Resources
Overview
Copyright and Resources
Viewing and opening items in Resources
Viewing details associated with items in Resources
Publicly viewable or private?
Working with folders in Resources
Uploading new files
Working with web links in Resources
Working with HTML pages in Resources
Working with text documents in Resources
Making your Resources items publicly accessible
Finding the URL of a Resources item
Moving an item in Resources
Copying an item in Resources
Renaming a file in Resources
Deleting a Resources item
Reordering items in Resources
Changing the permissions for a folder in Resources
Default permissions for the Resources tool in a project site
Default permissions for the Resources tool in a subject site
Undoing an ending date to make a Resources item visible again
Unsupported characters
WebDAV
Setting up a WebDAV client on your computer
Additional materials
Open a pdf document containing step-by-step instructions with screen shots.
Uploading-downloading multiple resources
Guidelines for appropriate use of the Resources tool within CSU Interact
Guidelines on online style
File size and CSU Interact
Overview
What it does
Using the Resources tool, you can share many kinds of material securely with members of your site, or make them available to members of other sites. You also have your own private Resources area in your My Workspace. You can upload files (e.g., word processing documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations, and videos), as well as create and post HTML (web) pages and simple text documents, and share links to useful web sites.
You can organize your Resources items into folders, and you can control which groups or types of users can access and add to different folders. Also, you can show or hide an item at any time, and set a start and/or end time for its availability.
Note: There is a limit of 1 GB on each Interact site's Resources. Users will be alerted by an error message if uploading a file will cause the limit to be exceeded.
Key concepts
Viewing items: When you click Resources in a site's menubar, you will see a list of that site's Resources items. Click the title of an item to open it.
To view the contents of a folder, click the folder's name to enter it, or click the folder icon to expand its contents in the list. To expand or collapse all folders, at the top, next to "Title", click the black double arrow.
You can sort items by title, size, resource creator, and last modified date. Site leaders can customize the order in which items appear.
Adding items: To add an item, mouse over the Add link corresponding to the folder where you want to store the item. Then, choose the type of item to add from the subsequent drop-down list.
Organizing items: Site leaders can organize items into folders and sub folders, and customize the order in which items appear. To reorder items, mouse over Actions and select Reorder.
Sharing resources: Each item is available via a URL, which you can share with site participants.
Controlling access: Using the Permissions feature, site owners can control which types of users can read, post, revise, and/or delete files in specific folders. Site owners and instructors can make a resource available to anyone by choosing to post it with the "public view" setting ticked.
Things to consider
- Many classes post weekly readings in their Resources. These can include links to websites as well as to other kinds of documents, like Adobe PDF files. Some classes also post presentations or slides used in lectures.
- By setting folder Permissions, a large collaboration site can use one folder in Resources as a space to archive important documents, and allow only certain site participants to modify those documents.
Copyright and Resources
Staff have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with guidelines on appropriate copyright compliance in CSU Interact. See http://www.csu.edu.au/copyright/information/interact-staff-guide.pdf
The only material that can be placed in Resources in CSU Interact is where:
- The copyright owner has granted written permission
- Copyright is owned by CSU
- Works are in the public domain
- Works are available under Creative Commons licence
- Works are supplied under licence to CSU for use in CSU Interact .
An extensive set of resources relating to copyright issues for staff and students can be found at http://www.csu.edu.au/copyright/
Viewing and opening items in Resources
When you click Resources in your site's menubar, you will see a list of items and folders. The following functions are available:
- To open or view an item, click its name. You may need to agree to a copyright statement before viewing some material.
- To see the contents of a folder, either click its name to enter the folder, or click the folder icon to expand the folder and display its contents in the current list. To expand all folders, click the black arrows left of "Title".
- Once a folder contains more than 256 items, you cannot expand it by clicking the folder icon. Instead, to view and access its contents, you must click the folder's name. When a folder contains more than 256 items, its icon will change to display an arrow instead of a plus sign (+).
- You can navigate between folders using the "Location:" path above the Resources list; simply click a folder name in the path to go to that folder. You can also click the icon of a folder with an arrow in it to go up one level.
