efolio FAQs

Standard examples & course grades	Adding email links
Plus and minus signs	APAS report
Adding Powerpoint show	Resume additions
Limited storage space	Editing the home page
Securing transcript page	Adding * to Standards
Everything else you want to know!	Updated April 20, 2005

Standard Examples & Grades
Q: Could you explain about the standards we are supposed to use for efoilio? Do we just re-type one from the list or give an example of a lesson plan that falls within the chosen standard? Also, do we just make up an example of our coursework grades? -- PA

A: Since this is going to be your REAL efolio for the BOT, use REAL examples (grades). The Standards SHOULD appear in the left section when you click on "Standards" You can then choose the one you want to show proof of having done, and even attach a document to verify it.

How To:
In the admin mode:
1. Click on Content Tools
2. Click on standard you have chosen
3. Click it's "edit" button
4. You can either add text to the Intro section (make a new paragraph using the code)
5. Or use the "Add Document" choice to enable viewer to download a copy of your work (ie, Word document (ends in .doc), Powerpoint (.ppt), etc)
6. Remember to click "Finished" or "Apply" to save changes

Adding Your Email link to efolio
Q: To add the email to my efolio do I use the related links under home page? If so what do I use for the URL? What do I use for the description? --JF

A: 1. Go to the Content Tools -and click on the Home link.
2. Click on the Edit button on the "Welcome" section.
3. Within the text of the Section Intro, enter:
Send me an <a href="mailto:YOUREMAILADDRESS">email. </a> or some such sentence, which includes the code and linking text.

Another option would be to include your email addrsss in the Resume section, with the "Contact Info" section. In that case:
Go to to Resume section and select Contact Info. Edit the "Contact Information"'s Section Intro as shown above.

Plus and Minus Signs
Q: When displaying the outline for the contents in the efolio there are little + (pluses) and - (minuses). What are they? --HG

A: Click on them and see! (These are the subsections - when you click on the plus or minus again, they disappear)

APAS Report
Q: How exactly do you create a secure link that is accessible only with a username and password? And once this is figured out, do I just create a link to my APAS report? --JN

A: APAS (Academic Progress Audit System) is a computerized report which provides helpful information about your degree and course requirements. Since your APAS is pretty well protected behind your UofM ID and password, you probably don't want to give it out. But you can go to this registrar site and go to "Generate an APAS report" and then Generate a pdf version of the report, which you can save and upload as a document to efolio. Then use efolio's "Edit" and Attachments: Document to create a link to that pdf document.

PowerPoint Show
Q: I uploaded my powerpoint presentation to the standard that I am using and was wondering if it was supposed to run as a slideshow on its own or the person who looks at it has to click on the slideshow to make it run?? Right now I uploaded it as a document, but I was wondering if I was supposed to upload it as something else?? --LS

A: If uploaded as a .ppt file, it will download on their computer as a "normal" Powerpoint Presentation. Powerpoint CAN be saved "for the web," but that version loses transitions, some sounds, etc. and isn't nearly as effective.

Editing Resume
Q: I cannot go to my contact info, career objectives, etc.. under resume. I got to the resume part, but I don't know how to edit those below it. --PV

A: Go to CONTENT TOOLS, and click on the + sign by "Resume". All the sections will appear for editing.

Limited Storage Space

Q: The only problem I had with the program was with uploading my projects because the site only gives you 3MB. I wanted to put some pictures on my efolio, so with the space they took up I was left with no room for uploading Powerpoint or Inspiration documents. --GB

A: The 3 MB is a limiting factor but you can put such files on your UofM website and create a link to them from within efolio. For example, you might FTP your PPT file to the UofM server (doesn't need an HTML page) It's URL would then be: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~username/filename.ppt and you make the URL link to it in efolio.

