Photo Portal

1. Download and open the .dmg on your desktop
2. Install the Photo Portal Server in your Mac Applications.

1. Launch the Server and the following message will appear : "Do you want the application "Photo Portal Server.app" to accept incoming network connections?" Click the "Allow" button.
2. Please wait until the server displays this message: "Click on the Photo Portal icon in the top Menu Bar to customize the server." Then click the "OK" button.
   
   

   

1. Open "System Preferences\Energy Saver" and enable wake for Wi-Fi network access.
2. Open "System Preferences\Security & Privacy\Firewall" then click on the padlock and enter your password, click "Firewall Options" and make sure you have accepted incoming network connections for Photo Portal.
3. Open "System Preferences\Sharing". You will then find the local hostname used by the server for the local address. You can change the local hostname to avoid conflict with other local network. It is recommended that you choose a unique name.

1. Click on the icon located in the top menu bar to access the menu.
2. Set the local port (By default it is set to 8080 and in most cases it will work correctly). However, you can choose another number to avoid conflict with others services on your computer. If you change the local port, you need to restart the server application before you continue.
3. Validate the local server visibility by selecting the item "Local Address: My-iMac.local:8080" in the server menu. Your default web browser will open the main page of the server and display the version used. If the server version is displayed, this confirms that the server is visible in your local network.

If you want to use Photo Portal outside of your network you need to follow these steps. Some internet providers can limit or prevent the use of Photo Portal outside of your home. However, you can still use the app with your personal Wi‑Fi network.

1. Click on the icon located in the top menu bar to access the menu.
2. Select "Enable the access from Internet" (Enabled by default).
3. Set the external port (By default it is set to 8080 and in most cases it will work correctly). However, you can choose another number to avoid conflict with others services or with a port that could be blocked by your service provider.
4. Configure the port forwarding automatically or manually.
   

   Automatic Port forwarding (Enabled by default).

   If your router support NAT-PMP (like Apple AirPort for example), you can select the option to automatically configure the port forwarding. Many routers from internet providers support UPnP and can be automatically configured with this option.
   
   

   1. Check the item "Enable Automatic Port Mapping NAT-PMP" (Enabled by default).

   
   If you enable this option and your router doesn’t support the automatic port forwarding, the menu item "Server Status" will display an error code or the message: "Mapping Unsupported". In this case, disable the automatic port mapping and proceed manually instead.

   Manual Port forwarding

   Routers are all different so you must refer to your manual in order to configure the port forwarding correctly. In general you simply need to add an entry for the local port and external port in the "NAT-Port Forwarding" table of your router interface. This will allow the router to forward communications between your external port and the local port.
   
   

   1. You have to uncheck the item "Enable Automatic Port Mapping NAT-PMP" to disable the automatic mode and proceed manually.
   2. Configure the port forwarding directly by opening your web browser to access your router interface (See your router instructions).

   
   This site portforward.com has instructions for the configuration of most router manufacturers.
   
   
5. If you used a Dynamic DNS service you need to set the hostname, otherwise skip this step. This kind of service is a recommended approach in order to stabilize access to the server by using a host name.
   

   Dynamic DNS service

   Dynamic DNS are used because ip addresses can change anytime. This will allow you to stabilize the server access by using a hostname "yourname.mydns.net" instead of the ip address "10.10.10.101". Dynamic DNS services (like noip.com) normally come with a desktop app, which is use to keep track of your ip address on their server.
   
   

   1. Create and setup your account on your Dynamic DNS provider
   2. Click on the icon located in the top menu bar to access the menu
   3. Select "Edit Hostname…"
   4. Fill the "Hostname" e.g "yourname.mydns.net"

   
   This feature is needed to synchronize the hostname with the iOS App.
   
   If you set the hostname, the "External Address" item from the server menu will replace its external ip by the hostname. If you want to work with your ip address, leave this field empty.
   
   
6. Validate the external server visibility
   Validate the external server visibility by disabling WiFi on your iPhone or from any computer or mobile device not connected with your local WiFi network. If you test by disabling the WiFi on your iPhone, you still need a 3G cellular connection to perform the validation from the internet.
   
   
   1. Open your web browser and enter the value displayed in the server menu item "External Address", like this: "yourname.mydns.net:8080" or "10.10.10.101:8080".
   2. Your web browser will open the main page of the server and display its version. If this step worked, it means that the server is visible from the internet.
   
   You need to perform this test that way because many routers do not allow you to use the external ip address on your local network. This is why with some routers the server displays "Server not accessible from internet" but it’s not always the case.

Photo Portal Server lets you set up your account and optionally add a guest account (useful for other members of the family). The guest account is limited and cannot use these edit options: "erase, rotate, flag, rate, tag" your photos. You can also limit it to specific folders.

Set up the Photo Portal Server Account on your computer

1. Click on the icon located right in the menu bar to display the menu
2. Select "Edit Accounts..."
3. Fill the "User Name" and "Password"
4. Click on "Save" button

Photo Portal Server will publish by default all available folders and hard drives of your Mac. But if you want it is possible to select specific folders. Also, it is possible to create different list of folder for each kind of account.

Set up your shared folders

1. Click on the icon located right in the menu bar to display the menu
2. Select "Edit Shared Folders..."
3. Click on the "+" to add a folder and "-" to remove a folder"
4. Click on "Save" button

if you remove all folders, then all your hard drives and folders will be available again.

Set up shared folders for your guests

1. Click on the icon located right in the menu bar to display the menu
2. Select "Edit Shared Folders..."
3. Click on the "+" to add a folder and "-" to remove a folder"
4. Click on "Save" button