Guide: synced folder

Folder monitoring

For scanners without network DICOM, or when you prefer to export by hand. Link doesn't talk to the scanner: it watches a folder on disk, like a synced folder, and uploads whatever appears in it.

1. 1

   Pick the folder, mark the date

   It can be the folder where the scanner software stores its images, or any folder the centre exports into. When you pick it, Link notes the date and time: only files saved after that moment count. A library with years of exams is never uploaded by accident.

2. 2

   Checked every 15 seconds

   Link walks the folder and its subfolders looking at each file's date and size. Files older than the cut-off are ignored without opening them. Files already examined and unchanged aren't reopened either. Only new files are read to tell whether they are DICOM and which study they belong to.

3. 3

   Waiting for the file to settle

   A file that just appeared may still be being written. Link waits until it has gone 5 seconds without changing before copying it. Export .zip files (Sidexis, NNT, EzDent-i) are opened and the DICOM inside extracted; the original .zip is untouched.

4. 4

   Copied to the queue, never moved

   Each slice is copied into Link's queue folder, grouped by study. The original folder stays intact: it is the scanner's own library, and moving a file breaks its catalogue. To avoid uploading the same thing twice, Link keeps a record of the studies already uploaded.

5. 5

   From here, the same path

   Once in the queue, a study from the folder is treated like one that came over the network: it is considered complete after 20 seconds without new files (no need for 3 minutes here, the slices were already complete when copied), packaged, uploaded, and the local copy deleted once the server confirms.

• —If the software writes to a network drive, Link reads it just the same; if the drive disconnects, the log says so and Link keeps trying.
• —Choosing another folder leaves synchronisation stopped until you turn it on by hand, and whatever was copied from the previous folder leaves the queue. On purpose: picking the wrong folder is the easiest mistake to make.
• —To recover exams older than the cut-off date, move the date back in the configuration file.

Configuration by brand

The steps with each manufacturer's menu names. If your scanner isn't listed, the generic guide at the end applies just the same.

Installation, in three steps

1. 1

   Download and install

   No administrator privileges required. It installs in the user profile and is set to start with Windows.

2. 2

   Pair the account

   The application generates a six-character code and opens the browser. You sign in to CBCTHub and confirm with "Connect this device". No credentials are entered on the clinic workstation.

3. 3

   Select the scanner

   Once the brand is selected, the application displays the configuration steps for that software. Synchronization is then enabled.

Troubleshooting

Limits of the application

An application running on the workstation where patient images reside must state its scope precisely.

• ✓It does not move or delete files from the scanner directory. It only reads and copies.
• ✓It exposes no port to the internet. The DICOM port listens only on the clinic local network; outbound traffic is exclusively HTTPS.
• ✓It does not store the account password. Pairing is done with a code, and what remains on the workstation is a credential revocable from CBCTHub at any time.
• ✓It transfers nothing until synchronization is enabled. Selecting a folder starts no upload.
• ✓Items removed from the queue are not deleted: they are moved and remain available for one month.