If you have installed OfficeClip on your local server and want to access it from outside your LAN you have the following options:
- Setup port forwarding on your router to the OfficeClip Server IP address
- Use the router supported dynamic DNS to automatically forward incoming OfficeClip request the OfficeClip server
- Use third-party reverse IP services like ngrok to access OfficeClip without doing any change in your router
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Setting up Port Forwarding
If you have a router that provides the dynamic IP address to your computers in the local network, you will need to login to the router and access the port forwarding option. Then you need to forward the port 80 (or any other port) to your OfficeClip Server. For example, if, you forward port 5089 to the OfficeClip server, you can access OfficeClip using
https://your-ip-address:5089/officeclip
This assumes that you have a static IP address, otherwise, see the next section.
Use Dynamic DNS Service
There are many dynamic IP address services (some of them are free) that can translate a domain to your OfficeClip server IP address when you run a program (supplied by the service provider) on your OfficeClip server. For example, you can go to https://www.noip.com and get a free dynamic address called https://OfficeClip.hopto.com. You will then need to download the Dynamic Update Client from their website and install on your OfficeClip server. This will keep your dynamic IP address in sync with the domain https://OfficeClip.hopto.com and you can use it to log in to the OfficeClip from outside your company.
Note that noip.com forces you to validate the account every month unless you purchase their enhanced services at the rate of about $25 per year (at the time of writing). This will still require port forwarding, to avoid it, read the next section.
Use third-party reverse IP services
There are various third-party reverse IP services that will not require any settings on your router. One such service is ngork.com which charges about $5 per month. Once you are set up this kind of service they will provide you a URL that you can use to connect to OfficeClip server without any external settings
Image Attribution: Derek, Flickr, Creative Commons
SK Dutta is a software architect and creator of OfficeClip Suite of products. He loves to design and develop software that makes people do their job better and more fun. He always explores ways to improve productivity for small businesses. He is also an avid reader in many areas, including psychology, productivity, and business.