Files such as committee meeting minutes are stored using the WP-Filebase plugin. This allows files to be stored in folders in much the same way files that you would with File Explorer on Windows; only filebase calls directories Categories.
We don’t use the filebase storage area for pictures, for that we use the Gallery instead which is described in the article Picture and Slideshow guidelines.
You have to be logged into the web site in order to add files using WP-Filebase.
Browsing the File Store
| To browse the files while you are logged in hover over the WP-Filebase menu item (bottom left of an Dashboard entries on the left of your screen) and select the File Browser option: |
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And you can view files in a similar manner to the File Explorer in Windows. As an example the Committee meeting minutes are stored in the Committee Meetings sub-folder in the Parish Hall folder. Inside the Committee Meetings folder there are folders for each year and both the agenda and minutes are stored in the same year folder. |
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Adding Files to the Store
| Hover over the WP-Filebase entry and select Files from the popup window (shown above). If you have already used filebase the files entry will be listed below the WP-Filebase entry. |  |
| At the top of the Files page there is an add new button. Click on this button and the dialog to add a file is displayed. |  |
Use the Select Files button to choose the file you want to upload, or drag and drop your file from File Explorer to the dashed box.
Important: make sure you select the category (folder) for your file (here we have highlighted 2012 from the Parish Hall -> Committee Meetings.
Click on Add File and the file will be added to the filebase store.
Alternatively to can use the File Browser to add directly to the category as explained next. If you want to go and edit a page to add a link to a file you have just uploaded then skip the next section and start reading at Adding a File Link to a Page or Post.
Adding Files to the Store using the Browser
| To add files to the store just open the target folder and click on the Add File link attached to the folder with a dotted line. In this example the folder for Parish Hall -> Committee Meetings -> 1991 is open with the Add File link immediately below the folder. |
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Use the resultant file dialog to select on or more files to add to the folder. You will see an entry for each file to upload and a progress indicator showing how much has been uploaded. Make sure you wait until all the files have uploaded before continuing. An alternative approach is to use a drag and drop technique. Locate the file using your File Explorer and drag the file onto the browser window moving the cursor over the target folder. You will see the selected folder highlighted in yellow. When you release the mouse button and the files will be uploaded. Make sure you wait until all the files have uploaded before continuing. |
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Adding a File Link to a Page or Post
When you are editing a page or post you can use the Filebase icon (below) on the editor toolbar to add a file to your page:
You can add files to the page in many ways but the common approaches are:
- an embedded PDF file (single file) such as committee meeting minutes or agendas
- a single file displayed as a download link
- a folder (category) shown as a table of files
- a folder (category) shown in a tree browser
Embedded PDF Files
You will need to edit the page using the Guttenburg Blocks editor and add a File block. If the page uses the classic editor you will need to convert it to the Blocks format first.
Upload your file to a Media folder and please use sub-folders for storing files to help keep things organised. Edit you page and insert a File block where you want the embedded file to appear adn select you file from the Media folder by clicking on the link shown in the File block.
Make any other edits to you page and when you are satisfied it is correct click on the Publish button for a new page, or Update button for an existing page: both buttons are in the Publish action box top right. This will make your changes permanent and visible to everybody – only you will be able to see the changes until you click on Publish/Update.
If you go wrong and want to abandon your changes just click in the View Page on the black dashboard menu bar (top of screen) and click on the Leave Page in the button when you are warned you have unsaved edits.
Link to a Single File
If you want to have a link to the file that people can click on to view or download simply choose the File URL option instead of single file, enter the text you want to show for the link and use the file browser to find your file. Again when you click on the file link it will be embedded in your document as a shortcode which looks like the following in the editor:
[wpfilebase tag=fileurl id=167 linktext='Autumn 2012 Newsletter' /]
You can edit the link text in this shortcode if you want – just make sure you keep the quotes around the text.
An alternative approach is to select Single File and the link-new template (just below the embed-pdf template) which will use a standard link text defined when the file was uploaded – this way of creating the link will have the link open in a new tab when clicked.
Files in a Folder
If you want to display a list of files in a folder:
- select the File List display Option
- use the file browser to select your folder
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Scroll the window to see the options and select the Data-table template. If you have less than 10 files you can clear the Display Page Navigation (which shows the lost 10 files at a time). You can change the Sort Order using the list at the bottom of the screen. Click on Insert and the shortcode link will be added to your page. |
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Browse Tree
If you have nested folder you can select the File Tree View option to display a folder and use the drop down list to select the folder you want to display. All sub folders will be included in the tree.
