7.13 Working with Files in a Folder Entry

In addition to working with files within Vibe as described in the following sections, you can also use the Novell Vibe Add-in and Novell Vibe Desktop to work with Vibe files directly from Microsoft Office or to synchronize Vibe files with your desktop. You can create files, edit files, and much more. For more information, see the Novell Vibe Add-In Quick Start and the Novell Vibe Desktop Quick Start.

7.13.1 Creating a File Entry

Novell Vibe enables you to create file entries in designated Files folders. Creating a file entry is different than attaching a file to another type of folder entry. File entries in Vibe Files folders contain a primary file. Other files can be associated to the file entry as attachments, but there is only one primary file.

You can create file entries in multiple ways:

For more information about the difference between Files folders and other types of Vibe folders when you add files, see Section 6.5.1, Adding Files to a Files Folder and Other WebDAV-Enabled Folders.

7.13.2 Attaching Files to a Folder Entry

Vibe provides various alternatives to add attachments to an entry.

Dragging and Dropping Files

You can attach a file to an entry by dragging it from another location and dropping it into the entry.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry where you want to attach the file.

  2. Click the Attachments tab.

  3. Click Drag and Drop Files.

    The Drag and Drop Files dialog box is displayed.

  4. Drag the file that you want to upload and drop it onto the folder icon in the Drag and Drop Files dialog box.

    Vibe displays an opening and closing folder to signify that your dropped files are being uploaded as attachments.

You can also copy and paste files into the folder icon.

Uploading a Single File

  1. Navigate to and open the entry where you want to attach the file.

  2. Click the Attachments tab.

  3. Click Upload a Single File.

    The Upload a Single File dialog box is displayed.

  4. Click Choose File, then browse to and select the file that you want to attach.

  5. Click OK.

7.13.3 Viewing Files in Read-Only Mode

Vibe enables you to easily view files that are associated with entries. Files can be associated with entries in one of two ways:

  • Files can be attached to an entry

  • Files can be a primary file for the entry

    Primary files can exist only in entries in Files folders

The following sections describe how to view files in a text editor or in HTML format:

Viewing a File in a Text Editor

When you view a file in a text editor, the file is opened in Read-Only mode.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file that you want to view.

  2. (Conditional) If the file that you want to view is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. Next to the file that you want to view, click File Actions > View This File.

    or

    Click the name of the file.

Viewing the File in HTML Format

If you want to quickly view a file, you can view it in HTML format.

Some file types cannot be viewed in HTML format, such as PNG, JPG, GIF, and PDF.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file that you want to view.

  2. (Conditional) If the file that you want to view is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. Next to the file that you want to view, click File Actions > View This File as HTML.

7.13.4 Editing Files

Vibe enables you to use the Edit-in-Place feature to edit documents. This feature allows you to seamlessly edit documents that are stored on the Vibe server.

If you are working in a Windows environment with Microsoft Office, you can download and install the Novell Vibe Add-in for an even better user experience. After you download and install the Vibe Add-in, the Vibe Add-in is used to edit files rather than WebDAV. For more information about editing files when the Vibe Add-in is installed, see the Novell Vibe Add-In Quick Start. The following information assumes that you are using WebDAV to edit files, and that the Vibe Add-in is not installed.

You can edit files only if you have the editing application for that specific type of file installed on your personal workstation. For example, to edit a .doc file, you must have Microsoft Word installed on your personal workstation.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file that you want to edit.

  2. (Conditional) If the file that you want to edit is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. Next to the file that you want to edit, click File Actions > Edit This File.

    The file is launched in the file editor that you specified. For information on how to change the editor that Vibe uses to edit files, see Section B.10, Unable to Edit Files That Are Attached to Entries.

    If you use Microsoft Office to edit documents and you have installed the Vibe Add-in, the Vibe Add-in is launched by default when you edit documents in Vibe. For more information about the Vibe Add-in, see the Novell Vibe Add-In Quick Start.

  4. (Conditional) If Vibe prompts you to provide your Vibe credentials, specify the username and password that you use to log in to Vibe, then click OK.

    You can now edit the file.

  5. After you have edited the file, save your changes, then exit the editing application.

    Vibe creates a new version of the file. It also saves a version of the file as it was before you modified it. When you exit and reopen the entry, you can view the older version of the file, as described in Accessing a Previously Saved Version of a File.

IMPORTANT:When you edit an attached document by using OpenOffice, Vibe creates a new version of the document each time you click Save. Because each version of a document counts against your data quota (for more information on data quotas, see Managing Your Data Quota in the Novell Vibe 3.3 Advanced User Guide), you should save the document only when you close it if you are using OpenOffice. For information on how to delete versions of a file, see Deleting Existing Versions of a File.

When you use Microsoft Office, Vibe creates only one new version each time you edit the document. Clicking Save multiple times does not create multiple versions.

7.13.5 Downloading Files

You can download files that are associated with an entry. You can download a single file, or all files that are associated with the entry. Files are downloaded in a .zip file.

Downloading Single Files

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file that you want to download.

  2. Next to the file, click File Actions > Download This File in a Zip File.

Downloading All Files

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the files that you want to download.

  2. Next to any file within the entry, click File Actions > Download All Files.

    or

    Click the Attachments tab, then click Download All Files.

7.13.6 Obtaining the WebDAV URL for a File

When you know a file’s WebDAV URL, you can open the file directly from an editing application such as Microsoft Office, or directly from the command line.

To obtain the WebDAV URL for a file:

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file for which you want to obtain the WebDAV URL.

  2. (Conditional) If the file for which you want to obtain the WebDAV URL is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. Next to the file, click File Actions > WebDAV URL.

