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Connecting with Nextcloud

BlueMind enables you to connect your system to a Nextcloud external drive.

Users can use their Nextcloud personal space to manage the files they send using BlueMind mail and enjoy the advantages of a drive: file structure, moving, deleting, security, synchronization with other apps, etc.

Administrators' capabilities are improved: easier, more detailed disk space management, user-specific management, centralized data, security and back-up monitoring.

Supported versions​

BlueMind supports Nextcloud version 11 and above. The files shown in this guide for version 12 are compatible with later versions.

Prerequisites​

Installing Nextcloud​

Nextcloud must be installed and operational.

Install Nextcloud

Nextcloud is an independent product of BlueMind, for more information on obtaining, installing, and operating it, refer to the website https://www.nextcloud.com/

Specific configurations​

PHP-FPM​

When Nextcloud is running via PHP-FPM, depending on the version, Nextcloud may fail to retrieve the file content. The uploaded file size is 0 bytes and no error is reported to BlueMind or shown in logs.

Reference to the explanatory bug at Apache: https://bz.apache.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=57087

Therefore, BlueMind advises against using Nextcloud if it is deployed in a PHP-FPM. We recommend to use mod_php.

Attachment preview​

To enable the preview of attachments stored in the NextCloud system, it may be necessary to add the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header to all generated links in the Nextcloud web server configuration.

The header value must contain the external URL of the BlueMind installation (or any other wildcard that includes this URL).

BlueMind cohabitation​

Nextcloud can be used in two different ways:

  • Either in cohabitation with BlueMind's internal repository: if the user does not enter a Nextcloud login, BlueMind's internal repository will be used.
    To do this, proceed with the installation as described in the next chapter.

  • Or as a replacement for BlueMind's internal repository: in this case, if the user does not enter a Nextcloud login, he or she will not have access to the linked detachment. To work like this, simply uninstall the package dedicated to filehosting BlueMind:

    aptitude remove bm-plugin-core-filehosting-filesystem
    bmctl restart
Restarting services

In both cases, a restart of BlueMind is required to take this change into account. However, it can be deferred so as not to inconvenience users, it is possible to proceed with the installation below and restart BlueMind later.

Installation​

Install the dedicated packages:

aptitude install bm-nextcloud-common bm-nextcloudXX bm-plugin-webserver-filehosting
bmctl restart

where XX is your version of Nextcloud:

aptitude install bm-nextcloud-common bm-nextcloud12 bm-plugin-webserver-filehosting
  • up to Nextcloud 11, you must enter the exact version number
  • with versions 12 or above, use bm-nextcloud12

Configuration​

Configure WebDav url​

Finding the access URL

Nextcloud WebDAV's default access URL may look like this (depending on the version):

  • http(s)://<server>/nextcloud/remote.php/dav/files
  • http(s)://<server>/remote.php/webdav/

Refer to your Nextcloud server's administration settings to find out exactly what its WebDAV access url is. For more information, please visit https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/user_manual/en/files/access_webdav.html

For all domains​

Connecting BlueMind to Nextcloud for all domains is done from the system configuration of the administration console:

  • login to the admin console as admin0 (or delegated administrator with the role "Manage system configuration")
  • go to System Management > System Configuration > Nextcloud tab
  • enter the WebDav url of the Nextcloud System:

For a specific domain​

The connection of BlueMind to Nextcloud for a specific domain can be configured by anyone who has received the "Domain Administrator" role:

  • log into the admin console as domain administrator
  • go to System Management > Manage Domain > select the domain > Nextcloud tab
  • enter the WebDav URL of the Nextcloud System:

Setting thresholds​

The automatic detachment threshold and maximum file size can be specified in the file hosting configuration.

The retention time is configured in the Nextcloud installation. Please refer to the product documentation: https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/configuration_files/file_sharing_configuration.html

Give users access​

Activation​

To enable users to access this functionality, they need to be given the corresponding role.

This can be done by group or by user, by going to the administration file of the desired group or user and activating the role "Manage external accounts":

Connection​

Once Nextcloud has been properly installed and configured, users can connect their Nextcloud account to their BlueMind account.

Reconnection

Users who are already logged in to BlueMind at the time this feature is introduced will need to log out and then log back in in order to benefit from it.

For further information on connection and operation, please refer to the user guide page Adding attachments.

Find out more​

Related BlueMind documentation pages

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