Figure 1 describes
the components of an Alex file name:
|
Figure 1: Sample Alex
Filename Components: |
 |
| 1. subject | |
| 2. authcode | |
| 3. major version number | |
| 4. minor version number | |
| 5. status code | |
| 6. format tag |
REPOSITORY FILES:
Browsing the Repostory
File
Naming Conventions
Permitted
Characters
File
Name Components
Uploading a File
to the Repository
Choosing the
File to Upload
Selecting a
Filename
Naming a
Parent of Record
Binding
Your File to Groups
Binding
Your File to Keywords
Describing
Your File
Verifying Your File's
Metadata
Suggested
File Maintenance Practices
Click the FILES tab and select “browse” mode.
The browse screen presents user accessible information in two parts:• index of keywords
• list of filesKeywords are associated with specific groups. Your keyword view is limited to those keywords currently associated with your associated groups. Keyword lists are dynamic and can be incremented by you or by members of the groups with which you have been registered. The use of ASCII characters in keywords mirrors most of the Alex file naming conventions discussed in the next sections (lowercase alphabetics, numerals, etc.). You may, however, use spaces when creating a compound keyword. Commas are not permitted in keywords but are used to separate individual keyword entries when you add a series of new keywords.
You can specify file searches by clicking a keyword or by entering other search criteria text in the function box directly below the word Index and pressing “Enter” or “Return” on your keyboard. You can search files based on full or partial pattern recognition of file names, format tags, authcodes, and groups.
This search function supports the use of the asterisk (*) as a wild card substitute search character, equal to zero or more characters. If you enter one asterisk in the search box, Alex will display all the files to which you have access.
The initial browse display arranges files alphabetically and is signaled by the term Repository filename highlighted by a green box. Clicking on Repository filename will change the highlight color of the box to yellow and sort the files in reverse alphabetic order. As categorical sort terms, Date and Owner function similarly. Thus Date on a green background shows the most recent file displayed first. Clicking on the word Date will change the background to yellow and display the oldest documents first.
Clicking on a specific date will display only the files fitting the original search criteria that were uploaded within 48 hours of the selected date.
You can further limit file searches by clicking on a specific owner, group, or keyword in the displayed list. Alex signals that a search limit has been invoked by displaying a notice of the limit item chosen boxed in red. Such choices progressively shorten the display list. You can reverse search limits by clicking on the appropriate phrase in the red box.
By clicking on the format tag, you can download a copy of the file. Downloading options are discussed in Suggested file maintenance practices. If your computer has the application that generated the file, you may be able to view the selected file onscreen.
Click on a filename within a repository display to see a file info screen.
In addition to the file information and functionality displayed on the browse screen, the file info screen provides:
• an alternative download option (personal dynamic edit copy)
• the ability to e-mail the referenced document
• recent descent tree information (showing parent-child relationships, versions, and status changes)
• the ability to change a status (displays only if the viewer is the owner of the file)
• a description of the file and its feature logic provided by the file’s owner
• an historical record (file descriptions and posting dates for all members of the descent tree)
• notification status (displays only if the viewer is not the owner of the file)For your convenience, many highlighted items on the file info page are active links (e.g., filenames and associated groups).
When you browse the repository, you will notice several conventions used in the naming of files before they are permitted to be uploaded.
Any file stored in the repository is limited to the following specific types of keyboard characters:
• lowercase alphabetics
• numerals
• hyphens
• underscoresThe only other punctuation mark allowed is the period, which Alex prepends to the format tag or file type (e.g.,
.doc).
Alex reserves to itself the use of the underscore character to separate the various elements in a file name. If you attempt to use the underscore inappropriately, Alex will substitute a hyphen.
Figure 1 describes the components of an Alex file name:
Figure 1: Sample Alex
Filename Components:
1. subject 2. authcode 3. major version number 4. minor version number 5. status code 6. format tag
Uploading a File to the Repository
If you select upload mode in the FILES function in order to submit a file to the Alex repository, you will see the first of several screens associated with the upload process.
Clicking the Browse… button brings up a file selector window from which you can select the file you wish to upload. Once selected, the chosen file’s full path name appears above the upload file button. Clicking upload file will display the following acknowledgement from Alex, the “We received your file” screen, a preliminary stage of Alex’s upload interview process.
Alex’s file-naming protocol restricts the use of uploaded filenames to numbers, lowercase alphabetic characters, and hyphens. Alex reserves the underscore character as a segment separator in the filename but does not enforce that substitution until the next step.
The acknowledgement on this screen begins the filename transformation process by substituting lowercase for uppercase characters where necessary. Alex also substitutes hyphens for blank spaces and eliminates all non-alphanumeric characters except the aforementioned hyphens and underscores.
Every stage of the following upload interview, including the final summary checklist, offers an opportunity to abort the upload process. If you selected the wrong file, you may abort the upload at this point and reinitiate the process.
Clicking the Yes button continues the upload interview.
This screen, Step 1 – Select a filename, offers a suggestion for a complete filename that strictly adheres to Alex’s file naming protocol. To the transformed subject displayed in the previous screen, Alex substitutes hyphens for underscores in the subject field of the filename and adds elements in the following order:
• an owner (authcode. Alternates may be available in a pull down menu or users can request a new one.)