- You can sort the resources by title (click Title ), resource creator (click Created by ), date last modified (click Modified ), or size (click Size ). To reverse the order, click any of these links again.
Viewing details associated with items in Resources
When you look at a site's Resources, you can see the title, availability, author, modified date, and size of each file. If you have sufficient permissions, you can click Revise Details from the Actions menu to see the following details:
- Originally uploaded by
- Upload date
- Last modified by
- Last modified date
- URL
- File size
- File type
Publicly viewable or private?
Within the CSU Interact context, the term "private" means that the item or folder in a site's Resources can only be seen by members of that particular site.
If an item is "publicly viewable" it can be seen by, or shared with, anybody who can log into CSU Interact (ie the Interact "public"). It does not mean that the item is visible to anybody who has access to the internet, as CSU Interact is only accessible to those who have an appropriate logon. See Making your Resources items publicly accessible for more information on how to do this.
Working with folders in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
Folders are a useful way to organize your Resources area, and make it easier for site participants to find the items they need.
Creating new folders
By default, your Resources area has one folder in it, named after your subject or project site. To add a sub folder, follow these steps:
- Next to the existing folder, from the Add menu, choose Create Folders.
- Next to "Folder Name", enter a title for your folder. Note: Avoid using unsupported characters in folder titles; see Unsupported characters.
- To add a description and control who can access the contents of the folder, click Add details for this item . For more information, see Changing the permissions for a folder in Resources.
- To create another folder, click Add Another Folder. Note: To remove a folder from the list of folders to add, click the red X next to it.
- Click Create Folders Now.
Editing a folder
To edit the name, description, or availability and access settings for a folder, mouse over Actions, and click Revise Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save them.
Reordering folder contents
For instructions about reordering the contents of a folder, see Reordering items in Resources.
Working with files in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
Uploading new files
Note: The following instructions are for uploading new files to the Resources tool. To replace an existing file with a new version, see Updating a file's contents below.
To upload files using Resources, in your site's menubar, click Resources, and then follow these steps:
- Next to the folder to which you want to add a file, mouse over Add, and click Upload Files.
- Click Browse to find the appropriate file on your computer or network, and then click Open. Note: Filenames that include certain characters cannot be accepted. For a list of unsupported characters, see Unsupported characters.
- Next to "Display Name", type the name you want displayed in Resources. If you don't add a display name, the filename will be used.
- To add a description or any other details, such as who can access the file or when it should be visible, click Add details for this item, and then select from the following options:
- Choose your file's copyright status, add copyright information, and display a copyright alert.
- Under "Availability and Access", control who can access the file and when its available, as follows:
- To display the file to site members only, select Only members of this site can see this folder and its contents.
- To share the file with another site to which you belong (e.g., as an attachment to a syllabus item for another subject or project you're leading), select This folder and its contents are publicly viewable. (This option is not available if the folder to which you're adding the file is publicly viewable.)
- To show or hide your file, or set a beginning and/or ending date for the file's visibility, click the appropriate selections. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.) Site administrators will always be able to see hidden items, even when they are hidden from other users.
- To upload more than one file, click Add Another File. You can add any number of files at once, as long as the total file size does not exceed the limit set by your system administrators. This limit is displayed at the bottom of the file upload screen. Note: To remove a file from the list of files to add, click the red X next to it.
- Next to "Email Notification", specify whether or not you want to have members of the site notified automatically via email when the resource is posted. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.)
- Click Upload Files Now to finish.
Editing a file's details
To edit the name, description, or availability and access settings for a file, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save them.
Updating a file's contents
Whenever you open a file from Resources, such as a Word document, your computer creates a temporary copy and displays it, while the original file stays on the server. If you make any changes to the temporary copy, they are not saved automatically to the original. If you want to change the contents of the original, you will need to open it, make and save your changes, and then replace the original version with your updated version.
To replace a Resources file with an updated version from your computer, mouse over Actions , and then click Upload New Version. Click Browse to select the updated file from your computer, and then click Upload New Version Now.
Working with web links in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
Adding a web link
To add a Resources item that is a URL to a web site, follow these steps:
- In your site's menubar, click Resources.
- Next to the folder to which you want to add the URL, mouse over Add, and click Add Web Links (URLs).
