Despite the growing adoption of cloud-based alternatives, many organizations still use the Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol for file sharing, versioning, transfer and management. Some companies support it for backward compatibility. Others, by virtue of company data privacy policies that prohibit the use of cloud-based solutions, turn to self-managed WebDAV servers instead.
Regardless of your reasons for using WebDAV, if you need to point users to an online resource for installing a WebDAV client or if you need such a resource yourself, then this tutorial is for you. Before we go over the steps for installing a WebDAV client on Windows, macOS and Linux, it’s probably best to explain what this type of client does first.
A WebDAV client is a software application that allows you to connect to a WebDAV service and take advantage of various WebDAV functionality as specified in RFC 2518 and RFC 4918. The WebDAV protocol possesses capabilities similar to the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). So, a WebDAV client can function like a typical file transfer client. Meaning, it can be used to upload, download and organize files.
In addition, it enables you to perform remote file editing. This means you can perform file edits on a WebDAV server itself instead of having to download the file first as you would in, say, FTP or SFTP.
WebDAV clients come in different forms. For instance, they can be:
For this tutorial, we’ll be using a free file transfer client named AnyClient. This free client supports multiple file transfer protocols, including WebDAV, FTP, FTPS, SFTP and many others. It even allows you to connect to Amazon S3.
Since AnyClient runs on Java, you need to check if you have Java installed. Go to your Windows command prompt or, if you’re using Linux or macOS, the terminal. In the command line, type and execute the following command: “java -version.” If your machine has Java installed, the output should show your Java version, as in the screenshot below.
If it doesn’t show any version, you’ll need to install Java. We won’t cover Java installations in this post, but here’s a video demonstrating how to install Java on Linux.
Once you’ve installed Java, you can proceed with your WebDAV client installation. Determine your target operating system (OS) and download a suitable AnyClient installer from here.
If you downloaded your file to a Microsoft Windows environment, navigate to the Downloads folder and double-click the recently downloaded installer. Depending on your Windows architecture, that should be install_64.exe or install.exe.
As soon as the AnyClient setup wizard launches, click the Next button.
Read the license agreement and then click the option labeled “I accept the agreement.” Click the Next button to proceed.
Browse your file system and select the folder where you would like AnyClient to be installed or leave the default path as is. Click Next to proceed.
Create a Start Menu folder or omit it. If you prefer the latter, un-tick the checkbox. If you prefer to proceed with the Start Menu folder creation, leave the checkbox ticked. Click Next to proceed.
Leave the Create a desktop icon checkbox ticked if you wish to create a desktop icon or un-tick it if you don’t want a desktop icon created. Click Next to proceed.
Select your preferred option for when you want AnyClient to check for updates, and then click Next.
Leave the Run AnyClient checkbox ticked and then click Finish to launch AnyClient as soon as the installation and setup process completes.
After downloading the AnyClient installer for macOS, navigate to the Downloads folder and double-click the recently downloaded file named install.dmg.
When the installer loader appears, double-click the AnyClient installer.
Click Next to proceed with the AnyClient setup wizard.
Read the license agreement. If you’re amenable to it, tick the I accept the agreement option and then click Next.
If you wish to change the AnyClient installation’s destination directory, click the Browse button and then navigate to your desired directory. Otherwise, leave the default as is and then click Next.
If you wish to create a desktop icon, leave the checkbox ticked and then click Next. Otherwise, un-tick it and then click Next.
Select your preferred option for when you want AnyClient to check for updates, and then click Next.
Leave the Run AnyClient checkbox ticked and then click Finish to launch AnyClient as soon as the installation and setup process completes.
The Linux installer is a shell script file named “install.sh.” You can’t run this on a graphical interface the way you could with a .exe file on Windows or a .dmg on Mac. If you double-click this file, the OS would simply open it using your Linux environment’s default text editor.
To execute this Linux installer, launch the Linux terminal, navigate to the Downloads directory and then list the contents of that directory by executing the “ls” command. If you see the shell script file “install.sh,” run the following command to give it executable permissions:
chmod +x install.sh
After that, run the following command to execute the shell script file:
sudo ./install.sh
Once the AnyClient Setup Wizard appears, click Next.
Go over the license agreement and, if you’re amenable to it, select the I accept the agreement option. Click Next to proceed.
If you want to change the folder where you’d like to install AnyClient, click the Browse button and then navigate to your desired folder. Otherwise, just leave the default as is and then click the Next button.
If you wish to create symbolic links (symlinks), which function like Windows shortcuts, leave the Create symlinks checkbox ticked and then browse to your desired destination directory or leave the default directory as is. On the other hand, if you don’t want to create symlinks, just un-tick the checkbox. Click Next to proceed.
If you wish to create an AnyClient icon on your Linux desktop screen, leave the Create a desktop icon checkbox ticked and then click Next. Otherwise, un-tick the checkbox.
Choose how frequently you want AnyClient to check for updates and then click Next.
Leave the checkbox ticked and then click Finish to launch AnyClient as soon as the installation and setup process completes.
That’s it. Now you know how to install a WebDAV client on Windows, Mac and Linux using JSCAPE AnyClient.
WebDAV clients operate in conjunction with a WebDAV server. Many applications can act as WebDAV servers. These include:
The way you connect to a WebDAV server is almost the same regardless of the type of WebDAV client you’re using. In most cases, all you’ll need is a pair of login credentials (i.e., a username and password) for authentication and a WebDAV URL that points to your WebDAV server. The syntax of this URL, however, can vary depending on the client. Some begin with http or https. Others begin with WebDAV, while others start with dav.
Here are some examples of common WebDAV URL syntaxes:
Ask your ebWDAV server administrator for the right URL.
The WebDAV protocol on its own is fairly secure. It has basic security features that include:
Open source WebDAV client source codes are usually posted on GitHub, where you can easily view them and other relevant information. Developers and cybersecurity professionals can inspect the code to verify its robustness and security. In comparison, the source codes of proprietary clients are confidential. So, from a transparency standpoint, an open source client has the advantage.
On the other hand, proprietary software, especially those developed by reputable software vendors like Redwood Software, is usually backed by a strong customer support team. If something goes wrong, you can seek help immediately. Unless an open source solution is really popular and has a large community of users, you may have difficulty finding assistance when you’re troubleshooting issues.