Manage Files - File Options

Index for Manage Files



What do you want to do? Creating a file | Top

Using Manage Files, you can create .html and .txt files. Files are listed on the Manage Files screen, under the Folders and Files heading. Note: You cannot create a file in the WebCT-Files folder.

  1. From the Control Panel , click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Options: Files, click Create file. The Create File screen appears.
  3. In the Filename text box, enter a name for the new file. Filenames can contain any of the following: a–z, A–Z, 0–9, comma, space, _, &, ( ), –, ., and ~. The following cannot be used as the first character in the filename: dash (-), tilde (~), and space. The following cannot be used as the last character in the filename: period (.) and space. Note: Do not enter the .html extension.
  4. From the Folder drop-down list, select a folder in which to save the file.
  5. Add content to the file using one of the following methods:
    • In the File content text box, enter the content of the file. You can add HTML tags to format the text.
    • To enter and format the text using an editor, click HTML editor. For more information, see HTML Editor. Note: Depending on administrator settings, the HTML editor may not be available.
  6. To resize the File content text box:
    1. From the Width and Height drop-down lists, select new values.
    2. Click Resize. The Create and Edit HTML File screen refreshes and the text box is resized. Note: Adjusting the size of the text box has no effect on the file's content.
  7. To add an equation to the file, click Equation editor. For more information, see WebEQ (Windows) or WebEQ (Macintosh). Note: Depending on administrator settings, the Equation editor may not be available.
  8. Click Save. The Manage Files screen appears and the file is listed under Folders and Files.

Uploading files | Top

You can upload a file from your personal computer to the WebCT server hosting your course. Files can be in any file format including: .doc, .txt, .html, .htm, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .jpg, and .gif.

Notes:

  • If you want to upload multiple files, zip them with a file compression program and then upload the .zip file.
  • You cannot upload files to the WebCT-Files folder.
  • Filenames can contain any of the following: a–z, A–Z, 0–9, comma, space, _, &, ( ), –, ., and ~
    The following cannot be used as the first character in the filename: dash (-), tilde (~), and space. The following cannot be used as the last character in the filename: period (.) and space.
  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Select a destination folder.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Upload. The Upload File screen appears.
  4. To select the file, do one of the following:
    • If you want to search for the file, click Browse. Your computer's file manager appears.
    • If you know the filename, enter it in the Filename text box.
  5. Click Upload. The Manage Files screen appears.
    • To view the contents of a folder, click the folder name.
    • To view the file, click the preview icon next to the filename.

Downloading files | Top

You can download a course from the WebCT server hosting your course to your personal computer. Note: If you want to download multiple files, zip them first and then download the .zip file.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file that you want to download.
  3. Under Options: Files , click Download. The Download File screen appears.
  4. Click Download. Your computer's file download dialog box appears.
  5. Follow the instructions in the dialog box to save the file to your computer.

Converting the character set of files | Top

Note: Depending on administrator settings, this feature may not be available.

WebCT supports the UTF-8 character set. You can convert .html, .htm, and .txt files created in other character sets to the UTF-8 character set.

For more information, see Using Content in Other Languages or Created in a Non-UTF-8 Environment.

You can:

Previewing a file | Top

Note: Depending on administrator settings, this feature may not be available.

Before you convert the character set of a file, preview the file. This will help ensure that you've chosen the correct character set to convert from.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the .html or .txt file you want to preview.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Convert Charset. The Convert Character Set screen appears.
  4. From the character set drop-down list, select the file's original character set and click Preview. The file appears in preview mode.
  5. Review the file to ensure you have selected the correct original character set of your file.
  6. Do one of the following:

Converting the character set of a single file | Top

Note: Depending on administrator settings, this feature may not be available.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the .html or .txt file you want to convert.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Convert Charset. The Convert Character Set screen appears.
  4. From the character set drop-down list, select the file's original character set.
  5. Before you convert the file, ensure that you have selected the correct original character set of your file. Warning: A converted file can be reverted to the original character set but may contain errors.
  6. Click Preview. The file appears in preview mode.
  7. Review the file.
    • If the file is not displaying properly, you may have selected an incorrect original character set and should repeat steps 3 and 4 above.
  8. If you are satisfied with the way the file is displaying, click Convert. The file is converted to the UTF-8 character set and is viewable in your WebCT course.

Converting the character set of multiple files | Top

Note: Depending on administrator settings, this feature may not be available.

