Import Multiple Files

I have hundreds of files I want to add to my resource library, is there some way to add these quickly without having to make records one by one?

Yes, if you have a lot of files to add to your resource libraries, we recommend you don't do this manually one file at a time. Instead it is easy to upload multiple image, multimedia or other document files using our "batch" tool.

FTP Files to Server

First you have to upload the files to your server, via an FTP program (FTP means File Transfer Protocol). This means you need an FTP account and an FTP program. When we created your website hosting account we give you an FTP account to your server for these sorts of occassions. If you don't remember your FTP account name and password ask us and we'll get it for you. It will look something like this:

Host: ftp.yourdomain.com
Username: yourname
Password: ******

If you don't have an FTP program, you can buy one or download decent free programs online, we don't recommend a particular ftp program but can suggest you look at the following for starters:

Cross Platform:

FireFTP (free plugin for the Firefox Browser)

Mac:

CaptianFTP (Free to try $29 to buy)

PC:

FTP Desktop (Free to try $39 to buy)

LeechFTP (Free)

Once you have your FTP account information and you have an FTP program, you can setup your FTP program to connect to your FTP server, see the example below. Look around in the program and you'll find the right options, something to do with "connection".

When you connect to the server, you'll be in a private folder reserved specifically for uploading multiple files for batching. You will need to upload your files to the appropriate folder, depending on which library you want them added to, e.g. images, documents, multimedia. You can click on the correct folder to open it up and then drag all your the files from your computer and drop them into the folder on the server. It may take a while to upload a lot of files. Be sure that you have named the files something recognizeable, because your file names will be used by the system as the new record names.

Batch Import

Once the files finish uploading, you can go to your CMS control panel and begin the batching process. Go to:

Admin > Tools > Batch File Import > (Document, Images or Multimedia).

You will see a list of the files you just uploaded, along with the option to choose which category you want these records to be added to (if you haven't created categories yet, you should go to your resource library and create at least one category first, because it's easier to add them all to the right category as a group, then one by one later). When you are ready, you hit the button to start the processing. If you are uploading images, it may take slightly longer, since it has to resize them to the appropriate system sizes. Once the batch import is complete you will be redirected to your library where you will see the new records in the list. You may need to edit some of the records to modify specific information, e.g. access level, description, keywords, etc.