Adding a Single Document

CIT :: WebCT :: Info for Faculty/Designers :: Adding a Single Document

Adding a Single Document

There are several steps you need to take to add a document to your WebCT course. Whether your course content is saved in a Microsoft Word document, an HTML document, an Adobe Acrobat PDF document, or any other format, the process of making it available to your students via WebCT is generally the same.

This process can be broken down into four main tasks:

Name and save your document file appropriately

A general rule of thumb is to name your files as simply as possible, with underscores and dashes replacing spaces, no other punctuation, and as few capitalizations as possible.
- Spaces: Earlier versions of WebCT required that filenames have no spaces (i.e, the filename nursing page.html would have caused an error). However, this requirement has now been removed from WebCT (as of version 3.8). Spaces are now OK in filenames. However, it is still a good idea to keep filenames concise with no spaces.
- Capitalization: Filenames can use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, however, any reference to such a file will need to use the exact capitalization of the filename.
- Punctuation: Filenames may be able to contain a variety of punctuation marks, depending on the computer that created the file. However, some punctuation marks in filenames can cause difficulties when the files are placed online. As a general rule, avoid most punctuation in filenames, and use only dashes and underlines, along with a single period just before the file extension.
- File Extensions are required at the end of the filename. Without these file extensions, the browser would not know how to display the file. Be aware that your computer may hide file extensions from you, but you can change your computer's settings to display file extensions.

Upload the document from your local computer to the WebCT server

Log into WebCT and enter the course that you want to add your document to (you must be a designer for the course). Click on the Control Panel button near the top left, and from the Control Panel page click on the Manage Files button.

WebCT Control Panel

On the right hand side of the Manage Files page, click the Upload button.

On the Upload File page that comes up, click the Browse button to open a new window, which will allow you to browse files on your local computer. Navigate to the file that you want to move onto WebCT, and choose that file (this process will depend on your computer operating system and browser).

When you return to the Upload File window, the filename you selected should appear in the form. Click the Upload button to copy the file from your local computer onto the WebCT server.

Note that copying the file into your My-Files folder on the WebCT server does not make the file accessible to your students. You will still need to make a link from one of your course pages to the uploaded file.

Make a link from one of your course pages to the document file

Use the breadcrumb links to return to your homepage. If you want to add a link from your homepage to the document you just uploaded, make sure you are viewing the designer options and click the Add Page or Tool button in the right-hand column. If you want to link your document from another organizer page, go to that organizer page and then click Add Page or Tool.

The Add Page or Tool page shows a table of WebCT tools that you can add to your course. Click on the Single Page link in the left-most column of the table of WebCT tools.

Fill out the form step by step:

Enter a title

Click the Browse button, and from the window that pops up choose your file, and then click the Add Selected button.

Check the box next to On an Organizer page

Click the Add button

Test the link

Using the breadcrumb links at the top of the page, return to your Homepage, switch to the View tab (the simulated student's view of your WebCT course) and click on the link that you just made to your document (if you made the link on another page, first navigate to the organizer page where you made the link).

If the link is working, clicking on it should result in the document either being displayed in a web browser window or downloaded to your local computer (where it can then be viewed). This behavior may depend on the file type of the document, the web browser you are using, or the computer operating system you are using.