Attachments

How to

1. Identify Attachment Types
2. Access Attachment Manager
3. Upload Attachments
4. Edit Uploaded Attachments
5. Link To Attachments
6. Use Folders

Attachment Types

Attachments may be any type of file format. Some commonly used formats include:

The file format is usually defined by a full stop and a three letter extention after the name of a file. In the case of an Adobe Acrobat document it is .pdf - a text file would appear as .txt.

Images (such as .jpg .gif and .png files) may be uploaded as attachments. Please note however that when these files are attachments they cannot be used as visible content on pages or Masterpages.

Accessing Attachment Manager

To access the Attachment Manager you must be logged in with the administrator toolbar visible at the top of your screen. Select the button from the administrator toolbar. This will load the Content Menu, from here select 'Attachments'.

The Attachment Manager will load. Attachments currently in your system will be shown in the table on the right. The Manager Options menu is on the left.

Here you have the option to create more attachments, edit the permissions or metadata. In the example image below, each of the attachments in the Manager has been given a title describing the file type.

Up to ten attachments will appear on each page. When more than ten exist in a single folder, the top of the Manager will change. Forward and back arrows allow movement through the pages. The drop down list shows the ID numbers for the objects on each page.

Uploading Attachments

New Attachments:

To add an attachment, enter the Attachment Manager and click on the 'Add Attachment' button in the Manager Options menu. To add the new attachment into a specific folder, select the folder name from the Folder drop down list before clicking 'Add Attachment'.

A new page will load. In the text box type a name for the new attachment. This name will help identify the attachment in the Manager. Next select the 'Create' button.
The file upload box will load in the same window. Select 'Browse' to locate the attachment on your computer.

When the file's location has been filled into the text box select the 'Upload' button. The Attachment will upload to the system. This may take some time, dependant on the file's size and the speed of your Internet connection. When complete, the Attachment Manager will reload with the new file listed at the end of the table.

Duplicating Attachments:

Duplicating an attachment is particularly useful if you have set up one attachment with detailed permissions or metadata. The duplicate can be given a new title and overwritten with a new file whilst still holding the same permission and metadata properties as the original. For more information see Permissions and Metadata.

To Duplicate an attachment select the radio button next to that attachment and click 'Duplicate' from the Manager Options menu. The new attachment will appear at the end of the Manager in the same folder as the original.

Editing Attachments

Attachments themselves cannot be edited whilst in the system, but they can be overwriten with new versions uploaded by an administration user.

Overwriting an old attachment cannot be reversed. If you require a copy of the original version please duplicate or save this file to your computer first.

To overwrite an attachment with a new version.

• Enter the Attachment manager and select the radio button next to the old version of the file.
• Select 'Edit' in the Manager Options menu.
• The file upload box will load in the same window. Select 'Browse' to locate the new file on your computer.
• Once the file's location has been filled into the text box select the 'Upload' button.

The new file will appear in the Attachment Manager in place of the original.

Linking To Attachments

Linking to Attachments in an Article:

Creating links to attachments, images, webpages and numerous other objects is possible within the Article Editor. The following steps are outlined in further detail in the Article Editor section of this manual.

The Article Editor can be accessed by editing a new article or editing existing one via the Article Manager. Prepare the article as it would appear on the webpage then select the item that will act as the link to the attachment. Once the article is produced and available to users on your website it will be possible for them to click this link, or image to download/view the attachment. In this example we will select some text - this could also be an image.

In the above picture the word 'LINK' will become a hyperlink (text or image link that leads to another web-page when clicked).

Now that we have some text selected the next step is to use the menu at the top of the Article Editor. Select the button.

A popup window will appear showing the link options. To link to an attachment URL should be selected from the Link Type drop down list. Select the 'Browse Attachments' button.
The Attachment Manager will load in a new window. Next to each attachment is now a 'Link' button. Click the 'Link' button next to the selected attachment.

The Link Options popup window will be shown again, this time with the location of the selected attachment shown in the URL textbox. Select 'OK' to continue.

The Article Editor will now show the selected text as a link. The default method of showing links is with the use of an underline and by changing the text colour to blue.

If an image was selected to act as the link, a blue border will surround it. To remove the border from the image, right click on the image to bring up its properties and specify border equals zero (0). For more information see Article Editor or Styles.

While the word or image you have selected may look the part, it is not yet an active link. No links can be clicked on whilst in the article editor. When you save this article, and publish it on your site, you can view or save the attachment by clicking the link.

Editing a Link:

To edit a link to an attachment re-select the text, or at least have your cursor within the text, that you used to link to the attachment. Select the button from the menu to bring up the link's properties. You can now also use this menu item to manually change links in the same manner as they were first added. It is also usefull to view which object they are linked to.

Removing a Link:

To remove the link to an attachment re-select the text or image that you used to link to the attachment.

Select the button from the menu (this button was previously faded out and not available for use). It is located next to the insert hyperlink button.

Using Folders

Folders are a handy way of sorting objects in your system. If you have a high number of attachments to assist in finding a particular file or topic type in the Manager it is often easier if they have been sorted into a folder or category.

The default folder that all attachments will be added to is 'Unsorted Objects'. New folders are not created until you move the first objects into them.

Creating a New Folder:

• Select the radio button for the first attachment you wish to place in the new folder.
• Click the 'Folder' button in the Manager Options menu. The page will reload showing the 'Move to Folder' options.

To create a new folder, select 'Custom' from the drop down list and type the name of the new folder in the text box.

• Select 'Save' to create the folder.

Moving to an Existing Folder:

• Select the radio button next the attachment you wish to move.
• Click the 'Folder' button in the Manager Options menu. The page will reload showing the 'Move to Folder' options.

To move the attachment into an existing folder, select the folder name from the drop down list.

• Select 'Save' to move the image to the folder.

To return an attachment to the Unsorted Objects folder:

• Select the radio button next the attachment you wish to move.
• Click the 'Folder' button in the Manager Options menu. The page will reload showing the 'Move to Folder' options.
• Select 'Custom' from the drop down list and this time leave the text box empty.
• To complete the move, click 'Save'.