SMG Tools
Resources (folders, files, and external links)
Resources is a very important and useful tool for every site. Resources is where folders, files and other materials can be
posted to the site. Resource items can include:
- New folders
- Word processing documents
- Spreadsheets
- Slide presentations
- Links to web sites
- HTML documents
- Plain text documents
Once Resource items have been posted by site administrators, site participants may either open them for viewing or download
them for saving to their computers.
Resource items can be organized into a hierarchy of folders in order to facilitate identification and retrieval. Since there
is much flexibility with regard to organizing materials within Resources, site participants may find it beneficial to receive
a brief overview of the Resources setup from site administrators.
Resources may be added to a site either individually using the "Add" button in the Resources tool or as multiple
uploads using technology known as WebDAV. In addition, site administrators can hide/unhide or set release dates for content
according to when it should be made available to site participants.
There is a quota of 600MB for each tab or site on SMGtools and an individual file size limit of 50MB.
Viewing and/or downloading Resources
When you select the Resources tool in the menubar, the Resources page will open and you will see a top-most folder which will
have the site name (e.g., SM111 Resources). By default, all sites have a top-most folder reflecting the site name. If content has
been added, you will see it appear as a sub-item(s) of the top-most folder. Sub-items may be folders, links to files, URLs, or a
combination. Choose from the following options to view content posted within Resources:
- To view the contents of a folder, click the name of the folder or the yellow folder icon next to it. A plus sign within
the yellow folder icon indicates that a folder contains sub-items and will open.
If you click on the folder image, it will open and show its contents, still showing all the surrounding folders.
If you have scrolled down to find the folder, the page will redraw from the top when you open the folder, and you will
have to scroll down again to find it again.
If you click on the folder name, it will open in a new view that no longer shows the folders above and below it.
To return to a display of all Resources in the site, click on the reset button at the upper left of the tool.
- To view a particular item within a folder, click the name of the item or the icon next to it. When you click on an item, a
dialog box may open to give you the option of either opening it or downloading it and saving a copy to your computer.
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Adding Resources
Site administrators can add, delete, copy or move Resource items. They can also edit Resource items. These functions are
described below:
Adding Resources one-at-a-time
Click the Add button to the right of the folder to which you want to add Resource item(s). A drop-down list appears.
In the Add drop-down list, choose the appropriate action (e.g., Upload Files, Create Folder, etc.).
If uploading a file, click the Browse button to search for the file on your computer. Click Open. By default, the Title for the
file will be the name of the file (e.g., homework.xls). You can overwrite the default title if you prefer an alternate title
be displayed.
If you are adding a file, folder, or web link, you can click "Add details for this item," next to the display name, to show
additional fields.
If you are adding a file, folder, or web link, you can click "Add another..." to add additional items on from the same screen.
If you are adding detailed information for an item, you can do any of the following:
Enter a description (optional) for the item. The description will be seen by site participants if they click on an "info
" button appearing in their view of Resources. Since the "info" button is not prominent, site administrators
should inform site participants if they plan on using it. Alternatively, site administrators can be descriptive when naming
Resource items.
Choose a Copyright Status. Decide (or not) to require viewers to acknowledge the copyright status when they view the item.
Enter the appropriate Availability information. Note: Resources may be posted to the site, but remain hidden from site
participant view until an appropriate date and time. That date and time can be determined automatically (by setting the Show -
Beginning date and time) or by revising the item and manually unchecking the Hide option at a future date.
Choose Access options. Resources can be set to be publicly viewable or only available to site members (the latter is the
default). If publicly viewable is selected, the file will be accessible on the SMGtools login page when browsing for the site
under "Sites". Finally, if your site has groups or sections, a radio button entitled "Display to selected
groups" will appear allowing you to choose an audience for the posted content.
Choose the appropriate Email Notification option (by default, no email notification will be sent to site participants).
If you wish to add still more detailed information to your item, click the "Optional Properties" link at the end of the first
listing of optional fields.
Click Add to upload the Resource item to the site.
