WebDAV Drive vs Edit Doc Opener vs Kernel-mode Drivers
In this article we provide comparison of WebDAV Drive App, supplied with WebDAV Ajax Library v6+, WebDAV Drive Sample supplied with User File System, legacy Edit Document Opener and other Kernel-mode driver-based software.
WebDAV Drive App vs Edit Document Opener
The table below provides comparison of WebDAV Drive App, supplied with WebDAV Ajax Library v6+, and Edit Document Opener, supplied with WebDAV Ajax Library v2-v5.
| WebDAV Drive App | Edit Document Opener | |
|---|---|---|
| Supplied with | WebDAV Ajax Library v6+ | WebDAV Ajax Library v2-v5 |
| Open docs from web page | Yes | Yes |
| Manage files in OS File manager | Yes | Yes |
| Manual Locking | Yes | No |
| Offline files | Yes | No |
| Synchronization | Yes | No |
| Push notifications support | Yes | No |
| Large files support | Any size | Default to 50 Mb |
| Auto-locking | MS Office, Acrobat, AutoCAD | MS Office only |
| Server protocol | WebDAV | WebDAV |
| Deployment | Microsoft Store / App Store | Your server |
| Web browser protocol schema | DavX | DavX |
WebDAV Drive App vs WebDAV Drive Sample
WebDAV Drive App and WebDAV Drive Sample provide similar functionality. However, there are several differences, that we summarize in a table below. WebDAV Drive Sample (supplied with User File System) targets white-labeling, customization and programmability, while WebDAV Drive App is an out-of-the-box application that do not require any programming.
Note that WebDAV Drive Sample code is also generated by WebDAV Integrated Wizard for Visual Studio.
| WebDAV Drive App | WebDAV Drive Sample | |
|---|---|---|
| Supplied with | WebDAV Ajax Library v6+ | User File System |
| White Labeling / Rebranding | No | Yes |
| Number of drives | Any | 11 |
| Server protocol | WebDAV | WebDAV, programmable |
| Deploy to MS Store / App Store | Yes | Yes |
| Deploy to your server | No | Yes |
| Web browser protocol schema | DavX | Any, programmable |
| Auto-locking | MS Office, Acrobat, AutoCAD | MS Office, Acrobat, AutoCAD, programmable |
| Synchronization | SyncID, CRUD, folder invalidation | SyncID, CRUD, folder invalidation, programmable |
1 - For the sake of simplicity, the WebDAV Drive Sample is provided with a single drive per sample. You can program any requited number of drives.
Licensing
The WebDAV Drive App is provided as a standalone application with its own licensing schema as well it is supplied with as as part of WebDAV Ajax Library v6+. WebDAV Drive Sample requires User File System License AND WebDAV Client Library for .NET License:
| WebDAV Drive App | WebDAV Drive Sample | |
|---|---|---|
| WebDAV Ajax Library License OR WebDAV Drive App License | Required | Not Required |
| User File System License AND WebDAV Client Library for .NET License2 | Not required | Required |
2 - WebDAV Client Library for .NET License is required for WebDAV programming only. You do not need WebDAV Client Library for .NET License if you plan to use any other protocol.
Authentication Comparison
WebDAV Drive Sample provides the highest flexibility on terms of authentication and can be programmed to virtually any authentication type.
| WebDAV Drive App | WebDAV Drive Sample | Edit Document Opener | Mini-redirector | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OAuth 2 | - | + | - | - |
| Open ID | - | + | - | - |
| Token-based | - | + | - | - |
| Custom auth | - | + | - | - |
| Cookies | + | + | + | - |
| MS-OFBA | + | + | - | - |
| Basic | + | + | - | - |
| Digest | + | + | - | - |
| NTLM | + | + | - | - |
| Kerberos | + | + | + | + |
| URL-auth | + | + | + | + |
| Anonymous | + | + | + | + |
The WebDAV Integrated Wizard, provided with WebDAV Server Engine for .NET can generate a WebDAV Drive Sample with Microsoft Identity Platform authentication (Entra ID / Azure ID).
WebDAV Drive vs Kernel-mode Drivers
The table below provides WebDAV Drive App / WebDAV Drive Sample vs kernel mode driver-based software on Windows comparison.
| WebDAV Drive | Kernel-mode driver-based software | |
|---|---|---|
| No Admin privileges required | Yes | No |
| Provides highest security | Yes | No |
| Can be installed with regular user permissions | Yes | No |
| Can be published to Windows Store | Yes | No |
| Securely mounts drive for a single user | Yes | No |
| Debugging in Visual Studio | Yes | No |
| Can display user interface | Yes | No |
| Can be deployed using regular installer | Yes | Yes |
| Can mount multiple drives | Yes | Yes |
| Platform execution level | Runs at user level | Runs at OS kernel level |
| Supports synchronization | Out of the box | Requires programming |
| Supports offline mode | Out of the box | Requires programming |
| File status, progress, menus in Win Explorer | Out of the box | Requires programming |