Phew 2011 has so far been a busy year at TrueShare.
Our focus has been primarily on three exciting initiatives: 1. advancement of our TrueShare Enterprise server; 2. preparing our new TrueShare On-Premise (Private Cloud) server edition; 3. completing our file integration capabilities in our killer API and RESTful web services.
With all of these initiatives (and others) completed on schedule, we are pleased and excited to see them in use at this time and we are looking forward to working with our business partners and developer partners as we continue to advance our online file server platform.
We will release new blog posts over the next week specific to each of these three initiatives to provide a detailed exploration of each and what they offer.

One great aspect of TrueShare that I don’t think gets talked about enough is team collaboration.

That is what the TrueShare Unlimited Users feature is all about – Go TEAM!

As far as I know TrueShare is the only online file system that offers unlimited users – which is essential for doing business without constraints!

However, in this blog I’m talking about two other features that make teamwork so smooth in the TrueShare system – Workgroups and Forums.  These features work great as stand alone tools, or can be combined for seamless collaboration across your organization.

I’ll give you a brief explanation of each feature and then show you how to enhance your team collaboration with both features working together (check out our spotlight features or features page for a more in-depth look).

The Workgroups Advantage

Workgroups really takes advantage of the unlimited users feature of TrueShare.  A business that offers each employee, client, or all of the above a user account can easily use Workgroups to organize and delegate.   In fact, when you add a user to your TrueShare account, it automatically offers the option to include them in a workgroup from the start.

So why bother with Workgroups?  Like User Groups, which allows you to manage groups of user’s permissions as a single user, Workgroups allows you to manage user’s folder permissions just as effortlessly.  Once you add users to a workgroup, they then have access to workgroup specific folders with only the permissions you assign.  These specific folders can consist of both workgroup only folders which are only visible to users in the group, and public folders which are visible to all of your TrueShare users if assigned.  These folders allow for workgroups to collaborate on files away from other users or in conjunction with them, which is great for security and general organization.

Enhanced Communication via Forums

When conducting business across the country or even across the world, communication between teammates can get lost.  Emails get buried and phone calls get forgotten.  The easiest way to communicate about specific projects or files is through forums, which have been dominating web communication for over a decade.

The TrueShare forums act like any other forum site or application.  Users can create new forums, topics and posts, and utilize standard html text editing for custom formats.  The shining feature of forums, however, is the permissions and management system.  Within the forum editor you can assign forums to specific users, folders, workgroups, or user groups; you can manage active, inactive and locked forums, and monitor all posts and topics within each forum.

Now lets look at using Workgroups and Forums together for ultimate team collaboration.

Workgroups and Forums Team Up for Collaboration

With Workgroup organization and Forum communication used together in the TrueShare system, teams can collaborate more effectively than before.  When assigning users to a forum, one of the options is to assign a workgroup.  This allows users who are already collaborating on projects and files within their workgroup folders to communicate in their very own dedicated forums.  How could collaboration be any easier and well organized?

Even without the addition of other team facilitating features such as file versioning and folder syncing, Workgroups and Forums provide a superior collaboration experience for big and small businesses, and even students or families, one you can’t get with other file sharing and storing services.  So if you’re trying to organize groups online and are finding it difficult, or are just looking for a service that is dedicated to quality and a superior customer experience, check out the Forums and Workgroups features in the TrueShare online file system.  And look out for more blog topics on team collaboration in the future.

I find that when I am working on a file that follows me through the years or a piece of writing in general, I either end up losing original versions to the black hole on my hard drive, or a folder full of the same file with a different name.  I was recently working on my budget spreadsheet at home and realized that I had about 8 tabs in it with various versions of the data. A few examples of tab titles include old, current, 6/30/09, and others.  Sound familiar?  I think most people find themselves in this same type of situation but are at a loss of how to fix it. So the question is, how does someone go about organizing different versions of the same file, and what tools do they use?

In IT circles, file versioning has been around for quite awhile. Managing the various versions of code during development is a core challenge, one that forced companies early on to come up with a way to easily keep track of changing data.  The solution, of course, was file versioning.  So what is it? In short, every time you save a file that has been versioned, the previous version isn’t overwritten but moved to some other location and archived automatically. Any document or file that changes over time can benefit from versioning, and it saves people from doing the manual version of renaming original files with dates and numbers or using Save As features.

Tools for Quick and Easy File Versioning

Although it’s not as popular in a home or non-tech business setting, file versioning tools have found their way into the mainstream.  Many new operating systems now come with built in technology that provides a type of file versioning. TrueShare also provides versioning, allowing you to set the online file system to monitor any folders you choose. Whenever you upload a file to a folder in your TrueShare account with file versioning turned on, if that file has already been uploaded, the old version is archived and the newest is put in its place. And if you ever need to access an old version of the file, you can just click on the File Action Menu of the file in question and select Version History. All old versions of the file will be made available for you to download.

With TrueShare’s file versioning you can easily keep track of changing data while keeping your online and offline storage clean and organized.  You can even sync up folders between your hard drive and your TrueShare account with our Auto Tran feature.  Auto Tran will monitor changes in one folder and upload them to the other.  If the changes are a revised version of an already saved file then TrueShare file versioning kicks in and organizes it appropriately.  Using this method on the budget spreadsheet I mentioned earlier, I can now delete all of my extra tabs and extra file saves making my computer and TrueShare online file system clean and tidy while securing all of the data I care about.

If you are suffering from a similar situation of messy folders and lost file versions, give file versioning a shot.  And with TrueShare’s file versioning plus Auto Tran, you can store your files and all of their previous versions safely in “the cloud” automatically.  I especially recommend TrueShare file versioning to writers like me who need instant access to their hordes of rough drafts and revisions.

Tell us how you take advantage of TrueShare’s file versioning feature:

How To: TrueShare DropBox

DropBox is one of the applications that come with the TrueShare for Windows software download.  TrueShare DropBox is a handy little utility that makes uploading files from your desktop to your online file system quick and easy.

One of the problems that can arise from using an online file system is being forced to always manage them from a browser.  Companies usually don’t like their employees constantly reaching for a browser because the ability to stray to other websites is always a temptation. With TrueShare for Windows we have worked to minimize this problem.  For uploading files straight from your desktop to your TrueShare online file system, DropBox is your go-to app. For browser-free file management and downloading, TrueShare Explorer is the answer.

The Many Features of DropBox

While using DropBox to upload files from your desktop, this utility has some additional features that you may find very useful.  Automatically, DropBox opens with the option to stay on top of your other applications.  This lets you search for files you want to upload or work with other applications without losing DropBox among open folders and programs.  Once you find the files you want to upload, you can drag them from their location and into your DropBox to place them in queue for upload. You can also set the auto upload feature and it will upload the files immediately upon dropping them into your DropBox. You can turn the “Stay On Top” feature off by right clicking if you would prefer to not use that feature.  This brings us to the other functions of TrueShare DropBox.

In the right click option menu you will see Add Files, Clear Selected, Clear All, Upload, Settings, Hide Drop Box, Stay on Top, and Auto Upload.  The first three are self explanatory, and provide easy manipulation of which files are in the box.  Upload is the option you click to immediately upload everything that is sitting in your DropBox queue.  If you click upload and haven’t selected a folder yet, it will prompt you to do so. You also change your destination folder in the Settings option.  Since you log in to your TrueShare account upon the startup of DropBox, Settings will pull your folder tree from your online system so you can easily select the folder you want files to be uploaded to. You can also change the dimensions of the DropBox box, and hide the title bar if desired.

Auto Upload, mentioned earlier, is the true star of TrueShare’s DropBox features. If you check this option, any file you drag into the box will be instantly uploaded to your TrueShare account in the designated folder. The text for the file doesn’t show up in the DropBox, but you will see the progress bar with larger files. You can easily upload files in mere seconds with this feature, and all without opening an internet browser.

Free Apps Save you Time and Money

Considering TrueShare DropBox is a free add-on application, I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t use it.  DropBox just sits in my system tray, ready to upload files at any moment.  If you already have a TrueShare account and haven’t tried out our free apps like DropBox, Explorer, and Auto Tran, download our TrueShare for Windows software today and see how easy it is to use an online file system with these free add-on applications.  If you don’t have a TrueShare account, sign up for our free 7-day trial and experience a full featured business account with all the bells and whistles with no credit card necessary.  You can even download DropBox and give it a spin.

TrueShare File Encryption – Words for the Wary

Security is always a concern when sharing, storing, or hosting your files online.  Understandably there tends to be an apprehension about storing your work or personal information online where it is perceived that hackers, viruses, and prying eyes can get at it.  Businesses especially desire to protect their important files and sensitive documents.  TrueShare understands this concern, which is why we go to the effort of making sure your online storage is more than safe with SAS 70 and HIPAA compliant procedures.

Never worry about file security again because TrueShare protects your files by encrypting them during upload and download transfers, and while at rest on the TrueShare servers, as well as employing numerous other security steps.  Even your personal information such as usernames and passwords are encrypted using a one way RC4 or MD5 method so that no one, including TrueShare employees, has access to your files, login information, or credit card information.

Folder level encryption

For that extra level of security on a project or group of files, TrueShare offers folder level encryption.  Each folder in your TrueShare account has the option to have its contents encrypted.  This option uses the Rijndael algorithm method of encryption with the key size of 256 bit. This is the same method adopted by the US government, standardized in the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES.)

Peace of mind with TrueShare

Even if you don’t require a Fort Knox of security on your files, rest assured that TrueShare is constantly working to keep your account safe. Your files are encrypted at the front end, back end, and everywhere in between to ensure HIPPA and SAS 70 compliance.

To read more about our security measures, take a look at our Security White Paper.  If you have any questions or concerns, be sure to contact our customer service at 1-877-700-4999 or support@trueshare.com.

How can you easily and securely share computer files with clients, coworkers, friends or family?

Email Attachment File Transfers…

We all know that sending files via email, especially large files, can be quite a hassle. Have you ever tried to send a co-worker or client a big spreadsheet in a hurry, and were faced with the problem of how to send it. If you choose email as most people do, you stand the chance of your computer bogging down during the transmission especially when trying to send large or multiple files via email attachment. This not only delays the transfer, it also interrupts your work. On top of that, email, in most cases, is not secure. It is slow and cumbersome, not to mention the possibility of the email itself getting blocked because of the attachments. There are just too many ways that sharing files via email attachments can fail, so what do you do?

FTP or Thumb Drives…

If you are lucky enough to have an FTP server in your organization (J) you may be familiar with the joys of using an FTP client to connect and transfer files…or maybe you have even gotten to administer an FTP server to set up user access permissions.  Like email attachments, but for different reasons, there are too many ways in which FTP services are not practical for businesses that need an easy file sharing and file access solution.  Another approach to addressing the file sharing file access problem may be to use thumb drives but this also will usually fall short of a viable solution..  A thumb drive is great for transferring large files if you have the computer in front of you but again they are just not practical beyond that….so now what!

Free Online File Services…

Well, after a little research you could find a good online file storage solution to solve the problem.  But there are so many. Oh, and there is all of these free or dirt cheap offers that sound so good.  Why not try one of them to solve the problem. But wait! Buyers beware! You usually get what you pay for!  Don’t forget that a bad solution in business always cost more in the end.

In our experience, these offers do not provide a quality online file system for you to store, access, manage, and share your computer files from any where at any time. They are also usually lacking in security features, are limited in functionality, and can become a straight jacket on your ability to operate efficiently or effectively.

Enter TrueShare Send-A-Link…

TrueShare’s Send-a-Link feature enables you to quickly and securely share files with anyone that has an email address. You can provide access to an unlimited number of files of any size less than 2 GB with just a couple clicks.

Send-A-Link is more than an email attachment alternative. There are many features that you can utilize as well. You can set up your Send-A-Link to notify you with an email when your recipient has downloaded a file. You can set the emailed link to expire after a certain date or to require a password be entered to download the files. These options are great for sending secure work documents to clients and colleagues in or out the office, providing a specific subset of files to an employee on the road, or just sharing music with family and friends. You even have to ability to send to an unlimited number of recipients and these recipients will receive individual emails so that anonymity between recipients is upheld.

To use Send-A-Link simply select the files in your TrueShare account you want to share, click the Send-A-Link Icon, select the recipients from users already in your TrueShare account or add recipients that do not have a TrueShare user account, set the options for password protection, expiration period, and notifications, enter a subject and a message and send it. Recipients receive an email with your message and a link to a secure webpage where they can access the files you selected.

