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Uploading and linking to PDF's

Level200
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Dec 11, 2004, 6:17 AM

Post #1 of 20 (16737 views)
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Uploading and linking to PDF's	Can't Post

My client would like to upload and manage PDF's and also link to them from certail articles from AM.

Any ideas how I can do this?

ross
Staff / Moderator

Dec 11, 2004, 11:37 AM

Post #2 of 20 (16728 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Level200.

Thanks for posting and welcome to the board!

There are actually a couple ways that you could upload PDF files using Article Manager. In both cases you are going to want to add “pdf” to “Accepted upload extensions” in Setup Options under the Upload Settings heading. While you are there, you’ll want to double check that the max size fpr uploads is set high enough to accept your pdf files.

The first way would be to create new articles as Upload Files. What this will do is create a link and place it on your category index page. When a visitor clicks this link it will open the PDF in whatever program they use to read them. If you like, you could modify the template so that the article also has a summary or image.

The second would be to upload the file using the Image manager. If you choose this method however, you won’t be able to images as well. The reason is that we’ll have to modify the article template so that it create regular links to the file instead of image links.

If you let me know which way will work better for you, I’ll be able to go into more details for you.

I look forward to hearing from you Wink

.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Cheers,
Ross Fairbairn - Product Specialist
support@interactivetools.com

Hire me! Save time by getting our experts to help with your project.
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Level200
User

Dec 14, 2004, 5:29 AM

Post #3 of 20 (16699 views)
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Re: [ross] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

HI

Thanks for the prompt reply, I was hoping to upload an full article complete with images and also link to a PDF data sheet for my clients product. there must be a way of doing this.

Any ideas?

ross
Staff / Moderator

Dec 14, 2004, 2:02 PM

Post #4 of 20 (16681 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Level200

Thanks for posting again!

I took another look at it and I think I have something that could work for you Cool

.

You could post articles like normal, and upload the PDF’s and images using the image manager, however, for images you would enter a caption and for PDFs you wouldn’t.

You could then modify the  section of your article template so that it uses a <a href> tag instead of the <img> tag.

Keep in mind that all images would need to have captions, and all PDFs would need to have no captions. You could of course change this so that images have no captions and PDFs do.

To get the PDFs into your summary and main content you would have to use the ***image*** placeholders.

I realize that this is a fairly simple explanation of how to do this, so if you like, I can go into more detail and provide a sample template if you like; just let me know.

In the meantime, if you have anymore questions, don’t hesitate to post them Smile

Level200
User

Dec 15, 2004, 12:06 AM

Post #5 of 20 (16671 views)
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Re: [ross] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

thanks for that, but please bare in mind that I'm very new to article manager could you provide a more indept step by step guide as to how to achieve this.

Cheers for your help

joa1
User

Dec 15, 2004, 4:36 AM

Post #6 of 20 (16669 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Level200 / Ross,

Why not just publish articles as such, images as such, leaving AM as is, no tweaking anything, and in the article, provide a link to the PDF files, and upload all PDFs to a folder on the site, reserved for that... seems to me it's a no brainer approach, but it may well be the easiest way for the non-initiated AMer!?...

One thing to bear in mind, is that nowadays, PDFs open in the browser window, so when publishing the articles, make sure the link to the PDF is set to open in a new window... that way, whatever time it takes to open the PDF, the original window is still there, active, and user can keep browsing... else, it may look like the browser hangs while it's just chewing away at the PDF.

Hope this (absolutely no brainer!) approach is of some help...

(Ross, your technical, initiated feedback on this approach and its cons would be apprecaited as well... :)

Best!

Joao

Level200
User

Dec 15, 2004, 4:43 AM

Post #7 of 20 (16666 views)
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Re: [joa1] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Joao

Thanks for that, I was hoping to use Article manager to manage and upload the pdf's. I want to keep things as simple as possible without the client needing to ftp pdf's up to the server. If we can find a way of doing it within the Article Manager admin system that would be great.

Anyone have any mods for uploading, updating, removing and managing pdf's to be included with articles that would be a great help.

Cheers

ross
Staff / Moderator

Dec 15, 2004, 10:49 AM

Post #8 of 20 (16656 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Joao

Thanks for getting back to me!

And thanks for the excellent suggestion Level200. That has worked great for severl people already Cool

.

For the time being however, I’ll go into some more detail for Joao Wink

.

