Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Features
1.2 Assumptions
1.3 Convetions
2. File Manager overview
3. Managing files
3.1 Add (upload) files
3.2 Create subfolders
4. Delete files and folders
5. Concluding remarks
In Website@School the File Manager is used to upload materials like images, documents, souds and video, etcetera, i.e. files to the right locations like areas, themes, sections, pages, groups of users or individual users.
What is the right location? It's a good idea to store fiels for areas in thier area. Eventually subfolders can be create din the area. The same goes for Groups, Users and My Files, the personal files of the useer logged in.
A user like Herbert Spencer (see Guided Toiur), pupil of grade 8, stores the pictures to his poems in his My Files folder, for example in a subfolder Poems.
NOTICE:
Please bear in mind that links in pages, for example images, are stored in their areas. Moving an area to another are, or moving a sction with pages to anoter area, will most probably break the links.
NOTICE:
Take care when deleting files! They might be in use in some place. It is not possible to move files with the File Manager. This is a feature.
The features of the File Manager in no specific order:
- Files: Upload files, delete files. Configurarble lists of allowed file extensions, of reckognised image file types and reckognised flash files.
- Upload: Configurable maximum number of files per upload.
- Directories: Create and delete directories. If a directory is not empty, you are redirected to the contents of that directory.
- Virus detection: When a virusscanner is installed on the server, incoming files are scanned for viruses before acceptance (Clamav default). Configurable path to virusscanner.
- Thumbnails: Automatic creation of thumbnail from images (GD lib). Configurable size of thumbnails.
- My Files: Afer login, you always start on My Files.
NOTICE:
Most items in the File Manager are configurable. See Configuration Manager, paragraph 5. Site for configuration and details.
This chapter builds on other chapters. We assume you have an installation with demo data and the Website@School Users Guide. and you have full access to Website@School.
Next to that we assume you have read the Introduction, Logging in and out and completely performed the Guided Tour.
Some general features of W@S are not that easily found. Some corrrespond with the markup of this manual text, so we explain them both here.
- Mouseovers: Almost every image, icon, button, link or data field has a mouseover text. Please hover over these items to see a short description, and expanastion or shortcut key combination for an item. This user friendly feature is aimed at the novice user of a CMS.
- Shortcut keys: You do not need a mouse to work with W@S. Items are accessible with shorcut keys that are mentioned in the mouseover. Your browsers manual will tell you which keys to press in conjunction with the shortcut keys.
- Yellow status bar: The yellow bar will give status messages, for example:
Data folder (cannot be changed lateron): filename not acceptable: 'grade 8'
Confirmation or error messages will be displayed in this yellow bar. If necessary these messages can be copied and past in e-mail or forum posts for support.
- Pop up windows: Sometimes pop up windows are displayed together with the yellow status bar. They draw your attention and you have to turn them off to proceed. Read them, then click the [OK] button. The pop up messages are also displayed in the yellow status bar to cut and paste them.
- Text markup: Below are the text elements that have s special markup:
- [Enter] or, for example [Alt-N]: To indicate that you can use the keyboard.
index.php
: To indicate a file name.
- Name: The bold underlined character of field titles identfy the keyboard shortcut that can be used to access or modify the item. Your browsers manual will tell you which keys to press in conjunction with the bold underlined character.
- [D] or, for example [P]: In high visibility mode (for blind an dvisually impaired persons) the first one indicates the Trashcan (Delete). The second one indicates the Page preview
icon.
- Private area [ ] Mark ... etcetera: The [ ] in a text indicates a checkbox.
- Add a page or, for example Area: A blue text refers to the same text in a screenshot.
- Add an area, or for example Page Manager: Bold text refers to an item that is visible in a screen shot
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To enter the the File Manager, please click on the File Manager icon
to open its dialogue:
filemanager_file_manager_my_files.png
My Files is the default opening dialogue after login.
- Menu: Clickable links lead to the different file locations. The underlined link is selected:
- My Files: Leads to the personal directories and files, owned by the logged in user, in this case Wilhelmina Bladergroen.
- Areas: Leads to the list of Areas. Clicking on the name of an area brings you to the diretories and files owned by that particular area [1].
