Appendix VIII - MAPPING DRIVES

New Information

We have released a change to a 3rd party tool our software uses to rebuild databases that will make mapping a drive unecessary for the BCFPI. If you are installing 3.2.7 of the BCFPI install (or later), you can ignore this appendix since mapped drives will not be required.

If you do not wish to update your BCPFI install at this point, we have found that there are some restrictions in how you must use your shares to properly map a drive to allow the BCPFI to rebuild its databases. There are 3 main rules you must follow to get your mappings to work properly if you are not using a version of the BCFPI installed by the 3.2.7 install (or later):

When mapping a drive, you MUST map your drive directly to a share on your server. Windows 2000 and Windows XP allow you to map a drive to a subfolder of a share which violates this rule. If you have a Windows 2000 or Windows XP server you must make sure that you are mapping to the share and not a subfolder on the share.
It is possible to set up your shares so that there are multiple UNC paths to the same folder and/or files on your computer. However, for the BCFPI to work, every computer must be installed from the same UNC path, and the mapped drive set up for the BCFPI MUST point at the same share used in the UNC path that was used when you installed the BCFPI Workstation. The best way to make sure this is obeyed is to set up your shares so that there is only ONE possible path to a given folder or file. This means you should NOT share a folder AND a subfolder (or a subfolder of a subfolder etc.) of a shared folder.

A UNC path is a path to a folder/file that does not include a drive letter. Instead, it includes a computer name followed by a share name on that computer, optionally followed by some folders. An example is, "\\YourServerComputer\ASharedFolder\Folder1\Folder2".

To keep in line with the first rule, for our example, you must map your drive only to "\\YourServerComputer\ASharedFolder". Windows 2000 and XP will allow you to also map a drive to "\\YourServerComputer\ASharedFolder\Folder1", but this will cause your rebuilds to fail.

Mapping Drives

The BCFPI software has been modified to reduce its reliance on mapped drives (i.e. 'F:\', 'T:\', etc.). The only reason that the BCFPI software requires a mapped drive is to rebuild the database. If you try to rebuild the database when you do not have a mapped drive to the BCFPI Server, then you will get an error similar to the one below. If you get this error, you need to map a drive to the BCFPI server. (Alternatively, you can avoid the problem by only doing rebuilds on your server computer directly).

There are a couple of different ways to map a drive depending on which operating system you're using (Win9x, Me, NT, 2000, XP). This page details two different ways to map a drive. You can use whichever method is easiest and available to you.

Mapping a Drive - Method 1 (Win 9x, Me, NT)

This is probably the best way to map a drive on a Win 2000 or Win XP computer. If your computer is running Win 9x, Me or, NT, please see Method 2.

Start Windows Explorer

Right click on 'My Computer' on your desktop. Choose 'Explore' from the pop-up menu to start Windows Explorer.

Find BCFPI Server Folder

Use Network Neighborhood to browse to the BCFPI Server install location on your network. Right click on the BCFPI root install folder on your Server. Select, 'Map Network Drive' in the pop-up menu that appears. Note: You must share the BCFPI root install folder for it to show up in Network Neighborhood. Make sure you are have read and followed the new information about mapping a drive.

Map Drive

A dialog to map your drive will appear. Choose a drive letter not currently in use for the 'Drive' (the drive letter 'M' has been selected in the example below). You should leave 'Connect As' blank. Make sure that 'Reconnect at Logon' is checked. Click on [Ok] to continue.

Verify the Drive Mapping

You can see the result in the picture below. We now have a new drive 'M:\' that actually points to the 'BCFPI' share on the server computer 'Laptopiv'.

Mapping a Drive - Method 2 (Win 2000, XP)

This is probably the best way to map a drive on a Win 2000 or Win XP computer. If your computer is running Win 9x, Me or, NT, please see Method 1.

Start Windows Explorer

Right click on 'My Computer' on your desktop. Choose 'Explore' from the pop-up menu to start Windows Explorer.

Run the "Map Network Drive" Utility

When Windows Explorer pops up, choose "Tools | Map Network Drive..." from the Windows Explorer menu.

Open the "Browse For Folder" dialog

Click the [Browse...] button to open the dialog to select the shared folder that you want to map a drive to. (Alternatively, you can just type in the UNC path to the shared folder).

Select the folder to be mapped

You will need to find the computer where the BCPFI Server has been installed, and you should map your drive to the root install location of the BCFPI software. In the example below, the root install folder for the BCFPI software is the share, "BCFPI", located on a computer called, "Chrisnt". Note: You must share the BCFPI root install folder for it to show up in the "Browse For Folder" dialog. Make sure you are have read and followed the new information about mapping a drive. Once you have selected the share (folder) that you want to map to, click the [OK] button.

Complete the mapped drived settings

Choose an unused drive letter for the mapping. This drive letter will be used to refer to the UNC path. In the example below, we'll be able to use "M:\", will be synonymous with the UNC path, "\\Chrisnt\BCFPI". Make sure that the "Reconnect at logon" check box has been checked. Once you are happy with the settings, you can click the [Finish] button.

Verify the Mapping

You can see the result in the picture below. We now have a new drive 'M:\' that actually points to the 'BCFPI' share on the server computer 'chrisnt'.