Manage folder properties and publish folders as libraries

Article
05/15/2018
8 minutes to read

Applies To: Dynamics Marketing

Important

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing has been discontinued and is no longer available. All customer data related to this product has been permanently deleted from all Microsoft servers and is no longer available for extraction. This documentation is being provided for historical purposes only.

Each folder shown in the file browser has a set of properties that define descriptive information and security settings. The Properties page for a folder also provides controls for marking a folder as a library and for publishing a library as a webpage where anonymous web users can download relevant files without needing to sign in to Dynamics Marketing.

Prerequisites

To work with folders, files, and libraries, you must have some or all of the following privileges, depending on which features you require:

Edit/View Files: Provides access to the file browser window, including access to the Properties pages for the folders and files listed there.
Edit/View Library: Provides access to the file browser window and the library browser window. This privilege is also required in order to mark folders as libraries, publish libraries, and view library URLs.
Edit/View Markup: Provides access to file markup features.

More information: Work with user accounts and staff contacts

Open a folder properties page

To open the Properties page for a folder, go to Assets & Media > Files > Files and open the file browser. From there, select the folder you want to work with so that you can see its contents in the right pane, then click the Properties button Properties button from the file browser toolbar. More information: Find, organize, and upload files in the file browser

Manage folder metadata

Setting	Description
Active	Select this check box to set the current folder to active; clear it to deactivate the folder. Active folders are always shown in the file browser. Inactive folders are usually hidden in the browser and their contents aren’t available elsewhere. When you delete a folder, it’s not actually deleted; it's ;just set to inactive. In the file browser, you can toggle to show or hide inactive files and folders in the list.
Name	Type a name for the folder, as shown in the file browser.
URL	This is the URL for the current folder in the file browser. You might use this to create a bookmark or to collaborate with a colleague. Only registered Dynamics Marketing users with all of the required permissions can open this URL.
Library	Select this check box to configure the current folder as a library. Clear this box to make it a standard folder and turn off publishing for it (if enabled).
Created by	This read-only value displays the name of the contact who created the current folder.
Create Date	This read-only value displays the date when the folder was created.
Published URL	If you've configured the current folder as a library and enabled publishing for it, then this is the URL for opening the published library in a web browser. All Internet users can open this URL unless you turn off publishing for the library.
Publish	Select this check box to publish the current library folder as a public webpage, where any web user with the correct URL can view and download files. This check box is active only for library folders (folders with the Library check box selected). A random URL is generated and displayed in the Published URL field. If you unpublish and then republish a library, a new random URL is generated.
Description	Enter a description for the folder in this large text file at the bottom of the metadata.

Standard folders vs library folders

Folders in Dynamics Marketing are similar to folders as you know them from Microsoft Windows. A library is a category of folder; everything that you can do with a folder you can also do with a library, but libraries can do a few more things and are used in slightly different ways. The following table highlights a few of the differences between these two types of folders.

	Standard Folders	Library Folders
Contents and uses	Folders can contain all types of resources, including files related to various Dynamics Marketing entities, which are named and structured in a special way.	Library folders can also contain all types of resources, but they typically contain assets shared between users and used in projects and campaigns. They might also be used to coordinate work with external vendors and clients.
Location	Standard folders can be located anywhere in the folder hierarchy.	Library folders can be located only at the root of the folder structure or inside other libraries.
Security	Lists of folder contents can be viewed only in the file browser in Dynamics Marketing, though individual files can sometimes be shared (such as email graphics).	Lists of library contents are available both in the file browser and in the library browser. They can also be published to make them visible on the web. When you work with a library folder, you should always be careful about which types of files you place in it.
Creation	Use toolbar controls in the file browser to create standard folders.	Edit the properties of a qualifying standard folder to configure it as a library folder. Users must have Edit/View Library privileges to view and change the library status of a folder.
Publishing	Folders cannot be published (but they can be marked as libraries and then published).	Libraries can be published, which makes their contents available for listing and download publicly on the web. Any web user with the correct URL can view the file list and download the files. Users must have Edit/View Library privileges to view and change the publishing settings.

Tip

If you are already familiar with databases and/or storage resources in Azure, then it may help you to think of folders and libraries in the following terms:

Standard folders have no public read access, so the container and blob data can only be read by authorized users in Dynamics Marketing.
Published library folders have full public read access, so the container contents and blob data can be read via anonymous request.
The Email Marketing folder has public read access for blobs only, so the files stored here (and in its subfolders) are available by anonymous request, but the folder contents cannot be listed anonymously. The files here are typically graphics used in email designs; the graphics are loaded remotely when a recipient opens the email and loads graphics. This is the only folder in Dynamics Marketing that has this status.

Set up a library folder and publish it

A library is a folder that you can publish as a webpage to make its contents available to people who don’t otherwise have access to Dynamics Marketing. When viewed outside of Dynamics Marketing, library folders are read-only, so external users can download the files but can’t edit or delete the originals or upload new files. However, when you are working in the Files or Libraries window in Dynamics Marketing, you can work with libraries and their contents just as you can with regular folders.

The following rules apply to libraries:

You must enable publishing for your site before you can publish any libraries. Go to Settings > Administration > File Options and select the Enable Publishing check box to enable publishing. More information: Set up file options for digital asset management
Library folders are just standard folders that have their Library check box selected. You can clear this setting at any time for existing library folders, but you can set it only for standard folders that meet the other requirements on this list.
Libraries must be located either at the root of the file structure or inside of another library (so you can’t set up a library folder inside a standard folder).
You can’t configure the Microsoft Dynamics Marketing or Email Marketing folders into libraries. These are special folders that contain files that support email message designs and other Dynamics Marketing functionality.
You can only publish library folders, not standard folders. However, you can also have library folders that are not published.

Other than the above restrictions, and their ability to be published as a webpage, library folders work just like standard folders. You can change your folder or library settings at any time. For more information about how to work with folders, including how to add files to them, see Find, organize, and upload files in the file browser.

To configure a library folder and/or publish it:

Do either of the following:
- Go to Assets & Media > Files > Files (opens the Files window, which shows all files, folders and libraries in your database).
- Go to Assets & Media > Files > Libraries (opens the Libraries window, which is the same as the Files window but is filtered to show only libraries and the files they contain; folders are not shown).
Go to the folder you want to edit and/or create a new one. Select the target folder so that you can see its contents in the right pane. The folder you choose must be in a location that allows libraries (in the root or inside another library).
Click the Properties button on the toolbar. The Properties page opens.
Edit the properties as required, as described in the previous section.
- To configure a standard folder as a library folder, select the Library check box.
- To publish a library folder, select the Publish check box (this check box is not active for standard folders). A randomized URL for accessing the published library is generated and displayed in the Published URL field.
Choose Save or Submit to save your settings.

Tip

If the Publish check box is cleared, then you probably need to enable publishing for your site. Go to Settings > Administration > File Options and select the Enable Publishing check box to enable publishing. More information: Set up file options for digital asset management

Set folder security options

Use the various check boxes under the Security heading of a folder’s Properties page to control which roles, teams and users can view and/or edit the folder. More information: Manage security settings for files and folders