Enabling WebDAV on a Web Server

Introduction

WebDAV is a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol which allows for the collaborative editing of files and management of files on remote Web servers.  For more information please refer to www.webdav.org.   

This document provides information on how WebDAV can be enabled for use on a selection of Web server and is intended as a basic guide only.  If your Web server is not listed within this documentation or you wish to obtain more information about your Web server's WebDAV support please consult the documentation for your Web server.  If the steps outlined in this document are not correct for your Web server please consult your Web server's documentation for information on its WebDAV support.

Microsoft IIS 5.0

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.0 includes support for WebDAV.  IIS has WebDAV enabled on the server by default.  To enable the WebDAV functionality of IIS 5.0 for a specific directory the relevant directory must be available through your Web server and it must also have directory browsing turned on.

A folder may be shared on a Web server by editing its properties.  The relevant properties appear on the Web Sharing tab.  

In the example below a folder has been shared on an IIS Web server using the Web alias of example.

Folder Properties - Web Sharing

Figure 1. Folder Properties - Web Sharing

The example below demonstrates the enabling of WebDAV for the folder with the alias of example.

Figure 2. Editing Web Sharing Properties

The configuration of WebDAV for a directory on IIS is achieved through the Web server permission settings.

Apache Tomcat

Apache Tomcat includes WebDAV functionality in versions 4.0 and above.  The default install of Apache Tomcat includes an example WebDAV application in the TOMCAT_HOME/webapps/webdav directory where TOMCAT_HOME is the install directory of Apache Tomcat.

The WebDAV application packaged with Apache Tomcat is configured to provide read-only access.  To configure this example to allow for write access uncomment the following lines in the TOMCAT_HOME/webapps/webdav/WEB_INF/web.xml file:

...
<!--
    <init-param>
        <param-name>readonly</param-name>
        <param-value>false</param-value>
    </init-param>
-->
...

For more information on configuring Apache Tomcat please consult the Apache Tomcat documentation.

Apache Web Server

A third party Apache module called mod_dav is available to enable DAV functionality with an Apache Web server.  The distribution for this module can be found at www.webdav.org/mod_dav/.  For information on how to install the mod_dav module please see its install page.

To turn WebDAV functionality on for a directory once you have installed the mod_dav module, simply place the following code within the relevant <Directory> or <Location> directive in your Apache configuration file (httpd.conf):

DAV On

Once WebDAV is enabled for a <Directory> then all its subdirectories will also have WebDAV enabled.  When enabling WebDAV for a <Location> WebDAV will be enabled for that portion of the URL namespace. 

For more information on Apache Web Server WebDAV configuration see www.webdav.org/mod_dav/install.html#apache

Summary

A number of Web servers support the WebDAV extensions to the HTTP protocol.  The processes outlined in this document should give a basic overview of how to enable the WebDAV functionality of Microsoft IIS 5.0, Apache Tomcat versions 4.0 and above and Apache Web Server with the mod_dav module.  For more specific and detailed information on how to enable WebDAV on one of these Web servers please consult the documentation for the relevant Web server.  If your Web server is not listed in this document please examine your Web server's documentation for information on whether it supports the WebDAV HTTP extensions and how to activate this functionality if it does.

EditLive! for Java provides a standard WebDAV client interface and can be used with Web servers which support the WebDAV HTTP extensions.

See Also