Link to Documents in Drupal

Documents within a website function much like a page within a website. Each document is given a URL depending on which group the file was uploaded into. There are two main storage areas where files can be uploaded: Public and Private.

Loading a document into Public storage allows it to be accessed by anyone viewing the website. Loading it into Private storage allows only users with an OHIO ID to access the file. Clicking the hyperlink for a private file will direct users to a login screen before being able to access the file.

Linking to a new document

Public storage

• In node's editing view, highlight text you want to hyperlink and click Link icon in toolbar
• In Add Link dialog box, select Open File Browser
• Open folder labeled Sites and navigate to the files folder for your site. For example: Sites / Advancement / files
• Click the Upload button at top of window
• Click Add file to bring up file explorer
• Locate the file on your computer and click Open
• Once the file is uploaded into File Manager, double-click filename to select it as the linked file. Link will look something like this:

/sites/default/files/sites/advancement/OU%20Board%20Stands%20Behind%20Dr.%20Nellis%20-%20May%2011-2020%20-%20ES_drs%20semi-final%20(004).pdf

• File Manager will close; highlighted text on page should now be hyperlinked.

Private storage

If a file should be hidden behind a login screen:

• Highlight the desired hyperlink text within the text editor.
• Navigate to https://webcms.ohio.edu/imce/private
• Follow steps above in Public Storage section to upload a file to the Private folder
• Once uploaded, highlight the file by left-clicking on it once to display URL of the file will be shown near the bottom of the File Manager

• Copy URL starting after ohio.edu. For example, if the entire URL is https://webcms.ohio.edu/system/files/sites/finance/purchasing/auto-identification-card.pdf, highlight and copy /system/files/sites/finance/purchasing/auto-identification-card.pdf.
• Return to the text editor where you have highlighted your hyperlink text and click Link icon
• Paste copied portion of the URL into the input box and click Save

Updating a document version

Due to an issue with the way Web CMS caches uploaded documents, if you replace an existing document with a new version of the same name, it could take up to 30 days for the new version to display to your site visitors. Web developers are aware of this issue and are working on a fix. In the meantime, if you need to update a document, you should delete the old document, upload the new version using a different name, and create a new link to that document as described above.