We have tried to make logging in to NetDocuments as secure and easy as possible. To login to NetDocuments, simply go to
US: https://vault.netvoyage.com
EU: https://eu.netdocuments.com
Enter your username and password, then click login. First time users will be asked to install an ActiveX control. (If you access this site in a non-IE browser, you will not be prompted to install an ActiveX.) This ActiveX is perfectly safe and allows NetDocuments to have limited access to several programs on your computer to provide a more seamless experience. After the installation you should see your NetDocuments Home Page.
The rest of this article deals with other login options and technical explanation, as well as NetDocuments Service Requirements.
Table of Contents
Password – Forgot your Password?
Service Requirements – Including Browser Settings, Trusted Site Settings, etc.
Login
NetDocuments maintains two separate yet identical services located at separate data centers – one for the United States and another for the European Union. Each service is accessed by different URLs. The NetDocuments Service login pages are respectively located at:
These pages are hosted at a secured data center where the software and your documents actually reside. This facility operates on powerful redundant servers and is supported by long-term redundant power generators in case of electrical failure. The login page will appear as shown below:
NOTE: If you experience any login issues, make sure you pay close attention to the URL of the page you are logging in on. It may be that you are trying to log in on the wrong page.
NetDocuments also maintains a login link on its corporate website as a convenience at www.netdocuments.com. This link defaults to the login page for the US service. Because this site does not have redundancy built into it, we recommend that you utilize the direct link to the Service login page listed above. There may be times when this site, www.netdocuments.com, is not available, when the actual service links are available because of its built-in redundancy:
We recommend that administrators and trainers encourage users to bookmark their home page at these URLs to avoid any confusion and potential website failures or to make a shortcut on their desktop or on the browser links bar to access NetDocuments. Firms that have a corporate Intranet should use that link for the login rather than directing users first to www.netdocuments.com.
If you want to go to the ND2 (Mobile) interface directly, you can use this URL:
This Interface is the same interface used for mobile devices and is used where a supported browser is not present. It can be used in cases where the ActiveX cannot be downloaded or with devices that do not support ActiveX controls. It has a reduced feature-set compared to the standard interface.
A user may also bookmark any other page in NetDocuments, to access that page. For example, if you frequently use the Recent Docs page, then you could use the following link as your initial login page:
If you want to go directly to your Home Page, use the following:
You should not bookmark the links below because you'll be forced to log in every time you click that link, even if you've already logged in and have used the system within the last 90 minutes.
You can bookmark the link to any workspace, folder, or Saved Search to directly access that item.
ActiveX Install: (IE only)
You will be asked to install an ActiveX program the first time you use NetDocuments.
NOTE: Your NetDocuments Administrator may have installed this program for you. See below for the Install program information.
If you see the red text below, it means that the ActiveX did not get installed. Depending on your browser settings, you may be able to install it by clicking the yellow ribbon at the top or adjust the browser settings in Tools, Internet Options, security tab to allow the ActiveX to install.
If you do not see the yellow ribbon at the top, generally it means you do not have sufficient rights in Windows to install programs. (You must have Windows Administrator rights.) You should contact your IT personnel in this case and they can either adjust your settings or they can login as the Windows Admin and install the ActiveX for you on that computer.
If you do not see the message with the red heading, you probably already have the ActiveX installed.
Installing the ActiveX with the Installation Program
If you are not able to get the ActiveX downloaded automatically, you can enter the following URL in the browser to install the ActiveX control as an installed program -
This download still requires that you have rights to download programs to your computer. This installation program may also be used by your NetDocuments Administrator to "push" the ActiveX install to your computer remotely. In that case, you will not be prompted to install the ActiveX program. If a NetDocuments Administrator "pushes" this program to your PC, we recommend that they do it from the beta server no sooner than one week prior to the next update of the service.
If the .msi installation program is used to install the ActiveX program, it will not be visible in the Add-in section of the browser. It will be installed in the Program Files, NetDocuments directory. It will also show up in the Windows Control panel, under Add/Remove Programs and will be called NetDocuments Document Activation. You can verify which version it is by clicking the Support link. If you had a previous ActiveX installed using the browser, that Add-in may still be showing in the browser Add-in section as an older version even though you have installed a newer version using the .msi installer program. The newer version will be used by NetDocuments. If you are using Roaming Profiles, there is nothing special that you have to do to install it. Just use the URL above or go to the NetDocuments Login page on the user's computer and install it. You do need Windows Administrator rights on that PC to install it.
Settings to make the ActiveX not prompt when being installed
If you do not want the ActiveX to prompt you when it installs, you can make the following adjustments. Go to Tools, Internet Options, Security tab, then click the Custom level … button, then Enable the following option. The next time you go to the NetDocuments login page, you will be prompted with an install dialog. You can choose to always allow NetDocuments to install and you will not see this dialog in the future when a new ActiveX is installed.
NetDocuments requires a username for authentication. If you forget your username, click the Forget Your Password link on the Login page and enter your email address. An email will be sent to you displaying your username. You can choose to enter a password also if you want. Usernames are NOT case sensitive. Usernames are unique across the NetDocuments Service, so it is possible for a username to already be in use for NetDocuments.