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Adding Multiple Resources at Once (WebDAV)
Microsoft Windows (2000 and XP) and Mac users may utilize an operating system feature known (in Windows terms) as WebDAV to
post multiple resources to a site at once. Specifically, WebDAV technology enables users to map a drive on their operating system
to the Resources area of their SMGtools site. Folders and files on the users computer can then be dragged and dropped onto this
drive and reflected immediately on the site.
This feature can be initiated by selecting Upload-Download Multiple Resources from the top of the Resources page and following
the instructions that pertain to the respective operating system.
Windows XP Users: since XP is the most common operating system at this time, there is a link available for quick
WebDAV setup (located near the top of the Upload-Download Multiple Resources page). After clicking on the link, you will be
prompted to log in with your SMGtools username and password (tip: the login prompt may be hidden behind other open windows). Upon
the successful login, a window resembling Windows Explorer should appear. Click the "Folders" icon along the top
toolbar to expose the drives on your machine. Locate "My Network Places" among your drives (click the plus sign to
expand it) and you should see a mapping to your Resources area. If it the mapping appears as a long alpha-numeric string,
right-click on it to rename it.
Important points to remember concerning WebDAV:
- Once WebDAV is configured on a particular computer for a particular SMGtools site, it may be used multiple times to upload
resources. However, a specific WebDAV connection must be created for each computer/site combination that will be used.
- By default, content posted via WebDAV will be available to all site participants indefinitely. If necessary, site
administrators should revise and/or adjust availability dates from within the Resources page on SMGtools.
Maintaining Resources (move, copy, revise, delete)
Moving Resources
Resources may be moved, either individually or as part of a moved folder. To move an individual resource item
or folder:
- Check the boxe(s) to the left of the resource items and/or folders that are to be moved.
- Select the Moved Checked button at the top of the Resources screen.
- Select the Pasted Moved Items button to the right of the destination folder. The selected items will be moved.
(Note that resources can be moved between your sites by exposing the Show Other Sites link at the bottom on the Resources page)
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Copying Resources
Resources may be copied, either individually or as part of a folder copy. The procedures for copying individual resource items
and folders are the same and are described below:
- Check the boxe(s) to the left of the resource items and/or folders that are to be copied.
- Select the Copy Checked button at the top of the Resources screen.
- Select the Pasted Copied Items button to the right of the destination folder. The selected items will be copied.
(Note that resources can be copied between your sites by exposing the Show Other Sites link at the bottom on the Resources
page)
Revising (Editing) the Content of Resources
Important Note: The actual content (text, graphics, etc.) of resources may not be edited within SMGtools. It
must be edited off-line and then reposted. Even though posted content can be opened using its native application software
(e.g. Microsoft Word or PowerPoint), editing the content and selecting File-Save will not actually save the edited content to
the site.
Deleting (Removing) Resources
Resources may be deleted, either individually or as part of a folder deletion. The procedures for deleting individual resources
and complete folders are the same and are described below:
- Check the boxe(s) to the left of the resource items and/or folders that are to be deleted.
- Select the Removed Checked button at the top of the Resources screen.
- A red confirmation warning will be displayed. Select Remove to delete the checked items.
Reordering Resources
Resources may be reordered individually within a folder or collectively as part of a reordering of all folders. The steps
are described below:
- Click the Reorder button to the right of the folder containing items that need to be reordered. The Reordering screen for
the selected folder will open.
- Resources within the folder may be reordered by selecting the up and down arrows on the left or by specifying the
position within the folder using the numerical drop-down box on the right.
- When reordering of the folder is complete, select the Save button to make the new order take effect.
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Email Notifications
When site administrators add new Resources to a site, they may choose (or not) to send email notifications to site participants.
This choice is made by selecting the appropriate option from the Email Notification drop-down box on the Add Item(s) screen of the
Resource tool. The choices are:
- High - All participants
- Low - Only participants who have opted in
- None - No notification (default)
If the Low priority setting is selected, only site participants who have not declined to receive low priority Resource
announcements in the Preferences Tool of their My Workspace site will receive them. If the High priority setting is selected, the
system will send an email notification to all site participants notifying them of the newly added content. Newly posted files will
appear as links in the email notification so as not to count against site participant email quota.
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