WebSpace Basics

Connecting to WebSpace

Blackboard and WebSpace

Issues for MacIntosh User

WebSpace With EndNote and Access File

WebSpace Tutorial

Help Using WebSpace

WebSpace Basics

Q: What is WebSpace?

A: WebSpace is a document management and collaboration solution designed especially for higher education. The underlying software is Xythos Enterprise Document Management Suite. For an overview of features, see the company brochure.

WebSpace provides safe and secure Web access and file storage. Students and faculty have secure remote access to their files and a safe place to store their class work and personal information. Users can create their own folders with different permissions for their class materials and personal information, or even create their own public web pages. WebSpace is designed to work together with the applications that students and faculty already know, saving them from having to learn new applications. The interface is simple and intuitive on both Mac and Windows clients.

With WebSpace , students can securely share drafts with other classmates and faculty, review documents, read comments, and establish project areas -- all through an intuitive interface that can be accessed from any web browser. Faculty can use WebSpace to store course-related materials or provide online collaboration areas for students. Beginning in the fall of 2008, WebSpace can be used as a replacement for the Blackboard Content Collection to facilitate sharing files with members of courses sites.

WebSpace provides users with a mechanism for transferring and sharing files that is safer and easier than e-mail attachments or exchange of  physical media. Because it is so easy to share files, even with people who do not have a Princeton NetID, WebSpace is ideal for collaboration on research and grant projects. File-level access control, workflow, audit capabilities, tagging, metadata, and e-mail integration are among the features that facilitate collaborative projects. Automated notifications help keep submissions on schedule with easy-to-use document routing, review and approval. What's more, RSS support accelerates publication and review.

Connecting to WebSpace

Q: How do I connect to WebSpace?

A: There are several ways to connect to WebSpace:

Via Web Browser (all platforms)
If you are a member of the Princeton community and have a valid Princeton NetID, WebSpace can be accessed via any web browser by going to the URL https://webspace.princeton.edu/. This is called the WFS, or Web File System.

Using Xythos Drive (for Windows XP and Vista)
Xythos Drive is a desktop application that maps your online account to a local drive on your computer. Xythos Drive is integrated with Windows Explorer, providing a familiar environment to drag-and-drop, open, edit, and save files using other desktop applications. (At present, it does not work with Macs.)

The Xythos Drive must be installed onto your computer. Once installation is complete, the Xythos Drive will have a set of services that allow you to access your Xythos folders through Windows Explorer, MS Office, and any other WebDAV client.

Once installed, you can access WebSpace by going to My Computer, then click on the W: drive, which will be labeled "WebSpace on 'Xythos Drive' (W:)". You can drag this link to your desktop to create a shortcut.

For more information on how to use the Xythos Drive with your WebSpace account, click the Help button available from the About tab in the Xythos Drive, or click here.

Installation Instructions:
1. Click here to download the installer.
2. Run the installer, then reboot your system
3. When your system restarts, Xythos Drive will launch automatically and map WebSpace to drive letter W

Using Web Folders with Internet Explorer in Windows XP and Vista
1. From within the Xythos web interface, find the folder for which you wish to create a Web Folder and check off the checkbox directly to the left of that folder.
2. Click on the "Web Folder" button.
3. Your computer may be set to then automatically open that web folder. Or you can use Windows Explorer to access the new folder under "My Network Places" (Windows 2000 and XP) or "Web Folders" (Windows 98 and NT).

Connecting via the Finder (Mac OS X, 10.4+)
1. Choose "Go" from the Finder menu and then "Connect to Server..."
2. In the Server Address box, type https://webspace.princeton.edu, then click on the plus sign (+) to add this address to your list of favorites.
3. Click on "Connect".
4. Type in your user name and password. Click "OK".
5. To reconnect, you can either use the Connect to Server option again, or find WebSpace in your list of Recent Servers (Apple->Recent Items->Servers).

You will not be able to connect to WebSpace via the Finder if you are running OS 10.3 (Panther) or earlier.

You can also interact with WebSpace via a terminal window on the Mac. This connection will allow you to move, copy, rename files, but not allow you to edit file permissions. To edit file permissions you need to log in via the web interface (https://webspace.princeton.edu/ ).

Please note that files edited via the Finder, when saved, lose their original permissions and inherit the permissions of the parent directory. Because the system is often used for collaboration among users of all platforms, we suggest that all users avoid applying permissions at the file level. When you wish to collaborate on writing or managing files in a shared space, we recommend you set the sharing permissions at the folder level only.

Other webDAV Clients
See http://www.webdav.org/projects/ for a listing of webDAV clients. Known issues with other clients include:

• some lack file-locking support
• none will allow you to edit permissions on WebSpace, for that you need to either log in via the web interface ( https://webspace.princeton.edu/) or use the Xythos Drive client (Windows only)

Blackboard with WebSpace

Q: How can I share my WebSpace files with my Blackboard site?

