Saturday 4 May 2024
Members only

Using Dropfiles: short explanation.

Details
Hits: 1114

Dropfiles is a great extension to save and download all kinds of files. Regularly new versions will appear, with new features as well.
Dropfiles uses the normal update features of Joomla. You can  ignore the following warning while updating: The correct account is set.

Dropfiles warning

The current version is 5.x. Read the change log !
Dropfiles contains interesting features:

  • Copying / pasting files between categories is possible
  • Links to Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox are possible.
  • A tag system and version system is supported.
  • Manage your files from the front end of your website.
  • You can assign special privileges to authorized users.

File names are normalised by removing dots and spaces. Keep file names simple and short. 
You can provide a description to each file. Do this while loading the files in Dropfiles. 
Additionally, Dropfiles is able to track and collaborate with, among other things OneDrive ©, Google Drive © (15GB free storage!) and Dropbox ©.

Create a category

Log in on the backend. Go to Components -> Dropfiles

  • Click New Category or If necessary, choose Google Drive or Dropbox by pulling down using the small arrow in the New Category button if this option exists.
  • A new folder will be created
  • In the gray area, the pencil icon on the right is available to give a name to the folder
  • Do that and choose under Parameters on the right one of the themes which will be used to display the folder on the site. Set the user access level, eg Registered and click Save.
  • Now you eventually have to move the folder to the right place. To do this, you can move up, bottom, right or left through the hatched symbol (holding down your mouse).
    Doing so you have the ability to create folders within a Dropfiles folder. This makes it easy to create an item to show one or more folders.
  • At the bottom of the JCE Editor input box is a button that allows you to add folders and / or files from Dropfiles into an article.

Visitors can find / open the folders via:

  • An article
  • A menu item to search for files (warm recommended!)
  • A module to search for files. 

There is much more to read in the English documentation.