Editing Main Page
Q: I forget how to change the main page..... I still have "slogan goes here" in the upper right corner. --BL

A: To fix items on the Welcome screen (like Name, slogan, etc:
1. Click on Site Managment tab
2. Click the Design Center link
3. Click the Edit button (where it says your current design is)
4. Fill in or edit boxes you want
5. Click the green "Finished" button

Securing Transcripts
Q: How exactly do you create a secure link that is accessible only with a username and password? Do I just create a link to my APAS report? --JN
A: Since your APAS is pretty well protected behind your UofM ID and password, you probably don't want to give it out. But you can go to this registrar site (http://www.mrs.umn.edu/services/registrar/apas.html) and go to "Generate an APAS report" and then Generate a pdf version of the report, which you can save and upload as a document to efolio. Then use efolio's "Edit" and Attachments: Document to create a link to that pdf document.
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Identifying Standards Completed
Q: How do I get the asterisk to show up on my standard. I have it so it shows up when you click on assessment, but not on the side bar. How do I fix it? --KL

A: To identify or edit the ten standard titles (like identifying those completed with an asterisk), first click on the + by the word "Standards." Choose the Standard you want. Then:

Everything Else You Want to Know
(and some you don't)*

MAKING A LINK FROM EFOLIO TO YOUR FILE ON THE SERVER	ADD YOUR NAME TO THE BANNER	INSERTING LINE BREAKS and FORMATTING on the MAC
ADDING SECURITY	CREATING A NEW SECTION IN EFOLIO	Using iMovies
IMAGES - Why don't the images that I added show up?	Saving your e-folio web site to disk....	RELATED LINKS - How do I add a related link to one of my pages?
SORT ORDER - How do I control the order that items in a section appear in the Efolio?	Adding AUDIO Files	(*courtesy of Christine Greenhow) back to top of page

MAKING A LINK FROM EFOLIO TO YOUR FILE ON THE SERVER
After you put a document to your server space, you then need to make a link from efolio to it. So, if I put a word doc to my server space, say named chris.doc, I then need to make a link from efolio to http://www.tc.umn.edu/~greenhow/chris.doc and then it can be downloaded. That is same with movies and web sites.

Steps to adding a related link in eFolio to your files on the UMN server:
1) In Admin mode, go to the page in eFolio that you want the link to the file to appear on, such as Standards/Subject Matter. Create a Related Link like you would to link to a website.
Next, click Add Related Link
2) In Internet Explorer or the web browser you’re using, click File/ New/ Window so that you can type in your web server address (such as http://www.tc.umn.edu/~greenhow/)
3) Find the file you want to connect to and type its name in the URL address line (such as http://www.tc.umn.edu/~greenhow/eFolio_Tips.doc) then copy and paste this URL into the “Link URL” box within Related Links on your eFolio page. Click Finished.
When you test it in Live Site, it should send you to the file.
Other resources

ADD YOUR NAME TO THE BANNER
Login to the /admin portion of your Efolio. This will require you to enter your User Name and password. Find the 'Site Management' tab and click on it. Then find the 'Design Center' link and click on it. Next find the blue "EDIT" button to the right of ' Your current design is..." and click on it. On this page you can do various things such as change your name, add a slogan, add a header, or add a footer.
ADDING INFORMATION AS AN ITEM - What is the difference between adding information in the Section Introduction text box, or adding information as an Item? There is very little difference between these two choices in terms of how the information will appear on the screen. The advantage of separating the information into items is that you can control the order in which the items appear on the page and it is easier to follow the HTML coding if you use that option for entering information.

INSERTING LINE BREAKS and FORMATTING on the MAC
**Efolio seems to work best on a PC using Internet Explorer. If you will be using the MACs in Peik or any MACs running OS 9 or below, formatting is lost even when you copy and paste from the Note Pad software program into eFolio (contrary to eFolio’s Help Desk). Here are two suggestions. I have tried both and they worked for me:

