uploading files
I am back for more help. I am taking part in a collaborative project called How Tall is a First Grader? I made a chart in excel showing the results in my school. I took a picture of my screen and tried to put it on a blank screen in my site. But it opens with a launch screen. Is there another format I can save my file in so it is easily viewed by the children?
Sue
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Hi Sue,
Take a picture of the Excel file that has the file as large as possible. The picture will probably be either a PDF file, a PNG file, or maybe a JPG file.
If it’s a PDF, you have to convert it into a JPG. If it’s a JPG or a PNG file, you can immediately use it. Two options:
1) drag the file into the large image drop zone on the uploader.
2) If the result doesn’t look as sharp as you want, and the file is either a JPG or PNG, drag it into the “Other files” drop zone. It will upload as an image that can be used in the workBench screen, but it will not compress it. It’s a trick that allows you to upload images larger than the large image drop zone allows.
Robert Oakes, an English teacher at ACC in Boston, uploaded schedules made in Word and then captured as PNGs in this manner, using option 2). They came out really well. If you would like to take a look, go to http://www.accboston.org/roakes - open the “English 10″ screen, click on “Reading Calendar,” and then click on one of the months.
Let me know if this helps.
Ron
I am still confused. I tried to convert my word and excel files to jpg but wasn’t able to. Can you explain again?
Both of these are collaborative projects I did with groups from here. And my students can’t wait to see them.
Please help.
Hi Sue,
Sorry I was confusing. Let’s see if I can do better. You can’t convert a Word or Excel file directly into a JPG file. You need to open the file and take a picture of it.
Open one of your Word or Excel documents. Do a full or partial “screen grab,” which is essentially capturing part or all of the screen as an image. (It’s a lot easier if the document fits in the screen without scrolling. I’ll assume that.)
It’s really very easy to do on a Mac, so if you have access to one, open one of your documents, then click on three keys at the same time - SHIFT/the APPLE (Command) KEY/and the number 4. The cursor changes. If you then drag a box around your document, it takes a picture of it, which will appear on the desktop. It will be either in the format of a PDF file or a PNG file, which I mention above.
I’m less familiar with with PCs, but if you open the document and then do a screen grab, you can get a picture of the whole screen. You then want to crop your document to get rid of the stuff around it. I’m not sure if you can do partial screen grabs in a later PC operating system.
So, now you have a picture of your document. If it is a PNG file or a JPG file, just drag it into the workBench uploader. My suggestion is to drag it into the “Other files” drop zone, which will upload JPG and PNG files as pictures without compressing them. That will help make the document sharper and easier to read.
If the picture you took is a PDF file, you’ll need to change it to a JPG and then upload it the same way as above.
Then in the workBench, drag the file from your resources into the Sitemap, not the Canvas, and link to it. It will open in its own window.
I discovered that the example I gave you above for Robert Oakes wouldn’t open because of a comma stuck at the end of the address that got included in it. I’ve fixed that. If you have a moment, go back to my first comment above and follow the instructions to see his Word documents that he made as calendars.
If after you do all this, the file brings up the “Open File” window, you uploaded the wrong file type. Remember, it should be a PNG or JPG.
Let me know if this helps. If you still have a problem, email me one of the Word or Excel files and let me see if I can figure out the problem.
Good luck!
Ron
hey Ron, you made my day…i have a mac sitting right next to my pc and can’t wait to try it…I love mac’s, but my school switched my lab to pc’s 2 years ago so i do most of my school work on my pc now.
will let you know how it goes…thanks as always, Sue
Hi Sue,
Great that you have a Mac. Do the partial screen grab with the Shift/Command/ and number 4 keys. Then click on the file on your desktop once to select it and hold down Command key and the letter “i” key. That opens an information window about the file that tells you the file type and size. If it’s a PNG (Portable Network Graphic) file, just drag it into the “Other Files” drop zone on the workBench uploader. If it’s a PDF, open it in the Mac’s Preview application and save it as a JPG. Try not to have it as a JPG larger than 200 - 250KB. Then drag it into the “Other File” drop zone.
Remember to drag these files into the Sitemap, not the Canvas, and link to them.
If you haven’t, follow my path above to Robert Oakes Word files made into pictures. They can come out great. The one tricky bit is that you want the original files to fit into the screen without scrolling, so you can take a picture of all of it in one try.
Have a great Thanksgiving, and be sure to let me know how it turns out.
Ron