Briefcase & Briefcase Lite: Specs

Connect

Bonjour Networking

With Briefcase, you don't have to remember the address or exact name of a computer or iPhone in order to find it on the local network: the software uses Bonjour to detect computers/devices that are accessible.

Bookmark System

Briefcase enables you to manually add bookmarks for SSH-enabled computers that are not on the local network. Just input the address once and if the machine is accessible (e.g. Remote Login is enabled) you'll be able to connect to that machine over the internet.

Keychain Support

Save the passwords for computers you commonly login to via the iPhone keychain. As always, passwords stored in the keychain are not visible to other iPhone applications; nevertheless, Briefcase reminds you the first time you use the keychain that you should enable the passcode lock if you intend to store sensitive passwords on it.

Request to Upload

Before you connect to a local iPhone, a request is sent to the receiver's phone asking if he wishes to allow a file transfer. The receiver is also informed that he may terminate the transfer at any time by quitting Briefcase.

WiFi and 3G Network Support

Even when WiFi is not available, Briefcase can connect to remote bookmarked computers.

Support for Secure Connections

Because Briefcase uses the SSH protocol, all connections are encrypted. Moreover, attempts to intercept a connection to a known computer or iPhone can be detected, providing enhanced security.

System Information

Briefcase enables system administrators and other power users to quickly get information about a Mac they have connected to. Information includes CPU speed, memory, OS version, etc. For reasons of privacy, information about other iPhones is not available.

"No Connection" Display

You are given a graphical and text warning that you are not connected to a computer, should you attempt to "get files" prior to connecting.

Get Files

Easy-to-Use Download UI

Briefcase gives you an easy to follow hierarchical interface for browsing files and directories on the Mac you are connected to. To download a file, tap on it. To open a directory in order to view its files, tap on it. If you wish to download the entire directory, tap on the Download Directory option.

Root Browsing Options

By default, you begin your file browsing in the home directory of the user you are logged in as. However, a pop down menu gives you the option of rooting your browsing at the Volumes directory (or root directory if the machine connected to is not a Mac). This will be useful when you want to view files on a USB key attached to the Mac. Root browsing settings are remembered on a per-computer basis.

Browsing Hidden Files (Briefcase only)

Briefcase gives system administrators and others the option to browse and download system files that would normally be hidden.

File Size Information

You can quickly determine if the file you are browsing is a suitable size for download onto your iPhone: Briefcase tells you the size of the files you are looking at.

File Size Warning

Briefcase displays a warning message when you try to download a file or directory that exceeds your iPhone's remaining storage capacity.

Directory Download Support (Briefcase only)

Briefcase enables you to quickly select and download entire directories. Directories are displayed as a single directory, which can be opened and its files browsed in Briefcase. You can refresh your copy of a directory by copying it again and only those files which have been changed or added since the previous download will be brought into Briefcase – saving you time.

Bundle Download Support

Briefcase and Briefcase Lite can be used to download bundles (directories that appear as files on a Mac). Bundles will be displayed as a single file on the iPhone, just as they were on the Mac.

Visual Download Cue

When a file is being downloaded, a "busy" spinner is displayed and that file cannot be selected for download again.

Automatic Resumption of Download

Downloads that are interrupted when you quit Briefcase will be automatically resumed the next time the software is started. If the password for the computer you were connected to is not in the keychain, then the download will resume the next time you manually connect to that computer. If the computer is no longer accessible, the download will be resumed the next time the computer becomes available to Briefcase.

Stored Files

Downloaded Files List

Downloaded files and directories are listed in alphabetical order with an appropriate icon next to their name. Files downloaded from a Mac running Leopard display a thumbnail of the file using Leopard's QuickLook technology.

File Information

Tap on the blue information icon to view information about your files such as size, download date, and file-specific information such as image resolution.

File Viewing Support

View documents, images and media files without having to either email them to yourself or sync them to the iPhone using iTunes.

Image Viewer Performance and File Support

Briefcase's image viewer delivers excellent performance. This is due to the fact that it does not use the web browser for viewing images, but rather its own streamlined image viewer. Supported image files – TIFF, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP – can be viewed and added to the iPhone photo library.

Document Viewer File Support

Briefcase takes advantage of the iPhone's built-in capability to display many types of documents. This means you can open and review your PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, HTML, docs and more.

Image and Document Viewer UI

Full screen viewing and viewing from all orientations are supported in both the image and document viewers. This lets you take full advantage of your iPhone screen real estate. In full screen mode the UI, including the status bar, fades away; though it can be recalled by tapping anywhere on the screen. A file that is being viewed can also be deleted from within the viewer.

Large Document Viewing Support

Briefcase case delivers a number of features that make it easier to read books and other large documents on your iPhone. A document slider, for example, lets you quickly scroll through a large document. The document viewer will remember your last location in a specific document (before closing the file) and the next time the file is opened, go automatically to that location. Bookmarks can be set for a document through the + icon, and the bookmarks list for a document can be brought up through the icon.

Media Viewer File Support

Briefcase uses the iPhone's built-in media viewer, and thus supports the same file types. For video this means you can play most MOV, MP4, MPV, and 3GP files that are up to 640 by 480 resolution and compressed with either H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 2. For audio, Briefcase supports playback of MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF audio files.

Deleting Files

Files and directories can be deleted using the familiar iPhone Edit interface. Simply hit the Edit button to bring up the delete symbol for a given file/directory. Alternately, you can swipe on a file to bring up the delete button.

Upload Files

Intuitive Upload UI

Quickly and easily transfer stored files to a Mac. Once connected to the receiving machine, Briefcase gives you a number of upload options (see below). iPhone to iPhone file transfer is equally straightforward, though it includes less options (see below).

Quick Default Upload Options

Upload a file to one of the most common areas on the Mac you're connected to – Downloads, Desktop, Documents (or Movies or Pictures, depending on the file type) – with just a single tap.

Saving New Destinations

In addition to the default upload destinations, you can select other upload destinations and save them so they become a permanent upload option when you're connected to that particular machine.

Upload With Actions

Perform your uploads in conjunction with an action: Open File, Add to iPhoto, Add to iTunes, etc. When uploading to an iPhone, your files are uploaded directly to Briefcase/ Briefcase Lite.

File-Specific Upload Options

Briefcase and Briefcase Lite deliver a number of file-specific file upload options including:

• Images: Add image files to the iPhoto library, open them, or have them become the desktop background of the receiving Mac.
• Media Files: Play back media files on the connected Macintosh or add them to the iTunes library.
• Installer Packages (Briefcase only): Install a simple installer package onto a Mac.
• Applications (Briefcase only): Add Mac apps to the Applications directory of the Mac your are connected to.
• Disk Images (Briefcase only): Upload and mount disk image files (DMG, ISO, CDR, etc.) on the connected Mac.

General and Miscellaneous

Activity Icon

The tab bar icon for Activity displays a highly visible red badge with the number of operations that are in progress at any given time: reminding you that uploads/downloads are in progress.

Activity Page

The Activity view gives you a list of current download/upload operations. It includes a progress widget that shows you the status of the operation, and a Cancel button – available for each operation.

Internationalization

The Briefcase UI can be displayed in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Russian. The user documentation is available in all of these languages with the exception of Russian.