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TrueScale Server

Install the TrueScale server

Free, on hardware you already own: a PC, a laptop, a NAS or a server on your network.

Install

Windows (a PC or a Windows server)

  1. Unzip TrueScaleServer-win-x64.zip and run install.cmd. It asks for administrator rights.
    • It installs the “TrueScale Server” service, which starts with Windows.
    • It opens the firewall for private networks.
  2. Open https://localhost:47600/ in a browser and create the admin account.
    • The browser warns about the certificate. That is expected: the certificate is the server’s own, and TrueScale trusts it by pairing (below).
  3. On the same page, add your projects (a name and a folder on this machine) and your users (admin, editor or viewer).

To uninstall, run "C:\Program Files\TrueScale Server\TrueScaleServer.exe" uninstall as administrator. The data folder (C:\ProgramData\TrueScale Server) and your project folders are left as they are.

Linux (systemd)

Unpack TrueScaleServer-linux-x64.tar.gz to /opt/truescale-server and follow the steps at the top of truescale-server.service. The setup code for the first visit from another computer is in /var/lib/truescale-server/setup-code.txt.

NAS (Synology, Unraid, QNAP) with Docker

Build the image from packaging/server/Dockerfile, then run:

docker run -d --name truescale-server --network host --restart unless-stopped \
  -v /volume1/truescale/data:/data -v /volume1/projects:/projects truescale-server
  • Host networking lets TrueScale find the server by itself. Without it, publish 47600/tcp and 47601/udp and type the NAS’s address in TrueScale.
  • Projects: add them on the server’s page as /projects/<folder>.
  • First set-up from another computer: the setup code is in the container’s log (docker logs truescale-server) and in setup-code.txt in the data volume.

First set-up from TrueScale (no browser)

Since 0.28.0 TrueScale sets a new server up over its own paired connection, so no browser and no certificate warning:

  1. In TrueScale, choose File > TrueScale Server > Set Up a Server (or Set Up… in the TrueScale Server window).
  2. Enter the server’s address and its setup code (12 characters, e.g. 7K2Q-X9M4-TD3B; case and dashes do not matter): it is in setup-code.txt in the data folder (%ProgramData%\TrueScale Server on Windows) and in the console. On the server PC itself TrueScale fills it in.
  3. Give the server a name and create the admin (name, display name, password). TrueScale pairs, pins the certificate and signs in as the admin.
  4. Add the projects (a name and the full path of a folder on the server) and the users (name, display name, password, role) in the same window. The web page (https://server:47600/) stays for later admin.

Connect TrueScale

  1. In TrueScale, open File > Open from TrueScale Server (or View > TrueScale Server).
    • Servers on your network appear by themselves (“found”).
    • For another network, type the address, e.g. 192.168.1.20 or office-server:47600.
  2. Pair once:
    1. Enter your user name and password, and choose Pair and sign in.
    2. The server shows a 10-character code (e.g. 7K2QX-9M4TD) on its page (https://server:47600/) and in its console or log. Type that code in TrueScale. TrueScale shows the server’s fingerprint beside the code box; check the server’s page shows the same one. If it does not, stop: another device is answering in the server’s place.
    3. TrueScale now trusts that server’s certificate and refuses any other. If the server is reinstalled, pair again.
  3. Pick a project, then open a PDF.
    • It opens as a local copy. Saving also saves it back to the server as a new version.
    • The live session starts by itself. Turn it off and on with File > TrueScale Server > Live Session.
  4. Check Out, Check In, Undo Check Out and Version History are under File > TrueScale Server.
  5. Several people on one PC: each account is kept. File > TrueScale Server > Switch User chooses who new files open as; a file already open keeps the account it was opened with (TrueScale asks for that account’s password if needed, never switching silently). Markups made in server files are signed with the account’s display name (Preferences > General can turn this off). TrueScale merges by markup id: their work stays, yours goes on top; a markup both changed keeps the later change and the other is kept in the server’s change log. If pages were changed, TrueScale asks: save as a copy, merge the markups only, or cancel. Nothing is ever saved over someone else’s work.

Use from outside the office

Use your own VPN. The easiest is Tailscale (free for small teams):

  1. Install Tailscale on the server and on each laptop, and sign in with the same account.
  2. In TrueScale, add the server by its Tailscale name or address, e.g. office-server or 100.x.y.z.

Discovery does not cross the VPN; typing the address does.

Ports and files

  • Ports:
    • 47600/tcp: HTTPS, the API, live sessions and the web page;
    • 47601/udp: discovery fallback;
    • 5353/udp: mDNS.
  • Data folder:
    • index.db: users, projects, locks, version list, change log;
    • server.pfx: the certificate;
    • history\: kept versions;
    • server.log: pairing codes.
  • Options: --data <folder> and --port <number>, or the environment variable TRUESCALE_SERVER_DATA.