Often users will use the part of their email to the left of the @ sign as their username. Probably more often than not, users choose to use their complete email address to ensure it is unique. (This is the default setting when an administrator creates a new user). This also works well when setting up External Users so they can more easily remember the username. If you use the automated login feature, you will only be entering your username once a day or at home or other locations where you access NetDocuments. Your organization will most likely dictate the format to be used for the username.
Caution – Usernames cannot be changed, used, or re-used by other individuals per the Terms of Use Agreement.
Caution – When registering a new user account, the user's first or last name CANNOT contain quotes.
Password
Password Criteria:
- Passwords must be at least 8 characters long.
- Passwords must contain at least one digit and one letter.
- The password is NOT case sensitive.
- Passwords cannot include the username. For example, if the username is “jones”, the password cannot be “jones”, “sJones”, “jonestt”, or “alJonesAc”.
- Passwords cannot be comprised entirely or mostly of the user’s initials. If all occurrences of a user’s first and last initials or first, middle, and last initials are removed from the password, there must be at least 3 remaining characters in the password. For example, if the user’s name is Albert S. Thompson, the following passwords are not allowed: “astast”, “atatat”, “batrat”, “atlast”, “lastbat”. The following passwords would be allowed: “breakfast”, “lastbatter”.
- Passwords cannot include a word in the name of any repository the user is a member of unless the word is “of”, “the”, or “and” or the word consists of a single character. For example, members of a repository named “Jones Real Estate Services” would not be allowed to use the following passwords: “bridgetjones”, “really”, “quickservices”.
- Eight (8) unsuccessful login attempts will lock an account from access for 15 minutes. Due to Internet delays, this could take several minutes to be reset beyond the initial 15 minutes.
- If you forget your password, please use the Forget your Password link on the Login page to receive an email so you can define a new password. Note that Allow automated password recovery from the Personal Information option in Settings must be checked. This is selected by default when you register.
Forgot your Password:
If you forget your password, go to the Login page and select the "Forgot your Password?" link as shown below with the green arrow. It will send you an email with a link to enter a new password. Administrators should also use this link to send a new password reset email to a user in their repository. You can also use this link if you have forgotten your username.
NOTE: If you use the Automated Login option, you will still need to remember your username/password to login at other locations such as your home or at a client location.
Certificate-Based Login
A digital certificate is an electronic file that establishes your personal credentials for security purposes. Digital certificates are issued by a third-party trusted Certificate Authority (CA), such as Thawte. When a CA issues a digital certificate, it verifies that the owner is not claiming a false identity, just as when a government issues you a passport, it is officially vouching for the fact that you are who you say you are! When a CA grants you a digital certificate, it puts its integrity behind your identity based on credentials you submit during the registration process. CAs like Thawte usually offer a warranty assuring the validity of your identity. For more documentation on Certificate-based login, click here.
To enable this capability, login to NetDocuments and do the following:
- Click on Settings
- Click on Login Information
- Check Allow certificate-based login
- Click on Register Certificate Note: You should already have registered a certificate with your Windows operating system prior to registering it with NetDocuments. If you have not, a window will open and appear blank for some time before returning a "Cannot find server" error.
Automated Login
When using NetDocuments, for security reasons, as a user you will be logged out automatically after 90 minutes of inactivity. As a NetDocuments User you can enable an automated login option if your organization utilizes Microsoft Active Directory services. This feature requires Active Directory Services and a Windows XP or higher client machine. It only works when that Service is available to you on the organization's network. The Automated Login option appears automatically on the login page if Active Directory Services are enabled. If the Automated Login is enabled, after 90 minutes of inactivity, you will be re-logged into NetDocuments.
To enable this feature within NetDocuments:
Login to your NetDocuments account
Click Settings
Click Login Information
Select to Enable Automated Login
Log Out
If you have not manually clicked on Logout from within NetDocuments, you will be logged out automatically when your activity has been idle for 90 minutes. You are also logged out officially if you just close your browser session rather than clicking the Logout link. However, if you navigate to another website using that same browser session, you are still logged into NetDocuments for the standard 90 minutes. This means anyone could click the back button in that session on your computer and access your documents if you leave your computer. If you are using the Automated Login feature, you will be automatically logged back in when the 90 minute timeout occurs.
Closing Your Session
You can close your NetDocuments session in one of three ways:
- Click the Logout link at the top right of your browser (recommended)
- Click the browser's File|Close menu option
- Click the X at the top right corner of the browser window
Note: As a general practice, NetDocuments recommends that you click the Logout link when you have completed your session with NetDocuments rather than option 2 or 3. This allows NetDocuments to completely close your connection to the server and any related cookies.
Note: Also when you click the Logout link, if you have any documents which were not checked in, this process will automatically check them in, assuming that you have closed the document first. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU ALWAYS USE THE LOG OUT BUTTON TO ENSURE YOU DO NOT LEAVE DOCUMENTS CHECKED OUT.