- Groups: Leads to the list of Groups. Clicking on the name of a group brings you to the diretories and files owned by that particular group [1].
- Users: Leads to the list of Users. Clicking on the name of a user brings you to the diretories and files owned by that particular user [1].
- Working area:
- You are here: all files > my files: The breadcrumb trail and it's clickable links permit easy navigation.
- My Files: For an explanation fo the working ares, see the next section.
[1] NOTICE:
In this case, Wilhelmina Bladergroen is the webmaster who has full access to all areas, groups and users, and of course her own files. If Herbert would have logged in and clicked on Users, he would see something according to his access permissions:
filemanager_file_manager_user_herbert.png
NOTICE:
Several icons are greyed out (Module Manager, Account Manager, Configuration Manager, Statistics and Tools), indicating that Herbert has no access to these functions.
Clicking the File Manager icon
opens the dialogue:
filemanager_file_manager_my_files.png
EXPlanation:
- You are here: all files > my files: The breadcrumb trail and it's clickable links permit easy navigation.
- Add (upload) files: Clickable link to the upload dialogue.
- Create a new subfolder: Clickable link to create a new subfolder.
- Up one level: Clickable link to go up one level in the directory tree.
3.1 Add (upload) files
Clicking the Add (upload) files link, opens the Add (upload) files dialogue:
filemanager_file_manager_add_files.png
In this picture only 3 files can be uploaded in one time. The number of uploadable files can be set, see chapter Configuration Manager section 5. Site for details.
- Add (upload) files: Here you can add (upload) new files to the folder 'My Files'. The names of the new files should contain only letters, digits, dots, dashes or (single) underscores. Other characters such as slashes, colons, at-signs and spaces are not acceptable and are automatically replaced with an underscore or even removed completely thus changing the name of the file as it is stored. If a file already exists it is preserved and the new file will be stored under another name.
- Note: File size is limited to 2097152 bytes, total upload size is limited to 8388608 bytes.
NOTICE:
These limits are set in the php.ini
file, located for example in /etc/httpd/
.
- Filename (1): Click ing on [Browse] opens a dialogue window on your own computer:
filemanager_file_manager_upload_browse.png
Navigate to the file on your computer, select it for uploading and click [Open] to enter it in the Filename (1) field:
filemanager_file_manager_upload_ready.png
The path and the filename on your computer are visible in the Filename (1) field.
- Save: To upload the file(s) to the server. After saving your work you return to the My Files dialogue.
- Cancel: To cancel your action and return to the My Files dialogue.
- Click [Save], whereafter you return to the My Files dialogue and the status messages:
filemanager_file_manager_file_uploaded.png
The image is uploaded to the My Files directory. No viruses detected.
3.2 Create subfolder
Clicking the Create a new subfoler link, opens the Create a subfolder dialogue:
filemanager_file_manager_create_subfolder.png
- Create a subfolder: Here you can add a new subfolder. The name of the new folder should contain only letters, digits, dots, dashes or (single) underscores. Other characters such as slashes, colons, at-signs and spaces are not acceptable and are replaced with an underscore or even removed completely.
- Folder name: Choose a short and descriptive folder name.
- Save: To save your results. After saving your work you return to the My Files dialogue.
- Cancel: To cancel your action and return to the My Files dialogue.
We only describe deleting files. Deleting folders is the same procedure, excent that in the dialogue file is replaced with folder.
NOTICE 1:
A warning in advance. Take care wen deleting files and folders. Most probably they will be in use somewhere in areas, themes, with groups, or in pages or sections.
NOTICE 2:
Folders can only be deleted when empty.
After ether:
- clickinng on the Trashcan icon, or
- checking the boxes next to the Trashcan when deleting multiple files, or
- checking the Select all files box
the Confirm file delete dialogue opens:
filemanager_file_manager_delete_file.png
The fie(s) to delete are displayed.
Click [Delete] to delete the files or [Cancel] to end your apparently unwise action.
Some remarks
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Author: Dirk Schouten <schoutdi (at) knoware (dot) nl>
Last updated: 2011-02-07