Non-CSG File Uploads

Maeve O'Hara Updated by Maeve O'Hara

Non-CSG File Uploads

If your course needs an image or other file not handled by CSG, for example, a screenshot, dataset, or case study, we kindly ask that course designers use the GDrive process outlined in this document instead of uploading to S3. This process will streamline the organization of our S3 folders and avoid a bottleneck in QA for file management issues. In short, S3 access should be restricted to CSG and QA teams, and all files will be linked using Google Drive during development. During the QA finalization process, those links will change to their S3 locations.

Storing Assets on Google Drive and Linking to Canvas

Instead of uploading images or file assets to S3 or into your Canvas course's “Files” section, store them in your eCornell Google Drive account. To help with organization, you may create a “ABC123 Course Images/Assets” folder on your Google Drive with other relevant course folders.

Please do not upload any files to S3.
  1. Once you’ve uploaded the file to your designated folder on the eC GDrive, set the folder permission access to “Anyone with the link.” 
  2. On the course page, link to the GDrive file or image.
    1. If embedding a file, you can simply grab the Share URL and link to it directly, similarly to how we link to tools pre-QA.
    2. If you have an image, grab the Share URL and use this CodePen Utility to get a working image link. Then embed it within an <img> tag, e.g., <img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?sz=w1000&amp;id=118QsxoUR_gv7k2BwknTlNcKgjFj_hxbb" alt="Bengal Tiger" />
      • To see this process in action, check this Loom tutorial.
  3. The creative team will upload the files to S3 during the final QA creative export.
  4. After the creative export step and during the QA Implent Edits/Course Finalization task, all tools, extra images, and files will be relinked to their S3 locations.

File Name and Usage Considerations

  • File Names: File names should be short and identify the file. Avoid overly complex file names, and do not include versioning, like “FINAL,” “v2,” or “(1).” 
  • “Global” Use: If you notice this asset is reused within multiple courses across the certificate or various iterations of the certificate, ask Creative to create a “Global” folder housed at the ABC100s level; you can then use the same file and link across all courses.
  • Document Titles: If the file is a PDF, take a moment to set the Document Title to the document’s name, not “ImportantLetter.docx,” or “MergedFile,” etc. The document title appears in the application’s tab or window at the top of the window.
    • This can be done easily in Adobe Acrobat by updating it in the Document Properties title panel, File > Document Properties or command ⌘ + D in Adobe Acrobat. If you cannot make that change, flag it for the QA team to update. Brief demo:

Image Accessibility

During development is the perfect time to consider an image’s accessibility. Does the image contain information crucial to understanding the material? If so, then alt text and potentially long description text are needed. If the alt text is longer than 120 characters, a long description toggle is also required in addition to the alt text. Be sure to use the HTML code in 8675309, which uses the aria “described-by” attribute. 

For more information on alt text, see these articles in the Knowledge Base:

Images, Alt Text, and Long Descriptions

Complex Images Using Alt Text and Long Descriptions 

How did we do?

Master Course Template Differences (8675309s)

Doc-Based Master Course Template and Standards (8675309-DOC)

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