    The WebDAV URL is displayed for you to copy.

After you have obtained the WebDAV URL for the file, you can specify the URL in a document editor such as Microsoft Office to open the file. Refer to the documentation for your specific document editor for instructions on how to accomplish this.

7.13.7 Adding a Note about a File or File Version

You might want to add a note about a particular file or version of a file. File notes are displayed directly below the filename in the Attachments and File Versions tabs. File notes can make it easier for users to know exactly what the file contains without opening it. They can also be an easy way to differentiate one version of a file from another.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the attached file or file version for which you want to add a note.

  2. (Conditional) If the file for which you want to add a note is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. Next to the file for which you want to add a note, click File Actions > Edit File Note.

    The Add a File Note page is displayed.

  4. Specify the note that you want to add, then click OK.

7.13.8 Setting the File Status

If you have multiple versions of a file, you might want to set a status for each version to help keep track of which is the official version, which versions are just drafts, and so forth. Files can have the status of Official, Draft, or Obsolete.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the attached file or file version for which you want to set the file status.

  2. (Conditional) If the file for which you want to set the file status is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. In the Status column next to the file for which you want to set the status, click the current status, then click the status that you want to set for the file.

7.13.9 Using Version Control with Files

When you modify a file in Vibe, Vibe saves the previous version of the file, and makes it available for easy reference. This includes files that are stored in Vibe Files folders, or any files that are saved as attachments to a folder entry.

Creating a New Version of a File

When you edit and save a file, Vibe creates a new version of the file and saves the old version. For information about how to edit a file, see Editing Files.

You can also use the drag-and-drop functionality to create a new version of an attached file or a new version of a file entry in a Files folder, as described in the following sections:

Dragging and Dropping a File to Update a File Entry Attachment

In order to create a new version of an existing entry attachment, the file that you drag and drop must have the same name as the existing entry attachment for which you want to create a new version.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file attachment for which you want to create a new version.

  2. Click the Attachments tab, then click Drag and Drop Files.

  3. Drag a file from one location, such as your desktop, and drop it onto the folder icon in the drag-and-drop window.

    The document is added as a new version of the existing entry attachment. Older versions are displayed in the File Versions tab in the entry.

Dragging and Dropping a File to Update the Primary File of a File Entry

Only Files folders allow you to create updated versions of folder entries as described in this section. For more information about the difference between Files folders and other types of Vibe folders in regards to adding files, see Section 6.5.1, Adding Files to a Files Folder and Other WebDAV-Enabled Folders.

In order to create a new version of an existing file in the Files folder, the file that you drag and drop must have the same name as the existing file for which you want to create a new version.

  1. Navigate to the folder where you want to import the new version of the file.

    A file with the same name must already exist in the folder as a file entry.

  2. Click Add Files in the Folder Entry toolbar.

    The drag-and-drop window opens.

  3. Drag a file from one location, such as your desktop, and drop it onto the folder icon in the drag-and-drop window.

    The document is added as a new version of the existing file entry. Older versions are displayed in the File Versions tab in the entry.

Incrementing the Major Version Number of a File

By default, when you create new versions of a file, Vibe tracks the versions with minor version numbers. For example, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and so forth. You can increment the major version number of the most recent version of a file. For example, version 1.2 becomes version 2.0.

If the folder has been configured to automatically delete old file versions, as described in Automatically Deleting Minor File Versions That Exceed the Allowed Maximum in Managing Folders in the Novell Vibe 3.3 Advanced User Guide, incrementing a minor version of a file to be a major version preserves the version from being deleted.

To increment the major version number of a file:

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file for which you want to increment the major version number.

  2. (Conditional) If the file for which you want to increment the major version number is an attachment, click the Attachments tab.

    Only Files folders can contain files that are not attachments.

  3. Next to the file for which you want to increment the major version, click File Actions > Increment Major Version Number.

    The Increment Major Version Number page is displayed.

  4. Click OK.

Accessing a Previously Saved Version of a File

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file for which you want to access a previous version.

  2. Click the File Versions tab.

    All of the previously saved versions of each file that are associated with the entry are listed in reverse chronological order. Vibe displays information such as the date, file size, and the person who modified the file.

Promoting a Previous File Version to Be the Current Version

You can promote a previous version of a file to be the current version. The current version is the main file in the file entry. Additional versions are located below the main version in the File Versions tab.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry where the file version resides that you want to promote to be the current version.

  2. Click the File Versions tab.

  3. Next to the file version that you want to promote to be the current version, click File Actions > Promote This Version To Be Current, then click OK.

You can revert the entire entry to a previous version (such as the title and description of the entry), as described in Section 7.14.3, Reverting an Entry to a Previous Version.

Deleting Existing Versions of a File

IMPORTANT:Files and file versions that are deleted from the Vibe site cannot be recovered.

  1. Navigate to and open the entry that contains the file for which you want to access a previous version.

  2. Click the File Versions tab.

    All of the previously saved versions of each file that are associated with the entry are listed in reverse chronological order. Vibe displays information such as the date, file size, and the person who modified the file.

  3. To delete multiple versions simultaneously, select the file versions that you want to delete, then click Delete Selected Versions.

    or

    To delete a single version, click File Actions next to the version that you want to delete, then click Delete This Version.

  4. Click OK to confirm the deletion.

Setting a Maximum Number of Allowed Versions

If you are a folder or workspace owner, you can set a maximum number of versions that are allowed for each file. For more information, see Limiting File Versions for Folders and Workspaces by Configuring Automatic Deletion in the Novell Vibe 3.3 Advanced User Guide.