Using Directories
A directory contains a list of people who are currently using
SunForum
3.1 and any other directory-compatible conferencing application. This makes
it easy to locate and connect to other people, either by simply browsing
to see who is currently listed, or by looking up a specific person by their
email address.
The 2 types of directory servers you are most likely to encounter are LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) and ILS (Internet Locator Server). The following
instructions apply to both type of directory servers, except where specifically noted.
In order to log on to a directory, you must specify your own details,
such as name, location and email address. You will be prompted for these
details the first time you run SunForum 3.1. You can choose whether to
list these details for access by everyone; if you do not, then only those
people who know your email address will be able to call you using the directory.
How do I...
Changing personal information
To change the information that identifies your site when logging on to
a directory server, select the Change My Information... command on the
Call menu. This displays the "My Information" dialog. For more details
of the contents of this dialog, see Setting
up initial configuration.
If you change information in this dialog, the new details will be used
the next time you log on to a directory server. If you are currently logged
on to a directory server, your information at the server is automatically
updated.
Logging on to a directory server
Log on to a directory server by selecting the Log On to Directory Server...
command on the Call menu. Enter the name of the directory server you want
to log on to and select OK.
When SunForum 3.1 has successfully logged on to the directory server,
the server is automatically queried for other users also logged on to that
directory. To view the directory listing, select the Directory command
on the View menu. See Switching between
the conference status and directory list view for more details.
Logging off from a directory server
To log off from a directory server, select the Log Off From Directory Server
command on the Call menu.
Refreshing the directory list
To view up-to-date information in the directory list, select the Refresh
Directory command on the View menu.
This option can only be selected when the directory list is displayed.
See Switching between the conference
status and directory list view for information on viewing the directory
listing.
You can also configure SunForum 3.1 to automatically update the directory
listing at regular intervals. This is done by setting the appropriate options
in the Options menu.
Logging on to a directory when SunForum 3.1 starts
If you want SunForum 3.1 to automatically log on to a directory server
when it starts, select the Change My Information... command on the Call
menu to display the "My information" dialog.
Select the option "At startup, log on to the directory server" and type
the name of the directory server you want to log on to in the "Server Name"
field.
The next time you start SunForum 3.1, it will log on to the directory
server you specified.
Making yourself invisible to other users
If you do not wish to be visible to other users when logging on at a directory
server, select the Change My Information... command on the Call menu to
display the "My Information" dialog, and select the option "Do not list
my name when logged on at the directory server".
The next time you log on to a directory server, your details will not
be displayed to other people logged on to the server. However, anyone who
knows your e-mail address can still call you using the directory server.
If you are currently logged on and visible when you select this option,
SunForum 3.1 automatically updates your entry at the directory server and
makes you invisible.
Finding someone in the directory list
To make it easier to find a particular person in the directory list, you
can display the directory list in order of E-Mail address, First Name,
Last Name, or Location. Simply click on the appropriate column heading
in the directory view.
An arrow symbol in the column heading indicates which column is currently
being used for ordering; the arrow points up or down to indicate ascending
or descending order. You can reverse the order by clicking again on the
same heading.
You can also search any of these columns for a particular entry (for
example if you know only the user's first name). To do this:
 |
Click on the column heading that you want to search. |
|
Type the search string in the "Search for:" box. SunForum 3.1 searches
as you type, so you may only need to type the first two or three characters
in order to find the entry you want. |
Calling someone in the directory list
You can call a user shown in the directory list by double clicking on the
user's entry in the directory view.
Note that if the "Add to address book" option in the "Place Call" dialog
(accessed by selecting the "Place Call..." option in the Call menu) is
selected, any users you call using the directory list will be added to
the address book.
Calling someone at a server using their e-mail
address
SunForum 3.1 allows you to call a user who is logged on to a directory
server by specifying the user's e-mail address. Note that you can do this
even if the user is not logged on visibly.
To call a user in this way, type the name of the directory server they
are logged on to and the user's e-mail address, separated by a "/" character.
For example:
namebase.corp/bob@acme.com
SunForum 3.1 queries the specified directory server for a user with the
e-mail address you entered. If the user is logged on to the directory server,
SunForum 3.1 will try to start a call with them.
Configuring an LDAP server as a SunForum directory
server
To configure the Netscape Directory Server 4.1 (as distributed with Solaris
8) for use with SunForum, the system administrator should follow these
two steps:
|
Extend the LDAP schema with a SunForum user description. At the Solaris
machine running the LDAP server, logged in as root:
-
Copy the file dc-rtperson-schema.conf from /opt/SUNWdat/config
to the LDAP server's configuration directory, <NSHOME>/slapd-<serverID>/config
-
Add the new file to the schema configuration file, <NSHOME>/slapd-<serverID>/config/ns-schema.conf.
(We recommend you take a back-up of the current schema configuration file
first).
-
Stop and restart the LDAP server so that it loads in the new schema.
For example, assuming the Netscape installation directory, NSHOME,
to be /usr/netscape/server4; and the server's name, serverID,
to be dirserver, issue the following commands:
cd /usr/netscape/server4/slapd-dirserver/config
cp /opt/SUNWdat/config/dc-rtperson-schema.conf
.
cp ns-schema.conf ns-schema.conf.bak
echo "include /usr/netscape/server4/slapd-dirserver/config/dc-rtperson-schema.conf"
>> ns-schema.conf
cd ..
./stop-slapd
./start-slapd
|
|
Add a directory branch for storing SunForum user entries. From a Netscape
Console logged in as the Directory Manager:
-
Add a new database suffix "o=DynamicEntries". (Under Configuration, select
the Database object and go to the Settings tab to edit its suffixes).
-
Create a new Organization object at the top level of the directory, of
name "DynamicEntries" (so that it has a DN of "o=DynamicEntries").
-
Set the access permissions of this branch to allow all access from all
users.
|
Accessing a directory server outside a firewall
If your computer is located inside a firewall, and you want to access an
external directory server, you need to perform some additional configuration
in order to do this. See Advanced Topics
for information.
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