Editing the Conf File

This topic explains how Administrators can lock pre-loaded account settings for the Aspera Add-in for Microsoft Outlook.

Note: The format for the Aspera Add-in's configuration file has changed as of v1.2.0+. If you modifed the configuration file for Aspera Add-in v1.1.0+, you need to create a backup of your configuration file before upgrading to v1.2.0+. After the upgrade, you need to manually edit the new configuration file to match the settings from your previous configuration file. The v1.2.0+ configuration file is named AsperaConnectOutlook2007.dll.config (Outlook 2007) or AsperaConnectOutlook.dll.config (Outlook 2010) location is as follows:

Platform Command
Windows XP SP3 C:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Programs\Aspera\Add-in for Microsoft Outlook
Windows Vista and 7 C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Aspera\Add-in for Microsoft Outlook

Within this file, you may edit the configuration settings below. You can prevent a pre-loaded account from being modified by the user in the GUI by setting <locked="false"> to <locked="true">. As a best practice, you should lock any settings that are enabled under enableInitialSettings. In addition, please ensure that you format values appropriately, as shown below.

INCORRECT

<value>
Acme Music Tracks
</value>

CORRECT

<value>Acme Music Tracks</value>

Note: When editing the config file, you can only lock settings for pre-loaded account(s); not for accounts created afterwards. To lock accounts that have been added at a later time, you need to modify the file AccountsInfo.xml, which can be found in the following location:
Platform Command
Windows XP SP3 C:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Application Data\Aspera\Aspera Outlook Plugin
Windows Vista and 7 C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Aspera\Aspera Outlook Plugin

Configuration File Contents

...
<defaultConfigurationSettings>
    <AsperaCommon.Settings.AccountInfo>

      <!-- Global settings will take effect upon Outlook restart. Locked status is only applicable to preloaded accounts-->
       <setting name="enableMultipleFaspexAccounts">
        <value>
          true
        </value>
      </setting>
      <setting name="updateServerLocation" locked="false">
        <value>
          http://beta-download.asperasoft.com/download/sw/connect/auto/connect_references.json
        </value>
      </setting>
      <setting name="helpLink" locked="false">
        <value>
          http://download.asperasoft.com/download/docs/outlook-addin/user/
              6f68a759-1e48-4b6d-a4a7-560a1291789c/index.html
        </value>
      </setting>
       <setting name="MailTemplateFileLocation" locked="false">
        <value>
          EmailTemplate.txt
        </value>
      </setting>
      
      <!-- Initial settings will take effect upon first launch of Outlook-->
      <setting name="enableInitialSettings">
        <value>
          True
        </value>
      </setting>

      <!-- Per account settings-->
      <setting name="Threshold" locked="false">
        <value>
          8
        </value>
      </setting> 
     <!-- Please ensure that the folder below is created prior to using Aspera Add-In. Aspera Add-In will not create a folder upon receiving content-->
      <setting name="SavePath"  locked="true">
        <value>
          %APPDATA%/
        </value>
      </setting>
      <setting name="UserNameFromSystem" locked="true">
        <value>
          True
        </value>
      </setting>
         <setting name="AskBeforeSave" locked="false">
        <value>
          True
        </value>
      </setting>
      <setting name="Username" locked="false">
        <value>producer1</value>
      </setting>
      <setting name="Password" locked="false">
        <value>mu51c@l</value>
      </setting>
        <setting name="UseEncryptionAtRest" locked="false">
        <value>
          <value>true</value>
        </value>
      </setting>
      <setting name="extensionList" locked="false">
        <value>jpg, png</value> 
        <!-- please list files in the following format <value>jpg, gif, png</value> do not split over multiple lines-->
      </setting>
      <setting name="ServerAddress" locked="false">
        <value>
          https://www.acmemusic.com/aspera/faspex
        </value>
      </setting>
      
     <!-- Description field for preloaded accounts will be always locked and non-editable-->
      <setting name="Description">
        <value>Acme Music Tracks</value>
      </setting>
    </AsperaCommon.Settings.AccountInfo>
  </defaultConfigurationSettings>

    </AsperaCommon.Settings.AccountInfo>
  </defaultConfigurationSettings>
...

Global Settings

The global settings described below will take effect upon restarting Outlook.

Field Description
enableMultipleFaspexAccounts When the value is true, the user may add Faspex accounts via the GUI; if the value is false, the user may not add Faspex accounts via the GUI.
updateServerLocation Points to connect_references.json, storage for platform-specific public resources related to Aspera Connect. Includes all docs, installer downloads and release notes.
helpLink Sets the URL for the Aspera Add-in user guide. You may customize this to point to your own help page.
MailTemplateFileLocation Specify the template for the email that alerts package recipients. The current default email template is located in the same directory as the configuration file and looks like the example below.
<div style=\"border:solid 2px #71B32B;Padding:.9em\">
<div style=\"margin-bottom:0.8em;\">
	<b>A faspex package containing the following files 
		has been sent to you:</b><br />
	@AttachmentList<br />
	You should be getting another email shortly containing 
		the attached files/directories.
</div>
</div>
<br />

Initial Settings

If there are no existing accounts (i.e. AccountsInfo.xml has not been created yet), setting enableInitialSettings to true generates a pre-loaded account with pre-configured settings when Outlook starts. See Per Account Settings for a description of each setting.

Field Description
enableInitialSettings Controls whether or not the pre-configured account will be created with the settings described in the Per Account Settings section.

Per Account Settings

The values in this section of the .config file serve as default settings at the time accounts are added to the Aspera Add-in. If this section is changed after an account is created, changes do not affect existing accounts and will only be applied to accounts added in the future. Note the following:

Field Description
Threshold The minimum file attachment size that can be sent through Faspex. Must be inputted as an integer value between 0-100MB. Note that folder attachments will bypass the threshold and always be sent through Faspex. You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
SavePath Default location for saved files (supports %APPDATA%). You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI. If you set this field for a pre-loaded account, be sure to create the folder prior to using the Aspera Add-in, as it will not create a folder upon receiving content.
UserNameFromSystem If set to true, and the user's computer is part of domain, then the Aspera Add-in will read the Windows usernameĀ and substitute it for username field. You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
AskBeforeSave If set to true, the user will be prompted for the download location. You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
Username Set the default Faspex username (i.e., Login ID). You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
Password Password for the default Faspex user. You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
UseEncryptionAtRest When this is set to true, attachments are encrypted with a password on upload for content protection, regardless of the settings on Faspex or Connect. A recipient is then required to input that passphrase when downloading and decrypting the protected files. You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
extensionList Input file extensions (separated by commas) that will, by default, be sent through Faspex. For example, input "zip" to send all zip files through Faspex. Note that if you want more one file-extension type (e.g. jpg, gif and png) to be sent via Faspex, you need to list them in the following format: <value>jpg, gif, png</value> (i.e. not split over multiple lines).
ServerAddress Set the web address of your Faspex Server (e.g. https://www.example.com/aspera/faspex). You may lock this field so the user cannot modify it from the GUI.
Description The account description. For pre-loaded accounts, this field will be always locked and non-editable. Be sure to set this value (rather than leaving it blank) if you are configuring a pre-loaded account.