Troubleshooting
- Adjusting the Idle Timeout in FileWave Anywhere (WebAdmin)
- Could not create the /Volumes/XYZ directory error when opening client info
- Dashboard Warning levels and Descriptions
- Opening FileWave Central (Admin) in a Specific Language (macOS)
- Opening FileWave Central (Admin) in a Specific Language (Windows)
- What is the difference between Revert and Restore?
Adjusting the Idle Timeout in FileWave Anywhere (WebAdmin)
What
This article will guide you on how to change the idle timeout setting in FileWave Anywhere (WebAdmin). By default, the idle timeout is set to 25 minutes. This means that if there is no activity on the interface for 25 minutes, the user will be automatically logged out. However, depending on your needs, you may find this period too short or too long.
When/Why
You might want to change this setting if the default 25-minute timeout does not suit your work patterns or security needs. If you frequently need to step away from your work but find yourself logged out when you return, you might want to extend this timeout. Conversely, if you're concerned about leaving the interface open and unattended for too long, you might want to reduce the idle timeout.
However, it is important to bear in mind that extending the idle timeout can potentially increase security risks. For example, if you log into FileWave Anywhere on a shared or public computer and forget to log out, you could remain logged in until the timeout occurs, leaving your account vulnerable.
How
To adjust the idle timeout, you will need to modify a specific line in the settings_custom.py
file on your FileWave Server. This file is located at /usr/local/filewave/django/filewave/
on macOS or Linux systems.
Please note: If you are a hosted customer, you will not have direct access to the server and will need to contact FileWave Support to have them make this change for you.
Here is the process for self-hosted customers:
- Open the
settings_custom.py
file in a text editor. - Add or modify the following line:
UI_INACTIVITY_TIMEOUT = 25 * 60 # seconds the UI can stay inactive before auto logoff
- Replace the
25
in this line with the number of minutes you want for your idle timeout. For instance, if you want the timeout to be 60 minutes, the line should read:UI_INACTIVITY_TIMEOUT = 60 * 60
. - Save and close the file.
- To activate the change, you need to restart the server. Do this by running the following command in the terminal:
fwcontrol server restart
.
After these steps, the idle timeout will be set to the number of minutes you specified.
Could not create the /Volumes/XYZ directory error when opening client info
Problem
Error when opening client info for a client machine that it "Could not create the directory". The error is caused when you select "Export Current Tab" in Client info and save the file to a directory that is now no longer on the machine. This is most common when you save the file to a external hard drive and then disconnect the drive. Since the directory path no longer exists it gives the error like the one shown below. The path will most likely differ.
Solution
The error is resolved when you select a new location for Export current view. To do this follow the below steps.
- Double click on a macOS or Windows client
- Select "Export Current Tab" on the left of the client info window
- Select a directory that is local to the machine. I suggest selecting your Users desktop
- Select "Save"
- Now when you close client info and re-open the window you will not see the error
Dashboard Warning levels and Descriptions
Problem
The table below provides an overview of the information that is returned by the Dashboard in the FileWave Admin console.
