Using Zimbra Briefcase
The Zimbra Collaboration Suite has a built-in utility for storing and sharing files called Briefcase. Putting files into your Briefcase makes them available to you and others that you choose from anywhere on the Internet.
This document explains how to use the Zimbra Briefcase. If you have difficulty with this procedure, please contact Rich Legault at x8799, or the I. T. Service Center at x8790. The Briefcase Screen
To access your Zimbra Briefcase, log into Zimbra at https://zimbra.umassd.edu, and then click the Briefcase tab. The Briefcase screen is shown below. Note that Briefcase works best when using the advanced (AJAX) version of Zimbra. If you don’t see the Briefcase tab when you log in, try using a different or newer web browser.
Each Zimbra user has one Briefcase folder created for them automatically. It is called Briefcase, and displayed in the Folders list in the left column, as shown here. Your folders are
alphabetized at the top, with other users’ shared folders below. Folders from other people are shown with a two-person icon. Click on a folder to select it. The selected folder is highlighted, and its contents displayed in the column to the right. In the example above, the Documentation folder is selected, and the folder contains another folder called Zimbra Docs.
Creating and Managing Briefcase Folders
To create a new Briefcase folder, click the New button to the right of the Folders heading.
The Create New Briefcase Folder dialog box is displayed, as shown here.
Enter a Name for the folder in the field provided. Select a folder Color from the pop-up menu. Folder name and color attributes can be changed at any time.
Click to select a location for your folder in the list box. In the example above, the Documentation folder is selected, so the FILP Handouts folder will be created as a sub-folder.
Click OK to create the new folder, or Cancel to discard it. An example Folders list is shown to the right.
Point to a folder for a moment to display a tip with information about the folder contents. Remember that items in your briefcase count toward your quota.
Drag a folder up or down to make it a sub-folder of another folder. Remember that the list always stays alphabetized. Drag a folder to the Trash to remove it. Items stay in the Trash until you empty it.
To change the Name or Color of a Briefcase folder, right-click or <control>-click on it. A contextual menu is displayed, as shown here. Click to select the Edit Properties command. The Folder Properties dialog box is displayed, as shown below.
Change the Name and Color if you wish, then click OK to save the changes or Cancel to discard them.
Uploading, Downloading and Removing Files
The purpose of the Briefcase is to make files available to you and others from different locations, such as the office or at home. This also makes it easy to access documents if you don’t have removable storage such as a flash drive. Buttons on the toolbar are used to add files to your Briefcase folders. The Zimbra toolbar is shown below with Briefcase selected.
To add a file from your computer to the Briefcase folder, first click to select the destination folder in the list, then click Upload File. The Upload New File dialog box is displayed, as shown here.
Mac OS 10.6 Windows XP
Unlike most parts of Zimbra, the appearance differs depending on the computer operating system you are using.
The Choose File sheet or dialog box is displayed, as shown below.
Mac OS 10.6 Windows XP
Navigate to the desired file, and click to select it. Then click the Choose or Open button. The Upload New File dialog box returns, showing the file you selected. An example is shown here.
Click Remove to delete the selected file from the upload list. Click Add to select an additional file to upload.
The pop-up menu in the middle of the dialog box determines what happens if you try to upload a file with the same name as a file in your Briefcase. You can choose:
Replace With My File – to replace the Briefcase file with the one you’re uploading. Keep Existing File – to ignore the upload and keep the file in the Briefcase.
Ask Me – to have Zimbra ask what it should do for each file. Click OK to upload the selected files, or Cancel.
An example Briefcase screen is shown below with a file selected.
Information about the selected file is shown in the right column. Note that the Created date reflects the date the file was uploaded, not necessarily the actual creation date.
Click the Download link in the information column, or double-click on a file to download it to your computer. Some file types, such as Adobe PDF documents can be displayed directly inside your web browser window.
Important!
To edit a document or other file in a Briefcase folder, you must first download the file to your computer. Then, make any desired changes and Save them. Finally, upload the file back to the Briefcase folder and replace the file with the same name if necessary.
To move a file to another folder, drag it to the desired destination in the Folders column. To remove a file, drag it to the Trash in the Folders column, or click the Delete button in the Toolbar.
Colored Tags can be applied to each file by selecting the file then using the Tags pop-up menu in the Toolbar.
Sharing a Briefcase
A useful feature of Zimbra Briefcase is the ability to share folders with others. You can grant access to each Briefcase folder individually, and allow different people to make changes to your files, or only view them. To share a folder, right-click or <control>-click on it in the Folders list, then choose Share Folder. The Share Properties dialog box is displayed, as shown here.
First, select what type of users you wish to share with using the radio buttons at the top. UMass Dartmouth Zimbra users are Internal. When granting access to external users, you must select a password for them to use. For security reasons, CITS discourages granting Public access to any Briefcase.
Second, enter the email addresses of the share recipients in the field provided. Zimbra’s autocomplete feature will make this process easy. Multiple addresses must be separated by semicolons ( ; ).
Third, select a Role using the radio buttons. Select None to give the recipient no access. (All Briefcase folders are private unless you explicitly share them, so this option is not really necessary.) Select Viewer to allow the recipients to see the files, but not make changes. Select Manager to allow the recipient to see, download, edit and upload files. Admin access grants all the abilities of Manager, and allows the recipient to share your Briefcase folder with others. To assign different roles to different people, you must visit this dialog box multiple times.
You can change or remove an individual’s access to your shared folder at any time. To do this, right-click or <control>-click on the folder in the Folders list, and select the Edit Properties command from the contextual menu. The Folder Properties dialog box for a shared folder is shown below.
Click Edit to change a recipient’s access from Manager to View or vice-versa. Click Revoke to remove a recipient’s access.
Click Resend to send the share invitation again. Click Add Share… to add more recipients to the list. Click OK to save changes, or Cancel to discard them. Using a Shared Briefcase
The recipient must click Accept Share to gain access. Note that this button only appears when the message is viewed using the Zimbra client. People using other software to access their email must log into Zimbra.
Shared Briefcase folders appear in the Folders list below your own folders.
In the example above, there are four folders shared by other users that I have access to.
To find out whether you have View or Manager access, select the folder. If the Upload button is grayed-out, you have View access only.