- For each resource, type the URL in the box. (You may omit the http:// prefix.)
- Add a title for your URL link resource. If you don't add a title, the URL will be used as the title of the resource.
- To add a description, and control access and visibility, click Add details for this item :
- Next to "Description", enter text to describe the site to which you're linking.
- Under "Availability and Access", control who can access the URL and when its available, as follows:
- To display the URL to site members only, select Only members of this site can see this folder and its contents.
- To share the URL with another site to which you belong (e.g., as an attachment to a syllabus item for another subject or project you're leading), select This folder and its contents are publicly viewable. (This option is not available if the folder to which you're adding the URL is publicly viewable.)
- To show or hide your URL, or set a beginning and/or ending date for the URL's visibility, click the appropriate selections. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.) Site administrators will always be able to see hidden items, even when they are hidden from other users.
- To add another URL, click Add Another Web Link. Note: To remove a URL from the list of URLs to add, click the red X next to it.
- Next to "Email Notification", specify whether or not you want to have members of the site notified automatically via email when the resource is posted. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.) Note: The notification email message will include the web site title and description (if you entered one), and the URL.
- Click Add Web Links now to finish.
Editing a web link's details
To edit the name, description, or availability and access settings for a web link, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save them.
Updating a web link
To change the URL for a web link, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Content Make your change, and then click Update.
Working with HTML pages in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
Note: This feature does not work with Safari, or Internet Explorer for Mac OS or Mac OS X.
Adding an HTML page
To create and display an HTML page to your Resources area, follow these steps:
- In your site's menubar, click Resources
- Next to the folder to which you want to add the HTML page, mouse over Add, and click Create HTML Page.
- Use the WYSIWYG editor to create your page, and then click Continue.
- Enter a title and an optional description in the text areas provided.
- Choose your page's copyright status, add copyright information, and display a copyright alert:
- If you select Use copyright below , a text box will appear in which you can add information about the copyright.
- If you would like to display the terms to users when they access your page, select Display copyright alert and require acknowledgment when accessed by others. This option will require users to agree to the copyright terms to view the page. To see the alert, click what's this?. You cannot edit this alert.
- Under "Availability and Access", control who can access the page and when its available, as follows:
- To display the page to site members only, select Only members of this site can see this file.
- To share the page with another site to which you belong (e.g., as an attachment to a syllabus item for another subject or project you're leading), select This file is publicly viewable . (This option is not available if the folder to which you're adding the page is publicly viewable.)
- To show or hide your page, or set a beginning and/or ending date for its visibility, click the appropriate selections. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.) Site administrators will always be able to see hidden items, even when they are hidden from other users.
- Next to "Email Notification", specify whether or not you want to have members of the site notified automatically via email when the resource is posted. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.)
- Click Finish.
Editing an HTML page's details
To edit the name, description, copyright status, or availability and access settings for an HTML page, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save them.
Updating an HTML page
To update the content of an HTML page, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Content. Make your change, and then click Update.
Working with text documents in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
Adding a text document
To create and display a text document in your Resources area, follow these steps:
- In your site's menubar, click Resources.
- Next to the folder to which you want to add the text document, mouse over Add, and click Create Text Document.
- Type the content of your text document, and then click Continue.
- Enter a title and an optional description in the text areas provided.
- Choose your text document's copyright status, add copyright information, and display a copyright alert:
- Under "Availability and Access", control who can access the text document and when its available, as follows:
- To display the text document to site members only, select Only members of this site can see this file.
- To share the document with another site to which you belong (e.g., as an attachment to a syllabus item for another subject or project you're leading), select This file is publicly viewable . (This option is not available if the folder to which you're adding the page is publicly viewable.)
- To show or hide your document, or set a beginning and/or ending date for its visibility, click the appropriate selections. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.) Site administrators will always be able to see hidden items, even when they are hidden from other users.
- Next to "Email Notification", specify whether or not you want to have members of the site notified automatically via email when the resource is posted. (This option does not appear when you're adding an item to Resources in My Workspace.)
- Click Finish.
Editing a text document's details
To edit the name, description, copyright status, or availability and access settings for a text document, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save them.
