hi Daniel,
yes, actually it isn't anything to do with asp.net. it is just like mapping
a network drive to a folder on your website, using Windows. there is a
feature of FrontPage Server Extensions that allows this connection over the
Internet.
i'm not an expert on it, but i did get it working recently. to do it in
your XP pro machine, add FrontPage Server Extensions to your Add/Remove
Programs > Windows Components > IIS. then you can create a 'server
extensions web' instead of a virtual directory. hey presto.
in my scenario, i didn't want to use a web browser, so i just used the
Windows Map Network Drive > "connect to network server" and then type in
http://yourserver/ShareName and you can start opening and saving office
documents seamlessly through windows. what i've seen done, but never done
myself, is to embed windows explorer into a browser (i assume using IFRAME,
but i might be wrong), and then you have all your files and folders on your
web site. open, rename, copy / paste, drag drop etc. i call this approach
the baby brother to a VPN over Http. it is reasonably secure if you remove
anonymous authentication and use windows auth instead. but i found when
opening documents it asked for the password each time, slightly annoying.
so if you want to see how well this works for you, try and connect as a
client through windows explorer > map network drive, before you try and
embed it in a browser. i tried to reproduce what i've seen before, but i
got stuck because i couldn't use the UNC \\server\share syntax to access the
web folder. if this could be done, you could use the UNC path for the
IFRAME and you'd be in business.
there are newsgroups for frontpage server extensions, where the web-folder
experts live, and i think you'll get better help there if you want to go
this route. i would also suggest that what you're really looking for is
"office collaboration over the web" more than a custom asp.net application.
sharepoint is the obvious choice for this, but you may not want to go that
route.
good luck
tim