Uploading Files

Upload a PDF document, Word document, or Excel file

Important: Accessibility Requirements

• All files uploaded to the website must comply with federal web accessibility laws, which require files to be formatted and saved so assistive technology can translate the information.
  • This is a federal law.
• Think before uploading: If a PDF, PowerPoint or Word document could easily appear as part of a web page, copy the content into a Basic Page instead of uploading a file.
• Do not add internal-facing PDFs such as meeting minutes or agendas to your website. The website is for information that is visible to the public, not as a place to organize and store internal documents. These files can be stored in a Google Drive folder and shared as needed.

If you do need to upload a PDF or other document, please follow these basic guidelines

• Documents (.PDF, .docx, etc.) must be web accessible; this is a federal law. 
  • If it is not accessible, it must have an equivalent web page in HTML; there must be a way for assistive technology to translate the page.
• Documents should only be used for forms or documents that are meant to be printed.
• The file type must be in parenthesis and added to the end of link that leads to the file.  For example, a PDF file would have a link similar to Department Document (PDF).
• If your file is a project or piece will be posted to the Kent State website as a document (PDF or Word), please ask the vendor/creator to prepare the file in an accessible format at the start of the project to keep the cost down vs. backtracking the make the file accessible, which could drive up the rate.

Uploading a File:

From your menu bar, hover over "Group Actions," then, "Create Content," then click "File." A form to create the page will open.

1. Name the file in the Title field.
2. Select Choose File to in the relevant field (image or document), then locate and select the file to upload from your computer.
   1. You may documents with the extensions txt, doc, docx, pdf, mp3, wav, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx or vcf. Maximum upload size is 3 MB.
3. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.
4. Link to the node ID of this file - not the .pdf/.docx/.pptx filename itself.
   1. Thhe Node ID will appear upon saving the file. It is important to link to the node ID and not the URL in the browser URL bar, nor the document URL displayed within the page for the file (which includes the file name) because if the file name changes or the file is replaced by a newer file, the link will break, in addition to other issues.
      1. Linking to the node ID will allow the file to be removed and replaced without issue.
   2. Linking to the document URL itself will cause link breaking issues if the file name ever changes. (Uploading a new semester's schedule, replacing the previous one, for example)
   3. Linking to the node ID will allow the file to be removed and replaced without issue.
   4. When a user clicks the node link, the file itself will open. The node ID will not change if the file that is uploaded is updated.
   5. This prevents broken links by allowing the file to be replaced while keeping the same node ID.