Introduction

The Xinet asset-management and collaboration software provides secure, remote access to files on a server, while keeping the production workflow efficient and hassle-free. Customers, production partners and on- or off-site staff use Xinet to access portions of the file system through a standard Web browser and Internet connection. After a password-protected login, users can search for, download, upload, approve and reuse their assets from any location, 24 hours a day.

In this section:

•	Customizing Xinet

•	Conventions

•	Quick start

For more information on using Xinet, see the Client Guide, Introduction to Xinet.

Customizing Xinet

Xinet has been engineered so that sites could change user experiences, in terms of both site appearance and functionality. Several options for customizing Xinet exist:

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By reading through this manual, you will discover many ways to customize user experience using features built into the software, features such as user permissions that determine what is visible on a user-by-user or group-by-group basis, volume restrictions, styles that dramatically change browser displays, built-in localization options, and Collection plug-ins. Xinet also offers Advanced Administration workshops for those who learn best in classroom settings. Please refer to the Help section of the North Plains Web site, www.northplains.com/Xinet, for information about these classes.

•	To quickly rebrand customer-facing sites, administrators with even just a little HTML knowledge can edit headers, footers and frames in any of the styles which ship with Xinet.

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With more advanced knowledge of Web-site development, programmers can alter both the appearance and functionality of Xinet through Java Scripting. The Xinet Guide to Development APIs, available for download in the Customer or Developer Support sections of the North Plains web site, www.northplains.com/xinet, provides background information.

•	More advanced programmers may also add features through Collection plug-in development. Once again, the Xinet Guide to Development APIs provides details.

•	Xinet Portal, an essential component of Xinet, provides the ultimate versatility in customizing Web sites along with added security. The North Plains Web site, www.northplains.com/xinet provides more information about Xinet Portal—or, ask your Authorized Xinet Integrator for details.

For supported system and platform information, see the Xinet System Requirements and Supported Platforms Guide.

Conventions

We use several typographical conventions in this manual to help readers distinguish what must be typed as is and what is simply a parameter to be substituted. In particular, readers should type text set in a typewriter-like font, like this, literally. For example:

# more README or c:\> type README

Readers should enter this command exactly as shown above (minus the shell prompt on Unix systems, #). Readers should substitute their own applicable text for text set in slanted typewriter type, like this. For example, when one sees

% ls directory_name or C:\> dir directory_name

one might type:

% ls doc or C:\> dir doc

On Unix systems

The two examples given above illustrate another convention: when a command must be issued by the superuser (root), you will see the prompt #; when a command may be issued by a normal user, you will see the prompt %. As in most documentation for Unix software, text references to Unix functions have the form more(1). The word in italic type is the name of the function; the parenthesized number is the section of the Unix Programmer’s Manual containing the function’s manual page.

Quick start

If you are interested in a quick run through of Xinet features, complete the following steps:

•	Install a Web server if you haven’t already done so. (See Install Xinet Server on a Macintosh Server (first time or upgrade).)

•	Install Xinet. (Described in Installing Xinet.)

•	Set up at least one volume which supports Web-ready images. (Described in Setting up Xinet Volumes.

•	[optional] To improve load balancing for a distributed systems environment managing a large number of assets, set up a separate MySQL server to store your database. (Described in To install and license Xinet on a Dedicated DB Server:.)

•	Set up a Xinet user accounts to have access to that volume. (Described in Administering Xinet Users and User volume access and privileges.)

•	[optional] Set up output queues and configure image replacement services on the server (explained in Output print queues through General global administration options for output queues.)

•	[optional] Establish database services. These services are necessary for many Xinet “automations.” (Get started with Xinet Statistics and Database Operations — the Database, Admin subtab.)

•	[optional] Set up Triggers and Actions ( See Actions and Trigger Sets Quick-start Guide.)