First, you’ll want to modify your article template’s  so that it has a link tag in it instead of an image tag. It should look something like this:


<table border=0 cellspacing=2 cellpadding=0 width=$img_width$ align=$img_align$>
<tr><td><a href="$img_url$">Click here for PDF</a></td></tr>
</table>


Then head back to your Article Editor and create a new article. Select a few PDF files to upload using the same method you would with a picture. Let’s say that you choose two PDF files. When it comes to the part where you get to specify a caption, just leave it blank.

Once the files have been uploaded you can place the image placeholders into your article summary the same way you would if they were a picture (***image1***, ***image2***).

You can also upload images the same way as you would, however, keep in mind that you’ll need to provide a caption so that the image gets displayed properly. If you don’t want the caption to appear on your page, you’ll still have to fill in caption field and remove the $img_caption$ placeholder from the template.

***edit***
One thing that isn't mentioned in this post is that you'll want to add pdf and doc to the list of acceptable file types in Setup Options on the General tab (near the bottom). While you are there you may want to bump up the maximum filesize too because PDF files can be quite large.
***edit***

I’ll attach a sample article template for you to take a look at. Just upload it to your /templates/article/ folder. (You'll probably want to make a backup copy of your own first)

Let me know how this goes. If you run into any problems or need a few more details, don’t hesitate to let me know Smile

Attachments:

default.html (3.65 KB)

nigelparry.net
User

Dec 19, 2004, 5:35 PM

Post #9 of 20 (16591 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

There's a far simpler way. Enable both PDF uploads and increase the maximum file size in the Setup options -- as Ross suggested in his first response.

Then upload PDFs using the Upload Images button and Save. All you've done at this point is use a no-brainer FTP to get the PDF onto the server. When you return to the article editor, you'll see an entry for it under the Uploaded Images section at the bottom of the page.

Right clicking (Win) or Ctrl clicking (Mac) on the View link right next to it gives you some variation of the Copy URL to Clipboard option, which after you select it will copy the URL for where the PDF is on your server

Use that in a link tag and put it somewhere in your article's Content field so it's clickable somewhere in the text and there's your quick and dirty solution.

The only types of PDF this won't work with this ones that are larger than 1 MB or more. Most shared hosting plans time out during extremely large file uploads, which I've seen as low as 1.xMB. As long as it's small, this is the way to do it.

If it's not, the best non-kludge solution is to give the client subdirectory FTP access, so the rest of the site and the Artman installation are saved from accidental deleting, and show them how to use an FTP program. It's not really that difficult for people to pick up.

If the directory is bookmarked and both it and a local directory on their computer is set up, all they have to do is add a PDF to that directory, hit the FTP bookmark, and upload it to the server.

Some FTP programs can be customised so that if you drop a PDF on a Desktop icon or droplet, it will upload the new PDF to the right directory on the webserver. Then they just add the link. I usually leave a backdoor reference page for clients with instructions on all of this.

Nigel
_____________________

For more information about Nigel Parry and nigelparry.net
websites please see http://nigelparry.net

nigelparry.net: award-winning communications
solutions for clients with something to say

Website & print design
Internet, public relations & media consulting

(This post was edited by nigelparry.net on Dec 19, 2004, 8:55 PM)

ross
Staff / Moderator

Dec 20, 2004, 9:39 AM

Post #10 of 20 (16565 views)
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Re: [nigelparry.net] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Nigel.

Thanks for posting!

Looks like you have a good idea there, so thanks for sharing it with us. I am sure that Level200 should have enough to at least get started now.

It’s always great to see members of the community stepping up and lending a hand. Keep up the good work!

If you run into any problems Level200, don’t hesitate to let us know and I am sure we’ll be able to get you onto the right path.

Just keep us up to date Wink

Svvs
User

Jan 24, 2005, 8:28 AM

Post #11 of 20 (16367 views)
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Re: [nigelparry.net] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

hi i am new to Art Man. i do exactly what nigelparry.net said, but the link i get after the publishment is
http://yourdomain/exec/admin.cgi?art_preview2=58#

please help

nigelparry.net
User

Jan 24, 2005, 11:03 AM

Post #12 of 20 (16363 views)
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Re: [Svvs] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

The link

Code

http://yourdomain/exec/admin.cgi?art_preview2=58#

looks like the kind of link that would be given in the Preview Without Publishing mode.

Or is this what happens on the actual published site? Other than that, I'm not sure what's going on here. If you can give more information, someone should be able to help you.

Good luck!

Nigel
_____________________

For more information about Nigel Parry and nigelparry.net
websites please see http://nigelparry.net

nigelparry.net: award-winning communications
solutions for clients with something to say

Website & print design
Internet, public relations & media consulting

ross
Staff / Moderator

Jan 24, 2005, 12:57 PM

Post #13 of 20 (16361 views)
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Re: [Svvs] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Svvs.

