Guide: Using the File Manager
Quick Links:
Getting Started
Navigating the File Manager
Creating New Folders and Uploading Files
The Stored Documents Index
Managing Files
Other Features
General Tips
Getting Started
Go to the File Manager tool either by following the Tools → File Manager link in the menu or by pointing your browser to http://files.sjtag.org/.
Notice: Login details for the file manager are posted in a forum section that is only available to registered users of the SJTAG Forums. Please register!
Navigating the File Manager
Once you have logged in, you will see the top level of the directory structure:
Clicking on a folder name will open the folder and list any files and folders it contains. The strip showing the current folder path acts as a "breadcrumb trail" and clicking on a folder name in that will move you to that folder. For example, in the image below, the current folder being displayed is "BTW2006" and clicking on "Home" will move back to the top level folder:
Clicking on file name will open that file. Depending upon your browser settings and the file type, the file may open in a new application window or in the current browser window. If you wish to create a local copy of the file, then right click on the file name and select "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As..." (FireFox).
Creating New Folders and Uploading Files
At some point, you may need to make file available for other users. It is wise to keep some kind of organisation of the files so you should place then in a folder. If there are likely to be several files on the same subject, then create a folder for the subject, otherwise create a folder that you will use only for your own files.
To the left of the page is a "Create Folder" form: Type the name of your new folder into the space provided, ensure that "Folder" is selected (please ignore the "File" and "From URL" options for now) and then click "OK" - your new folder will appear in files list:
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Note that although you can create folder names and file names that include spaces, they may cause problems if you later try to create hyperlinks to the files, either in the Forums or other web enabled applications. It is best to either remove the space characters or to replace them with either '-' or '_' characters.
Files will be uploaded to the currently displayed folder so make sure you have the correct destination folder open. Click on the "Browse" button in the "Upload files" form at the left of the screen and the file selection dialog will open:
Select your file and click Open. The filename will be shown in the "Files for upload" list. You can now repeat the file selection process if you have more files to upload to the same folder. Clicking on a red [x] will remove that file from the list. Click on "Upload" to transfer your file(s) to the File Manager - this may take a few seconds depending on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection:
Note that there is a limit of 16MB on each upload operation.
The Stored Documents Index
An index to the documents, presentations, etc., stored in the File Manager is maintained on the Stored Documents page, which is linked from the website navigation menu. This lists the significant files held and provides an easy means of accessing those files. If you have uploaded a file that should be listed on this index then please advise the site administrator. Note that small graphic images or similar files used only to support forum posts will not normally be indexed.
Managing Files
You may find that you need to rename, move or delete a file. Clicking on the small diamond symbol to the left of a filename will pop out a menu, where you can select the operation you wish to perform:
- Rename: Type in the new file name and click on "OK".
- Move: Enter the name of the folder you want to move the file to and click on "OK".
- Duplicate: The File Manager will initially propose adding "(copy)" to the current file name, but you can type in an alternative name of your choice.
To delete a file, select the Delete option and click on "Yes, delete it" - caution: be sure this is what you want to do as there is no further confirmation prompt after this:
In the case of text files, there is an additional option to edit the file - this opens a simple text editor allowing the files to be directly edited on the server.
Other Features
- Using the Create folder form with the "File" option selected you can create an empty file in the current folder, using the name you specify. This is really only useful for text files that you can then edit in place.
- Zip files can be unzipped in the File Manager. While this can be useful if you have a lot of files that need to be uploaded at the same time, it is generally discouraged as it can exceed resource limitations on the server.
- The File Manager can search for matches on a partial file name. The result returned are direct links to the files, i.e. a left-click will open the file:
Notes and Tips
Please note that the largest file that can be uploaded is 16Mbytes. This is a limitation of scripting facility on the server. If you need to make a larger file available, contact the administrator, who will FTP the file onto the server.
If you are creating hyperlinks to files stored in the File Manager, there are a few tricks you can employ:
- Once you have located the file you're interested in, you can right click on the file name and select "Copy Shortcut" (Internet Explorer) or "Copy Link Location" (FireFox). You can then paste the result into your application.
- Another way is to use the links on the Stored Documents page, if the file you need is listed there, as this does not need you to log in to the File Manager first. Locate the reference to the document you are interested in, and as above, right click on the file name and select "Copy Shortcut" (Internet Explorer) or "Copy Link Location" (FireFox). You can then paste the result into your application.