A: There are two tools to facilitate sharing WebSpace files within Blackboard. One creates a link within your Blackboard site content areas to a file or folder in WebSpace; the other creates a shared drop box in which students can deposit files and view files submitted by their classmates.

Linking WebSpace Resources to Your Blackboard Course

Any resource file that you as an instructor have access to within WebSpace can be made accessible to students in your Blackboard course site, without requiring you to copy and then re-upload that resource into the Blackboard system or to change file permissions in WebSpace.

Before you can share your resources in WebSpace, you must populate it with the files to be shared. To do so, log into WebSpace at https://webspace.princeton.edu/ and upload your files.

To allow your students to access your WebSpace files and folders from within a Blackboard content area, follow these steps:

1. Select Edit View for the content area (such as Course Materials) where you wish to place the link.
2. From the pulldown menu at the top right of the page, select "Add Links to WebSpace" and click Go.

3. You will be presented with a page labeled "Add links to WebSpace," listing the folders and files in the Home Directory of your WebSpace account, with a toolbar at the top providing four tools: "Up," "Add to Cart," "See Cart," and "Make Links." This page offers a shopping cart metaphor for selecting files and/or folders (directories) that make links to the WebSpace resource(s) in your Blackboard course.

4. Folders will appear first on your list, and are active links - you can click on a folder name to view its contents. The "Up" tool allows you to navigate up the directory tree to a folder that is a parent of the one you are currently viewing.

5. Click on the checkboxes next to items (which can be either folders or files) to select them for adding to your shopping cart. Selecting a folder will provide links to all the files and subfolders within that folder on your Blackboard course site.

6. Clicking on a folder name or the "Up" tool will allow you to navigate among your various folders. Click on "Make Links" to create the links in the Blackboard course. Once checking that you have made the choices you intended, click on "Make Links" again to confirm them.

7. In the resulting display, you are able to modify the "Display Name," which can provide a name for the link that better expresses its content to your students.

8. Click OK to complete the process of adding the links to your Blackboard site.

Links created through the above method utilize an internal ticketing mechanism, allowing an instructor to expose WebSpace files from within Blackboard without concern for user permissions as they are set in WebSpace.

Creating a Shared WebSpace Dropbox

If you want to create a shared drop box in which students can deposit files and view files submitted by their classmates, this is the tool for you. On the other hand, if you want a dropbox where students submit files for viewing only by instructional staff, the Assignment Manager or the native Blackboard dropbox are your options.

This tool will create an "open folder" folder in your WebSpace where students can deposit files and view each other's submissions. It will also add a link to the folder in the course site's menu. By default this menu item is called "WebSpace" but can be named whatever suits you.

NOTE: You may only create one course menu item linking to WebSpace, per course, using this tool. If one has already been create and you go in and create another, the new one will override the old one.

To create a shared dropbox in WebSpace from your Blackboard site, follow these steps:

1. From the Course Tools area of the control panel in your Blackboard site, click Create WebSpace Dropbox.
2. The folder will be created in your personal WebSpace account. If that is not desirable, enter the NetID of the owner of the WebSpace where the folder should reside. The owner needs to be an instructor or instructional staff of the course and have a WebSpace account. WebSpace accounts are created automatically by logging into WebSpace.
3. The default WebSpace folder name will be the Blackboard course ID (e.g., ENG101_F2008). You may change it if you wish in the appropriate text box.
4. The default course menu link will be WebSpace. You may change it if you wish in the appropriate text box.
5. Click Submit.

Issues for MacIntosh Users

Q: Are there any "gotcha's" for Mac users with WebSpace?

A: A few:

• The Xythos Drive does not work with Macs at this time, thought he company is promising a compatible version in early 2009.
• Files edited via the Mac Finder, when saved, lose their original permissions and inherit the permissions of the parent directory. Because the system is often used for collaboration among users of all platforms, we suggest that all users avoid applying permissions at the file level. When you wish to collaborate on writing or managing files in a shared space, we recommend you set the sharing permissions at the folder level only.
• Mac users are not able to use the right-click on the 2-button mouse. They must use the standard Mac Ctrl-click action to display the right-click menu.

WebSpace With EndNote and Access Files

Q: Can I use WebSpace with any types of files?

A: With most file types, yes. However, remote editing of some file types is problematic. The database driven applications EndNote and Access are not good candidates for remotely editing files stored on a network drive. While it can be convenient to keep a copy of your EndNote library on WebSpace, the recommendation from EndNote support is to "copy the .enl file and the .Data folder onto the computer. Then open the local copy. After you have made the changes, you would close the library in EndNote and then copy back." If you do run into a problem with an EndNote library, you can try the following.

• Close and reopen EndNote to see if the error recurs.
• Run the recovery tool included with EndNote. (The program will automatically offer you this option when there is a problem with your data.)
• If you are using a Mac, look for an older version of your library in the trash.
• Contact EndNote. If the recovery tool does not work, they will look at your database to see what they can do for you.

Disclaimer: Some information in this archive may have changed due to feature upgrades to the Blackboard software and/or new discoveries about the capabilities of Blackboard.