1) Use simple HTML code. For example, notice the in the text I typed below:
Objectives: To obtain a position teaching middle school science in an urban area
 Education: B.A. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2002 
Inserting the "" and the "" around the text above will create a paragraph break between area and Education.
Here are some simple HTML commands you can use to preserve formatting on the MACs
Your Words here will make "Your Words here" BOLD
Your Words here will make "Your Words here" ITALIC
 Your Words here will make "Your Words here" UNDERLINED
Your Words here will create a line break and new paragraph
To create a bulleted list, use the following and insert your text.
< ul>
< li>text</li>
< li>text</li>
< li>text</li>
< /ul>
FOR MORE BASIC HTML

2) Use a program such as Dreamweaver software (which is on the Peik Hall MACs) to type your text. Then convert it to the HTML code view (where HTML code is generated for you) and copy the HTML code and paste it into efolio box in Admin mode.
Unfortunately, Cutting and Pasting of text from a word processor does not bring the formatting with it, which is why you should cut and paste the above text once you’ve got it the way you want it to look in Dreamweaver.
In newer versions of AppleWorks, you can create html text for cutting and pasting. Choose Save As -> "File Format - HTML." Close the document, reopen it, and cut and paste ONLY that lines/lines of text you wish. (This according to eFolio people. I haven’t tried it).
Further Tips Do NOT press "Shift-Enter," as that may cause certain versions of the software to hang.

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ADDING SECURITY
How do I make certain section of my Efolio private so that only some people can have access to them?
This is a multi-step process. First, from the /admin portion of your Efolio, choose the section that you want to restrict access to. Find the “Configure Section” link and click on it. In the second data field down, called “Section Access”, change the access to ’Private’ from the default which is ‘Public’ and click the green “finished” button. Then find the tab near the top of the page that says “Security” and click on it. Click on the “Users” link. Find the blue “Add a New Item” button and click on it. Create a User Name and password for the person that you want to have access to “Private” pages, and click on the green “Finished” button. Finally, find the new user in the list of users, and click on the blue “Permissions” tab to the right. In the “View" column there will now be a box rather than the word "Public". Put a check mark in this box by putting the cursor on the box and clicking the mouse. Make sure you click the green "Finished" button when you are through.

Adding a new user to your account
The most common reason for adding a new user to your account is that you wish to provide access to a section of your web site that has been set to "Private" in the "Configure Section". For example, let's say you have a "Reference" section of your web site that you want to put behind a login screen. Here are the steps you would use:

1. Go your your "Reference" section and click on "Configure Section".
2. In "Section Access" change "Public" to "Private"
3. Click on "Save"
4. Click on the "Security" tab
5. Click on "Users"
6. Click on "Add New Item"
7. Put in the requested information and click on "Save"
8. Then click on the "Off" button in order to make it "On".
9. Click on "Permissions"
10. Under the "View" column click in the box next to your "Reference" section.
11. Click on "Save" and you are done.

CREATING A NEW SECTION IN EFOLIO
You may want to design a section of your eFolio to be used with future or present students or for your professional development.
Here are the steps for creating a subsection:
1. Click on the "Content" tools
2. Select and click on which section you want to house you new subsection.
3. Under "Section Tools" click on "Add Subsection".
4. Put in your "Title"
5. Under "Section Type" decide whether you want the new subsection to be "Internal" or "External" - an external section is one where they would leave your portfolio.
6. Select what "Data Type" you would like to use. Think of data types as templates to select from. The most common ones used by individuals in adding subsections are "Basic", "Online Form" and "Polling"
7. Click on "Finished" to save your work.
You can now start working with your new subsection.

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USING iMOVIES
iMovies are easy to insert in your portfolio. While you are in Apple's iMovie program, go to the File menu and select "Export Movie."
Then select, "To QuickTime," and "Web Movie, Small." That will produce a QuickTime movie that is small enough to fit in your user space of 3 megabytes. The movie can be viewed by both Mac and Windows users.
Then, go to your portfolio site. Click on the word,"Video" from eFolio's menu on the left hand side of the page. Then follow the standard directions: Click "Browse," locate your file, and click "Open."
If your computer needs the QuickTime plug-in to play, click here (iMovie is a copyright of Apple Computer, Inc.)

