How to send files with the MESH client

MESH is a service you can use to send or receive files. It’s often used in the NHS to share data between different organisations. The MESH client is an app that sends files using MESH.

You will need: 

• your MESH mailbox ID
• to know the location of the MESH folders, either on your computer or a shared drive
• an example .ctl file (this is a text document telling MESH where to send your file)

You will also need the MESH client app to be installed. Your organisation’s IT team will usually have to do this for you.

MESH works a bit like some other file-sharing services, such as Dropbox. You don’t need to send files manually, as you’d send an email. Instead, you move files to a MESH folder. The MESH client scans this folder at regular intervals, and sends the file automatically.

To get a file ready to send, you’ll need to:

• rename the file 
• create a second file with the information MESH needs to send the file to the right place
• make sure both files have the same filename, and the correct file extensions

Renaming the file

Rename your file with the extension .dat 

So, if you started with file_to_send.csv, you would change the filename to file_to_send.dat

Computers are sometimes set to hide file extensions. This can trip you up, as it will look as if you’ve renamed the file, but you won’t be able to see the whole filename. The filename would read file_to_send.dat, but the file would really be named file_to_send.dat.csv

Creating the .ctl file

The .ctl file is a set of instructions that tells MESH where to send your message. You should have been given an example .ctl file when you were set up with MESH. Open it in a text editing app, such as Notepad. It won’t work if you use a word processing app like Word. The .ctl file will looks something like the code below.

<DTSControl>
         <Version>1.0</Version>
         <AddressType>All</AddressType>
         <MessageType>Data</MessageType>
         <WorkflowId>XXXXXXXXXXX</WorkflowId>
         <To_DTS>XXXXXXXX</To_DTS>
         <From_DTS>XXXXXXX</From_DTS>
         <Subject>XXXSubjectHeaderXXX</Subject>
         <LocalId>XXXXXXXX</LocalId>
         <Compress>Y</Compress>
         <AllowChunking>Y</AllowChunking>
         <Encrypted>N</Encrypted>
</DTSControl>

Edit the .ctl file according to the instructions or template you’ve been given.

You’ll usually need to change the From_DTS line to add your mailbox ID. You may have been asked to change some of the other lines too, such as the subject.

Save the .ctl file with the same filename as the file you want to send.

After finishing this process, you should have two files:

• file_to_send.dat 
• file_to_send.ctl

You should be given the location of the MESH folders when your IT team installs MESH for you.

The main MESH folder is called MESH-DATA-HOME. There might be another folder inside if so, it’s usually named after your mailbox.

Inside that, you’ll find five more folders: 

• failed 
• in 
• out 
• sent 
• temp

If you’re using MESH regularly, it might be easier to create a shortcut to the folders you need.

Send your files by moving them to the out folder.

It’s best to move the .dat file first.

What happens next 

The MESH client scans for files every few minutes. So nothing might happen straight away. 

Eventually, the files should disappear from your out folder. They may now be in your sent folder, although this will depend on how your IT team set up MESH - it can also be set up not to save sent messages.

If the files are still in your out folder after an hour or so, you might want to contact your organisation’s IT team. If necessary, they can refer issues to the National Service Desk.