Hi Andrea

Bob will no doubt answer your questions more fully, however, I think I can give you some feedback:

- the acp application must be running before any web connection attempt?
Yes, ACP provides a console application which needs to be run on the observatory 'server' computer. The console app has to be running to allow web-based users to access ACP's functionality. The 'server' can be any type of Windows machine you like, although a decent desktop machine is preferrable to a low-spec laptop (although many people, including myself, do use laptops as the server). I know that Bob specifically does NOT recommend using 'Netbook' type computers.

The ACP console application provides a built-in web server and FTP server - you DO NOT have to install Microsoft IIS, Apache, or other third-party web server. The ACP web/FTP servers seem very reliable, secure and robust. There are rarely any reports of issues - I've certainly never had any trouble at with them.

- scripts can be uploaded and launched using the web connection?
Yes, there are a number of ways of doing this. Personally I use FTP software to upload scripts. But you will rarely need to upload scripts - the standard ACP scripts will probably do everything you need.

- plans can be uploaded and launched using the web connection?
Yes, there are a number of ways of doing this. It's all well-documented in the ACP Help files, along with examples for both Windows and Mac users. It's very user-friendly and you don't need to understand the underlying mechanisms.

-is that happening thanks to a "share your sky" session, with administrator grants?
The 'Share Your Sky' thing relates to being able to access the ACP web server from another (remote) machine using a web browser. That's the normal usage pattern - an Administrator will setup preferences and accounts for non-Admin users of ACP. Then non-Admin user will simply access the URL for the ACP web server and use the nice (friendly) web interface. Even if you're an admin, once things are setup you can use the web interface. It's great! All you need is a web connection and a browser - I often monitor what ACP's doing via my iPad while eating dinner, etc.

-what kind of licence do i need to buy to get thse functionalities?
If you want to be able to access ACP via web browser from a remote machine you need the 'Personal Internet' license.

The 'Basic' license will also allow you to access ACP via both the console and the web browser interface - but ONLY from the same machine (not remotely). I think most people seem to go for the Personal Internet license.

Russ