, but HFS is quite fast -- it depends what you pay for at yor ISP. I get upload speeds around 200 kbs if i don't run eg Torrent at the same time.

herbiman:
Also, HFS can be used to host websites (I'm not done this myself.9 But I quote from the doc:

Use HFS to host a website

Classic webservers are used for publishing one or more websites. They work in a simple way: you just indicate which folder contains files to be published, and it is done.

However, this is also possible with HFS. Just follow these steps:
In the virtual file system, right-click on root(home) and click bind root to real-folder.
Select the folder that contains the website files.
Right-click root again, and click default file mask.
Type index.htm*.

The name index.htm* is normally ok, but your particular main page file may have a different name, such as default.html; check it out.

No server-side scripting is currently supported.
Disclaimer
HFS is not designed to publish websites.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page