Connect to a WebF1 Pad server

WebF1 Pad can store your notes, chats and prompts on a WebF1 Pad server, either one you run yourself or a WebF1-hosted one. Notes and chats are encrypted on your device before upload, so the server only ever sees ciphertext. Sharing between users also runs through the server.

The encryption passphrase is set once in Settings → Security and is shared with S3 and Dropbox backup. Set it before you connect a server.

Connect and create an account

1. Open Settings and go to the Online tab (in the “Online & Cloud” group).
2. Click Add server, then tick Enable online storage.
3. Enter the Server URL (for example https://pad.example.com), click Test connection to confirm the address, then click Save.
4. Fill in Name, Email and Password under Create an account, then click Create account. A confirmation link is emailed to you. (Use Generate strong password if you would rather not invent one; either way the next screen lets you copy the email and password into your password manager, since managers do not capture desktop apps.)
5. Open the link in your browser, or paste it (or just its code) into the Verify email box and click Verify.
6. Under Sign in, enter your email and password and click Sign in. You are asked to set up two-factor authentication right away.

Sign in and two-factor authentication

Signing in needs your password and a two-factor code:

1. Enter your email and password.
2. Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app. If you have lost your authenticator, paste one of your single-use recovery codes instead, you are then asked to set up two-factor again.
3. Click Sign in.

Set up two-factor

After your first sign-in (or after a reset) you are asked to enrol:

1. Click Set up two-factor authentication to get a QR code and a setup key.
2. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app (or type the key).
3. Enter the code the app shows and click Verify. WebF1 Pad then shows a batch of single-use recovery codes, save them now, they are shown only once and each works only once.

Reset password

Forgot your password? You do not need your current password to choose a new one, the reset is confirmed by a code sent to your email address. Your current password keeps working until the reset is complete.

1. Open the reset form:
   • Signed out: Settings → Online, click Forgot password? next to the Sign in button.
   • Signed in: Settings → Online → Account, click Forgot password? just below Change password.
2. Enter your account Email and click Send reset code. The reply is the same whether or not that address has an account, so it cannot be used to discover which addresses are registered.
3. Open the email titled “Reset your WebF1 Pad password”. It contains a single-use code that expires in 30 minutes.
4. Paste the code into Reset code from the email, type a New password (8 or more characters) and click Set new password.
5. Every device signed in with that account is signed out. Sign in again with the new password and your two-factor code.

A password reset does not change two-factor authentication, so you still need your authenticator (or a recovery code) to sign in afterwards.

If you can no longer receive email at your registered address, the reset code cannot reach you. Ask your server administrator for a temporary password from the admin page: it works for 24 hours, signs your devices out, and stops working the moment you set your own password, which the app asks you to do right after signing in with it.

If you have lost both your authenticator and your recovery codes you need a two-factor reset, not a password reset: another administrator can reset your two-factor from the server’s admin page, or the server operator can run the break-glass reset on the host. See the server’s deployment guide.

Change your password, email or display name

Once signed in, open Settings → Online → Account:

• Display name changes how you appear in shares and admin lists.
• Change password needs your current password and, when two-factor is on, a live code. It signs your other devices out.
• Change email sends a confirmation link to the new address; the change only applies once you open it, and your current address keeps working until then.

Use more than one server

You can register several servers; exactly one is active at a time, and only the active server’s notes and chats are shown and kept in sync.

• Add server adds an entry and selects it for setup. It does not become active, the current server keeps working until you switch.
• Configure selects a server so the form below edits it, without switching.
• Activate makes a server the live one, closing the previous server’s tabs and opening the new one’s.

Sign out, remove, or delete

• Sign out (in the signed-in view) ends the server session for the selected server; its notes stay in your local tabs.
• Remove (in the Servers list) forgets the server in this app. Nothing on the server is deleted, and you can add it back later.
• Deleting the account is permanent and removes all its notes, chats and prompts from the server. The control is at the bottom of the Account section, and requires your password and two-factor code.

Share with another user

Notes, chats and prompt presets can be shared with other users of the same server. Sharing uses a key derived from your encryption passphrase, so the server still cannot read the content. Open the item and use Share, pick a recipient, and they receive an offer they can accept or decline.