This article describes how to upload and download files that are associated with a Library Entry.
NOTE: It's important to note that files are uploaded as part of the Library Entry creation process, which is described below in the Create a Library Entry & upload files section of this article.
In addition to Libraries themselves, there are a few other places you may be able to view and download files, including:
- your site's Home page and
- the Home pages of communities you belong to.
NOTE: The available options depend on your Higher Logic configuration.
For example, the community shown below has the default widget configuration, so a few of the latest files are listed on its Home page for easy access. You can click More > at the bottom of the widget to navigate to the community's Library. A similar feed of the latest files from across your organization is likely shown on your site's Home page as well.
The most common place to browse and download files is from a community you belong to, on its Library tab. Let's look at some of the functionality this page offers.
Create a Library Entry & upload files
Files are uploaded to what's called a Library Entry; you can think of these as file containers. Each Library Entry can contain one OR multiple files. This section describes how to upload a file when creating a Library Entry.
NOTE: In addition to manually creating a single Library Entry to house one or more files, as discussed in this article, you can leverage a bulk-upload process to upload dozens of files at once while simultaneously creating an Entry for each one. In addition, this feature enables you to employ AI to auto-generate titles and descriptions for each of these files, further reducing your workload.
See Bulk Upload with AI Generation to learn more.
On the Library tab of a community you belong to (or are a Community Admin for), click Create Entry to work through the upload process.
NOTE: Super Admins can upload files to any Library across your site, regardless of membership.
The number of steps to perform is dependent on the type of file you upload (standard file, YouTube video, webinar, etc.). Each step of this process is discussed in its associated section below.
NOTE: See Supported File Types & Sizes to learn about the file types supported on the Higher Logic platform.
Step 1 - Describe & choose Entry Type
To begin, describe and configure your Entry using the available options:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Give your Entry a descriptive title so others can gain an at-a-glance understanding of its purpose or what it's about. |
| Library | The community you're uploading a file to will already be selected here. If you'd like to upload the file to a different community's Library, you can select any communities you belong to from this menu. NOTE: Super Admins can select any Library across your site. |
| Folder | If the selected community Library has additional folders created for it, you can select which one to upload your file to here. |
| Description | Describe the Entry in as much detail as possible, giving other users any helpful or useful information about it. Use the options in the Content Editor to format your text, add images, etc. |
| Entry Type | Select which type of Entry to create; this is dictated by the file(s) you upload or link to. Select one of the following options:
Each type is described in a relevant section of Step 2. |
| Owner | An Entry's owner has management rights to it, and enables them to edit its details and files, moderate comments, etc. When initially creating an Entry, you can leave this blank to default yourself as the owner (i.e., creator) or enter someone's email address and click Lookup to assign them as the owner. You can update an Entry's owner at any time in the future, if the need ever arises. This option is available to Community Admins and Super Admins only. |
| Custom Thumbnail Image | Click Select Image to upload a custom thumbnail image for this Library Entry. Your selected image will display as the default thumbnail for this Library Entry in the list, row, and card views; it will not represent the individual files in multi-file Entries. Refer to Thumbnail notes, below. |
Thumbnail notes
- The recommended size for .JPG files is at least 1200px x 600px; non-JPG image files will be converted to JPG.
- If your Library Entry is not assigned a custom thumbnail or if a custom thumbnail is removed, the default thumbnail of the specified file type displays.
- Media type files (e.g., images and videos) automatically generate a custom thumbnail from the uploaded file.
- The .PPT and .PDF file types also automatically generate a custom thumbnail from the uploaded file. Thumbnails are not generated for .PDF files that are larger than 100MB.
Step 2 - Configure your selected Entry Type
After selecting an Entry Type and clicking Next, you'll need to perform an associated action. Each Entry Type is described in more detail below.
Standard File Upload and Copyright Licenses Files
These two Entries are similar, except Copyright Entries require an additional step to choose your copyright license for the file(s) you plan to upload.
For these two types, you can upload one or more files types, including multimedia, using:
- the various third-party options on the left,
- dragging-and-dropping files directly from your computer,
- or manually browsing for them from your computer or network.
Hyperlink
With this Entry, you aren't sharing files but are instead providing a link to an internal page (e.g., a page on your Higher Logic site) or external page outside of your Higher Logic site (e.g., your organization's website).
You can also customize your link's text so something other than its URL. This link is displayed to users on a standard Library Entry page.
Webinar
This Entry hosts an embedded video on a standard Library Entry page, linked to from a third-party provider like Adobe Connect.
The purpose of this Entry Type is to display completed webinars, NOT for the streaming of live webinars.
NOTE: Currently, .wmv files are not supported for playback in webinars.
YouTube video
Use this Entry Type to host a YouTube video that is displayed in the multimedia player of a standard Library Entry page.
How to locate the video link
You'll be required to enter the YouTube video's link. To locate it:
- Open a new browser tab and navigate to the YouTube video you want to host.
- On the video's page, click the Share button below the video player.
- In the pop-up, copy the link, either by clicking the provided COPY button or highlighting it and pressing Ctrl + C on Windows or Cmd + C on Mac.
- Back in the Library Entry, paste this link in the provided field.
- Click Finish.
Step 3 - Describe your files (Standard/Copyright only)
If you're Entry Type is Standard or Copyright, this optional step allows you to change the title of each file on the left and provide a description for each file on the right, helping explain the purpose of your file(s) to other users.
If you're uploading multiple files, you also can drag and drop them here to determine the order in which they're displayed on the Library Entry page.
NOTE: If you don't provide a title for a file on the left, it's file name will be displayed on the Library Entry page. In the example below, the second file's name is "Higher Logic_Word_Template", which I don't want displayed; so I changed its title to "Higher Logic Support Guide Template," as this will make more sense to other users.
Watch the videos
This section contains videos walking you through the upload process for each Entry Type.
Standard
Copyright
Hyperlink
Webinar
YouTube video
View & download an Entry's files
As mentioned earlier, you can view and download files from many places across your site, like it's main Home page or the Home page of a community you belong to. This is dependent on your site's configuration.
The primary place you'll browse for files, though, is on the Library tab of a community you belong to (or are an admin for); this is where all of the Entries the community's members have shared are displayed. As you can see below, this tab showcases files in two areas:
- If enabled, you'll see the Featured Card Row at the top of the page, which displays the eight most viewed/downloaded Entries. If it contains more than four Entries, click the < and > to scroll through them.
- The area below is where all of the Library Entries are located. There are various ways you can filter the displayed Entries, like selecting a specific folder (if they've been created), filtering by file type, or selecting a Sort By option (e.g., creation date or most downloaded). These options are available above the list.
TIP: Pay attention to the file icons to the right of each Entry; these visually indicate the type of files an Entry contains (e.g., YouTube video, images, PDF, etc).
Click a Library Entry in the main list to view all of its details, files, comments, tags, etc., in the Details Panel. This is also where you can download an Entry's files, either by:
- clicking Download All to download all files in the Entry (if it has multiple)
- or downloading individual files via their ellipsis (...) menu.
TIP: If you want to see a full-size preview of an image before downloading it, click the thumbnail icon in the Details Panel. This is especially helpful when there are multiple images in an Entry, as their thumbnails are smaller.
TIP: You can also access an Entry's full page to view all of these same details and download its files. To do so, click its ellipsis (...) menu and select View Entry Page.