Oracle UPK - Linking Files through the use of Packages

UPK allows you to import external files into your Library, so that you can then link to these files from your content objects. Technically, external files are imported into Packages within UPK, although they are always referenced individually. That is, links to files are always to the individual file; you cannot create a link to a Package.

Packages are conceptually similar to ZIP files, in that they can contain multiple files. They can also contain only a single file. Whether you choose to store each external file in its own Package, or group all files (for example, for a course) into a single Package is your choice; it makes absolutely no difference to UPK. However, from a transparency of organization point of view, it makes sense to keep each external file in its own appropriately-named Package, except for files that are always accessed as a group (such as a complete web site, or an Articulate Presenter presentation), where it would be best to store all of the files in a single package.

Version Difference
For readers familiar with OnDemand 8.x / UPK 2.x and earlier, Packages are the new, improved form of file Infoblocks.

External files can be used for a number of purposes, and in a number of places. Some of these options are described below:

To provide a data sheet for a Know It! mode verification test. This is an interesting option if you also completely remove Know It? mode Bubble Text from the exercise. Note that here, you would need to make sure that the link to the external file is via a hyperlink in text that is tagged to appear in Know It? mode, otherwise the linked document will not be available.

To provide an image of equipment related to an exercise.

To provide a related document, for example, a vendor's invoice for a simulation that involves entering an invoice into the application.

To provide the presentation for the training course to which the simulations relate.

For our example, we will use the last of these examples. We will provide access to a presentation from the exercises. As you will see, there are a number of ways that we can do this. However, linking to the course presentation from the exercises is back-to-front. Logically, you should link to the exercises from the presentation (how to do this is discussed in Chapter 6, Publishing Content). To make things interesting and to demonstrate the concept of having multiple files within a single Package, we will import a presentation that has been published into Flash format via Articulate Presenter. This published format consists of many files (at least one per slide, plus navigational elements) all of which are launched from a single fi le (player.html), which makes it an ideal candidate for using in a Package. There are three steps that we need to carry out:

1. Create a Package in UPK

2. Add the Articulate Presenter player to the Package

3. Link the Package into our content objects

Let's look at each of these in turn.