A single Readerware server accesses the database and allows Readerware clients to connect, view and update the database. You can optionally restrict access so that clients can view the data but not update it. Once started the Readerware server runs quietly in the background requiring no user intervention. The Readerware clients can be anywhere on your network, connected via the internet or on the same machine as the server.
Before you start the server you must create your Readerware database. To create a new database, start the Readerware program as normal, select the File->New Database menu item, select the name and location of your database and click on Create.
The database needs to be accessible to all users so that images can be accessed, so create your database somewhere that all your users have access to and can mount as a network drive.
If you want to use an existing database, you can.
Make sure that your Readerware client is closed. There must not be anyone accessing the database when you start the server.
Start the Readerware server. It will open a small console window. You must first select the databases from the server console menus so that the server knows which databases to access. The databases you select will be remembered and automatically selected next time you start the Readerware server. If you ever need to change databases, select the appropriate Clear Database Selection item.
Readerware should now display a server started message. That's all there is to it, your Readerware server is now running.
The full Readerware Server menu bar contains a File menu with just an exit item and entries for each Readerware server. Each server menu contains:
Select Database - Select the database the server is to access.Now that you are familiar with running the Readerware server, you can set up your system so that it runs as a service under Windows NT/2000/XP or is started automatically on Mac OS X.Select Database Mode - Select the database mode, Update or Read Only. If Read Only is selected, clients will be able to view the database but not update it.
Clear Database Selection - Once you have defined a database, the Readerware server will automatically open it the next time the server is started. This eliminates the need to select a database each time the server is started. If you ever need to change databases, select this menu item. Then when restarted, Readerware will not select a database.
Backup Database - This will prompt you to enter the name and location for a backup file. Readerware will create a ZIP archive of the complete database including the images. You can then easily save this single ZIP file in a safe location. Any client can also backup the server database this way, providing an automatic backup on another machine.
Restore Database - Use this item to restore a database from a Readerware backup ZIP file. You will be prompted to select the backup file and the new database name, it must not already exist. Readerware will then create a new database with the contents of the backup file.
rwserver -installThis will install the Readerware Server as a Windows service and set it up to automatically start every time you start Windows. To start it manually use the Windows Services Control Panel, Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services. Look for "Readerware Server" in the list.
rwserver -uninstallThe first time Windows launches the Readerware server, it will start up without any active databases. This will happen even if you had previously configured the Readerware server because when the Readerware server is started as a service, it is started with a different set of preferences. Just go through the normal configuration process to configure the Readerware server. Then close the Readerware server from the Readerware Server console window to ensure your new preferences get saved. Now when Windows restarts the Readerware server it will be correctly configured.
Before you start the server you must create your Readerware database. To create a new database, start the Readerware program as normal, select the File->New Database menu item, select the name and location of your database and click on Create.
The database needs to be accessible to all users so that images can be accessed, so create your database somewhere that all your users have access to and can mount as a network drive.
If you want to use an existing database, you can.
When running the Readerware Server in command line mode you must create a configuration file specifying the database(s) and database mode(s). This file must be created in the Readerware Server installation directory and must be called "rwserver.properties". On Mac OS X this file must be stored in the application package. Control-click on the RWServerd application icon. Select Show package contents from the popup menu. Double click on Contents, Resources, Java, the rwserver.properties file must be stored here.
The rwserver.properties file can contain the following entries:
aw.svr.db={full path to ReaderwareAW database}
aw.svr.db.mode={ReaderwareAW database mode, 0 = full access, 1 = read only)
rw.svr.db={full path to Readerware database}
rw.svr.db.mode={Readerware database mode, 0 = full access, 1 = read only)
vw.svr.db={full path to ReaderwareVW database}
vw.svr.db.mode={ReaderwareVW database mode, 0 = full access, 1 = read only)
You do not need to start all databases, if you are only running
Readerware, then you only need to define the rw.svr entries.
Example:
rw.svr.db=C:\\Readerware\\RWareDB.rwd.data
rw.svr.db.mode=0
The Readerware Server will open the Readerware (book) database at
C:\Readerware\RWareDB.rwd.data in update mode.
Note that special characters must be escaped with the backslash
character. So to enter a backslash you must enter \\.
Make sure that your Readerware client is closed. There must
not
be anyone accessing the database when you start the server.
To start the server run:
rwserverd
If you need to start the server in debug mode you can add the -debug
parameter:
rwserverd -debugNow that you have the Readerware server configured, you can set up your system so that it runs as a service under Windows NT/2000/XP.
rwserverd -installThis will install the Readerware Command Line Server as a Windows service and set it up to automatically start every time you start Windows. To start it manually use the Windows Services Control Panel, Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services. Look for "Readerware Server" in the list.
rwserverd -uninstall
Select Edit->Preferences from the Readerware menu. Click on the Database tab. Click on the Remote Database radio button. Click OK to close the preferences dialog. Readerware is now setup to use a remote server. If you do not see the Remote Database radio button, it means that your license is for Readerware Standard Edition rather than Readerware Client/Server Edition. Just select Help->Register from the menu and enter your Readerware Client/Server license information.
Select the File->Open Database menu item. Now you will see the database connection dialog. Enter the name of the machine where the Readerware server is running. Click on the browse button and select the database the server is using. Although the Readerware client will access the database via the server, it still needs to know where the database is so it can access the images. You must select the database on the remote machine. As mentioned earlier the database needs to be stored where all users can access it.
Click on OK, Readerware will now load the remote database. Next time you start Readerware it will automatically connect to the server so you only have to configure the client once. Repeat this configuration on all your clients. If you configured the Readerware server so that clients have read only access, all fields will be read only and the user will not be able to update the database, run auto-catalog etc.
There are no other differences in the Client/Server edition of
Readerware
so continue to use the product as normal.
If you have trouble connecting to the Readerware server, see the connection problems section.
Readerware uses the following TCP/IP ports to converse with the server:
If you experience any problems, the answer can normally be found in
the log file. This is a plain text file and can be viewed in any text
editor.
ping servernamewhere servername is the name of the machine running the Readerware server. If the ping works, then we know the two machines can communicate. If not there is some sort of networking problem between the two machines. Try using the machine IP address in place of the server name. Readerware will accept either.
Readerware uses the following TCP/IP ports to converse with the server: