[SOLVED] Want to access a directory from web via browser

[mark9117]

I hope this is the right place. If not, please feel free to move it.

I have a directory of recipes I've collected over forever that I would like to share with my adult children. I have that directory on an Internet-facing file server and I can get to it via ssh, ftp and a web browser thanks to a symbolic link in /var/www/html.

I would like something a little more presentable that I could refer the kids to. It has to be a simple point-and-click affair. They could just browse the listing and download the document they wanted. I don't want to have to install a content management system. I had a Drupal installation a few years ago and I didn't do anything with it, therefore, it just sat there unpatched and drew a lot of interesting spam.

I do, however, have a Dokuwiki installation on this server that seems well suited to this kind of thing, except that it doesn't offer a file server that I can get to work. I've installed the filelist and directorylist extensions and neither seems to work as advertised.

I can get the listings to show up with directorylist, but I can't get the links to download because Dokuwiki wants the files to live under the document root of Apache. So, while my documents live in \share\Recipes, Docuwiki reads the symbolic link, "/var/www/html/recipes" and creates the file listing just fine. When you click the link to download, the object under "<document_root>/share/Recipes/<filename>" is not found (error 404).

Is there a solution for this with Dokuwiki? Some way to mount the share so that Docuwiki can actually find the files? Is there some other simple solution short of a CMS that I haven't found?

Thanks much.

Mark

[wintpe]

the apache server has serveral sections in its config file httpd.conf

for example

<Directory "/mypath/mydocs/recipies">
AllowOverride None
Options None
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

that change the permissions on an underlying unix directory.

and allow you to browse it in file/directory mode, ie without an index.html

I find twiki is also a much better way of presenting stuff, but you cant just dump files in a directory, you have to add them to a

start page, or a section off a start page.


regards peter

[doktor5000]

Thanks for the tip wintpe . I'm familiar with Apache's ACL's but just barely. I don't think that's the issue with Dokuwiki. It's simply starting at the document root of Apache, consequently the path to my recipes is incorrect. I'm thinking that mounting that file system in a different place (specifically under /var/www/html/recipes) may resolve the issue, but I was too brain dead to sort that out yesterday when I posted this. I'll have to try it and verify whether it works without breaking anything.

Also, I'm at work now but will try to take a look at twiki when I get a chance.

Mark

[doktor5000]

Please next time do not use fullquotes, but only use the Reply function. Greatly improves clarity and reading flow

[jiml8]

Take a look at https://owncloud.com/. This is the perfect way to share files among family and friends.

[doktor5000]

And the installation instructions are in our wiki, just recently put it up: https://wiki.mageia.org/en/OwnCloud

[mark9117]

Nope. Been there done that. I wanted something even simpler. Found an open source php solution.

Http://adams-lan.blogdns.org/recipes

Now I just need to learn enough about css to build a more legible theme.

[jiml8]

Without downloading and studying that script, I cannot comment knowledgeably, but...

I suggest you look carefully at what security is employed in that script to prevent it from being used to crack your system. PHP is notoriously insecure; developers have to take specific pains to make it secure, and many developers don't bother.

I know that Owncloud goes to considerable lengths to maintain security. I don't know about this script.

[mark9117]

That did occur to me. I did download the code and look through it. That's irrelevant because I don't know enough php to recognize a gaping security hole if I fall through it. I did, however, look through the support listings and while I don't speak Arabic, I did not see anyone raising flags.

Having said all that, I know it's likely to be a damn sight more secure than a php solution I cobbled together myself from boilerplate on the web.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm sticking with this and working with ACL's in Apache's config until I see otherwise.

Mark

[mark9117]

Okay, I got curious and checked out OwnCloud again. I must say I am impressed. This little app has come a long way since I last implemented it a couple of years ago.
I have an owncloud server running under https and it looks really useful. Hopefully, it won't turn into a nagging maintenance sink like Drupal eventually did.

Going to mark this one "solved".

Mark
https://adams-lan.blogdns.org/owncloud