Updating a text document
To update the content of a text document, mouse over Actions, and then click Revise Content. Make your change, and then click Update.
Making your Resources items publicly accessible
When you use the Resources tool to upload an item, you can choose to keep that item accessible only to members of your site, or you can choose to display the item to anyone who can log into the system. The latter option also allows you to share an item with the participants of another site.
To allow people outside your site to see an item in your Resources, follow these steps:
- Click My Workspace to access your personal items, or click a subject or project site tab to access items there.
- In the menubar, click Resources.
- Find the folder or file you wish to make public, and to the right of its name, from the Actions menu choose Revise Details.
- Under "Availability and Access", use the tick box to select This file is publicly viewable.
- Click Update.
After you've made your files publicly viewable, you can access and share them via the web. To find the URL for a file in Resources, see Finding the URL of a Resources item.
Finding the URL of a Resources item
The Resources tool allows you to store your files in a central location and make them available to other people by referencing the URL. To find and share the URL of an item in Resources, follow these steps:
- In the menubar, click Resources.
- Next to the item to which you want to link, from the Actions menu, click Revise Details. • Under "File Details", next to "Web Address (URL)", highlight the URL of the item. Press Ctrl-c (in Windows) or Cmd-c (on a Macintosh) to copy the URL.
- In the place where you need to enter the URL, paste the URL by pressing Ctrl-v (Windows) or Cmd-v (Macintosh).
Note: To make a URL visible to users outside your site, see Making your Resources items publicly accessible.
Moving an item in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
To move an item to another location within Resources, follow the directions below:
- In the menubar of the relevant worksite, click Resources.
- Next to the file you wish to move, from the Actions menu, click Move. To move several items at a time, mark their corresponding tick boxes, and then, above the list of items, click Move.
- Navigate to the folder where you wish to move the file, and then either click the Paste here icon
or go to the folder's Actions menu and choose "Paste moved item".
Note: To cancel the move, click the reset button (i.e., the circular green arrows icon to the left of "Resources".
Note: If you have linked to an item from another tool (e.g., Wiki or Podcasts), that link will no longer work when you move the item.
Copying an item in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
To copy an item in Resources, follow these steps:
- In the menubar, click Resources.
- Next to the item you wish to copy, mouse over Actions, and click Copy. To copy several items at a time, mark their corresponding tick boxes, and then, above the list of items, click Copy.
Note: To create a copy of an item in the same folder as its original, don't click Copy. Instead, mouse over Actions, and click Duplicate. - Navigate to the location where you wish to place the copy, and then click the Paste here icon. To copy the item to another site, click the arrow next to "Show other sites"; this will display folders in the sites (including your My Workspace) to which you have access.
Note: To cancel the copy action, click the reset button (i.e., the circular arrow icon to the left of "Resources".
Renaming a file in Resources
In Resources, to change a file's display name (i.e., the name that appears in your list of resource items), follow these steps:
- In your list of resource items, find the file you want to rename, and from the Actions menu, choose Revise Details.
- In the field next to "Title", type a new display name for the file.
- At the bottom of the screen, click Update.
Note: This will change the file's display name only, and will not affect the true filename (i.e., the filename at the end of the URL associated with the item).
To change the true filename of an item in your site's Resources, download the item to your computer, save it under a new name, and then upload the renamed file to Resources.
Deleting a Resources item
To delete an item from Resources, follow these steps:
- To delete one item at a time, mouse over Actions, and then click Remove. To delete several items at a time, mark their corresponding iceboxes, and then, above the list of items, click Remove.
- To confirm that you want to delete the item(s) listed, click Remove. Or, to cancel, click Cancel.
Note: You can't delete a folder that contains an item. You must remove (i.e., move or delete) its contents first before deleting a folder.
Reordering items in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
To reorder items in Resources, from the Actions menu, choose Reorder. On the Reorder page, move an item by clicking the up or down arrow next to it. Alternatively, you can use the drop-down list at the far right. To save your changes, click Save.
Changing the permissions for a folder in Resources
Note: To complete the procedures in this section, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, see Participant roles in Permissions, Roles & Sites. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites: Overview.
Note: The option to change folder permissions is not available in My Workspace.