Thanks for posting!

Like Nigel, this looks like the links you get when previewing without publishing. You’ll find that when you are previewing, the links on your article aren’t actually going to work. The preview is just to get an idea of what the end result is going to look like. If you want to see if your PDF files are working, you’ll want to publish the article and take a look at it in your publish folder.

Thanks again for the help Nigel! Keep up the good work Cool

.

Just let us know if you are still having trouble Svvs.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Cheers,
Ross Fairbairn - Product Specialist
support@interactivetools.com

Hire me! Save time by getting our experts to help with your project.
Template changes, advanced features, full integration, whatever you
need. Whether you need one hour or fifty, get it done fast with
Priority Consulting: http://www.interactivetools.com/consulting/

Level200
User

May 23, 2005, 5:29 AM

Post #14 of 20 (15594 views)
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Re: [ross] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Did anyone get round to using this technique, if so can I have a link or possibly screen grabs showing how it looks/ works cheers

Level200

Cliff
Staff

May 23, 2005, 1:00 PM

Post #15 of 20 (15585 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Level200,

Thanks for posting.

There were a few techniques that were tossed around in this thread. If you let me know which one in particular you were looking for, I'll see if I can either find an example for you or put something together as an example.

Thanks Smile

Regards,
Cliff Stefanuk - Customer Service Manager
[email]support@interactivetools.com[/email]

Level200
User

May 24, 2005, 12:05 AM

Post #16 of 20 (15578 views)
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Re: [Cliff] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

HI Cliff

Thanks for the reply

I posted the original thread on pdf upload and including in news items etc.. could you put together an example of the best solution for uploading, managing and linking to pdf's using link tag.

Thanks for your help and a great product

(This post was edited by Level200 on May 24, 2005, 12:07 AM)

ross
Staff / Moderator

May 26, 2005, 10:55 AM

Post #17 of 20 (15536 views)
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Re: [Level200] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Level200.

Thanks for the update!

I put together a quick demo for you with some screen shots that shows you how easy it is to get all of this setup Smile

.

Once you have the template I attached to my earlier post and setup Article Manager to accept PDF files, the first step is to start uploading the files. Take a look at my first test image (image1.JPG attached to this post). You’ll see that for the image I added a caption, but for the pdf file I left it blank.

Adding these files into an article is exactly the same as adding regular images. Take a look at my second screenshot (image2.jpg attached to this post). Notice how I can just use the ***image1*** and ***image2*** placeholders. Finally, once the article is saved, this is what it will look like the sample article I attached to this post.

I think this is the easiest way to handle PDF uploads for Article Manager Smile

. Does it make sense? Could you give it a shot and let me know how you make out?

I look forward to hearing from you Smile

Attachments:

image1.JPG (38.0 KB)

image2.JPG (35.1 KB)

article_1.shtml (7.62 KB)

dmsid
User

Aug 22, 2007, 3:53 AM

Post #18 of 20 (11107 views)
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Re: [ross] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Would there be a way to write a javascript that would look for the letters PDF in the $img_caption$ field and then either use the img tag or the A HREF as needed? Then you could use the caption field as your text for your A HREF.

PDF - Vacation Form

would be come the link.

Jake
Staff / Moderator

Aug 23, 2007, 11:31 AM

Post #19 of 20 (10980 views)
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Re: [dmsid] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi dmsid,

Thanks for posting!

While we aren't really javascript experts here, I think what you've described would be possible to do with javascript. If you write a script for this, let us know - we'd love to take a look at it!

Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any other questions. Smile

-----------------------------------------------------------
Cheers,
Jake Marvin - Product Specialist
support@interactivetools.com

[hr][i][url "http://www.interactivetools.com/consulting/"][b]Hire me![/b][/url]
Save time by getting our experts to help with your project. Template changes, advanced features, full integration, whatever you need. Whether you need one hour or fifty, get it done fast with [url "http://www.interactivetools.com/consulting/"][b]Priority Consulting[/b][/url].[/i]

dmsid
User

Aug 23, 2007, 9:57 PM

Post #20 of 20 (10943 views)
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Re: [Jake] Uploading and linking to PDF's [In reply to]	Can't Post

I guess if I could have written the script I would not have needed to make the post about how to write a script. :)

I asked because for the several years I have used your products I have seen countless times where the tech support people come up with a solution for a Article Manager feature with a javascript. Remember the days when we could not do multiple pages and bam, javascipt answer.

Sorry you have lost your javascript experts, but things happen over time.

If I do get one written I will make sure to post it for the many other AM users who would find it useful.

Thanks and All the best.

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