In this article we will explore a type of activity available, which is especially useful for making training content available to the students in file format. If we have a document with text, tables, images... that we want to make available directly, without copy/pasting the content, the File Activity is the indicated one.

If you want to know more about the process of viewing or editing a File Activity, click on this link to see the article "View and edit a File Activity".

PDF format

The only format compatible with this activity is PDF file type.
If we try to upload another type of file, the platform will return the message "Error when trying to upload the file".

Why pdf format? First of all for the advantages it offers over other formats, such as its stability, compatibility and the impossibility to edit it. But mainly because the Netex Cloud environment is accessed through a web browser (Chrome, Mozilla, Edge, Opera, Safari ...). Most of these browsers have a PDF viewer, integrated by default for free. However, they do not allow the viewing of other files, such as Excel type, Access type... That is why the PDF format gives us the necessary compatibility and universality to reach all types of students and devices.

Enable the feature

The File Activity is a module type, that is, it can be activated or deactivated for each particular Instance . Normally you have to request the activation of this type of features to start using them, but since March 2022, the File Activity is active by default for all customers, both existing and new.

File Activity must be available by default among the activity types in the Sprints. If you can not find it in your Instance, please contact your Learning Consultant or KAM.

Add a File Activity

In order to add a File Activity to our content we must access the Learning Manager of our instance with a user that has access to create and edit Sprints (General Administrator or Author). To create a new Sprint, or editing an existing one, we must go to the Mission Block where we want to include the activity and look for the  New Activity button.

Clicking it displays all the available activity types. Select the folder icon, called File. It displays two options:

• Create: to create a new File Activity from a file in our computer, and upload it to the platform. Clicking opens the activity configuration window.

• Browse: to recover from the platform a file already used in other activities, that was already uploaded previously. Clicking on this option will display a side menu with a list of all available files.

  
  

  

  
  

  Use the top search bar to filter and find the file you want; click flag on its left; and press the √ ADD button at the top left to access the activity configuration window.

Set up a File Activity

Accessing the activity settings window, you can see several fields:

• Name: this is mandatory. Here you enter the title under which the activity will be shown to the student.
• Description: this is optional (can be left blank). Here you can enter a brief description to introduce the activity to the student.
• Upload the file: click on this field to access your computer and select the file you want to upload.

• In case you have chosen the Browse option, the chosen file will already appear in this box, it will not be necessary to select it.

  
  

  Remember, only PDF files can be uploaded. The system will reject any other file type.

  
  

• Display type: next you will find three options in a row, which allow you to choose how the PDF will be displayedwhen the student clicks on the activity:
  • In card: the file will be displayed within the activity space itself, in a smaller viewer.
  • Full screen: the file will be displayed in a viewer the size of the entire browser window, covering the course interface in the background.
  • In a new window: a new tab will open in the browser, where the file will be displayed in full screen. This view is the same as in the previous option, but in this case the training content will still be available in the other tab.

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    Depending on the browser the student is using, the first two options may not be available, so the content will still be displayed in a new window.

    
    

• Comments: check or uncheck this flag to allow or not the student to leave a comment after finishing the activity.

If you have any questions or issues with a File Activity, we recommend you to access the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) article, where you can find answers to many common questions.