MC4Y suite: network drive, calendar sync and e-mail notices

This article was created with the AI assistant Claude and published by Peter Hoenig.

A shared library only helps if it fits into everyday work. Anyone who wants to edit a Word file does not want to download it in the browser first and upload it again afterwards. Anyone who keeps their appointments in the calendar app on their phone does not want to open a second calendar. And anyone who is not in the portal all the time still wants to know that someone has assigned them a task. That is why I have added several things to the MC4Y Productivity Suite that make exactly these paths shorter.

The library as a drive

In Explorer you map a network drive with the address the suite shows under “My account › Network drive and calendar”. You then see the libraries you have access to – no more and no less. Anyone who may only read can open files but not change them; anyone with full access may also rename and delete folders. Deleted documents go to the suite’s recycle bin and can be restored from there.

Office programs do not simply save a file; they work with temporary files and renames. The suite recognises these intermediate steps: one save in Word or Excel results in exactly one new version of the same document – without helper files in the library and without empty intermediate states. If someone has opened a file through the drive, it is locked for others; the drive does not accept a document that is checked out in the suite.

The calendar in your own app

There is a second address for the calendar. Calendar apps that support CalDAV find your calendars in the suite through it and keep them in sync: new appointments, changes, series with exceptions and reminders. Private appointments of other people in a shared calendar only appear as “busy” and cannot be changed. So far I have tested the sync with my own test bench according to the rules of the standard; trials with individual calendar apps are still to come.

Access passwords instead of your password

A drive or a calendar app stores its password permanently. That is why the suite uses separate access passwords for this: one per device, with a name such as “Laptop” or “Phone”. The suite shows each one only once and afterwards stores only a check value, not the password itself. If a device is lost, you revoke exactly that one access password – all others keep working. In addition, the administration can revoke all access passwords of a person at once.

Notices by e-mail – through your mail server

Until now, notifications only appeared in the portal, under the bell 🔔 at the top of the header (button “Notifications”). Now everyone can choose under “My account”: no e-mails, every notice immediately or a daily summary, in German or English. If you like, you also receive the reminders of your own appointments and invitations by e-mail – at the same time as in the calendar, across the change to and from summer time. For this the installation sets up sending every five minutes. The e-mails are sent through the mail server that the administration enters during setup or later under “Administration › Email” – the suite sends nothing through third-party services. It stores the mail server password encrypted; the key is kept separately and is not part of the backup. The connection to the mail server is encrypted and its certificate checked; the suite never sends a password over an unencrypted connection.

Attachments and master data

In the suite’s tools you can attach documents from the library instead of copying them. If someone changes the document, everyone sees the new version. Under “Used in”, the library shows where the document is attached – only if you are allowed to read the tool concerned.

Tasks, appointments and documents now refer to the central master data. If you rename a location or a cost centre there, tasks, calendar and library show the new name. If an entry is deleted in the master data, the name remains and is marked as “missing” – nothing disappears silently.

Also without a certificate in your own network

Some teams run the suite in a small network without their own certificate. The installation on Windows, Linux and macOS can therefore also allow HTTP. The sign-in page then clearly points out that the connection is not encrypted and names the secure address if there is one. For the network drive and calendar sync I recommend HTTPS: Windows only sends the password of a network drive over an encrypted connection with a trusted certificate. On a single-user computer without a certificate the suite therefore shows its own drive address that only works on that computer.

Conclusion

The suite moves closer to the programs you work with anyway: files in Explorer, appointments in the calendar app, notices in your inbox. Permissions, versions and the log apply unchanged – and all data stays on your own server. If you would like to try the suite, you will find the instructions under Installing the MC4Y suite. I am happy to answer questions via the contact form.