Getting started on Tella Desktop
Tella Desktop is an Application you can install on your computer to be able to receive and securely save files from Tella Android or Tella iOS.
Install Tella Desktop
- Download the installation files for your platform:
- Unzip the downloaded file.
- Click on the Tella-Desktop file inside the folder.
- If you get a warning from your OS saying that the file cannot be opened because it's from an un-verified developer, go to Settings > Security and Privacy and choose to open the file anyway.
Tella Desktop is open source. Release notes for the latest version (1.1.0) are available on GitHub.
We are working to add the installation files to official Stores for each operative system.
Set up your lock
The first time you open Tella Desktop you'll need to choose your lock. Without this lock, it is not possible to open Tella and access any of the files stored in it. If you lose this lock, there is no way to restore it, please remember your lock or save it in a safe place, for example in a Password Manager. Locks can be any alpha-numeric sequence. For your security, choose a strong lock and avoid using your name, date of birth, or anything that is easy to guess (like “Password”, “123456”, or “000000”).
Receive files
To receive files from Tella Android or iOS, click on Nearby Sharing on the left side panel.
Make sure the mobile device and the computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. There are 2 ways to connect your devices through Wi-Fi:
- Using a local network, such as the Wi-Fi at your home or work, or a public Wi-Fi network.
- Setting up a Hotspot on a device, and make sure both the phone and computer have joined it.
It does not matter whether that Wi-Fi has connection to the internet, Tella only uses Wi-Fi as the channel to establish the connection between devices and share files.
Tella will show a tutorial with steps to connect. Follow the instructions on your phone and computer to select the files, accept the transfer and save those, encrypted, in your computer.
Lock Tella
After you are done receiving files, we strongly recommend closing the Tella Desktop App or using the Lock button on the bottom left to make sure Tella Desktop is locked and nobody can access the files stored on it.
Export files
All received files will be stored, encrypted, in Tella. Click on the Received button on the left side panel to view the list of folders received, the date, and the number of files on each folder. At the moment, it's not possible to preview the files inside the Tella Desktop encrypted container. To export files to your Computer and be able to view them, select one or many folders from the list of received files and click on the Export button on the top bar to save them in your computer. For each folder, Tella will save a zip file on ́Documents > Exports ́. Unzip it to view the files.
Once exported out of Tella, anyone with access to your computer can view them.
Delete files
Select the received folders you'd like to delete by selecting those on the Received tab of Tella. Click on Delete and accept the confirmation dialogue to permanently deleting a folder and all files in it from Tella. This action cannot be reversed.
We are working to add more features to Tella Desktop, including the possibility to import files to it from your computer and to be able to preview files inside Tella Desktop's encrypted container. If you need these features urgently or would like to contribute to the scoping or implementation of these features, please contact us.