Waisman Center Computing - Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ 977 Procedure for establishing a Shared Group Folder for Grant Applications

In order to be able to work on grant applications collaboratively, a common place is needed to be able to save documents. This may be a place to put .PDF files that get incorporated in grant applications, but it is also a place to put the application file itself (the .XFD file). Since these files can get huge, they are not allowed by Waisman Center e-mail as attachments.

Having this common folder allows files to be shared securely without putting a burden on our e-mail system. The security of this system is accomplished by using your UW NetID to gain access to the folder. Only authorized people will be allowed to read and write files in this area.

The web server that supports this remote resource is the "MyWebSpace" service provided by DoIT. Creating a "WebDAV" shortcut allows end-users to easily get files in and out of this web site. However, even though this shortcut will look like a normal folder, it is really only a "pointer" to the actual shared folder over at DoIT.

This procedure describes the technique to create the group directory on MyWebSpace, and the WebDAV shortcut that points to it.

Step 1

Determine who will have access to the folder.

Step 2

Determine what name the folder should have.

Suggestion: use a single last name without spaces, or use a simple (short) workgroup name or acronym. If you use a P.I.�s last name and that person will be involved in more than one distinct grant application, use some other kind of indication like Smith-1, Smith-2; but try to keep it as short as possible, and do not use spaces.

Step 3

Using Internet Explorer, add https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/groups/Waisman to your Favorites list (these are the same as Bookmarks). It is speediest if you login to the MyWebSPACE system by selecting this Favorite and then clicking Launch WFS WebUI

Step 4

Click "Contacts and Groups" on the left side of the screen

Step 5

Click the [Create Group] toolbar button. Specify a Group Name; e.g, GrantApp-Smith.

Step 6

Click the [Add New Members] toolbar button.

Step 7

To determine what Display Name to type into this field, use another browser window (Ctrl-N) to find the person�s listing in the UW directory at: http://www.wisc.edu/directories/

Step 8

If you cut-n-paste the person�s full name back to the search field in your other browser window, you will get their correct NetID access entry.

Step 9

Not everyone knows their correct NetID. Following this procedure allows you to get the right one. If they have trouble accessing the shared folder later, it may be due to them using the wrong access credentials. You may wish to make note of their ID shown here. Click the resulting checkbox, and press the [Add Contact] button.

Step 10

Repeat steps 6 - 9 for each person you wish to add to this new group. You do not need to add yourself, since you are already the administrator of the whole Waisman group directory. When you are done, use your Favorites to navigate back to the Waisman group directory page from step 3.

Step 11

Click the [New Directory] toolbar button. Specify a Directory Name; e.g, Smith.

Step 12

Click the Share link for the directory you just created. This will show the default Access Control List (ACL).

Step 13

Click the [Add User/Group] toolbar button, so that you can add your group to the ACL.

Step 14

Select the appropriate group on top and press the [OK] button.

Step 15

Make sure to check Read, Write and Delete permissions before clicking the [Apply] and [OK] buttons.

Step 16

Use your Favorites to navigate back to the Waisman group directory page from step 3, and then go into your new folder by clicking on its name.

Step 17

Click the [Web Folder] toolbar button. This opens your new shared folder as a WebDAV folder.

The folder is empty

The very first thing that we want to put in here is a special shortcut that will allow others to open the folder in this manner, instead of logging in to the MyWebSPACE web site as we have been doing. (Note: If you do not see the [Web Folder] toolbar button, it is probably because you are not using the Internet Explorer browser--try that instead, and then repeat step 3 and step 16.)

Step 18

To make your own shortcut to this folder, you need to be able to see where we are so that you can grab that location and make a shortcut to it on your own desktop. Click the [Folders] toolbar button, or select it from the View menu so that you can see our new location on the left side of the window.

Step 19

Now, it is a simple matter to drag-n-drop the folder to your desktop; which will create a special shortcut to the WebDAV folder hosted by the MyWebSPACE web site.

Step 20

Right-click the new desktop shortcut and Rename it to a more concise name like "Smith App".

WebDAV shortcuts

The "Smith App" shortcut is a very unusual kind of Windows object, and therefore cannot simply be copied over to the new WebDAV folder. However, if we place it into an archive container, it will survive the transfer process when the end-user copies it back onto their own desktop.

Step 21

To make this container, right-click an area on your desktop, and select New> Compressed (zipped) Folder. During creation, you can rename this container file to "Link.zip". Make sure to use an upper-case "L" and a lower-case "z"; as one of the final steps in delivering this WebDAV folder to the end-user is case sensitive.

Step 22

Now, put the "Smith App" shortcut into the container with a drag-n-drop operation.

Step 23

And next, do one more drag-n-drop to put the container into the WebDAV folder itself. You may also wish to put other files in here for your end-users; like an .XFD grant application file, for example; or perhaps, a Changes.doc Word document where people can make a log of their changes. (Microsoft Word may allow this file to be locked by means of the WebDAV protocol while it has the file open. This could be a means for users to coordinate their modifications of the .XFD file, since the PureEdge Viewer does not do any sort of file locking.)

Step 24

The very last step is to send an e-mail message to each of the people that you included in the GrantApp-Smith group. Use a text file template for this e-mail, editing it with specific names for things used in this example. The key element is the URL that must be in the message that points to the "Link.zip" file you just set up for them:

https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/groups/Waisman/Smith/Link.zip

E-mail message Template

Re:  The "Smith App" shared WebDAV folder



In order to be able to work on the grant application together,

we need to have a common place to be able to save our documents.  

This may be a place to put .PDF files that get incorporated in the

grant application, but it is also a place to put the application

file itself (the .XFD file).  Since these files can get huge, they

are not allowed by Waisman Center e-mail as attachments.



Having this common folder allows us to share files securely

without putting a burden on our e-mail system.  The security

of this system is accomplished by using your UW NetID to gain

access to the folder.  I have authorized only the people who

need to be involved to read and write files in this area.



I have also set up a handy "WebDAV" shortcut [1] that you can

copy to your Windows Desktop.  The web server that supports

this remote resource is the "MyWebSpace" service provided by

DoIT.  The shortcut that I have made for you allows you to easily

get files in and out of this web site.  However, even though it will

look to you like a normal folder, it is really only  a "pointer"

to our actual shared folder over at DoIT.  If you double-click this

shortcut, you can open the shared folder.  Most Windows programs [2]

will not be able to read or write files directly from this folder,

but you can drag-n-drop files between this folder and your own

workspace, such as your desktop, a project drive, or your M: drive.



By following the URL below, Windows should ask you two things.

First, you will need to enter your NetID and password; and

second, you will need to confirm that you are opening this

Link.zip archive as a "CompressedFolder".  Once you have done

this, simply drag-n-drop the "Smith App" shortcut to your desktop.



    https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/groups/Waisman/Smith/Link.zip



Let me know if you have questions or problems,



Regards,

Brenda Egan

Waisman Center Grants and Contracts Specialist





Notes:



[1] WebDAV stands for "Web-based Distributed Authoring and

Versioning".  It is a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol

which allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files

on remote web servers.

    

[2] Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc) actually

has WebDAV support built right into the applications.  This

allows you to use these programs to read and write documents

directly from/to the remote shared folder.

FAQ 977Procedure for establishing a Shared Group Folder for Grant Applications

FAQ 977 Procedure for establishing a Shared Group Folder for Grant Applications