ShelfServer Advanced Configuration

While the default setup for ShelfServer works for most people, power users may wish to customize things a bit.

Static port for firewalls

If your WiFi and desktop computer aren't on the same network, you may need to adjust your firewall to allow your iThing to access the necessary port on your desktop. To help in this, ShelfServer allows setting a fixed port on the desktop instead of a randomly assigned one.

To use this feature, first find an unused port on your computer between 1025 and 65535. Launch ShelfServer, uncheck the "Automatic" box next to the network port and enter your desired port number. Click the "Apply Settings" button, and the server will be re-launched on your desired port number. This port number is saved in the config file and will automatically be used in the future.

You may now configure your firewall to allow your iThing to access your desktop on this port. How you do that is entirely dependent on what firewall solution you're using and is beyond the ability of Tomes's author to help.

You can now manually add the IP (or hostname) and port of your ShelfServer to Tomes and download books.

Note that this setup also works if you'd like to expose your shelf server to the Internet. You do so at your own risk, but this setup would allow you to download books from home where ever you might be.

Running the command line server

The ShelfServer GUI is only one way to run the ShelfServer. If you prefer to leave the server running, perhaps on a headless server, you can run the GUI-less JAR. You'll need to create ShelfServer's config file first, either manually or using the GUI on another computer. Please the config file in the home directory of the user who will run the server under ~/.shelfserver/shelfserver.properties.

You can download the ZIPped version of ShelfServer, and launch the server by running "java -jar ShelfServer.jar". The server could be left running in the background, spawned from a startup script, etc.

Config file location and syntax

The ShelfServer configuration file is stored in the user's home directory under ~/.shelfserver/shelfserver.properties. The file is a simple Java properties file with the following keys:

• shelf.password -- the password required when connecting to the server. NOT encrypted. Use "PUBLIC" (without quotes, all in caps) to allow public access to the server with no password. Please respect copyright law.
• shelf.networkport -- the TCP port the server will run on. Must be free when the server starts. Use 0 for auto detection of a dynamic port number.
• shelf.name.# -- name of a shared directory. Number must start at 1 and increase without gaps.
• shelf.path.# -- the full path to the directory to be shared under the matching shelf.name.# entry.

The location of the configuration file can also be changed using a Java system property. Something like -Dconfig.dir=/path/to/directory/containing/config/. The file is always named shelfserver.properties under that directory.

When run from the command line, ShelfServer will attempt to register the selected (or dynamically selected) port number with the system's ZeroConf daemon. If ZeroConf is not available, a warning will be printed to the console, and the server will continue as a stand alone server without registration.

Bonjour in Linux

While the author has not yet personally attempted it, Bonjour is available for Linux and released by Apple as open source. This Mailing list post explains the process of setting it up.

WAR-based server

The ShelfServer is written in Java and uses the Jetty servlet container by default. If you wish to run a public shelf server for a large number of users, you may wish to deploy the server as a WAR file into a Tomcat or other servlet container. Please contact the Tomes author for information and to obtain the necessary version of the server.

New in Tomes 2.0:
Download Books without using ShelfServer

Click to Install Tomes with iTunes or AppStore

Latest News

• Mar 1, 2011BookShelf is now Tomes - v3.0 Released![More...]
• Apr 3, 2010v2.3 Approved w/ native iPad supportBookShelf 2.3 is approved for sale. This version adds native iPad support, an improved download screen, and many small fixes and enhancements.[More...]
• Nov 3, 2009iPhone presentation @ Tech Valley Code CampIntroduction to iPhone Development at the free Tech Valley Code Camp, November 7, 2009 at SUNY Albany, NY[More...]
• Apr 29, 2009ePub Support addedShelfServer now supports the ePub format[More...]
• Apr 29, 20092.0.1738 submitted to AppleMinor bugfixes & iPhone 3.0 support[More...]
• Mar 24, 2009BookShelf 2.0 Released!FeedBooks.com support and cover art[More...]
• Feb 22, 2009BookShelf down southBookShelf goes to college in New Zealand![More...]
• Nov 11, 2008Temporary Support Slow down [Click 'All News' for details]Developer is moving house.[More...]
• Nov 6, 2008Version 1.3 AvailableStability & Plucker fixes[More...]
• Oct 8, 2008Server issues nearly resolved[More...]

[All News]