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Download Files from Calendar

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This feature request is a part of the Calendar Revision and Calendar Revision II.

This feature will be revised and simplify: Disable background task completely (direct download)

1 Initial Problem

It is rather tideous for users to inspect each and every appointment to check for files (information, instructions or as supplement materials). 

User don't know, what they have to do after clicking on "Download Files" button. Further requests are missing.

2 Conceptual Summary

Our usability tests from January 2018 revealed several problems that make downloading files difficult for users. We would therefore like to revise and simplify this in a second round and set it therefore on suggested list 5.4.
  • "Background Task" isn't apparent, user is waiting for feedback resp. file download

2.1 Adjust Alert Sucess Information

After clicking on the "Download Files" button, an alert hint is displayed. This is to be adapted to:
"The download of the calendar files is being prepared."

Need to be a info alert instead of success?

2.2 Visual hint - Introducing Guided Step

When the "Download Files" button is clicked (and background task process is activated) background task starts and a guided step appears which draws attention to the background tasks and indicates what needs to be done.


Appearance:
  • The guided step appears until the user clicks on "x" or "Got it" to close it.
  • This guided step only appears for the first time in a user session and if background task is used for the zip file.
Need new KS-elements called "Guided Tour" and "Guided Step". Guided Tours contains several "steps". A step is a message box that contains title, description and a button (to close it or go to next step). => Guided Tour > Add Step (= Guided Step)

To define a step
  1. you define a trigger (f.e. button "Download Files")
  2. and a location where the guided step will point to (f.e. "Background Task Icon in Topbar).
  3. You fill in the title, description (nice-to-have: button name).
If your Guided Tour contains only one step, user will leave guided tour after clicking button "Got it" or "x". If it contains more than one step, the guided steps cascade.

Alternative: Toast 

Global Administration and Default

  • Introduce a new setting in Administration -> Calendar -> Settings
  • Checkbox "Batch File Downloads in Calendar"
  • By default: unchecked 

Where is the Appoinment File Download offered?

Functionality of downloading all files of all displayed appointments is offered at:
  • Day tab: Download all files of all appointments at this day
  • Week tab: Download all files of all appointments at this week
  • Month tab: Download all files of all appointments at this month
  • Upcoming Events tab: Download all files of all appointments that are displayed on the screen
Users can narrow down what is displayed using the Calendar Selection: Users thus could download files only from certain courses.

Button in Toolbar

The tabs listed above get a toolbar. (The suggested Toolbar is also needed for other feature requests).
  • The toolbar contains a button “Download Files”. 
  • Upon click a ZIP-file called “Calendar Downloads YYYY-MM-DD ” is downloaded.

Structure of downloaded ZIP.file

Structure of this ZIP-file:
  1. Folder with title "YYYY-MM-DD", which is the date of appointment(s).
  2. Folder with title "Title of Appointment".
    • for manually created Public Calendar Appointments, Private Calendar Appointments and Milestone Appoinments: "Title of Appointment" 
    • for automatically generated Consultation Hour Appointments:  "HH.MM - HH.MM - Title of Consultation Hours Sequence"
    • for automatically generated Exercise-Assignment Appointments: "HH.MM Deadline - Title of Assignment" 
    • for automatically generated Session Appoinment "HH.MM - HH.MM - Title of containing Cours or Group"
    • for automatically generated Booking Pool appointments "HH.MM - HH.MM - Booking of Title of Booking Object"
    • for automatically generated Course or Group Appointments "Start - Title of Course" respectively "End - Title of Course"
  3. Files of Appointments with their original titles. In case the files in the object are organised in folders, this folder organisation is kept. 
This ZIP-file replace all umlauts and special characters like / or : .
The ZIP file will use the 24 hour format for indicating points in time. 

3 User Interface Modifications

3.1 List of Affected Views

  • Calendar: Day tab, Week tab, Month tab, Upcoming Events tab
  • Personal Desktop > Overview: Main Column Calendar (after clicking on marginal grid calendar)
  • Personal Desktop > My Courses and Groups: Main Column Calendar (after clicking on marginal grid calendar)
  • Courses/groups: Main Column Calendar (after clicking on marginal grid calendar)
  • Administration > Calendar > Settings 

3.2 User Interface Details

The "Download Appointment Files" Buttons will be placed in the Toolbar above the calendar:

3.3 New User Interface Concepts

There are no new UI components used.

4 Technical Information

{The maintainer has to provide necessary technical information, e.g. dependencies on other ILIAS components, necessary modifications in general services/architecture, potential security or performance issues.}

5 Contact

6 Funding

If you are interest in funding this feature, please add your name and institution to this list.

7 Discussion

Workshop 2016-11-28:

Download
  • The label "Download Files" button is to generic, it could be capable of being misunderstood. Rename button to "Download Appointment Files" or something similar to avoid a confusion to "Download Course Materials".
ZIP-Structure
  • First Level gets title "Calendar Download JJJJ-MM-DD"
  • Session and Course Title as folder title, not only session title

Kiegel, Colin [kiegel] 2016-11-30 I'm not a big fan of this prominent placement of a "download files" button. I prefer download actions per calendar entry (e.g. in the action menus in case of the "Agenda" calendar view). I would really like to keep the main calendar interface as simple as possible. In that sense I would be happy if this "Download Files" button is feature-gated behind a setting and off by default.

Amstutz, Timon [amstutz] 2016-12-01: @Colin: Thank you for your feedback. We think you have a valid point there. We adjusted the article according to your feedback (see above, "The following features are disable by default in the administration. To make use of them, one would need to enable the setting "Enable Batch File Downloads in Calendar" in the Administration -> Calendar -> Settings"). Does this feature gate solve your issue with this request?

Kiegel, Colin [kiegel] 2016-12-01: Yes, thank you. No further objections. :-)

JourFixe, ILIAS [jourfixe], Dec 05, 2016: We highly appreciate this request and schedule the feature for 5.3. We like to label the button "Download Appointment Files" and we fully support a general setting in Administration to enable the feature globally when wanted.

Seiler, Yvonne [yvseiler], 2018-04-03: Our usability tests from January 2018 revealed several problems that make downloading files difficult for users. We would therefore like to revise and simplify this in a second round and set it therefore on suggested list 5.4.

8 Implementation

Test Cases

Test cases completed at 2017-08-25
  • 18747: 'Herunterladen von Dateien aus Terminen' aktivieren
  • 529: Kalender über Persönlichen Schreibtisch aufrufen
  • 570: Tagesansicht aufrufen
  • 571: Wochenansicht aufrufen
  • 572: Monatsansicht aufrufen
  • 18708: Listenansicht aufrufen

Approval

Approved at 25.08.2017 by Amstutz, Timon [amstutz].

Last edited: 13. Mar 2019, 13:55, Seiler, Yvonne [yvseiler]