Have you ever had the need to allow web access to files on a samba or windows fileserver and really did not want to deal with setting up a VPN for the users (some of whom need access to just see a single file) or keep track of permissions on the file server and it the apache config file (e.g. htaccess for directory level access). The answer I found was IntegraTUM WebDisk (http://www.simple-groupware.de/cms/WebDisk/IntegraTUMWebDisk). It is a java application that takes a user name and password and uses that to make a smb connection with a samba or windows file server. Because it is making an smb connection, it respects all the file server permissions just like if the person was using a file browser on their linux, windows, or mac client so you only have to maintain permissions on the file server. It has several special options (e.g. quick links to project directories, favorites, blacklisted servers, and, if you are running a NetApp, the ability to list and copy snapshots). I have used this for K-12 students to upload files, for K-12 staff to access files from home, for sharing of files between staff and vendors, and for a small company to provide a file transfer point for its customers. It is very easy to set up and run multiple instances on the same server (e.g. I have instances for staff, students, and vendors at the K-12 school district where I work). For me this has been a very good application that solves the problem of file transfers very well.
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