The WebDAV Internet standard is used for sharing files via the Internet regardless of platform (Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Sun Solaris, and so forth). In the Blackboard Content System, WebDAV allows users to access content from the Content System as if it were it any other network drive or folder.
Administrators can configure settings and locking options for files on the Configure WebDAV page. Locks enable users to ‘lock’ an item; when an item is locked it can be viewed by others, but cannot be modified. Administrators can enable locks on the Tool Settings page. The Configure WebDAV page allows Administrators to set the length of time for locks.
Note on authentication and WebDAV: WebDAV requires compatibility with basic or digest authentication schemes. Microsoft®.NET Passport, Kerberos, and other distributed authentication mechanisms may be incompatible with direct access to WebDAV. Institutions using one of these authentication types may be able to take advantage of WebDAV by first authenticating with the Blackboard Learning System, and then launching the Web Folder from within the user interface.
Follow these steps to open the WebDAV Configuration page.
Step 1 Open the Blackboard Learning System Administrator Control Panel.
Step 2 Select WebDAV Configuration under Content System
The following fields are available on the WebDAV Configuration page.
|
Field |
Description |
|
General WebDAV Settings |
|
|
Enable WebDAV |
Select Yes or No to determine if WebDAV will be available to users. |
|
Maximum responses to a search |
Enter the maximum number of responses that will be returned for a WebDAV search request. This number must be set to at least 10. |
|
WebDAV Lock Options |
|
|
Maximum lifetime of a lock |
Enter in seconds the maximum length of time granted for a lock. |
|
Minimum lifetime of a lock |
Enter in seconds the minimum amount of time granted for a lock. |
|
Lock timeout delay |
Enter in seconds the length of time for the grace period between the time a lock expires when it times out. During this grace period clients may refresh the lock. |
|
Unique string for tokens |
Enter a unique string to be used for the WebDAV RFC token. |
|
WebDAV Compression Options |
|
|
Allow compression: |
Some WebDAV clients may prefer to receive compressed files. Select Yes or No to allow the compression of WebDAV files. |
|
Minimum size to attempt compression of file: |
Enter the minimum size of a file to compress. All files smaller than this value will not be compressed, even if compression is requested. |
|
Maximum size of file to compress: |
Enter the maximum size of a file that may be compressed. All files larger than this value will not be compressed, even if compression is requested. |
|
Mime types available for compression: |
Enter the extensions for files that will automatically be compressed if requested by the client. Files with extensions appearing in this field will only be compressed if they are of type "application/octet-stream". |
|
Allow Chunk transfer-encoding: |
Chunk transfer encoding allows data to be sent in a series of chunks to reduce the strain on the server strain when sending a large amount of data. Select Yes or No to allow chunk transfer-encoding. If Yes is selected, the Content System will make partial responses when the client supports transfer-encoding. |