By bobcapar on

We are looking to create a resource center - a place where videos, tutorials, white papers, and links will reside. Multiple file types, multiple areas of interest. Not a totally new idea, but new to us.

We are using Drupal 7.

Can anyone suggest best practices for any of the following:

1) File management - Is there a reliable way to view, manage, and reference file assets so the content creators don't have to keep uploading the same content for each page and can see what assets already exist on the server.

2) Design and architecture - Is there a recommended practice of the overall site design? Directories for certain file types, custom content types for easy access to files, etc. - basically, some way to streamline the process of both entering and retrieving the file assets as needed?

3) Recommended User Contributed Modules - What modules will help in this effort. Obviously, a good asset management module that works with Drupal 7 would be a great start.

I have looked through videos, webinars, and forums on this and other sites and have not found a good answer to these and other issues that are showing up, and I would appreciate some advice.

Thanks,

⋅ Categories: Drupal 7.x

Comments

WorldFallz’s picture

WorldFallz commented
  1. With fields in core for d7 file management is probably best handled with a core file field. I usually just create a content type of "file", add whatever other meta data is necessary to that content type (including taxonomy for tags and categorization), and use the views module to create listings and custom searches.
  2. Don't think there's a one-size-fits-all type approach for this.
  3. as i said, I just use core file fields and views. Though you might want to take a look at the media module(s).
kristi wachter’s picture

kristi wachter commented

From your description - especially this:

"content creators don't have to keep uploading the same content for each page and can see what assets already exist on the server"

I would actually suggest creating one or more content types to hold your assets.

You might be able to get by with a single type - Asset - or you might want to create one for each type of asset: Video, White Paper, Link, PDF.

Then, you can use Node References to refer to each asset on as many pages as you like.

So, for example, let's say you have a video about Barcelona that you want to reference from three pages (Spain's History, Architecture Showcases, and Great Food Cities).

Your setup might include:

  • creating a Video content type, with file fields or possibly other specialized fields (for example, you can link to a Youtube or Vimeo video using the Embedded Media Field module)
  • creating an Article content type with a Node Reference field

Then your workflow might look like this:

  • Create a new Video node. Enter a title (Barcelona) and a description, then upload the video (or enter the link, if you're using Embedded Media Field).
  • Create your Spain's History page. In the Node Ref field, enter Barcelona to link to the Barcelona video page.

This is an easy way to re-use those assets on multiple pages without requiring multiple uploads.

As a bonus, you can easily use Views to create customizable, sortable lists of all the assets in your collection.

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Kristi Wachter
Drupal consultant, evangelist, and enthusiast