File Manager

Currently being written. --Kanabek 18:49, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

The following article is based on the information contained within File:IDC FileManagerManual.pdf, which contains additional documentation on the FileManager.

Logging in

Authorized users can quickly and easily access documents via iDC File Manager 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the world via either a Mac or PC running an Internet Browser with JavaScript enabled.

To access File Manager the user must first enter the File Manager URL into the browsers address bar. (The URL will be indicated in the e-mail our help desk will send you.)

When the File Manager has loaded users will initially be greeted by a Login Screen.

Login Screen

The Login screen has 3 taskbar icons:

• Login - Check Mark icon
• Client Manager - Hammer & Wrench Crossed icon
• About - Question Mark icon

Clicking the Login icon will display the login window.

Here you will be prompted to enter your Username and Password and select the language they would like the File Manager interface to be displayed in. These login details will have been generated by the File Manager system administrator prior to the user attempting to login.

• If you enter an incorrect username and password they will not be permitted access to the Main File Manager interface. Instead they will be remain on the login page and will be shown the error message “Error: Account Not Yet Activated Or Incorrect Username And Password Entered!” and asked to try again.
• When a user successfully logs in, they will be automatically directed to the Main File Manager Interface screen.
• The additional icons on the Login page allow the Administrator to access iDC Client Manager via the Client Manager icon and the About icon opens a pop-up window which provides information about the registered License holder and the version of the File Manager.

Main Interface

The FileManager has been designed to have a simple, user friendly interface with straightforward intuitive controls.

Search Box

• Located in the upper-left-hand part of the window. Quickly locate important files or folders with the built in Search facility. Search by either: Exact phrase, All the words, Any words, Perfect field match, Case Sensitive, File format.
• To use: Enter your search term, and click "Go".

Sort Filter

• Sort File Name / Extension / Size or Date in to ascending or descending order.

To use:

• There are several column headings marked "Name", "Ext", "Size", "Description", "Date" and "Attr".
• Click on the column heading that you wish to sort by.
• First click is descending order, next click on the same column changes to ascending order, as indicated by the small arrow in that column heading.

Transfer Mode

• Set the Transfer Mode to Auto to detect the required transfer mode or set it to Text to transfer files in ASCII format.
• Alternatively, set the transfer mode the Binary to transfer the files in Binary format.

Files and Folders (Digital Assets)

These are the files and folder the file manager is currently storing.

Menu bar / Main Task Bar

The Menu Bar (top of screen) and the Main Task Bar (bottom of the screen) are the toolbars that allow you to manage the File Manager’s files and folders.

Main Taskbar

Download

1. To Download a file, select the file by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Download”.
2. This will then prompt the “Save to disk” dialogue window to open.
3. Click OK and the file will be saved to your specified download location, usually your desktop.

Upload

To Upload a file, click the button in the main taskbar marked “Upload”. When the upload window opens you will be presented with two upload options.

The default tab is “Upload”

This upload function allows you to upload up to 10 files in one go and add an individual description against each file.

1. To add a file to the upload list you must click the “Browse” button. This will then display the dialogue window, allowing you to choose your file.
2. When your file has been selected, click “open” and the file will be added to the upload list.
   • You can then add a short description against each file by using the Description field.
3. You can then click the “Upload files(s)” button at the bottom of the upload window.

This will then upload the files into the File Manager. If you are uploading particularly large files, an upload progress bar will be displayed and will indicate the current status of the upload.

When the upload is complete, the Upload window will automatically close and the newly uploaded files will be added to the list of available files already in your File Manager.

The second upload option is “Flash Upload”

When in the "Flash Upload" mode you can select multiple files, or the contents of whole folders and upload them into the File Manager.

1. To add files to the upload list you must click the “Browse” button.
2. This will then display the dialogue window, allowing you to choose your files.
   • To select multiple files hold down the CTRL key and then select each file in turn.
   • Alternatively, to select the contents of entire folders hold down the CTRL key and the “A” key (CTRL + A).
3. When all your files have been selected, click “open” and the files will be added to the upload list.
4. You can then click the “Upload” button at the bottom of the upload window.

This will then upload the files into the File Manager. If you are uploading particularly large files, an upload progress bar will be displayed and will indicate the current status of the upload.

Zip

The Zip function is designed to allow you to download the contents of whole folders or multiple files to your desktop, which is not possible via the conventional “Download” function.