You might be thinking that process sounds a lot like putting an attachment into a regular email.  The difference, especially when you’re working with multiple large files, is that you only need to send one email to accommodate all of your files. Plus, the link that is sent takes up hardly any space so that the email loads quickly.  If you’ve ever hassled with multiple large email attachments, you know that this is usually not the case.

So if you’re tired of wasting time and energy on email attachments, give the Send-A-Link feature a try.  You’ll find you that sending files can be secure, quick, and easy.

Here at TrueShare we are always looking to expand our features and usability. So with businesses and designers in mind, we are pleased to introduce the newest feature addition to the TrueShare online file system: Autodesk Freewheel

Ever thought it might be cool to publish interactive versions of your AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, and Design Review drawings on your website or present them in a blog or newsletter? Autodesk Freewheel is a tool produced by Autodesk that allows you to easily present, collaborate, and share your 3D and 2D designs as DWF files.

Just like TrueShare, Freewheel is an application available to you without software downloads, and is compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac, and all popular web browsers.  Autodesk Freewheel integration now comes standard with all TrueShare accounts for easy and powerful review and presentation of your designs.

You can use Freewheel to access any DWF file in your TrueShare file system in either of two ways:

The first and fastest way is to simply log in to your TrueShare, navigate to the folder containing the DWF file, click the File Action Menu for the DWF file you want to open and then select the “Freewheel” option to load the DWF into a pop-up window (turn off pop-up blockers first!).

The second way to present DWF files in your TrueShare system via the AutoDesk Freewheel technology is to embed the Freewheel application in your website. The example below is a sample drawing from the Freewheel gallery and contains 29 different views of the drawing. Essentially, what you’re looking at is a DWF file presented via the Freewheel API. Coding couldn’t be simpler, it’s just an iframe containing a source for the API and a TrueShare Direct Link to the drawing.

Here’s the code for the example below:

< iframe src=”http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com/dwf.aspx?path=http://www.TrueShare.com/DirectLink/FileAccess.aspx?DLID=82suOPTwBHfLxrMj2rWM” scrolling=”no” height=”450″ width=”500″>< /iframe>

The width and height attributes can be set to whatever you want, so it’s very easy to configure the Freewheel interface to suit your site.

Interact with this Live Demo

Once you have your DWF file displayed in Freewheel, you can zoom in and out, rotate it 360° on the x, y, and z axis, and pan up, down, left or right.  Not only does Freewheel let you view your design in these different settings, but you have the option to print or even share your DWF file in the viewer via email.

Autodesk Freewheel adds a powerful feature to the TrueShare online file system that can be an advantage to engineers, designers, architects, and many other businesses using and sharing CAD drawings. It’s a new component that furthers the collaboration and multipurpose uses of the TrueShare system.

To take advantage of what TrueShare and Autodesk Freewheel can do for your team, your clients, and your website, sign up for a free TrueShare 7-day trial business account. For more info on Autodesk’s Freewheel see www.labs.autodesk.com/technologies/freewheel.

When it comes to online file sharing, companies such as Box, FilesAnywhere, and our own online file system, TrueShare.com, there are three limits that can be found within each service: file size limit, disk space limit, and user limit.  The file size and disk space limits are fairly obvious, but the one elusive limit we will be talking about today is the user limit.

What exactly is a user and why is it important?

Well, a user is someone who has access to a file sharing account.  There is always at least one user, and this first user has full access to all features of the account.  This is the person who originally opens the account.  Depending on the service you are using and its user limits, adding additional users may be an option. These extra users are set up and managed by the original user or that task can be assigned to a new user. These new users can be set up to have any level of permission from very limited access up to full access.

The option of extra users in TrueShare is powerful, especially for businesses, but also for personal or family use.  With unlimited users you can assign all of your employees a folder for remote access to their work, you can give customers and clients quick access to project folders and files they need as well as collect files from them, you can also utilize multi user features such as reporting, user groups, work groups, versioning, and forums for superior online teamwork. These extensive user management options and collaboration tools make unlimited users indispensible for a business or work environment.

