There may be instances where you wish to access your system from a different location, indeed we receive a number of queries from customers enquiring if this is possible. With modern PC's and network technologies this is a relatively simple task. The are a number of reason why you may want to allow off site access to your system such as working from home or multiple branch monitoring for example.

The following document outlines and explains the basic steps needed to set up such access using a program within Microsoft XP Pro called Remote Desktop. Please be aware however that this is just a very basic and generic guide and some systems and networks may differ. If unsure about anything please consult your IT staff or call our help line for advice.

The diagram on the left shows a basic scenario involving two separate locations. Location 1 for example could be your estate agency branch and Location 2 could be your home. Location 1 contains your company's local area network (LAN). In this network is the server machine running the Universal software and your client machines will be connected and able to communicate with this machine via a hub of some description. All PCs on your LAN will most likely have access to the internet via a router which connects you to your Internet service provider (ISP) who in turn provide you with your connection to the Internet. In your house (Location 2) you will most likely have a basic internet connection as depicted. Your PC (the client) will be connected to the internet by some form of modem and you may have some kind of firewall in place forming a barrier between your computer and the internet for security. Not every one uses a firewall but it is recommended.

In this type of scenario it is possible that from Location 2 a user would be able to access files and documents from the server in
Location 1.

Before we go through the steps to take to set up such a connection there are a few points to note.

• The server machine must be running Microsoft Windows XP Professional edition. It is recommended that the client PC also runs on Windows XP Pro although this is not a necessity. It is possible to connect from a machine running the 95, 98, ME or 2000 versions of windows but you will have to download the Remote Desktop Connection Software from the following link http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx
  If using Windows XP Pro this required software will already be installed.


• Some settings may need to be changed on your network's router so that it allows a connection from outside of the network, so access and knowledge to do this may be required. Also it would be beneficial that static IP addressing is used by your Internet connection so you may need to speak to your provider. An IP address is the unique number given to identify hardware connected to the Internet. If static IP addressing is used then this number always stays the same. However some providers use Dynamic IP addressing which assigns users a new IP address each time they connect so you cannot just remember the same IP address to connect each time. Please note that this static IP addressing is only required at the server location. It makes no difference what IP addressing method is being used by the client machine connecting to the server machine.


• You will need administrator access to both the server and the client machines in order to configure them to connect.


• And obviously both machines need to be connected to the Internet.

Firstly the server needs to be set up to allow it to accept connections from other machines. To do this

1. Log on to the Server as the administrator
2. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double click the System icon
3. A window containing your system properties will appear. Select the Remote tab from the top.
4. Under the heading Remote Desktop there is a tick box that says allow users to connect remotely to this computer . Tick this box.
5. Before clicking OK, make a note of the full computer name which should be just under the box you have just ticked.

Next if you are using the Windows Firewall on the server you need to set it to allow exceptions.

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double click the Security Center icon
2. Under Manage security settings for, click Windows Firewall icon.
3. Under the general tab on the screen that appears, make sure that the Don't allow exceptions checkbox is not checked.
4. Next click the Exceptions tab, and verify that the Remote Desktop check box is checked.
5. Click OK, and then close the Windows Security Center window.
   Your server computer is now set up to allow remote access.

If you are running another firewall program on the server instead of or as well as the Windows version you may need to adjust some similar settings in here. Please refer to the products documentation for an explanation of this.

This completes the setup of the server machine. As long as this machine is turned on and connected to the internet it should be accessible remotely to other PCs.

These instructions are for xp so earlier versions of windows may have slightly different menu structures but the overall concept will be the same.
To connect your home computer, which is the client (or remote) computer to your work (or server) computer, follow these steps:

1. On your home computer, click Start, point to All Programs, and then point to Accessories.
2. In the Accessories menu, point to Communications, and then click
3. In the Computer box, type the computer name of your host computer, which you wrote down earlier.
4. Click Connect.
5. When the Log On to Windows dialog box appears, type your user name, password, and domain (if required), and then click OK.
6. The Remote Desktop window opens, and you see the desktop settings, files, and programs that are on your host computer, which in this example is your work computer. Your host computer remains locked, and nobody can access it without a password. In addition, no one will be able to see the work you are doing remotely.

To end your Remote Desktop session:

1. Click Start, and then click Log Off at the bottom of the Start menu.
2. When prompted, click Log Off.

Now both your server and client PCs have been configured you should be able to connect. However as mentioned above you may have to change some settings on your network's router. When data is sent over the internet computers accept this information through ports. Different applications communicate over different ports, many of which have a default port which they use. For example when you go on the internet and look at a web site the default port used to receive the HTML pages is port 80. Remote Desktop uses port 3389 as default but your router needs to know that you wish to allow access to this port on the machine on your network. You need to go into the settings on your router and in the port forwarding section allow access to port 3389 and also specify the IP address of the server machine you want to make the connection to. All routers vary but usually you access the settings by entering the IP address of the router into a web browser. Once logged in, the relevant port forwarding settings are usually found under a NAT menu option or a firewall menu option. Navigating to the port forwarding section within these menus usually displays them in a table like the one in the diagram below. Here you can enter the port redirection details and then save the data. In the diagram below for example the new entry in the table has been given a reference name of TS, the port has been entered, the IP address of the server has been entered and the active box ticked to activate this entry. Clicking on OK will then save changes to the table and the router should now allow the appropriate access. How to alter the settings will vary on different routers so you may need to consult your router documentation.

This is just another example of how this technology could be implemented. You may want to be accessing a machine from another network at another branch rather than a PC at home. The setup would be exactly the same in terms of the software settings, the setup would just look a little different, maybe something like the diagram on the left. A client PC located on the network in Location 2 could access data on the server on Location 1's network or visa versa.

That is just about all there is to it. Following the above steps allows you to access your system from just about anywhere with a connection to the Internet. Please be aware that this is a very basic way of connecting allowing you to view and edit files etc. This process offers very basic security and does not allow multiple connections. If you want to run a multi user system which allows you to connect from anywhere then Thesaurus Technology provides a web based system based on this technology. See the following link for more details www.universalanywhere.net.

If you have multiple users logging onto the same PC we recommend you install Universal.NET by downloading and extracting the zip file below. To do this you must install the prerequisites (Crystal Reports and .NET Framework).

• Click to install Crystal Reports
• Click to Install .NET Framework (from Microsoft's site)

Once the above files have been installed you can download Universal.NET. Save the zip file to your computer and extract the files to a folder where you want to run the application from.

• Click here to download Zip Files: Universal.NET

To run the extracted executable on a network drive you need to make some changes to your local intranet settings for the .NET Framework. Click here for instructions on how to do this