1. To Create a Zip file, select the file or folders your require by clicking the check box at the left of the file names and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Zip”.
2. You will then be prompted to enter a Zip file name.
3. After entering a new Zip file name and clicking OK, the Zip file will be created and the “Save to disk” dialogue window to open. Click OK and the zip file will be saved to your specified download location, usually your desktop.

Pack

The Pack function is designed to be an archiving tool, allowing you to compress multiple files and folders directly on the server. It also allows you to Save and download the compressed archives to your desktop in a similar way to the Zip function.

1. To Create a Packed file (or .tar.gz file), select the file or folders your require by clicking the check box at the left of the file names and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Pack”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows the intended “Archive” file name. This name will be generated from all the names of the files you are archiving, plus the file extension .tar.gz.
   • For simplicity, you can edit this file name to something more suitable, E.g “SiteBackup 15.8.06.tar.gz”.
3. When you have decided on the archive file name you can then click “OK” and the archive file will then be created. The newly created Archive file will be denoted by a yellow “Pack” icon.

Unpack

The Unpack function is designed to be a tool to unpack archived .tar.gz files.

1. To unpack a Packed file (or .tar.gz file), select the file by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Unpack”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows the path to the folder where the Archived files will be unpacked into. You can change this path by entering the name of an existing alternative folder.
3. When you have specified the “unpack” location and clicked OK, the archived file will then be unpacked.

Chmod

The chmod function (abbreviated from change mode), allows users running the file manager on a Linux server to change the file system modes of files and directories by entering a numeric three and four-digit octal number to represent different permission settings. This function is commonly used for setting the read / write and execute permissions for perl and cgi scripts.

1. To set the chmod permissions of a file or folder, select the file of folder by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Chmod”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows the current read / write and execute permissions for the file or folder.
3. Using the radio buttons or by directly entering a numeric permission code, you can then set the permissions for that file or folder. To confirm and to apply these permissions click the “chmod” button.

Preview

The Preview function allows users to quickly and easily preview files live on the server without the need for downloading.

1. To preview a file, select the file by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Preview”.
   • Alternatively, you can preview the file by clicking on the file name or the file icon.

Hotlink

The Hotlink function allows users to generate a url permitting direct linking to a file without the need for a username and password. This function can be used to add a URL to an eBay auction listing, weblog, forum message post, etc.

1. To hotlink a file, select the file by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Hotlink”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows the newly generated hotlink url.
   • There is then the option to copy the URL by clicking “Select All” or generate a new email message with the hotlink url, pre-inserted by clicking the “Email Hotlink” button.
   • Alternatively you can click the “->” button to view the hotlinked file in a new browser window.

Notes

The Notes function allows users to add multiple notes or comments to any file and folder. This function is the ideal tool to share and communicate your ideas quickly between other users, in relation to documents uploaded.

1. To add a note to a file, select the file by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Notes”.
2. This will then open a window which allows you to enter comments or a description relating to the selected file.
   • If a note has already been posted for that file you can respond below the previous users comments.

Copy

1. To Copy a file or multiple files, select the files you require by clicking the check box at the left of the file names and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Copy”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows all available folders to copy the selected files into.
3. When you have selected a folder and clicked OK the file or files will then be copied into that directory.

Rename

1. To Rename a file, select the file you would like to rename by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Rename”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows the current file name. Simply delete this existing file name and rename with the new file name ensuring you keep the existing file extension e.g. (.gif), before then clicking OK to save your changes.

Editor

The Editor function is a built in WYSIWYG HTML editor enabling you to easily view and edit HTML files and make code adjustments.

• Manage documents similar to Word. Bold, Italicize and change the color of your text.
• Create numbered and bulleted lists.
• Insert images, create tables, and link text.
• Easily and quickly create tables, and customize them the way you want!
  • With several properties to choose from, set the border style, border width, cell padding, shading color, table width, and much more.
• Additionally File Manager also supports the TinyMCE HTML WYSIWYG editor plugin found in WordPress. TinyMCE is an incredibly powerful WYSIWYG editor control for web browsers such as MSIE or Mozilla that enables the user to edit HTML contents in a more user friendly way.

1. To edit an html file in the Editor, select the file you would like to edit by clicking the check box at the left of the file name and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Editor”.
2. This will then open the default html editor or the TinyMCE editor Plugin. For more information on the individual functions available in the editors, please see there accompanying help documents.

Move

1. To Move a file or multiple files, select the files you require by clicking the check box at the left of the file names and then click the button in the main taskbar marked “Move”.
2. This will then open a smaller window which shows all available folders to move the selected files into.
3. When you have selected a folder and clicked OK the file or files will then be moved into that directory.