Uploading files in D2L with WebDav

Instructors can access the Manage Files area of their D2L Brightspace course using Dreamweaver via a WebDAV connection.

  • Who is this for: Online Instructors
  • What is required: A D2L course shell, file management and web skills, Dreamweaver software

Step 1: Change your D2L password

By default, you log in to D2L directly from MyPCC using a secure connection because of the connection between Desire2Learn and Banner registration. You will need to change your password to be able to create a connection from Dreamweaver to Desire2Learn later on in Step 3.

  1. Visit the Forgot Password page on the D2L site.
  2. You will see the Forgot Your Password page. Enter your PCC username in the Username: field. For example: if your email is jane.doe15@pcc.edu, then your username will be jane.doe15.
  3. Click the Submit button to send your request. Next, you will see a confirmation page.
  4. Check your PCC email to find an email from dladmin@pcc.edu.
    1. Click the Reset my password link from the email message. Note that this password link will expire 24 hour(s) after your initial request.
    2. You will see the Choose a New Password page.
      1. Enter your PCC username, the same username that you have entered previously in Step 1.3, in the Username: field.
      2. Enter your new Desire2Learn password in the New Password: field.
      3. Enter the same password you typed in previous step in the Re-enter Password: field.
      4. Click the Submit button. Next, you should see the Password successfully reset page.
      5. Click the Go to login page link.
  5. You should be back to the D2L login page with this URL: “online.pcc.edu/” (no quotes).
  6. Enter your PCC username, the same username that you have entered previously in Step 1.3, in the Username: field.
  7. Enter your new D2L password, the same password that you have entered previously in Step 1.5.2.2, in the Password: field.
  8. Click the Login button and continue to Step 2 below.

Note:

  • Because you reset your D2L password, you will need to log in to D2L from this URL: “https://online.pcc.edu/” (no quotes) and not using MyPCC.
  • Your new password will not be a permanent one. Because of the D2L and Banner integration, if an event occurs in Banner, such as having a course assigned to the instructor, a name or email change, or students being added/ dropped from the class, your password will be reset to a Banner password. It is not entirely predictable when the event will occur.
  • If your password got reset, you will have to redo Step 1.

Step 2: Copy your course URL

  1. From the MyHome page, select the course you want to link using WebDav.
  2. Click on the Edit Course link.
  3. Click on the Course Offering Information link.
  4. Scroll down to Course Offering Path select the URL path and copy it to the clipboard (use Ctrl or command + C on your keyboard to copy). For example: “/content/enforced//66477-10123.201302/” (no quotes).

Step 3: Setup a connection to D2L in Dreamweaver CS6

  1. Open Dreamweaver software.
  2. From the Sites menu select Manage Sites and click on the New Site.button.
  3. The Site Setup window will pop up. Enter your Site Name. For example: “D2L” (no quotes).
  4. Locate your Local Site Folder where you will store all your files by clicking on the Browse for folder icon, navigating to the correct folder, and clicking the Select button.
  5. Select Servers on the left side to setup the connection.
  6. Click the + icon to Add new Server connection.
    1. In the Server Name: field, enter a name for your course. For example: “D2L ba101” (no quotes).
    2. Click the Connect Using: option menu and select WebDAV.
    3. In the FTP Address: field, enter this text “https://pcclmsdav.desire2learn.com” (no quotes) and paste the URL you had copied from D2L, from Step 2.4 as shown in the example: “https://pcclmsdav.desire2learn.com/content/enforced/66477-10123.201302/” (no quotes).
    4. Enter your D2L username in the Username: field.
    5. Enter your D2L password in the Password: field.
    6. Click the Test button to make sure you receive this message “Adobe Dreamweaver CS6 connected to your Web server successfully.” Click the OK button to close the window.
    7. Click the Save button to save your connection settings.
    8. Click the Save button again to save your Site Setup.
  7. Click the Done button to close the Manage Sites window. Your site has been set up.

Step 4: Working on files inside Dreamweaver

Option 1: Create a page in Dreamweaver and upload to D2L
  1. Create a new file in Dreamweaver.
  2. Add any content and title the file.
  3. Save and name the file.
  4. Under “Local Files” select the file and click the “Put files to Remote Server” icon.
  5. Once uploaded, enter the course in D2L, click on Content and Manage Files.
  6. Click the action menu for the file and select “preview” to view the content.
  7. You are now able to link to the newly uploaded file.
 Option 2: Modify your existing page from D2L
  1. From the Files panel, click the Connect to Remote Server icon to connect your Dreamweaver to D2L.
  2. Find the file you want to edit and double-click on it to open.

Additional resources on Dreamweaver CS6