Connecting to the Gnutella network through OmahShare is easy. In fact, OmahShare is set to automatically connect to the network as soon as you open it (this option can be changed in the preferences window). OmahShare will search for connected nodes. If it finds one, it will attempt to establish a connection with it. Once you have at least one connection established, you can begin searching for files.
^ topTo begin sharing files over the network, open up the preferences window (by clicking "Edit, Preferences"). Once in the preferences window, click on the "Share" option. Here, you can specify what directories you wish to make available to the public. All files in the selected directory (and any sub-directories if you select the "Sub-Directories" option) will be shared over the Gnutella network. OmahShare will begin "hashing" your files (this process makes it easier for users on the Gnutella network to search for your files, and also makes multi-download locations possible).
^ topSearching the Gnutella network using OmahShare is easy. Once OmahShare has connected to the Gnutella network, type what you would like to search for in the search bar at the top of the window, and click "Search". Your search results will be displayed in the search results window.
^ topOnce you find the file you are looking for (by searching for it), select it and click "Download Selected". You can view the progress of your download in the transfers window (which can be viewed by clicking on "View, Transfers"). From the transfers window, you can control the downloading of your file (stop, re-search, etc.). Once your file has finished downloading, it will be placed in your "downloads" folder (to change the location of this folder, open the properties window, and select the transfers option), and will more than likely be shared over the network (unless you do not have your downloads folder shared over the network).
^ topOmahShare has a built-in IRC client to provide you with the ability to chat. If you're used to an IRC client, you will immediately notice that there is not very much to this client. It's a fairly basic chat client (there are plans to improve it in future versions). Sometimes, it's not about what you know, it's about who you know. If you have no luck finding your file using search, you can go into various chat rooms and ask the people in them if they have the file you're looking for. Some people choose not to share their files with others (this, by the way, is not in the true spirit of a Peer-2-Peer network). To open the chat client, click on the "Chat" menu item, or the "Chat" button on the main toolbar.
^ topOmahShare has a built-in web browser, powered by Microsoft Internet Explorer. This gives you the ability to view web pages within OmahShare without having to close or minimize the program. To access the built-in web browser, click on "View, Browser" or on the "Browser" button on the main toolbar. Operation of the built-in web browser is the same as any normal web browser.
^ topOmahShare has the ability to run as a supernode (or "ultrapeer"). This mode means that you can receive child connections (people just connecting to the network will use you has a "hub" to get more connections). This mode is not recommended for users with dial-up connections, as it places a severe strain on your bandwidth. To turn this option on or off, in the preferences window, select the Network option under the Local header. Click "Able to become Ultrapeer" (checked means on, unchecked means off). If you are allowing yourself to be an ultrapeer, you can limit the number of leaf (child) connections. To do this, type a number in the "Host a maximum of XX leaf nodes" text box. If you are behind a firewall, check the "I am behind a firewall" option in the Firewall section of the Local header. To set various search options in the Search section, such as how your files are grouped in the Search Results window, and what kind of files to filter out of your results, as well as the servers to ignore (servers that have bogus files).