• major version
• minor version
• status code (The default is dft [draft]. Users may select or request other options.)All the elements Alex appends to the original subject field are preceded by an underscore.
The last element in the file name, the file format tag, was reflected in the original Alex suggested file name. At this point, Alex will prompt you for a description of any format tag not already in its database.
Filename elements can be edited on this screen. For some hints on naming your file, see Notes on Naming Conventions for Alex.
If you are dissatisfied with the filename you are submitting to Alex, click the Abort upload button. If you wish to proceed with the submission, click the Assign filename button.
This screen, Step 2 – Name your file’s Parent of Record, offers an opportunity to associate the file you are uploading with an existing file in Alex’s repository as a parent from which the file being uploaded is derived.
If you wish to create a parent of record for your file, click the repository button on the current screen. From the resulting browse screen, you can search for the appropriate parent file by keyword, file name, format, owner, and group.
Should you decide not to select a parent of record for your file, click the Abort selection button on this special instance of the browse screen.
If you do choose a parent file from the files displayed on this browse screen, a file info screen, tailored to your parent-of-record selection, will appear.
You can review information about a file before selecting it as parent. After selecting a file, you will see another screen in the upload interview process.
The next phase of the upload process is Step 3 – Select groups to bind to. Names of all the groups with which you have been registered appear next to check boxes. Alex will automatically add a check to the box assigned to your personal group (synonymous with your authcode).
After you have completed your group selections, you can abort the upload process or click the Save groups button to access the next upload process screen.
This screen, Step 4 – Select keywords to bind to, offers a list of keywords. As previously noted, keywords are associated with specific groups. Your view is limited to those keywords currently linked to your associated groups and may be further restricted to accommodate the display area on this screen. You can request new keywords by entering them in the text box below the checklist.
After selecting appropriate keywords, you can click Abort upload or Save keywords. If you save the keywords, you will see the next upload interview screen.
This screen presents two related steps in the upload process, document commentary (Step 5 – Edit the file description and Step 6 – Edit the feature logic). Unlike other metadata displayed on the browse screen, information entered on this screen will only be visible on file info screens.
Use the scrolling text boxes to enter comments about your file. When you update a file and increment its version, the comments originally entered in the two text boxes accompany the new version. Such text can be edited or deleted at your discretion.
Use the first description box to name the sources from which a file is derived, list the members of a collaboration effort, identify the target audience, note upcoming review dates, summarize the file, or associate any other information with a document that will help others determine its usefulness. Text in the second box, the feature logic box, usually takes the form of lists. Suggested uses are described within the feature logic box.
You can click Abort upload or, if you are satisfied with the descriptions you have entered, continue the upload process by clicking the Save description and features button to display the final upload screen.
Verifying
Your File’s Metadata
This screen, Step 7 – Verify your file, presents a final check before you commit a file to the repository. Use des- ignated Change buttons to edit the following areas:
• elements of the filename
• parent of record
• groups
• keywords
• description
• feature logicThis screen also represents your final opportunity to abort the uploading of the current file. Clicking the Save everything button commits the file to The Alexandrian Authority™ repository and results in a confirmatory file info screen.
This file info screen confirms your verification of the preceding final upload screen. The date and time of posting of the uploaded document, expressed as a UTC time stamp, is also displayed.
In this instance of the file info screen, Alex recognizes the viewer as the owner of the document whose metadata is being displayed and addresses the owner appropriately: “You are the owner of this document.” Only the owner can change a document’s status, and the change status functionality is available from this owner-specific file info page.
If you require a new status code, select request new from the pull-down status menu and click the assign status button. These actions will display the Request a new document status code screen.
Enter three alphabetic characters in the text box next to the first step in this process. Then enter a word that briefly describes the new code as the second step. Click the Accept new code button or the Abort status change button as step 3.
Suggested
file maintenance practices
From the file info screen, you have several maintenance options. Best practice suggests that if you want a copy of the Alex-named file, use download option 1: Download a versioned copy for storage. Because the resulting copy bears the same filename as the file in the Alex repository, you should regard it as a read-only file.
If you need a personal copy to edit, select download option 2: Create a personal dynamic edit copy. Selecting this option results in another variation of the file info screen.
br>This option downloads a uniquely identified file that
• appends the word edit to the subject field of the parent file
• utilizes a three-digit status code (Use of numerals in the status code is restricted to this function.)
• changes the authcode to the username of the downloader of this type of fileAlex tracks this copy and automatically versions all future uploads of it to reflect the name of the parent file. Thus, the word “edit” and the three-digit code do not become part the uploaded filename.
Your personal dynamic edit copy is automatically tracked and versioned even when its file name is not updated in your personal computing environment. You may download a new dynamic edit copy whose name incorporates the actual version stored in the repository whenever you upload a changed copy – but such a practice serves primarily to remind you of the sequence of Alex-stored versions. Alex tracks all uploading instances of the original dynamic edit copy even when the file name of that edit copy never changes.