Upload Files To DotNetNuke With The Rich Text Editor, Track File Clicks After Upload

I used DotNetNuke a long time ago and was suprised to recently learn that there is still a large amount of people using the software. There are even more folks that installed it a long time ago and lack the resources to upgrade to a more up to date software package so there is still plenty of work to be done doing maintenance on sites using the DotNetNuke software. While many things seem really outdated there are still some cool features so the software can be updated to bring people a bit more up to date.

When working on a site recently it took me a little while to figure out how to upload files for posting into pages via the DotNetNuke text editor which is labeled Rich Text Editor. The Rich Text Editor on the DotNetNuke site I was working on was actually a fairly old version of the FCKeditor. I typically prefer TinyMCE over FCKeditor though the FCKeditor is definitely better than most interfaces. Follow the directions below to upload files into pages being edited with the DotNetNuke Rich Text Editor.

Upload Files Via DotNetNuke’s Rich Text Editor:

1. Edit Page Content Pane: First login to DotNetNuke as an administrator. Click on the page you wish to edit and then click Edit Text at the bottom of the module.
2. Highlight Text: Now type in the text that will become the link for the file you are going to upload. Once you have entered the text then highlight it in the Rich Text Editor as shown in the below image.

   

3. Insert/Edit Link: Now in the FCKeditor (Rich Text Editor) menu select the Insert/Edit Link button as shown in the below image.

   

   Once this button is clicked it will open the Link configuration window where you can specify various options as shown below.

   

4. Specify Link Type: The link editor will allow you to choose the type of link to insert into the DotNetNuke module including a normal text link, an external link, a link to a page on your site, a link to file that has already been uploaded, or a link to a file you can upload in the process. To specify the link type first click on the Browse Server button as shown below.

   

   After clicking on the Browse Server button the FCKeditor Link Gallery will display as shown below.

   

5. Enter File Details: The Link Gallery is where you will enter details regarding the file that is either located on the server or you will be uploading via this configuration window. In this example the file already exists on the server so we will be locating the file via the drop down menus as shown below.

   

   There are a couple other items that can be configured in the window above including file access tracking, file access logging, and the ability to open the link in a new window or not to do so. Each of these items can set by adding a check to the correct check box.

6. Finalize File Link: Once you have set all of the correct options in the Link Gallery configuration window click Use Selected Link to generate the link and take you back to the initial Link configuration window as shown below.

   

   You can now see the URL (link) that was generated by the FCKeditor Link Gallery in the URL field. Click the OK button to save the link and attach it to the text that was highlighted in step 2. This will take you back to the original Rich Text Editor window and the highlighted text will now show as a link as shown in the below image.

   

7. Verify File Link: You can verify the functionality of the link by holding the Ctrl button and clicking the link while the Rich Text Editor is still open. Once verified the link opens the file as expected click the Update link in the bottom left corner to save the content to the page. Now open your site and verify the content displays correctly and all file links you have added are functioning properly.

It would be nice if there was a one button click file upload from within the Rich Text Editor (FCKeditor) and there actually may be in newer versions. I am not completely sure what version the provider is using for the site I am working on. Anyhow now you should be able to upload files to pages with ease.