Environment
FileWave Central Console
Resolution
Item | Description |
---|---|
Free Disk Space | Free disk space on fwxserver (db location). Warning if < 50GB or < 20% Total space, Error if < 25GB or < 10% total space. |
CPU Load | CPU Load on fwxserver. Always OK. |
Google Cloud Messaging | Returns Google Cloud Messaging status. Cached 1 minute. Error if configuration is not correct. |
OS X APN for Engage | Returns OS X APN certificate status for Engage. Cached 1 minute. Warning if certificate expires in less than 30 days. Error if certificate is missing, expired, or Root certificate is missing. |
Total Disk Space | Total disk space on fwxserver (db location). |
Client distribution | Returns client OS distribution (OSX, Windows, iOS, Android...). Cached 1 minute. |
Free RAM | Free RAM on fwxserver. Always OK as some systems like OSX will free memory on demand only. |
APN for MDM | Returns APN certificate status for MDM. Cached 1 minute. Warning if certificate expires in less than 30 days. Error if certificate is missing, expired, or Root certificate is missing. |
VPP Tokens | Returns VPP tokens status. Cached 5 minutes. Warning if token expires in less than 30 days. Error if token is expired or incorrect. |
FileWave Client/Mobile License | Returns License Status. Cached 1 minute. If you have more than 50 licenses: warning if available count goes below 10, error when 0. If you have less than 50 licenses: warning if available count goes below 4, error when 0. |
Entreprise app file (ipa) | Check ipa status. Cached 1 hour. Warning if IPA file is local but does not have expected size. Error is IPA file is not on disk for local IPA, or not reachable for external IPAs. |
DEP Accounts | Returns DEP Accounts status. Cached 5 minutes. Warning if access token expires in less than 30 days. Error if token is expired or incorrect. |
Email sent | Returns Email sent status for the 7 past days. Cached 5 minutes. Warning if mails are still in the queue (not sent) Error if mails could not be sent (SMTP error). Note that we can't check if the POP/IMAP server rejected the mail. returns the following dict : 'success': , 'pending': , 'error': : , ... |
Email settings | Returns email settings status. Cached 5 minutes. Error if can't connect to SMTP server. |
LDAP Extraction status | LDAP Extraction status. Warning if one or more servers have not been contacted yet, Error if there was an error during extraction. |
Total RAM | Total RAM on fwxserver. |
iOS APN for Engage | Returns iOS APN certificate status for Engage. Cached 1 minute. Warning if certificate expires in less than 30 days. Error if certificate is missing, expired, or Root certificate is missing. |
Smart Group Count | Number of evaluated SmartGroups. Warning if last report occurred more than 1h ago, error if 2h ago. |
Related Content
Opening FileWave Central (Admin) in a Specific Language (macOS)
What
FileWave Admin will automatically use the language, if supported, set on the workstation at installation (default English). It is however possible to run FileWave Admin in a different language, as shown below, through an Apple Shortcut Menu Bar item.
When/Why
FileWave Central (Admin) doesn’t currently have the option to change Language preference in the application itself. Only some languages are supported with this method.
How
The following command may be used to both open and specify a chosen language at runtime. Apple Shortcuts app allows running scripts via a Menu Bar item.
/Applications/FileWave/FileWave\ Admin.app/Contents/MacOS/FileWave\ Admin --lang en_GB &
In FileWave 15.4.0, the above line will fail to launch the chosen language as is. See below shortcut example for alternate script.
Available Language Options:
Language | Option |
English | en_GB or en_US |
German | de_DE |
Korean | ko_KR |
Japanese | ja_JP |
Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) | zh_TW or zh_CN |
Requirements:
-
macOS Monterey or newer
-
Shortcuts Application (System Application)
-
FileWave Central Admin Application
Creating the Shortcut
Open the Shortcuts Application on a macOS machine running Monterey or newer (macOS 12).
-
In the Menu, under File, select New Shortcut.
-
Name the Shortcut. For example: “FW Admin (EN)”.
-
Select Run Shell Script as the action.
-
Insert the command below, setting the preferred language. Below example showing US English.
/Applications/FileWave/FileWave\ Admin.app/Contents/MacOS/FileWave\ Admin --lang en_US & exit 0
In, 15.4.0 try the following script instead. Example using German, but alter the temp_locale parameter as required:
#!/bin/zsh temp_locale="de_DE" current_user=$(stat -f%Su /dev/console) current_locale=$(defaults read /Users/${current_user}/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist AppleLocale) /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c 'Set AppleLocale '$temp_locale'' /Users/${current_user}/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist /Applications/FileWave/FileWave\ Admin.app/Contents/MacOS/FileWave\ Admin & /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c 'Set AppleLocale '$current_locale'' /Users/${current_user}/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist exit 0
-
Shortcut Details tab (ℹ️), offers options for launching the Shortcut. As an example: pin to Menu Bar and create a keyboard shortcut for quick access to the FileWave Central App.