You can convert the character set of multiple files. Note: All of the files must be in the same original character set.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the .html or .txt files you want to convert.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Convert Charset. The Convert Character Set screen appears.
  4. From the character set drop-down list, select the original character set of the files.
  5. Before you convert the file, ensure that you have selected the correct original character set of your files. Warning: Converted files can be reverted to the original character set but may contain errors. Note: If you are unsure about the original character set of your multiple files, you should preview them individually before converting.
  6. If you are certain you have selected the correct original character set for all your files, click Convert. A results screen appears.
    • If you see Success beside the filenames, the files are converted to the UTF-8 character set and are viewable in your WebCT course.
    • If you see Failure beside any of the filenames, you should upload and convert your files again.

Reverting to the original character set of a file | Top

Note: Depending on administrator settings, this feature may not be available.

If you have converted a file to the UTF-8 character set, you can revert the file to the original character set. You can revert the character set of a file once only; if you have previously reverted the character set of a file, you cannot revert it again. However, you can convert your file again to the UTF-8 character set.

Warning: Files may contain character errors when reverted to their original character set.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the .html or .txt file you want to revert to the original character set. Note: You can revert the character set of one file at a time.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Convert Charset. The Revert Character Set screen appears.
  4. Click Revert. The file is reverted to the original character set.

Editing files | Top

You can edit .html, htm, and .txt files in Manage Files.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, click the file that you want to edit. The Edit File screen appears.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • In the File content text box:
      1. Edit the content of the file. You can format the text by adding HTML tags.
      2. For easier viewing, resize the text box by adjusting the Width and Height controls and clicking Resize. Note: Adjusting the size of the text box has no effect on the file's content.
    • To edit the content and format the text using an editor, click HTML editor. Note: Depending on administrator settings, the HTML editor may not be available.
  4. Click Save. The Manage Files screen appears.

Copying files | Top

You can copy one or more files from the current folder to another folder.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file(s) that you want to copy.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Copy. The Copy Files screen appears displaying the file(s) to be copied.
  4. From the Copy the selected files to drop-down list, select a destination folder.
  5. Click Copy. The Manage Files screen appears.

Moving files | Top

You can move one or more files from the current folder to another folder. If you want to leave a copy of the file in its original folder, use the Copy feature.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file(s) that you want to move.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Move. The Move Files screen appears displaying the file(s) to be moved.
  4. From the Move the selected files to drop-down list, select a destination folder.
  5. Click Move. The Manage Files screen appears.

Renaming a file | Top

You can rename folders in Manage Files. Note: You cannot rename folders in the WebCT-Files folder.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file(s) that you want to rename.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Rename. The Rename File screen appears.
  4. In the New name text box, enter a new name for the file. Filenames can contain any of the following: a–z, A–Z, 0–9, comma, space, _, &, ( ), –, ., and ~. The following cannot be used as the first character in the filename: dash (-), tilde (~), and space. The following cannot be used as the last character in the filename: period (.) and space.
  5. Click Rename. The Manage Files screen appears.

Deleting files | Top

You can delete one or more files from Manage Files. Warning: Deleted files cannot be retrieved.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file(s) that you want to delete.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Delete. The Delete Files screen appears, displaying the file(s) to be deleted.
  4. Verify the files that will be deleted. Warning: Deleted files cannot be retrieved.
  5. Click Delete. The Manage Files screen appears.

Zipping files | Top

You can zip (compress) several files into one file. Use this feature if you want to download more than one file at a time.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file(s) that you want to zip.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Zip. The Zip Files screen appears, displaying the file(s) to be zipped.
  4. From the Zip the selected files to drop-down list, select a destination folder.
  5. In the Filename text box,enter a name for the zip file. Filenames can contain any of the following: a–z, A–Z, 0–9, comma, space, _, &, ( ), –, ., and ~. The following cannot be used as the first character in the filename: dash (-), tilde (~), and space. The following cannot be used as the last character in the filename: period (.) and space.
  6. Click Zip. The Manage Files screen appears and each file has been zipped.

After you download the zip file to your computer, you can unzip the file with WinZip (PC), ZipIt (Mac), or another file compression application.

Unzipping files | Top

You can unzip the contents of a zipped (compressed) file. A zipped file can be identified by the .zip extension.

  1. From the Control Panel, click Manage Files. The Manage Files screen appears.
  2. Under Folders and Files, select the file(s) that you want to unzip.
  3. Under Options: Files, click Unzip. The Unzip File screen appears.
  4. From the Unzip drop-down list, select a destination folder.
  5. Click Unzip. The Manage Files screen appears. Each file has been unzipped.

Displaying file attributes | Top

By default, the size, modification date, and modification time of each file is displayed on the Manage Files screen.

  • To hide file information, under Folders and Files, clear the appropriate check box(es) and click Update. The table refreshes.
  • To display file information, under Folders and Files, select the appropriate check box(es) and click Update. The table refreshes.