Centralized Server Connections, Short Names, & Quick Switching
- Nick Judson
Analytics
Centralized Server File
In prior versions of Connexion, server connections could be shared among users by exporting and importing ‘server connection’ files. For organizations with many users, this is a cumbersome process.
Version 16 introduces a new mechanism which uses a centrally-hosted ‘server connection’ file. Users can save a Uri to this file and then quickly and easily include server connections in their local Connexion UIs. Additions and changes to the centrally-hosted file can easily update each user’s UI.
The centrally-hosted file should be accessible to each Connexion user. It can be hosted on a shared file system, or web server. No credentials are included in the file.
To set the Uri of the server file, switch to the Servers view and then click the ‘Master Servers List’ button.
This will open the Master Server dialog:
Enter the Uri to the master server file (provided by your system administrator), and click the save button. The dialog will parse the file and display a list of servers:
To include an entry in your local list of servers, select the appropriate checkbox.
Deselecting a checkbox will remove the server from your local servers list.
The Uri of the central server file is saved locally, and re-opening the master servers dialog will automatically re-parse the file. Any changes to the master file (for selected servers) will automatically update the local settings once the Update button is clicked.
The centrally-hosted servers file can be created by bulk exporting connections from Connexion. The file is simple JSON and can be hand-edited, or, changes can be made in Connexion and the file re-exported.
Server Short Names
Some organizations use server naming schemes which can be difficult to differentiate. For example, ‘VICPDFFT1’, ‘VICSGFFT1’, etc. In order to make recognizing and selecting the desired server (from within the Connexion UI), we have introduced a 2-character ‘short name’. This text is displayed at the beginning of each server in the servers drop-down and makes it easier to find the desired server: ‘P1: VICPDFFT1’, ‘V1: VICSGFFT1’.
Quick Switch Glyphs
When server entries have short names set and the Connexion UI establishes a connection a server, a ‘glyph’ is displayed in the UI title bar. Each glyph contains the short name of a connected server. Clicking on a glyph will select that server. This is a convenience feature which is faster than using the server drop-down.