Windows version only
Starting with beta release 8.0.0.30 IBConsole registers itself to the shell with the file extensions
.ib, .gdb, .ibk, .gbk.
It only works on MS Windows with a NT5.0 version or higher (currently Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP and Windows Vista).
In the Windows Explorer the database and backup files will have the IBConsole icon associated with it.
Double click on those files will bring up IBConsole or send a request to IBConsole if it is already active.
IBConsole will scan the console tree if it finds a match. If the file is on a local disk it searches the local server(s).
If the database or backup file is not registered in the console tree and there are multiple servers present IBConsole will show a dialog box to select a local server.
Next IBConsole will prompt for credentials for the database if necessary.
When the file is on a remote file system IBConsole translates the network connection and extracts the servername
Next it scans the console tree for that server. If none present you will get a dialog box to add that remote server to the console tree.
Be aware that a connection only can be made if the appropriate port alias is suplied (always gds_db for versions prior to 7.5) and the portalias is present in the services file.
To enable this feature Select Tools->Preferences from the menu in the main window and place a checkmark in the "Use Shell integration" checkbox.
To disable it just uncheck the checkbox. IBConsole then removes the registration from the Shell.
In both cases it might be necessary to Logout from Windows before the changes will be visible in the Windows Explorer.