CentreStack Android Client User Guide¶
Introduction¶
Welcome to the CentreStack Android Client User Guide. This guide describes Android client application for CentreStack, the managed file synchronization and sharing solution.
Users can access CentreStack cloud files using any device of their choice as CentreStack has clients for Windows, Macs, iPhones, iPads, Android, Windows 8+ and many more. CentreStack Android application is a native Android application available in Google Play Store that users can use to access cloud files and folders in CentreStack account.
There is also a white labeled CentreStack Android app called ‘Cloud Android Client’ by Gladinet that can be distributed by service providers and enterprises to their users.
If you have full branding CentreStack Android client, the look and feel of the app may be different but the functionality is the same. You can obtain full branding CentreStack Android Client in your own company name and with your own company product logo from http://www.centrestack.com (partner portal).
Getting Started¶
The user guide is a useful source of information and describes in detail the full functionality of CentreStack Android application.
Download & Install¶
Search for Gladinet, Inc. as a publisher in ‘Play Store’ to start the download and installation.
After the install click on ‘OPEN’ to access the CentreStack login page. Login using your credentials.
Accessing Folders and Files¶
Once logged in users will see the files and folders they have access to like shown in the screen below.
Tap on the folder to see the files and sub-folders inside.
You can ‘Set as Favorite’ a file by clicking the star icon (a) next to the file as shown below.
If you tap the + (plus) icon you are given several options for the folder you are in: Upload (b), capture photo (c), add folder (d).
Preview¶
Tap a folder to enter it for browsing, and tap a file to open it in a file previewer. From within the previewer you have a menu that allows you to perform other actions on the file (see Opening and Saving below).
In order to preview a document, you can select ‘Open’ option listed under the document or the folder.
Creating New Folders¶
In order to create new folders a user can click the + (plus) icon (a) displayed on the bottom of the screen.
Then choose the Add Folder icon (b), enter the folder name and click the ‘CREATE’ button to create a new folder.
Uploading Files and Photos¶
Selecting the Upload icon (c) will allow users to upload existing files and photos.
Once you have clicked the Upload Icon you can browse to a folder, choose a file and click the Upload Icon in the lower right of the display.
Opening and saving an existing document¶
To edit an existing document, tap on the document in the file list and select ‘Open’ from the menu option.
You will be taken to the edit and collaboration screen where you will select ‘Open with’ option. For this example, I choose Google Docs to edit the file; but your options will vary depending on the device configuration and installed applications. You can select other editors as well to open different file types.
Edit the file and select save; the blue checkmark in the top left corner of this example. Any changes made will be saved and you can use the back arrow to return back and continue editing more files.
Working with Office Applications¶
If you have offic 365 for mobile applications installed, you can access these apps from CentreStack Android. For example, if you have Excel for Android installed, when previewing a xlsx file, you will see the Excel icon. Tap the Excel icon to open the file in Excel for editing.
If autosave is enabled in your Excel application, using the Android BACK button until you return to CentreStack will save the changes (a). However, you many need to Refresh icon (b) the drive to see the updated file.
Refresh¶
If you do not see an updated or current version of a file, you should tap the refresh button. To refresh any screen, select the Refresh icon at the top of the screen.
Adding to Favorite¶
You can add a file to favorites by pressing the Star Icon (a).
When you add a folder or a file to favorite, it will be marked with a green ‘check’ (b) and can be accessible offline.
Removing from Favorite¶
To remove files from your ‘Offline Favorites’ Access them from the top left hamburger menu (a) and choose Favorite (b). In the ‘Offline Favorites’ view you can remove files by pressing ‘X’ (c). Once removed from ‘Offline Favorites’ the file will not be available offline.
Sharing a File¶
You can select the files or folders that you want to share from your Android devices. From the file view you can long-press an item and a context menu will appear. If you press the ‘Share’ option, you will be taken to the sharing view. There you can add user emails and select various options for sharing. There is also a share object option that you can also access by pressing the ‘Share’ option from the small menu in the lower right corner of a file preview window.
Press the icon to add users to the share. Once user’s email has been added, press the yellow ‘>’ icon on the top right of the screen.
Specify the share expiration time, and other options you desire (see below for option descriptions), then press ‘Continue’ or the green email button on the top right.
The user you added will receive an email giving them access to the shared item.
Sharing Options¶
Before sending your email share notification you can restrict how the guest user(s) can access the file.
- Set expiration time to protect the share
- Set the share to read-only or allow it to be edited/updated
- Prevent the file from being downloaded
- Receive an email notification when the file is downloaded
- Receive an email notification when a file is uploaded
- Notify the user when file or folder is changed
- Disable Preview so the file can only be see after download
Shared Objects Window¶
Select ‘Share’ for a shared folder or file to access the shared objects screen.
The sharing screen has the following options:
Add Share – (a) You can add a new share by clicking the yellow +User icon. This will give you share options as described earlier in this document.
Enable Public Link – (b) Enable the public link option will display the public URL which can also be sent to the users so they can access the share from the URL or you can copy the share URL in an email. Once the Public Link is enabled, you can click ‘COPY TO CLIPBOARD’ to copy the public link to your clipboard so it can be pasted into a field, email or document.
Delete X – (c) You can remove previously created shares.
Renaming a File¶
You can rename a file or a folder using the ‘Rename’ option. Pressing ‘Rename’ will display a field to type in the new name.
Deleting a File¶
A file can be deleted using the ‘Delete’ option. Select ‘Delete’ from the context menu to delete a file. Once the file has been deleted it will no longer be visible in the cloud drive.
Downloading a File¶
A file can be downloaded using the ‘Download’ option. Select ‘Download’ from the context menu to download a file and select the folder of your choice to download the file into.
Uploading a File¶
A file can be uploaded using the ‘Upload’ option. Select ‘Upload’ from the context menu to upload a file and select the folder of your choice to upload the file into.
Logging Out From CentreStack¶
You can logout from the CentreStack by pressing ‘Logout’ icon at the bottom right of the screen.
Conclusion¶
Gladinet’s vision is to enable access to enterprise data from anywhere using any device including mobile devices like Andoid, iPhones and iPads. The Android CentreStack application is feature rich which allows enterprise users to not only access the data but also sync and collaborate on that data. Users can access, share, edit, and perform other functions on the data when accessing from Android devices just like they do when they access it from Windows or MAC clients.