IMPORTANT: This feature is currently in beta. During this time, the user experience is actively in development and subject to change.
As you test this feature, your feedback is welcome; send your thoughts and suggestions to uxfeedback@higherlogic.com.
This article describes the AI-enhanced Bulk Upload feature, which you can use to simultaneously upload multiple files as new Library Entries, instead of having to manually create a single Library Entry to house one or more files. The "AI-enhanced" aspect adds the optional abilities to have AI:
- generate titles and descriptions for some of those new entries (refer to AI-compatible files, below) — during the bulk-upload process — which further reduces your workload, and
- automatically apply "tags" to your Library Entries, based on content within the file and your account's current Formal tags taxonomy.
NOTE: The auto-tagging option does not use user-created tags. Learn how to manage tags in your community.
These AI-based options work independent of one another which means you retain control over which aspects of the bulk-upload operation it "assists" with — and how and when AI technology is used in your account.
NOTE: The Bulk Upload feature is available only to customers using our latest library experience. See Libraries Overview to learn more. If you're currently using our legacy library experience and want to learn how to upgrade, see Upgrading to the Redesigned Library.
Before we begin...
- Super Admins must enable this feature before it can be used. Refer to Enable the Bulk-upload feature, below, to learn how.
- The Bulk Upload feature is exclusive to Community Admins and Super Admins.
- All of the file types that are listed in Supported File Types & Sizes can be uploaded as Library Entries.
- The Bulk Upload action is limited to the current community. You cannot bulk-upload from within one community to a different community's Library.
- The Bulk Upload feature supports uploading image and video files but AI Assistant cannot generate titles or descriptions for them (refer to AI-compatible files, below).
- Library Entries that are created via bulk-upload will not appear in the community's widgets (e.g., Activity Feed); this is intentional to prevent widgets from being overloaded by dozens of Entries at once while other community content is quickly buried.
- Admins can choose whether to auto-publish the new Entries during the bulk-upload process.
AI-compatible files
Admins who decide to use AI to generate titles and descriptions during bulk upload should note the following.
- The AI title- and description-generation capability is limited to text-based files, such as .DOC, .DOCX, .TXT., .PDF, .RTF.
- If a text-based file doesn't have much text, AI Assistant may struggle to generate a quality title or description.
Enable the Bulk-upload feature
Super Admins can enable the feature in the Admin interface.
- Navigate to AI Features > AI Feature Opt-In.
The Library Bulk Upload with AI feature is disabled by default.
- Click the toggle at the top right to enable it.
A confirmation message displays below the description.
NOTE: It might take a few minutes for the feature to be enabled; when it is, you can immediately use it to upload multiple files as Library Entries in your communities.
The sections that follow describe the bulk-upload process and how to customize your bulk-upload experience.
How to bulk-upload files
You can bulk-upload files within the current community only. You cannot:
- bulk-upload files from within one community to a different community's Library.
- bulk-upload files to multiple communities simultaneously.
Let's walk through the process and the options.
- Navigate to a community's Library tab.
- Click Create Entry > Bulk Upload.
Use the information in the following tables to choose which files to upload and where to store them, and to set the AI, tagging, and auto-publishing options on the Bulk Upload dialog.
Select and store the upload files
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Library | The field displays the community in which you're uploading the files. This value cannot be changed.
NOTE: If this is not the "right" Library or the one you expect, close the dialog, navigate to the preferred Library, and complete the file upload there. |
| Folder | When files are uploaded in bulk, a Library Entry is automatically created for each file and the files are stored in the folder that is selected here. You can:
|
| Upload Files | Click Select files to display the file uploader. You can choose files from a variety of sources as detailed in File uploader for bulk-uploads, below.
