WebDAV in EPiServer CMS 5

Introduction

WebDAV is an extension of HTTP that allows for extended file handling. Moving from the readonly-internet that first emerged into a read and write enabled Web creates new needs. WebDAV meets those needs and provides a base for developers to extend the functionality of a site and its ease of use for an editor or administrator. In EPiServer CMS 5 it is used to give easy access to files (such as Word documents, images, etc). 

For more information on what WebDAV is, please visit www.WebDAV.org.

Table of Contents

Advantages of WebDAV

Setting up WebDAV in EPiServer CMS 5

Client Configuration

How to Connect to a WebDAV share from Windows Explorer

Advantages of WebDAV

• Easy file management.
• The possibility to support drag-and-drop operations of groups of files with no need for extra components, i.e. multiple file uploads.

This opens up possibilities for developers to create their own add-ins with extended file handling capabilities. You could for instance develop:

• Providers that convert EPiServer CMS 5 content into traditional files and back. This would allow editors to use locally installed applications, such as Microsoft Word, to edit EPiServer CMS 5 web content.
• Providers for reports. The developer could create the possibility to provide data as Excel files.

WebDAV for Developers

In a future release, the APIs for writing custom extensions to the WebDAV module will be exposed and documented. If you have urgent needs to develop solutions based on WebDAV, please contact EPiServer's support department.

Setting up WebDAV in EPiServer CMS 5

Edit web.config and make sure it contains the sections outlined below (note that WebFolder is simply a suggested default, you may change this to another name).

1 -  Find the element <sectionGroup name="episerverModules"> under the <configSections> node and make sure it contains the webDav definition as follows:

2 - Find the <episerverModules> node and make sure it contains a <webDav> sub-node. In the webDav sub-node, list the Virtual Path Providers that should be accessible via WebDAV. An example that exposes the Global VPP:

3 - Find the <httpModules> node under the <system.web> and make sure it contains an add statement for webDAV as follows:

4 - On the same level as the  <httpModules> section, add an <httpHandlers> node with an <add> statement for webDAV as follows: 

5 - At the level directly below  <configuration>, add a <location path="WebFolder"> element as follows:

If you want to use Basic Authentication to access data in the WebDAV folder, you also need to enable the BasicAuthentication http module. It is present in the httpModules section, but commented out by default. To enable it, simply remove the XML-comment indicators:

Client Configuration

If you are experiencing problems connecting to an EPiServer CMS 5 WebDAV folder from a Windows computer, please make sure you have updated the WebFolder software to the latest version. The WebFolder update can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=17c36612-632e-4c04-9382-987622ed1d64&DisplayLang=en

Note: You may have to enable Basic Authentication handling for your WebDAV client in order to logon to an EPiServer CMS 5 WebFolder.
See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 841215 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841215)  for information on how to do this in Windows.

If the site is configured to use Windows Authentication the previous steps should not be needed.