TrueShare’s unlimited users versus the competition

Honestly, we feel there is no competition.  With any TrueShare business account, no matter the disk space, you get unlimited users.  You might be saying “I only need 10 users because I only have 10 employees.”  I would counter with “How much disk space are you looking to use?” If you only want to share word documents with your employees, you would not need to pay for much space.  But looking at Box.net, they do not offer packages with 10 users for less than $150 a month regardless of the disk space needed.  And while FilesAnywhere’s additional users are more reasonably priced in the neighborhood of $3 monthly each, you get charged for every one.

The reason these services become so expensive is that they charge by the disk space and per user, so that the price looks good for the amount of space you get, but ends up skyrocketing per user you add, which is why having only 10 users costs so much.  If you are looking to more efficiently share your computer files with your employees for a reasonable cost, Box and Files Anywhere are not for you.  For just $25 a month (annual rate), TrueShare offers businesses 5 GB of storage with unlimited users, which is perfect for business documents sharing needs, but TrueShare is so much more than that.

If you are a large business or enterprise looking for a file sharing service, you may require a lot of disk space, so the above scenario doesn’t seem to affect you.  But the problem is Box and Files Anywhere still charge you for every user in addition to disk space, so you will be overpaying hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the additional user accounts that come free with all TrueShare Business and Enterprise packages.

Get more for your money

Here at TrueShare, we believe that you should only have to pay for what you need, which is why we offer unlimited users, and charge only by disk space.  We also provide premium features such as Send-a-Link, Direct Link, file and photo widgets, auto transfer and dropbox applications, and HIPAA and SAS 70 compliant security.  Whether you’re a big corporation, small business, have a large extended family or just a few close friends, take advantage of TrueShare’s unlimited users and get more for your money.  In fact, take a test drive on us-sign up for the 7 day free trial and experience a full featured TrueShare account today.

Business	Unlimited Users
	5 GB Disk Space – $30/mo
	10 Users	20 Users	30 Users	40 Users
Web Basic	$3.30/user/mo 5 GB total $33.95/mo	$3.00/user/mo 5 GB total $59.45/mo	$2.84/user/mo 5 GB total $84.45/mo	$2.75/user/mo 5 GB total $109.45/mo
Business	$15/user/mo 10 GB/user 100 GB total $150/mo	$15/user/mo 10 GB/user 200 GB total $300/mo	$15/user/mo 10 GB/user 300 GB total $450/mo	$15/user/mo 10 GB/user 400 GB total $600/mo

In the first half of 2009 we increased our TrueShare marketing efforts in working with our Reseller Partners. We have learned much and have made many changes as a result of good people providing great feedback.

Throughout these changes we’ve had to balance our decisions between consideration of viability and value to TrueShare and opportunity and value to our Resellers.  It has been a pleasure to make these decisions and shape our Reseller Program with top priority given to creating an offer and an opportunity that enables our Reseller Partners to be successful and profitable.

We have learned that our Reseller Partners are ideally positioned to promote the advantages of TrueShare to their circles of influence.  Businesses around the world have a compelling need for TrueShare features like online file storage, online backup, and simple file sharing on a daily basis. Learning of a solution like TrueShare through a trusted business partner helps them see the value very clearly.

We have also learned that businesses love PhotoShare – the photo management feature of TrueShare – for secure photo sharing online and for easily embedding rich media into blogs, websites, and newsletters.

But the one thing we have learned above all else is that our Resellers are invaluable and insightful and we thank them and appreciate them any time and in every way that we can.

Follow this link for more information about the TrueShare Reseller Partner Program

Today we completed the initial publication of our new TrueShare Library developed with the hope of helping those less knowledgeable about our industry and our service get up to speed easily.  There are so many new terms associated with an online file system that a simple conversation can sound alien to many of us and then we tune it out!

Rather than tuning it out and staying uninformed, we’ve made it easy for you. With articles on key subjects like file sharing, file storage, ftp servers, and remote access, you can become an expert in no time.  Our initial release of the Library consists of 10 informative articles and we have many more underway and will be updating them often.

Also coming in the next several days will be the availability of all our articles in an MP3 Pod Cast format so you can read with your eyes closed.

Take a look! Click Here – We hope you find them useful.