NOTE: If you plan to upload a .ZIP file, refer to Uploading a .ZIP file in the File uploader section, below. |
Embrace the AI feature
The options for AI to generate titles and descriptions for uploaded files is limited to text-based files, as described in AI-compatible files, above.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Generate entry titles with AI | (Text-based files only.) AI Assistant can create titles for the Library Entries based on content within the file. Higher Logic recommends that an Admin review these titles for accuracy. If this is not selected, the titles of the files are used as the titles of the Library Entries. TIP: This feature functions independently of the other AI settings and is enabled by default; uncheck the box to disable it. Refer to AI transparency, below, for additional information. |
| Generate entry descriptions with AI | (Text-based files only.) AI Assistant can create descriptions for the Library Entries based on content within the file. Higher Logic recommends that an Admin review these descriptions for accuracy. If this is not selected, the Library Entries will not have descriptions. TIP: This feature functions independently of the other AI settings and is enabled by default; uncheck the box to disable it. Refer to AI transparency, below, for additional information. |
| Tag entries with AI auto-tagging | AI Assistant can apply "tags" to your Library Entries, based on content within the file. Higher Logic recommends that an Admin review which tags get applied.
TIP: This feature functions independently of the other AI settings and is enabled by default; uncheck the box to disable it. Click the dropdown and make a selection to limit which Tag Groups are used by AI Assistant. Refer to Auto-tagging highlights and AI transparency, below, for additional information. |
| Auto-Publish Entries | AI Assistant can automatically publish the Entries so that they are available in the community as soon as the files finish uploading.
TIP: This feature functions independently of the other AI settings and is disabled by default; check the box to enable it. If this option is disabled (unchecked), the Entries that are created will be pending and viewable to Community Admins and Super Admins only. These Entries will have the Needs Review indicator for easy identification and will have to be manually published. This is beneficial when either or both of the title- and/or description-generation settings was used because it gives Admins an opportunity to review those titles and/or descriptions prior to the Entries being published to the community. |
Auto-tagging highlights
By design, auto-tagging is based on content within the file.
NOTE: If a file is of a type that cannot be "read," AI will use the title of the document file as a "best guess" for appropriate tags.
When auto-tagging is enabled:
- AI Assistant will select and apply a maximum of three content-applicable tags from your current Formal tags taxonomy for each Entry.
- If you want to use this option, having a good tagging taxonomy is important and ensures the best possible tagging experience by AI Assistant.
- Tags that are applied by AI Assistant will be clearly denoted by the "sparkle" effect on the tag, which links to the Search page and clearly indicates, on hover, that the tag was added by AI.
- Refer to AI transparency, below, for additional information.
- The default behavior is for AI Assistant to use all Formal tag groups.
- Click the Limit to specific Tag Groups dropdown if you want to limit auto-tagging to select Tag Groups.
Auto-tagging in a Topic Community
Due to the nature, purpose, and design of Topic Communities, auto-tagging works differently in a Topic Community.
In Topic Communities:
- The Tag entries with AI auto-tagging option is enabled.
- You cannot disable it.
- You cannot select Tag Groups.
- AI Assistant automatically uses the Topic Community's Tag Groups and will ensure that at least one tag is applied to each Entry (because all content in a Topic Community should be associated to at least one of the Topic Community's tags).
Optional Settings
Click the Optional Settings section to access additional settings for the AI-generated content.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Title length for AI Content | Use the slider to set the preferred number of characters for titles that are created by AI Assistant. The default is Standard (approximately 400 characters). |
| Description length for AI Content | Use the slider to set the preferred number of characters for descriptions that are created by AI Assistant. The default is Standard. In the:
|
| Custom Thumbnail | By default, the system automatically assigns thumbnail images to each Entry based on its file type (.DOC, .PDF, .JPG).
Click Custom Thumbnail to set a "custom" thumbnail to display for all files in this upload, irrespective of file type. This is beneficial if, for example, you're uploading files of a common "theme" and you want them all to display the same thumbnail (e.g., you're uploading 25 research journals and want to use your association's official journal logo). |
When finished, click Upload in the lower right of the dialog to initiate the upload process per your configured settings.
NOTE: If the uploaded Entries have to be manually published, when the Entries are uploaded and ready, a notification is sent to the Super Admin or Community Admin who performed the bulk upload. The message is sent to:
- the Admin's community account Profile inbox and
- the Admin's preferred email address (in Profile > My Account > Email Preferences).
