HFS: Introduction
HFS (Http File Server) is file sharing software which allows you to send and receive files over HTTP. 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 is designed to let you easily share files. Most web servers are used to publish a website. While HFS is fully capable of this, it is not designed to do so. You are free to use HFS in any way you wish, but at your own risk.
Installation
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», then in Window’s 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.)
Basic instructions
HFS really is very easy to use.
* Run "HFS.exe". * In the window (left-pane), drag&drop all the elements to share. * Communicate to your friends the address of the items to download.
After you drag&drop the files, the address (ie. the URL) is automatically copied to your Windows clipboard. If you then use, say, a chat window, just PASTE to send the address.
Alternatively, if you chose to enable the context menu, just right-click on the file/folder to share, and select «Add to HFS». HFS then automatically runs, shares the item, and copies the URL to your clipboard, ready to be pasted.
Notice that at first, «You are in Easy mode». It is recommended that you stay in this mode until you have used HFS a few times. Simply click the message to change to Expert mode.
See First time configuration for more detailed setup information.
Uninstallation
Use the Uninstall command from the HFS Main menu.
HFS: The Virtual File System
It is a sequence of bytes. A byte is a unit of information.
What is a File System
It is an ordered set of files. Often they are hierarchically ordered in folders (also called directories).
What is a Virtual File System
File Systems are stored on a disk. A Virtual File System (VFS) is stored in memory instead. This can be very interesting; in fact this is the main reason I started working on HFS.
Thanks to the VFS you can publish things in the way you want without actually changing anything on your disk. People will only see what you want them to see. You can hide files, rename them, move them to another folder, etc. This is what people will actually see! But nothing changes on your disk.
Many people are already familiar with this because of well-known software such as Nero which also has a VFS.
Most web servers let you publish one or more folders, but the content shown will just reflect the disk’s contents. This is sometimes an unwanted feature.
What is a real/virtual folder
The VFS in HFS has both virtual folders and real folders. Sometimes it may be irrelevant, but at other times you’d better pay attention to which you choose.
Virtual folders are yellow, real folders are red.
Real folders
A real folder is a link to a folder on your disk, and shows the current (real-time) content of your disk. Its behavior is very near to what you usually find in FTP server software. But it is has some virtuality, even if not as much as the virtual folder. I mean, the real folder is not necessarily the same as the folder on your disk. There are many aspects of the folder that you can change virtually. You can rename it (but not the files within it), add files, hide files, etc.
Virtual folders
A virtual folder only shows items you can see in the VFS. When you add a virtual folder based on a folder on your disk, the disk’s contents are copied to the VFS. From now on, the content is seperated from the disk; it is virtualized. If a file is subsequently added or removed on the disk, the VFS won’t be updated to reflect those changes. Its behavior is very near to what you usually find in CD burning software.
That’s about handling the VFS from HFS window. If you delete a file from the browser, the file is deleted on disk.
In the future
In the not-so-far future, this difference between folders will disappear. You will be able to do everything with a (normal) folder.
Tricks
- Sometimes you need to take control over a sub-folder B of a real folders A. Problem is: you can’t directly, because A won’t expand in the VFS.
Solution is: simply manually add B (as real folder) under A. Now you should get all the control you need over it.
HFS — маленький и удобный HTTP-файл сервер
Пробежался поиском по хабру и удивился тому, что об этой программе никто не упоминал, хотя про тот же Dropbox неоднократно писали.
Итак, встречайте — HFS. Программа, которая позволяет в два клика поднять собственный HTTP-файл сервер, расшарить файлы и выдать ссылку на скачку другу.
Чем хорош такой подход? Тем, что не надо ничего никуда заливать — файлы скачиваются прямо с вас. Тем же он, правда, и плох — работать будет только в случае, если компьютер включен и имеет доступ к сети (желательно, не через GPRS 🙂
Существует возможность настройки прав доступа как по IP, так и через учетные записи. Плюс — возможность заливки файлов (аналогично — файлы заливаются сразу к вам на компьютер).
Веб-интерфейс достаточно приятен глазу. Программа работает как под винду, так и под линукс через Wine.
Из минусов — вроде как требуется внешний IP (статика или динамика), однако я не проверял возможность работы без него. А так — штука дико удобная, особенно когда расшаренная папка содержит файлы, которые постоянно изменяются. Хотя, фанаты Dropbox не оценят.
При подготовке материала использовались источники:
https://www.rejetto.com/wiki/index.php/HFS:_Introduction
https://www.rejetto.com/wiki/index.php/HFS:_The_Virtual_File_System
https://habr.com/ru/articles/58591/