[LON-CAPA-cvs] cvs: loncom /html/adm/help/tex Docs_Short_URLs.tex

[raeburn]

raeburn		Mon Jan 20 23:37:45 2020 EDT

  Added files:                 
    /loncom/html/adm/help/tex	Docs_Short_URLs.tex 
  Log:
  - Document tiny URLs for deep-linking
  
  

Index: loncom/html/adm/help/tex/Docs_Short_URLs.tex
+++ loncom/html/adm/help/tex/Docs_Short_URLs.tex
\label{Docs_Short_URLs}
\index{deep link}
Although LON-CAPA is a fully functional LMS/CMS, which provides all the tools needed to run a
fully online course, or a hybrid course, other use cases may simply require access to
individual LON-CAPA resource(s) without a need for course management functionality.

For such use cases, the standard LON-CAPA course container will continue to be employed by a 
Course Coordinator to organize resources, set parameters, and control content availability,
but students themselves may access the resource(s) from some other context, by simply following
a direct link to a particular LON-CAPA resource or folder.

To support the use of deep-linking to an individual resource or folder, URLs of the form:
/tiny/$<$domain$>$/$<$unique code$>$ can be generated within a domain.  The $<$unique$>$ code
is a six character code which internally maps to either the LON-CAPA's unique identifier 
(or ``symb'') for an instance of a resource in a course, or the path to a folder within a course.

As Course Coordinator display the Course Editor menu, and click the ``Content Utilities'' tab, and
then click the ``Display/Set Shortened URLs for Deep-linking'' link in the ``Adminstration'' panel.
>From there check the checkbox(es) for resource(s) for which deep-link access is needed, and push
the ``Create Tiny URL(s)' button.

If your LON-CAPA domain has multiple machines, then one machine may have been designated by the
Domain Coordinator as a LON-CAPA load-balancer, and/or may operate as the LON-CAPA portal for the domain.
In that case the href attribute to set in a link in a web page outside LON-CAPA should point at:
https://$<$yourportalserver$>$/tiny/$<$domain$>$/$<$unique code$>$.  Otherwise, the href attribute
should point at https://$<$yourloncapaserver$>$/tiny/$<$domain$>$/$<$unique code$>$.

If a deep-link is followed from a web browser without an active LON-CAPA session, the user 
will be prompted to log-in to LON-CAPA.  Once authenticated, the user's role in the course 
to which the deep-link belongs will be selected automatically, and the resource which the 
deep-link references will be displayed.  If the deep-link is for a folder instead of a 
resource, then a listing of available items in that folder will be displayed as clickable 
links. If a user has an active Coordinator role in a course, then that role will be 
selected automatically.  Otherwise, if a user nas more than one (non-Coordinator) active 
roles in the specific course referenced by the deep-link, then a listing of the available
active roles will be shown, with the option to select one. Once selected, the resource
will be displayed.