Feature - File Storage Structure and Archiving
- Lisa Clancy
Released in version 4.23.0, with this work we have provided a central file table that will store information about the files, including the location of where they are stored.
Now that files can be uploaded to a central place for Apprentices, we have built a consistent file browser that will hook into this new area and provide the user with the ability to link existing files to a result, QA, certification, gateway or assessment info without having to reupload the file.
This new browser will open as a side drawer and provide a convenient way to upload a new file, or use an already uploaded file.
This change also means the upload process in each of these areas is now consistent with result, QA, certification, gateway and assessment info now supporting;
internal-only uploads
programme specific files (will be hidden on a new programme)
duplicate upload detection.
Introduced in release 5.08.0
We have added the ability to preview a range of different files uploaded to epaPRO. These previews may not be 100% accurate, but can help provide an idea of what the document is before having to download it. The previews are available across epaPRO with contracts being the only area not supported for the time being.
The ability to preview a file is denoted by the eye icon as you can see from example below, note those that are not supported file types will not offer you the view option.
Supported Options | File Extensions | Information |
|---|---|---|
Word documents | .docx, .doc, .odt | These will all be rendered as a PDF and the PDF will then be previewed using the browser’s built-in PDF reader. Depending on the structure of the document it may not be previewed perfectly but will provide an idea of the content of the file. |
Text documents | .txt | These will be previewed as is. |
Excel spreadsheets | .xlsx, .xls, .ods, .csv | These will be rendered into a preview table. For performance reasons we will only show the first 100 rows and columns A-Z. |
PDF documents | These will be rendered using the browser’s built-in PDF reader. | |
Image files | .png, .jpg, .gif | These will be rendered as is. |
Video files | .mp4, .ogv | These will be rendered using the browser’s video player. |
Audio files | .mp3, .ogg, .wav | These will be rendered using the browser’s audio player. |
Please note that some of these are dependent on the browser’s supported formats. We cannot guarantee all devices or browsers will be able to preview all of the formats supported.
How to use File Uploads
When uploading a file, epaPRO will check if a file has already been uploaded to the same apprentice and programme with matching content, the name of the file doesn't matter. If one is found, then we'll reject the new upload and request it is linked instead. This is to optimise storage space and also keep uploads more organised, since the same file can just be relinked rather than having duplicates or have to upload multiple times.
Deleting a file via a context area, for example - Gateway, will provide you with a side drawer to unlink the file from that entity. If the file needs to be deleted from epaPRO this can be done via the new files tab found on the apprentice’s profile.
Note: the file must not have any links, in order to be deleted
This browser will take into account the type of user using it, so internal-only uploads will not be visible to external users; providers, employers or apprentices.
NOTE: The migration of files from the old to the new system has not done any merging or duplicating of files. If the same file was uploaded to different areas across the system, then that file will now show under the Files tab in the Apprentice Profile multiple times, because as far as epaPRO is concerned these files are different as it pre-dates our new file storage work. As we move forwards less of these will be visible.
Permissions
Deletion of files from the context areas, e.g. Assessment Info, Results etc. all follows the exact same permissions as before.
Under Roles, there is a new permission that relates to that Files tab and this is primarily controlled via the Browse permission. The ability to delete, is then granted to AO users, or the user that uploaded the file.
The following areas have been updated to use this new file storage structure.
Context Areas:
Gateway
Assessment Element
Assessment Result
Element QA
Certification
Certification QA
We have amended the following for those areas-
Migrated existing uploads to the new file system structure
Updated the “Upload” button to use our new file browser
Updated the assessment info delete button to be consistent with the other apprentice file areas
Gateway
As part of our assessment file system improvements, we have updated the gateway screens to use this new system.
Assessment Element
We have updated the assessment info widget in the manage element sidebar to use the new file system for apprentice files and also:
Updated the assessment info delete button to be consistent with the other apprentice file areas
Tweaks and improvements to the side drawers to support the new stacking required for this work
By having this one location, you are able to select previously uploaded files to use for a specific element, rather than having to reupload.
Assessment Result
The assessment result screen has also been updated to use this new system.
Deleting a file if you have permissions will warn you if the file is linked and allows you to view these links or to unlink the files, which will allow it to be deleted.
Element QA
As part of our assessment file system improvements, we have updated the QA screen to use this new system.
Certification & Certification QA
Below is an example of how this looks under the Certification QA screen.
We would recommend you don’t use a dot in the file name that you are uploading as this can cause confusion as a file normally only has a dot before the file type e.g.
mydocument.docx
We would suggest using - or _ rather than dots in your file uploads e.g.
mydocument 25.11.22.docx
mydocument 25-11-22.docx