The choice of software to use Storga

There are four ways to access a Storga site:

•	Your web browser, as if it were a simple website

•	Still your web browser, but launched by clicking on the small startup file provided to you and placed on your desktop

•	The native Storga client for your platform, i.e. a specific application for Windows, OSX, Linux, or Android smartphone with Intel processor

•	The native Storga client with local replication

Note: If you are undertaking a self-study process at Storga, use the native Storga client.

Using Storga from your web browser

You have stored the URL of the Storga site you want to access in your browser's bookmarks, or you type the site URL directly, and you may log in.

Advantage

Nothing to install.

If the Storga web interface doesn't work at all

The explanation is usually:

•

Either you are accessing the Internet through a web proxy that does not correctly handle the advanced functions that Storga uses.
There is never a web proxy when you access from a personal ADSL terminal in France.
There is often a web proxy when accessing from a corporate network.
There is usually a web proxy when you access from a network open to the public (hotel, vacation site, etc.)

•	Either the last update of your browser introduced new bugs. In this case, start by testing with Firefox, which in our experience is the one that poses the fewest compatibility problems.

•

Either there is one or more viruses which seek to modify the behavior of your browser, without being noticed. Their goal is to provide pharmacies with a list of your Google searches, the pages you visit, and even to change the content of the pages on the fly to direct you to the 'right' product, or even display other ads. than those originally planned.
Le problème, c'est que ces virus sont assez mal écrit, donc ils font que le navigateur continue à fonctionner correctement en apparence quand on va sur les grands sites phares de l'Internet genre Youtube ou Facebook, ainsi que sur les sites super simples, mais pas quand on va sur des sites avancés et moins populaires comme ceux gérés par le serveur web Pliant.

What works well when you access Storga from a simple web browser

•	Visiting the site.

•	Filling out forms, using states and automations (buttons).

•	Sending (dragging and dropping) and receiving files (downloading).

What works less well

•	Using Storga to edit texts. There was a big improvement here in the spring of 2020, but paragraph editing with a simple browser is still a bit messy, especially if your internet connection has significant latency.

•	Editing of office files stored on Storga. With a simple web browser, you must explicitly upload the new version.

•	Keyboard shortcuts.

•	A browser is slower to respond.

Launching the web browser from a small startup file

This mode is much the same as the previous one since the client application remains the standard web browser, but instead of accessing Storga via a bookmark in the browser, it is accessed by clicking on a small startup file stored on the desktop .

In fact, the advantages and disadvantages explained above still apply.

Additional benefit

The user does not need to log in.

Additional disadvantage

Lower level of security.

Using the native client for your platform

You have received from your Storga service provider, or your Storga site administrator, a URL that allows you to download the native application for your platform (Windows, OSX or Linux).

You download the file first, then unpack it somewhere on your disk. The easiest way is to unpack it directly on your desktop.

Then, you open the folder thus created, and you launch the executable Storga which is inside.

Some additional notes on installation

Under Windows, when you ask to unpack the archive, the wizard will create a directory or store the files that will be extracted from the archive. The problem is that Windows does not spontaneously offer you the current directory, but offers you to create a subdirectory on this occasion. Apart from the Storga archive already contains the subdirectory, so if you let Windows do it, you will end up with two levels of subdirectories, which is not very serious, but a little disturbing.
To correct, check that the field which in the Windows decompaction wizard specifies where the archive will be decompressed indicates the current directory, and correct if necessary. The caption of the field which specifies the directory is 'The files tightly extracted into this folder' on the French version of Windows XP.

Windows or OSX users are sometimes confused by the fact that to install Storga, you don't have to run an installer that asks you multiple more or less obscure questions, but simply unzip the provided file. This is normal, and it is linked to two facts.
On the one hand, the archive you downloaded does not contain as is usually the case only the program, but it contains the program plus all the configuration parameters pre-filled, so there is nothing left. to do.
On the other hand, Storga is a very clean program which, contrary to what is usual on this platform, does not change, install or update anything in your system, at the risk of disrupting in the process. the operation of other of your software. In particular, if you want to uninstall it, you just have to put the Storga directory in the trash, and you're done.

For the OSX version, once the archive has been unpacked, you launch the application by clicking directly on the icon of the Storga directory which is seen as an application by Mac OSX. Storga is an unsigned program, which does not come from the app store, so with newer versions of Mac OSX you may have trouble getting OSX to agree to run it. Moreover, the error message given by the system in this case is often inappropriate, speaking of a corrupted program instead of an unsigned program.

The Android version of Storga only works for Intel-based smartphones and tablets, and is installed in a slightly different way.

The native Storga client update system

Each time you launch the native Storga client, it queries the server to determine if a new version is available, and if so, initiates its download.
So, especially under Windows, you will end up with several versions of the Storga software, whose name is like 'storga_yyyymmdd.exe 'or 'yyyymmdd'represents the release date of the software version.
We recommend that you always use the latest version, and throw old ones in the trash from time to time.

With the democratization of broadband Internet, we have moved from a software model that is installed once from a CD or DVD type medium to software that is installed, but above all is updated automatically via the Internet. . The advantage is to be able to make the patches available to the user much more quickly. Except ... an update can have the effect of creating a new problem, and the industry seems to be washing its hands of it. The way in which new versions of Storga are made available simply guarantees the user the possibility of going back quickly and independently in the event of a problem.

Under OSX, the different versions also exist, but since we launch Storga by clicking on the folder instead of opening it, we do not see them. In case you want to use something other than the latest version, you have to open the folder. To do this, right click on the Storga application icon, or left click while the 'Ctrl' key is held down, then 'Show package contents'.

The native Storga client with local replication

Advantage over native Storga client

•	Allows you to work in offline mode

•	No slowdown with slow or unreliable internet connection

•	Provides local data backup on the server

Disadvantage

•	Requires more experienced users who know how to switch from the local version to the online version, and understand how the local version of the data is updated.

•	The local data is encrypted, therefore secure, but has still been extracted en masse from the server, which can be problematic for very confidential sites.

Conclusion

The native Storga client version without local replication is ideal for business users who access an on-premises Storga server.

For others, the version with local replication may be preferable once users have become more experienced and encounter latency issues related to the Internet connection, or need to be able to access all data efficiently 24 hours a day. .

General summary of the choice of client software

Casual user who has very little to use the word processing part of Storga: use a simple web browser. If the data privacy concerns are low, we will provide a small startup file to place on the desktop to avoid the user having to log in.

Regular user: use the native Storga client. If possible, we will start with the version without local replication to simplify learning.