BSCW lets you upload a local file to a folder on the BSCW server. There the file is managed as a document.

If you use a Web browser with integrated file uploading functionality (e. g., Netscape Navigator, MS Internet Explorer), you need no additional software to upload documents.

If you work with a Web browser that does not support file upload to the server, you need to install a BSCW helper program for uploading files. For details see section 4.2.3 and section 4.14.

• Click  File    New    Document  

to display the 'Add Document' form.

The form lets you select a file from your local file system, using the usual 'Open file' window. The directory path and the name of the file you select is automatically copied into the form. The name will be used by BSCW as the document name unless you enter a different name in the 'Document name:' field.

Special characters, e. g. accents or blanks, in the 'Send local file:' field may be converted to irritating character strings in the document name shown in BSCW. Special characters entered in the 'Document name:' field will be displayed as intended. When the document is downloaded again, the special characters may be converted to irritating character strings.

When you upload a document to a shared workspace, please keep in mind that its name should tell your partners in the workspace at a glance what the contents of the document is. If your partners use local machines that allow only "8.3"-character file names, your document name should be in this format: when the document is downloaded, the name used in BSCW is the default local file name.

Enter a description of the document's content, or instructions for its use, in the 'Description ...' field of the 'Document upload ...' form. You may add or edit the description later on:

•  Description   and
• enter or edit the text in the form that BSCW will display.

If you care to provide an assessment of the document's quality, select  Rate   BSCW will display the median value of all ratings in the document's info page.

In addition, the form lets you specify the MIME type of the document. Most of the BSCW helper programs will detect and attach the correct MIME type to the file automatically. On a PC, the file uploading function of your Web browser will also determine the MIME type correctly, so you may accept the default setting "(from browser)". If you use a Macintosh, it may sometimes be necessary to select the correct MIME type from the menu that lists the names of many popular programs.

Similarly, file compression and encoding applied to the file is detected correctly in most cases. Occasionally you may need to specify it in the appropriate section of the form.

Note:

If you upload a document to a folder that already contains a document with the same name and the same MIME type, that earlier document is overwritten (replaced). To prevent overwriting a document, e. g. while you edit it,

• select  Set Lock   in the actions' menu of the document.

to set a (stealable) lock and explain your reason for locking it (see section 4.6.3).

• Select  Version   in the action menu of the object to put the document under version control (see section 4.8). Now a new version of the document is created when a file with the same name and MIME type is uploaded.