File Browser Beta 0.81

This website is using an AREA 17 application that has been created for internal use.

The main goals are:

1. to simplify workflow through easy and secure presentation of our work;
2. to unify asset management between multiple offices, clients, and contractors;
3. to focus on content not structure.

We currently call this application "File Browser" for that is simply what it is — a system of design behaviors applied to the directory/file structure located on our server. What you see is an exact mirror of what is on our server. There is no content management system, nor is there a need to do any coding — users simply drop files, directories, plug-ins and mini-applications onto our server and the File Browser engine does the rest.

Directories and Files

Most standard file types are supported and are either viewable through your browser or available for download.

Supported file types:

• Media: Photoshop (psd), Illustrator (ia), Image (eps, bmp, png, gif, jpf, tif)
• Rich Media: Flash (swf, fla), Quicktime (mp3, mov, mpg)
• Documents: Word (doc), Excel (xls), Powerpoint (ppt), Portable Document Format (pdf), Rich Text (rtf), Plain Text (txt)
• Web Docs: Hypertext Markup Language (html), Hypertext Preprocessor (php) Extensible Markup Language (xml)

DEMO: If you'd like to see the how how file types are handled, visit studio.area17.com with the username: demo and the password: demo. There you will have access to the demo folders.

Browslet Plug-ins

To make the File Browser act more like a website, we found it necessary to include something we call Browslets — a sort of "plug-in" (in actuality an xml snippet of code) that enhances the functionality or changes the normal behavior of a file or directory.

Currently developed browslets:

• Intro Text: -t-intro.txt
• Footer Text: -b-footer.txt
• Inline Image: -image.jpg/gif
• Inline Logo: -logo.jpg/gif
• Directory Feature: -feature_name.ftr
• File Info: -file_name.info
• Shortcut: -shortcut_name.cut
• External Link: -link_name.net
• Popup: -popup_name.pop
• Demo Website: -demo_name.site
• Thumbnails: -thumbnails-nn (auto-generated if not specified)

DEMO: If you'd like to see the browslets in action, visit studio.area17.com with the username: demo and the password: demo. There you will have access to the demo folders.

Mini-Applications

Because the File Browser accepts HTML, XML and PHP documents, a mini-app modular can be added within any directory for added features and functionality.

Currently developed mini-apps:

• newsletter signup
• contact form

Smart URL's and Page Titles

The File Browser rewrites the URL and title of the pages in order to match the hierarchy of the content. Therefore the server structure, website bread-crumb navigation, page title and website address are exactly the same.

The benefits are:

1. simple management of files and location;
2. logical and readable URL's (ie: www.area17.com/client name/project name/file name);
3. Google and other search engines love you for this and reward you generously.

Page Tools

On a page level, we have added simple, but useful tools, helping us and our clients work together.

These tools are:

• Collapsable Header: allows the user to get rid of our logo in order to see more of the work within the browser window.
• Send Page: we are constantly sending pages to our clients for review, so to be honest this feature is more for us... but we hope you use it too!
• Updated Since: allows the user to set a cookie on his computer that stores his last visit and what has changed on the website since (through little "updated" and "new" icons). Please know that we do not share any of this or any other information collected on the website.
• Remember Me: when a user logs in to a secure area, he has the ability to check a box that will keep him logged into the website between visits.

User & Group Level Permissions

The File Browser supports directory-level permissions for any directory and its sub directories and files. Permissions can be for an entire group (such as a client) or for a specific user (such as a client project acceptor).

DEMO: If you'd like to see the permissions in action, visit studio.area17.com with the username: demo and the password: demo. There you will have access to the demo folders.

Development Environment

The File Browser is developed in a LAMP environment:

• Operating System: Linux
• Server Software: Apache
• Database: MySql
• Language: PHP
• Framework: Fusebox

Future Updates

The File Browser is still in Beta.

Future releases will include:

• web-based Browslet management system
• web-based file transfer (optional) and editing through WIKI
• smart directories, searching, related content (based on keywords)
• page-level discussions
• page-level ratings and favorites
• file-level permissions

If you have suggestions about the File Browser, please contact us.

How to get the File Browser

Sorry, the File Browser is not available at this time. Feel free to contact us to show your interest.