Title: Where are Files Shared and Managed in TeamPage
In the earlier section we answered the question, How is WebDAV Used in Traction TeamPage. Here we answer the questions: "where do I share and manage files in TeamPage (using WebDAV)" and "when should I use one location over another?"
When you attach a file to an entry, you can access the file via WebDAV. Attachments can be created in a number of ways:
When using the Article Editor or TIP2, you can click the Attachments link to attach files to the article.
When using the Article Editor, using such tools as Insert/Edit Image and Insert/Edit Widget may add attachments to the article.
When using the Article Editor or TIP2, pasting in/capturing content with images may add attachments to the article.
When creating articles from emails sent to a monitored email box, Traction will turn email attachments (and some embedded images) into article attachments.
This is an example of a single entry view in Internet Explorer on Windows of an entry that has a Microsoft Word document attached:
The attached document is under WebDAV control. The usual file details link , file name, size and description are all present. Clicking the icon will open the File Details window, which provides access to file information on the attached file, as well as to functions such as changing the description and utilizing version tracking.
With the introduction of WebDAV, the notion of shared files and folders on a per-project and even per-entry basis were added to TeamPage. These folders belong to the Traction Journal, and are just as persistent as attachments.
A top-level Project Share Folder is created when a project is created. Read, modify and write access for a project share folder are separately governed by permissions that can only be changed by a project administrator. If you have read access to a project share folder for a given project, a view involving only that project -- such as a project news page or a single entry view -- will include a "project share portlet" (in most standard skins). This includes a link to the DMI view for a project share folder and a listing of the most recently modified files in the project share directory. Here is a sample project share portlet, from the Ocean skin (where it occurs at the bottom of the right-hand sidebar):
In the example, the "Shared Files for Public" text is the link to the DMI view of /db/share/public/. When a project name contains all ASCII characters, its project share folder name is the name of the project with all lowercase characters. When a project name contains non-ASCII characters, its project share folder name is the numeric ID of the project.
Article Share Folders
Unlike Project Share Folders, Article Share Folders are not automatically created. They can be created, added to, or modified by any user with permission to post to the project to which the article belongs. Only those users who can read the article can read the Article Share Folder. (Users may be able to read an article because they have read permission in the article's project; or because they have read permission just for that article because the article was labeled with a label from a project to which they have read access.) To create an Article Share Folder, use the Create Share Folder tool, accessible from the Article Tools menu in most standard skins.
As there is a project share portlet, there is an article share portlet, which occurs in any single entry view (in most standard skins) for an article that has a article share folder. It usually appears below the attachment list for an entry. Here is an example:
Clicking on Shared Files for Public8 will open the DMI for the top-level Article Share Folder. If you create additional folders directly under the top level, these folders will appear in the portlet and clicking on one of them will open the DMI displaying the contents of the selected folder.
When to use Attachments, Article Share Folders and Project Share Folders
Note: Files stored as attachments or in Share Folders are not indexed for search unless you are using the FAST Search Module option. The below discussion assumes you are not using the FAST Search Module. If you are, statements about the comparative difficulty of locating files do not apply, as the FAST Module lets you search for files based on a wide variety of criteria. See Using the Attivio Advanced Search option.
Attachments
As stated above, when Traction processes email into articles, attached files are made article attachments automatically. Embedded images are also made attachments when copying content into Traction. There is generally no reason not to leave these files as attachments.
Likewise, when you simply want to associate a file or files with an article for reference, or for use as inline images, etc. making them attachments is a simple method to use. The files will appear as a list at the bottom of the article, with any descriptions you have given them displayed below the filenames. You can use the icon to replace a file or put it under version tracking. If available, you can use the button to directly edit specific Microsoft Office documents.
The disadvantages of using attachments are:
There is no ability to create folders to organize attachments.
The files are associated with a single article, rather then stored in a central project folder.
Attachments cannot be managed via the DMI. (This limitation is expected to be removed in a future release.)
There is no way to change the name of an attachment without breaking Traction's link to the file (even the admin rename function will break the link). To change a name, the original attachment must be deleted and a new attachment created. (This limitation is expected to be removed in a future release.)
Article Share Folders
If you intend to associate a larger number of files with an article, and especially if you want to use folders to organize those files, creating an Article Share Folder is a good approach.
Once an Article Share Folder has been created, a link in the form "Shared Files for ArticleID" will appear at the bottom of the article followed by a list of the top level files and folders. Clicking that link or any of the folder names will invoke the DMI for that location. As with attachments, you can use the icon to replace a top-level file or put it under version tracking. If available, you can use the button to directly edit specific Microsoft Office documents that are at the top level.
Project administrators also have more permissions control over Article Share Folder rights than over attachments (see Controlling Access to Files and Folders).
The disadvantages of using an Article Share Folder are:
Files and folders below the top level are not visible when viewing the article, so that it may be harder to know what is in the folders/where specific files have been stored.
Since the Share Folder rights in a project are controlled independently of article rights, differing rights may cause confusion on the part of users.
When an article is emailed from Traction, users have the option to include attachments as part of the email. This option is not available for the contents of an Article Share Folder.
The Traction Link Tool does not directly support creating links to files or folders in an Article Share Folder. (This limitation is expected to be removed in a future release.)
Project Share Folders
Project Share Folders are primarily utilized when it is advantageous for the people using a project to create a directory of folders to store files in. This works well when files are associated more with the project than with any particular articles. Since access is controlled at the project level, it provides a secure location for the project team to use a more traditional "document management" approach, storing files in folders and checking them out to work on them. This is particularly true for people using Windows Web Folders, as they can access these folders without going to a Traction view first.
Files and folders in Project Share Folders can be linked to from articles using the Link Tool. While you can also link to attachments of one article from other articles and (manually) to files in Article Share Folders, if you intend to maintain files that are referenced in multiple articles (such as images or diagrams), maintaining a centralized location in an Article Share Folder would be a good way to insure that all instances are updated when a file changes.
The disadvantages of using a Project Share Folder are:
Files in Project Share Folders are stored entirely separately from the articles in the project. Any connection to a file or folder must be made by entering a link in the appropriate article(s) - and making sure it is not broken when a file is renamed or moved.
Unless you have the FAST module, there is no way to search for files in the Project Share Folders. You will need to either remember where a file was put or navigate through the directory structure looking for it. (If you are using attachments or Article Share Folders, searching on the content of the articles can help you find the file you are looking for.)
