Connect to Tops Ortho Locally or Remotely

You can connect to Tops Ortho while working in your main office or remotely from a satellite office, home, or another location with a high-speed Internet connection.

How you connect to Tops Ortho depends on whether your practice uses an On-Site Server or a Lightning Cloud Server.

Before You Begin

You will need:

• Tops Ortho installed on the computer. If needed, download the Tops Ortho Installer.
• Your Tops password.

• Your Practice Fingerprint when connecting from a new computer for the first time.

  If you do not know your Practice Fingerprint, contact Tops Support at 770.627.2527.

• The public IP address for your main office. (Only applicable to offices with On-Site Servers.)

On-site Server

If your practice has a Tops server physically located in your main office, the IP address you use depends on where you are connecting from.

Connecting from the Main Office

When you are in the office where the server is located, you typically connect using the server’s internal .166  IP address. Because your computer and the Tops server are on the same office network, Tops Ortho should automatically discover the server and display it in the login window.

Connecting from Outside the Main Office

When working from home, a satellite office, or another location, connect using the main office’s public IP address. In the Tops Ortho login window, select Other for the Server and enter the public IP address in the server field.

The office’s router or firewall then directs the remote connection to the Tops server using the configured port-forwarding rules.

Think of it this way: The public IP address is like the street address for your office—it tells your remote connection where to go. The designated port is like a specific entrance into the building. When your connection arrives at the office’s public IP address through that designated port, the router recognizes where the connection should go and forwards it to the Tops server.

You don’t need to know or configure these port-forwarding rules to connect to Tops. You simply need the correct public IP address for the office.

Need more help? Keep reading for detailed steps, including how to find your office’s public IP address and bookmark it for future connections.

Need more help?  Keep reading as more detailed steps are listed below, including how to bookmark your IP address.

Lightning Cloud Server

If your practice uses Lightning Cloud, your Tops server is hosted remotely rather than physically located in your office. This means you connect remotely to your Lightning Cloud Server whether you are working in your main office, at home, at a satellite office, or somewhere else.

The same Lightning Cloud Server IP address is used in the Tops Ortho login window from all locations.

If your Lightning Cloud Server is already saved in your Recent or Bookmarked servers, select it and log in as usual.

If you do not have the IP address, ask another staff member for the IP address displayed in their Tops Ortho login window or contact Tops Support.

Need more help? Keep reading for detailed steps, including how to enter and bookmark your Lightning Cloud Server IP address for future connections.

If you do not have the IP address, ask another staff member for the IP address displayed in their Tops Ortho login window or contact Tops Support.

Need more help?  Keep reading as more detailed steps are listed below, including how to bookmark your IP address.

Detailed Connection Instructions

Below are more detailed instructions for connecting to your On-Site or Lightning Cloud Server.

Connect to an On-Site Server

If your practice has an On-Site Server, the steps for connecting depend on whether you are in the main office or connecting remotely.

Connect in Your Main Office

When your computer is connected to the same network as your On-Site Tops server, Tops Ortho should automatically discover the server and populate it in the login window.

The server may appear through Bonjour, as Tops Server, or by its internal IP address, which typically ends in .166, such as 192.168.1.166.

Select the appropriate server, enter your Tops password, and click Connect.

Having problems connecting? Make sure your computer is connected to the same Wi-Fi or local network as your Tops server.

Connect to your On-Site Server Remotely

Your On-Site Tops server can be configured to allow connections from a satellite office, home, or another remote location with a high-speed Internet connection.

When connecting remotely, you will use the main office’s public IP address instead of the server’s internal .166 IP address.  

Don't know your main office's public IP address? Keep reading - we’ve provided some helpful tips for finding it below.

Add and Bookmark Your Remote Server

Bookmark your main office’s public IP address in Tops Ortho for easy access when connecting remotely.

1. Make sure your remote computer is connected to the Internet through a high-speed connection.
2. Launch Tops Ortho.
3. Enter your Tops Ortho password.

4. Click the Server pop-up menu and select Edit Bookmarks.

   

5. Click the + icon.
6. In the Name column, enter a name that will help you identify the connection, such as Remote, Home, or Satellite Office.
7. In the IP Address column, enter the public IP address for your main office.

8. Click Use Selected Server.

   

9. If this is your first time connecting from this computer, enter your Practice Fingerprint when prompted. Save the fingerprint to your macOS Keychain so you do not need to enter it for future logins.
10. Click Connect.

If an alert indicates that Tops Ortho needs to be updated, click Update. After the update downloads, you will return to the Tops Ortho login window. Select your server and log in again.

Find Your Office's Public IP Address

If you do not know your office’s public IP address, you can contact Tops Support or find it from a computer connected to the same office network as your Tops server.

Contact Tops Support

Phone: +1 770.627.2527

Text: +1 770.406.0685

Email: [email protected]

Find It Yourself

From a computer connected to the same office network as your Tops server:

1. Open a web browser.
2. Go to www.ipchicken.com.
3. Locate the IP address displayed on the page.
4. Record this address. This is the public IP address used to connect to your On-Site Server remotely.

Example:

Server’s internal IP: 192.168.1.166   

Office’s public IP: 74.125.XX.XX   

Important: Your office should have a static public IP address provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and assigned to the router connected to your Tops server. A static public IP ensures that the address used for remote connections does not change.

Connect to a Lightning Cloud Server

When connecting to a Lightning Cloud Server, the same IP address is used in the Tops Ortho login window whether you are in the office, at home, at a satellite office, or another location.

If your Lightning Cloud Server is already saved in your Recent or Bookmarked servers, select it and log in as usual.

If you do not have the IP address, you can:

• Ask another staff member for the IP address displayed in their Tops Ortho login window.
• Contact Tops Support for your Lightning Cloud Server IP address.

Add and Bookmark Your Lightning Cloud Server

Once you have your Lightning Cloud Server IP address:

1. Launch Tops Ortho.
2. Enter your Tops Ortho password.
3. Click the Server pop-up menu and select Edit Bookmarks.
4. Click the + icon.
5. In the Name column, enter a name that will help you identify the connection, such as Lightning Cloud  or Tops Server .
6. In the IP Address column, enter your Lightning Cloud Server IP address.
7. Click Use Selected Server.
8. If this is your first time connecting from this computer, enter your Practice Fingerprint when prompted. Save the fingerprint to your macOS Keychain so you do not need to enter it for future logins.
9. Click Connect.

If an alert indicates that Tops Ortho needs to be updated, click Update. After the update downloads, you will return to the Tops Ortho login window. Select your server and log in again.