Publishing PDF to WebCT

WebCT is a course management system (CMS) that is commonly used for publishing and maintaining online content. Assuming familiarity with the WebCT interface, there are three general steps to publishing a PDF file:

Create a folder for the file(s).
Upload your file(s) to the WebCT server.
Provide a link to the file(s).

Organizing Files: Folders

The first task in publishing a PDF document to WebCT is to create a new folder, also known as a directory. Within this folder, you will place your file(s)

To create a new folder:

Log into the course as the course manager (instructor).
Select the "Manage Files" option in the navigation list (left side of the screen).
Select "Create New" in the "Folder Options" section (right side of the screen).
Select the "Go" button.

Provide the name of the new folder. For this example, name the new folder "Documents."
Note: You should create one common folder into which you place all your accessible files.
The name of the folder is displayed in WebCT at the specified location. For this example, the folder "Documents" is listed under "My_Files"(see Image 40)

Image 40: Creating a new folder in WebCT

It is recommended that you create a common folder into which you place all files. For this example, the common folder was named "Documents." However, a file is usually associated with other files, such as images or audio. Thus, each file should have its own folder within the common folder; this is called a subfolder, also known as a subdirectory. Within this subfolder, you will place a file and all its associated files.

To create a sub-folder:

Log into the course as the course manager (instructor).
Select the "Manage Files" option in the navigation list (left side of the screen).
Select the folder where you want to place the sub-folder. For this example, select "My_Files" then "Documents."
Select "Create New" in the "Folder Options" section.
Select the "Go" button.
Provide the name of the new subfolder. For this example, name the new subfolder "PDF."
The name of the subfolder is displayed in WebCT at the specified location. For this example, the subfolder "PDF" is listed under "Documents" (which is under "My_Files").

Uploading Files

The second task in publishing a Flash presentation to WebCT is to upload all the files.

To upload a file:

Log into the course as the course manager (instructor).
Select the "Manage Files" option in the navigation list (left side of the screen).
Select "Upload" in the "File Options" section (left side of the screen).
Select the "Go" button.
Locate the file on your computer that you want to upload to WebCT. For this example, select the file named "TDoI.pdf "
Select the folder in WebCT into which the file should be uploaded. For this example, select the "PDF" folder, under "My_Files" then "Documents" (see Image 41).

Image 41: Uploading Content in WebCT
Select the "Upload" button.
Repeat steps 3 - 7 until all your associated files have been uploaded.

Provide a Link to the File

The third task in publishing to WebCT is to provide a link to the PDF document by creating an organizer page and/or a direct link

To create an organizer page:

Log into the course as the course manager (instructor).
Browse the course to the location where you would like the link to the organizer page.
Select "Designer Options" (top of the screen).
Select "Add Page or Tool" (bottom of the screen).
From the "Pages/URLs" section, select "Organizer page."
Select the "Add" button.
Enter an appropriate title for the organizer page and identify the folder where it should be located.
For this example, name the organizer page "PDF_Documents" and place it in the "PDF" subfolder.
Select "Add" to create the organizer page.
You will now need to create a link to the PDF document on the organizer page.

To create a link:

Log into the course as the course manager (instructor).
Browse the course to the location where you would like the link to the Flash presentation. For this example, browse to the "Flash Presentation" organization page in the "Media" subfolder.
Select "Designer Options" (top of the screen).
Select "Add Page or Tool" (bottom of the screen).
Halfway down the screen in the "Pages/URLs" section, select the "Single Page" radio button. (see Image 42).

Image 42: Add Link to a Single Page in WebCT

Select "Add" to bring up the "Add Single Page" form where the link can be created.
Enter the title for the link into the first text field. For this example, name the link "PDF_Files"
Select the "Browse" button and locate the appropriate file on your computer. For this example, link to the HTML index for the PDF document, "TDoI.pdf."
Finalize the file selection by selecting the "Pick" button.
Check the "On an Organizer Page" option and then select the page that should have the link to the presentation. For this example, the link should be on the "PDF_Files" page of the course (see Image 43).

Image 43: Providing Title for Single Page in WebCT
Select the "Add" button to complete the process of adding a link to the presentation.

Viewing Uploaded File

Once all associated files such as images and audio have been uploaded, you can view (or as needed download) the completed file within WebCT by selecting the link to that file. For this example, select "My_Files" then "Documents" and then "PDF" to view the file named "TDoI.pdf" (see Image 44).

Image 44: Accessible PDF file in WebCT

The next page will present additional resources on accessible PDF documents.

Previous Page
Page 15:
Publish to Blackboard

Top of Page arrow up

Page 16

Page 17:
Resources