Learn about this process in the Manage unpublished files section of this article.
File uploader for bulk-uploads
You can upload files from:
|
As you add files, they are "staged" in the list view, showing for each file their file names, their file types, and, in the case of images, a small preview. As you can see, the list separates image files from all other file types.
Due to the "bulk" nature of this feature, the number of files displays next to their respective source icons on the left (number of files retrieved from that source) and on the Upload button (total number of files).
Manage files in the file uploader
As you select multiple files for the bulk upload, you can individually manage (edit images, delete files) the selected files in the file uploader dialog.
IMPORTANT: This is important because you cannot individually manage the files in the Bulk Upload dialog (i.e., after the Upload button on the file uploader has been clicked).
When the files have been uploaded and are listed under Upload Files on the Bulk Upload dialog they are grouped as one "batch." If you want to make changes, you have to click the X to delete the entire batch of files and start the process again.
To manage your selected files before committing the upload.
- Click Edit (image files only) to modify (crop, rotate, round) the image.
- Click an X (all file types) to remove that file from the staged list.
- Click Upload more in the lower right to continue adding files.
- Click Deselect All to clear all selected files from the upload list. The dialog remains active for you to select other files.
Uploading a .ZIP file
If you're uploading a .ZIP file, the system will ask whether you want to create new folders that mimic the structure of your .ZIP file.
This is a great way to have the system quickly and automatically build out the Library structure for you -- and place the files in their original locations within the structure.
If you choose to not do this, all files within the .ZIP file will be stored in whichever folder is set for the Folder setting in the upper part of the Bulk Upload dialog.
Upload the files
When you have selected all the files you want to include in this bulk upload, click Upload.
- At this point, you cannot make any changes to the list of files or the files themselves.
- You can click the X to delete the batch and start over.
How to manage unpublished files
If you did not select Auto-Publish Entries during the upload process, the Entries that were created (and their files) will be in a "pending" state. These have to be reviewed by an Admin and then manually published to be available to your users.
Entries that are pending can be viewed and managed by any Community Admin or Super Admin.
- When the Entries are ready for review, the Admin who initiated the bulk-upload is sent a notification to their profile inbox (shown below) and at the preferred email address that is listed on their Profile > My Account > Email Preferences page. The message indicates where the Entries are located (the community and folder).
- For convenience, you can click the see your [X] new library entries link right in the message to access to the files.
Prior to manual publishing, these Entries will live in the:
- Main folder (if a folder wasn't selected during upload),
- in the folder that was selected during the upload process, or
- in the case of .ZIP files, in the system-created structure (if you enabled the .ZIP option described earlier).
These Entries have the Needs Review indicator.
- Select a file to view its standard management options, as well as the AI-generated titles and descriptions. This is the time to review this AI content and make adjustments, if needed. Note that if you go through the process to edit the file (e.g., it's title or description), it will remain in the Needs Review, pending status until manually published.
- When ready to make a file available to your community members, click Publish at the top right of the slide out panel.
Bulk-publish & bulk-move files
When bulk-uploading files and choosing not to have the system automatically publish them (because you want to review them first), you may end up with dozens, if not hundreds, of files to manage. Fortunately, you can multi-select large quantities of files to perform two key actions, Move and Publish, to streamline this process:
- When viewing your pending files, click the Change to admin view icon at the top right. This enables the ability to multi-select files via their checkboxes.
- Check the boxes for the files you want to manage and then click:
-
- Move to select which folder to move them to.
- Publish to immediately publish all selected files.
AI transparency
When bulk-uploading text-based files, you may choose to have the system leverage AI to automatically generate titles and descriptions. This AI content includes, by default, the AI summary label for transparency to your community members.
After files have been added to a community library, however, you can choose to turn this label ON/OFF. You may want to remove this label, for example, in situations where you end up not using the AI-generated title/description and manually write them yourself.
To turn this label ON/OFF:
- Select and edit a text-based file.
- Scroll down to the AI Label option and check or uncheck the box to turn it ON/OFF.
- Click Next at the bottom of the page and then follow the prompts to finalize the change.