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What is an Item? .... a File?

Build Content menu, with options Item and FileWhen posting content to Ted, from the Build Content menu, you will see options for an Item or a File. It may be confusing which to use, but we hope this overview will help you understand the difference.

Files

Screenshot of File, showing plain icon to the left of the file's name, which is a linkFiles are a direct link to a file that you have uploaded to Ted. To view or download the file, students must click the name of the file (e.g. 'Lecture 1 (PDF)' in the example to the right). The only way you may change the appearance of a posted file is to change its name. You may additionally hide the file from students, or determine a period of time when the file is available.

Items

An Item is a more flexible way to link to content in your site. You may enter a block of text, which may contain anything you want to apper on the page. Ted's built-in editor will let you format text fonts and colors, add links to other pages, images, videos, and even insert equations (using the built-in editor or MathML-formatted equations), and you may enter HTML as well.

You may optionally attach one or more files as well; a link for each file will appear above the text. However, the Name of the item (e.g. "This is an 'Item'" below) cannot be a link.

Screenshot of Item, showing plain icon to the left of the file's name (not linked), then the attached files, then arbitrary HTML text

You may also set when the item is available, but the setting applies to the entire item - you cannot set individual dates for each attachment.

Which to use?

Link to one file, whose name is self explanitory

Use a File.

Link to one file, with additional description

Since a File does not have a Description option, create an Item, enter the text in the Description box, and attach the file.

All I want is to post some text on the page - maybe an Announcement or a Banner at the top of the page.

Create an Item, and put the banner image or other text in the Description. You do not need to attach files.

Then, when you have saved the item, move the item to the top of the page by dragging the  reordering arrows up to the top of the page. (Keyboard-only and screenreader users can activate the Keyboard Accessible Reordering link in the Content Page Actions area to re-order content).