To change permissions for a folder in Resources, follow these steps:
- Open the site by clicking its tab.
- In the menubar, click Resources.
- Next to the folder in which you want to manage permissions, from the Actions menu, choose Revise Folder Permissions.
- Tick or un-tick the boxes to grant the permissions based on participant role. Options for permissions include:
- new: Add new resources
- read: View and download resources
- revise any: Modify any resources
- revise own: Modify own resources
- delete any: Remove any resources
- delete own: Remove own resources
- all.groups: Allows participants to see all resources, even those assigned to specific groups
- Click Save. To change your selection, click Cancel.
Note: You can also set comprehensive permissions for all resources in the Resources tool. For instructions, see Permissions, Roles & Sites.
Default permissions for the Resources tool in a project site
The default project site permission settings for the Resources tool are as shown below. These can only be altered by a site member who has appropriate permissions.
new = able to add new Resources
read = able to open Resources
revise.any = able to edit any Resources
revise.own = only able to edit Resources belonging to that site member
delete.any = able to delete any Resources
delete.own = only able to delete Resources previously saved by that participant
all.groups - only applies if participants have been added to groups - not currently a facility at CSU
hidden = able to see hidden files
Default permissions for the Resources tool in a subject site
The default Subject site permission settings for the Resources tool are as shown below. These can only be altered by a site member who has appropriate permissions.
new = able to add new Resources
read = able to open Resources
revise.any = able to edit any Resources
revise.own = only able to edit Resources belonging to that site member
delete.any = able to delete any Resources
delete.own = only able to delete Resources previously saved by that participant
all.groups - only applies if participants have been added to groups - not currently a facility at CSU
hidden = able to see hidden files
Undoing an ending date to make a Resources item visible again
You can set beginning and ending dates for items in your site's Resources. If an item with an ending date is no longer visible, and you'd like to make it available again, follow these steps:
- In your site's menubar, click Resources.
- Find the file you'd like to make available, and next to its name, from the Actions menu, choose Revise Details.
- In the window that opens, under "Availability and Access", select Show. Also, you can reset beginning and ending dates, if desired.
- When you're finished, click Update.
Unsupported characters
When naming an item such as a file, folder, discussion forum, or wiki page, avoid using the following unsupported characters:
Character |
Description |
\ |
Back slash |
/ |
Forward slash |
? |
Question mark |
* |
Asterisk |
" |
Quotation mark |
: |
Colon |
< |
Less than |
> |
Greater than |
# |
Hash mark |
% |
Percent sign |
These characters can also cause an error when you attempt to upload a file. If your file's name contains one of these characters, change the filename before attempting to upload it.
WebDAV
What it does
WebDAV is a technology that allows you to easily transfer files and folders from your local computer to your Resources folder in your My Workspace or a subject site or project site to which you belong. WebDAV stands for "Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning". It is a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol that allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote web servers.
Once you have set up WebDAV, your computer will treat your Resources section like any other folder on your local system. You will be able to drag and drop files and folders from Resources just as you would in My Computer in Windows XP or the Finder on a Mac.
Key concepts
Locking properties: If you are using WebDAV to work on files and folders in a shared Resources section, you can use its locking properties to prevent two or more users from overwriting the same resource without first merging changes.
Windows vs. Mac: On a Windows XP computer, WebDAV works through My Network Places. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) supports secure WebDAV connections. If you use Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) or earlier, you will need to download software called Goliath if you want to use WebDAV.
Things to consider
- There must be at least one object (i.e., file or folder) in your Resources section before you set up WebDAV.
- If you are using WebDAV in Windows and have mapped a drive to the application via Network Places, you cannot delete a file by dragging it from the Network Place window to the Recycle Bin. Instead, select the file and click Delete.
- WebDAV will require you to enter the siteID for each site you wish to access. The siteID is a unique identifier for each worksite. To find the siteID, in the worksite's menubar, click Resources. Click Manage/Download Multiple Resources. Scroll down to the "Your SiteID" section for the siteID.
Setting up a WebDAV client on your computer
Question: I have a Windows 7/Vista computer and I am having problems when I try to upload multiple files to my interact site. Why is this happening and how do I fix it? Simply follow these instructions (.pdf)