When working with files at my web host, I usually either use DreamWeaver to edit files directly, or just FTP them up with my FTP client. Sometimes it would be convenient to access my remote files using Windows Explorer, just as you do with local files.
A lot of hosting providers use cPanel, and one of the features of CPanel is something called “Web Disk”. This allows drag and drop access using (in my case) the Windows desktop. On trying this I just could not get it to work, I kept getting the error – “The folder you entered does not appear to be valid”.
I discovered there is a compatibility issue with regard to Web Disk folders with Windows 7 64-bit, which hopefully someone might find helpful, if like me you have struggled to make this feature work.
SOLUTION
The problem is that Windows 7 64-bit expects [I]digest authentication[/I], and will not use [I]basic authentication[/I] to establish the webDAV connection to the web host.
Apache server can be configured to use digest authentication (see here – http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_auth_digest.html). This would be my preferred solution as I dont have to use any 3rd party software, but currently my web hosting provider does not support it.
The solution I found was to use a 3rd party application. bitkinex will support webdav and will work with Windows 7 64-bit, it does not (as far as I am aware) integrate with Windows Explorer, but it does allow easy access using WebDAV. You can download a copy here – http://www.bitkinex.com. I have also tried NetDrive with good results.
Hope this helps someone else with this problem.