SAVING YOUR EFOLIO TO DISK
For whatever reason, you may desire to save the static pages of your web site to a file that can be stored on a floppy disk, CD ROM, etc. Note that any interactive portions of your site (surveys, polls, events) those portions will not function along with links to other web sites (if they are not connected to the Internet).
To save your site offline for Internet Explorer (IE) users you would select "Favorites" then select "Add to favorites.." then check the box next to "Make available offline" . You will then want to click the "Customize" button and identify how many levels of your site that you want to save offline. After you have completed the "Customize" wizard you'll want to identify where you'll want the file saved to. In order to view the file, you would open IE and then select "File" then "Open" then point to the location of where the file is saved.
For Netscape users you can save each page for viewing offline using the "Save as..." command found under the "File" selection. However this option only allows you to save individual pages only.
There are commerical products (a number of them offer free demos) in the marketplace that allow you to copy entire web sites to viewing offline. Some products like WebWhacker even allow one to create CD's that run automatically when inserted.

RELATED LINKS - How do I add a related link to one of my pages?
Login to the /admin portion of your Efolio. This will require you to enter your User Name and password. Find the section that you want to add a related link to and click on that section name. You then have two choices. You can click on the blue “Edit” link to the right of the section introduction or you can click the blue “Add an Item” button. Whichever method you choose, you will see a box area at the left-hand side of the page. If you choose to “Add an Item”, giving the Item a ‘Headline’ is a required field. Find “Related Link” and click on it. Either type or copy the link URL into the field provided. Make sure you click the green “Finished” button when you are done. Finally, if you added the related link as an ‘Item’ make sure that you turn the item ‘On’.

AUDIO FILE - How do I add an audio file to one of my Efolio pages?
Login to the /admin portion of your Efolio. This will require you to enter your User Name and password. Find the section that you want to add a video file to and click on that section name. You then have two choices. You can click on blue “Edit” link to the right of the section introduction or you can click the blue “Add an Item” button. Whichever method you chose you will see a blue box area at the left-hand side of the page. If you chose “Add an Item”, giving the Item a ‘Headline’ is a required field. Find “Audio” and click on it. You need to have the audio file somewhere accessible on your computer. Use the browse function to find the audio file and click on it. Once the file shows up in the text box, click the gray, “Upload” button. When the audio file has been uploaded make sure you click the green “Finished” button. Finally, if you added the audio file as an ‘Item’, make sure that you turn the item ‘On’.

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SORT ORDER - How do I control the order that items in a section appear in the Efolio?
When you enter information as an ‘Item’ there is a box beneath the ‘Item’ description box called ‘Sort Order’. The default value for this box is ‘50’. The order in which ‘Items’ will appear is controlled by this number, with the lowest numbered ‘Item’ being displayed first.

IMAGE FILE - How do I add an image file to one of my pages?
Login to the /admin portion of your Efolio. This will require you to enter your User Name and password. Find the section that you want to add an image to and click on that section name. You then have two choices. You can click on the blue “Edit” button to the right of the section introduction or you can click the blue “Add Item” button. Whichever method you chose, you will see a box area at the left-hand side of the page. If you chose to “Add an Item”, giving the Item a ‘Headline’ is a required field. Find “Image” and click on it. You need to have the image file somewhere accessible on your computer. Use the browse function to find the image file and click it. Once the file name shows up in the text box, click the gray, “Upload” button. When the image file has been uploaded make sure you click the green “Finished” button. Finally, if you added the image as an ‘Item’, make sure that you turn the item ‘On’.

Why don't the images that I added show up?
There are two reasons that this might happen. The first reason is that you did not click the green “Finished” button when you added the image. The second reason is a bit more complicated and has to do with default settings in the Configure Section page. Find the page you wanted the image added to, and click on the “Configure Section” link about half-way down the page on the left. Find the “Summary Images” field and make sure it is set to “On”.

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efolio FAQs

Everything Else You Want to Know (and some you don't)*

Everything Else You Want to Know
(and some you don't)*