File Manager - Transferring Files



Overview of Transferring Files | Toolbar

Working with WebCT you will find that files need to be transferred from your local computer to the remote server hosting your WebCT course. Files can be put on the remote server through the uploading procedure. Files can be removed from the remote server by downloading them. In order to make multiple file transferring easier, WebCT supplies a zipping tool.

All the procedures involved with file transfers are described in detail below.

Upload | Download | Zip | Unzip

 

Uploading a File from your Local Computer | Toolbar | Top

Uploading a file involves transferring a file from your personal, local computer to the remote server hosting your WebCT course.

When you want to transfer files from your personal computer to the WebCT server use the Upload button located on the File Manager toolbar to upload a single file from your local computer.

Follow these steps from the File Manager window.

  1. Click on the directory to which you want to upload your local file.
    Note: you can only upload files into any of the [COURSE FILES] directories.
  2. Click on Upload. The Upload File frame shown in Figure 1 will appear.
Figure 1 The Upload frame located at the bottom of your window
Figure 1   The Upload File frame located at the bottom of your window
  1. If you happen to remember the name and path of the file you want to upload from your personal machine, you may type that into the text box. Otherwise, click on the Browse... button to open a File Upload window. For Windows users it will appear similar to the one shown in Figure 2. Use your file browser to select the file you wish to upload and press Open (for Windows users). If you are using a non-Windows computer, your local browser should resemble the one shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 A local browser window on a Windows system
Figure 2   A local browser window on a Windows system
    When you select a file and return to the WebCT Upload File frame, you will notice the complete path name in the text box. Click Continue to upload the file to your WebCT course. If you decide at any time to abort your upload, you can press Cancel to return to the File Manager window without making any changes.
  1. If you press Continue, you will see a status report (shown in Figure 3 below) indicating the success or failure of this operation. Press Continue in this report to restore the default File Manager toolbar.
Figure 3 The Upload status report
Figure 3   The Upload status report
  1. If the file you are uploading already exists on your WebCT course, you will be asked if you want to overwrite it (see Figure 4 below). Click Continue to proceed with the overwriting procedure, and Cancel to abort the upload procedure. Clicking either button will return you to the File Manager toolbar.
Figure 4 The Overwrite warning frame
Figure 4   The Overwrite warning frame
    Overwriting a file will delete the old file in your WebCT course, and replace it with the uploaded file. If you wish to replace a file you should rename the old file on the remote server, and then upload the new file from your own computer. By doing this you will avoid accidental overwriting a file containing important information. For instance, in order to avoid the problem illustrated in Figure 4, you could have renamed the existing fman_transfer.html file located on the WebCT server to fman_transfer_old.html. Then you could have uploaded your new file fman_transfer.html. Both the versions of fman_transfer.html file would thus be retained. For more information on how to rename files refer to File Manager - File Operations: Renaming a File.
  1. When you return to the File Manager window you will see the newly uploaded file in the Files frame (on the right) with a checkmark in the check box.

 

Downloading a File from the Remote Server | Toolbar | Top

This operation allows you to copy a file from your WebCT course to your local computer. Your WebCT course resides on a remote computer, which usually hosts multiple WebCT courses. The local computer is your own personal computer.

  1. Click on the directory that contains the file you want to download.
  2. In the Files frame mark the desired file that you wish to download. Refer to Marking Files and Directories in for information on how to mark and unmark a file.
  3. Click Download. After selecting this button a new window will be opened, the appearence of which will depends on whether you are using Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.

    For Netscape Navigator users it will appear as follows.
Figure 5 For Netscape Navigator users this is the first window to appear after clicking the Download button in File Manager
Figure 5   For Netscape Navigator users this is the first window to appear after clicking the Download button in File Manager
  1. Select Save File... to choose where to save the file (see Figure 6).
Figure 6 Local browser for Windows users
Figure 6   Local browser for Windows users
  1. Choose your destination directory, ensure that you have the correct filename, and select Save.

Note: You will receive no status report indicating the failure or success of this action because this action is controlled by your personal computer and not WebCT.

 

Zipping an Archived File | Toolbar | Top

The upload and download features will allow you to operate on only one file at a time. The Zipping and Unzipping functions in File Manager provide a useful method for transferring multiple files in one step. Zipping a file involves compressing a set of files into one large file. The compressed file can later be restored to its original set of multiple files by unzipping it. File Manager in WebCT provides the tools to compress a set of files located on the remote server hosting your WebCT course.

If you would like more information on how to unzip files in File Manager, refer to Unzipping an Archived File below.

The following steps, describe how to zip a series of files located on the remote server.

  1. In File Manager click on the directory that contains the files that you wish to zip.
    Note: you cannot create a zip file in any of the [WEBCT BUILT-IN FILES] directories.
  2. In the Files frame mark the desired files. Refer to Marking Files and Directories for more information on how to mark and unmark a file.
  3. Click on Zip on the File Manager toolbar. The File Manager toolbar will change into the Zip File(s) frame shown in Figure 7 below.
Figure 7 The Zip File(s) frame located at the bottom of your window
Figure 7   The Zip File(s) frame located at the bottom of your window
  1. Type in the filename of the zipped file that you wish to create. Adding a .zip extension is optional as the zip program will append a .zip if your file doesn't already have one. The .zip extension is used to identify the file as an archived file.
  2. If you want more or fewer files to be zipped from your current working directory, you can still mark and unmark these files in the Files frame by using the file check box. Click Continue or Cancel after you have made your decision.
  3. If you press Continue,you will see a status report on the success or failure of this operation (see Figure 8 below). Click Continue in this report to take you back to the original File Manager toolbar.
Figure 8 The Zip report frame
Figure 8   The Zip report frame
  1. The zipped file will now be in your current working directory. In the example above, it will be named chap1.zip. This zip file will contain a set of files that can be downloaded to your local computer in one step. Once on your local computer a simple program such as WinZip (PC) or ZipIt (Mac) can be used to unzip all the files. For more information on how to download a file from the remote server to your personal computer refer to Downloading a File from the Remote Server.

 

Unzipping an Archived File | Toolbar | Top

This operation allows you to unzip the contents of a zipped (archived) file. A zipped file can be identified by the .zip extension.

There are only two ways you can have a zipped file in WebCT, either through uploading a zipped file (see Uploading a File from your Local Computer) or by zipping the file in WebCT (see Zipping an Archive File).

  1. Click on the directory that contains the zipped file.
    Note: you cannot unzip a file to any of the [WEBCT BUILT-IN FILES] directories.
  2. Mark the file that you wish to unzip. Refer to Marking Files and Directories for more information on how to mark and unmark a file.
  3. Click Unzip. The File Manager toolbar will change to the Unzip File frame shown in Figure 9 below.
Figure 9 The Unzip frame
Figure 9   The Unzip File frame
    Keep in mind that the unzipped contents will replace any files with the same name.
  1. Select the destination directory for these unzipped files by using the pull down menu. Press Continue to unzip the file.
  2. After pressing Continue, you will see a status report indicating the success or failure of this operation (see Figure 10 below). Click Continue in this report to return to the default File Manager toolbar.
Figure 10 The Unzip status report frame
Figure 10   The Unzip status report frame

In this example the zip file in chapter1 called chap1.zip was unzipped into the the ya-yas directory. Now if you select the ya-yas directory in File Manager, the contents of the chap1.zip file will be displayed in the Files frame.



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