Knowledge Base

You can link to a video in a forum post, an online text assignment link or in a wiki textbox. For videos posted on YouTube, the video player will display directly in the BFCA Education Portal. 

1. Open a Textbox in the BFCA Education Portal
   • In a forum—Click on Add a new discussion or Reply to open a textbox. Click on the link labeled Use advanced editor in the lower right corner of the screen to bring up the editing toolbar shown in the illustration provided below.
   • In an assignment—Click on Add submission to open the textbox.
2. Prepare to Insert Link in the BFCA Education Portal
   • Enter any text that you wish to accompany the video link. Type “video clip” (or the name of the video—if the video player is displayed after you save the text box, this text won’t show after you link to it). Select the text you just entered and click on the Link icon in the editing toolbar.
3. Insert Link
   • In the Create a link dialogue box, paste the video’s URL in the field labeled URL using Crtl+V. Click on Create link to display the linked text as a web link (highlighted in red) in your text box. (The video player will be displayed after you save your submission.)
4. Save Changes
   • Click on Submit to post your forum response or click on Save changes to submit your assignment or save your wiki page.
5. View Your Clip
   • Reopen the page, post or assignment submission to view and play the video.

Edspora makes it easy to attach or insert photos in a forum post or other textbox. 

Important information about images and the BFCA Education Portal

• Images must be saved as individual files in order to be inserted in the BFCA Education Portal.
• Acceptable image file types are .jpg, .gif, and .png.
• To insert an image in a forum post, click on Use advanced editor and other options before you begin typing your response.
• You cannot copy and paste or drag and drop an image into the BFCA Education Portal. You must use the Insert/edit image icon on the toolbar, as described at right and in the guide linked below.
• Images will display in their “native” (original) size, so be prepared to adjust them for best fit.

Large image files (more than 500K) are slow to load and take up valuable storage space. Use a photo editing program to reduce a big image or contact the Help Desk for assistance.

Add an Image Using the File Picker

1. In the Text editor toolbar, click the Image icon. The Image properties window will open.
2. In the Image properties window, click Browse repositories…. The File picker window will open. 
3. In the File picker window:
   1. To upload a file from your computer, click Upload a file (at left).
   2. To use a file already uploaded to the BFCA Education Portal, click Recent files, Server Files, Private Files or Embedded files.
   3. To copy a file from Google Drive into the BFCA Education Portal, select Google Drive.
4. Navigate through the folders and files in the selected repository to locate your image.
5. Click the icon or name for the image to use. The Select window opens.
6. In the Select window, click Select this file. You’ll be returned to the Image properties window.
7. In the Image properties window:
   For Describe this image for someone who cannot see it, (required) enter a brief description of the image or check Description not necessary. We strongly recommend describing each image to make your content accessible to all.
   Note: You will be unable to insert an image unless you provide a brief description of the image in Describe this image for someone who cannot see it or check Description not necessary.
   1. o resize your image, check Auto size, then enter a new width or height. (When you click away from the entry box, the other dimension will auto-complete).
   2. To align your image to the left or right of the text (for example), use the Alignment drop-down menu.
8. Select Save image. The image will be inserted in the Editor window.

Note: You can reopen to the Image properties window by double-clicking an image to adjust the alignment, size, etc.

Add an Image Using a URL

If the image you will add is stored on another website, you can embed it using its URL.

1. In the Text editor toolbar, select Add Image. The Image properties window will open.
2. In the Enter URL field, enter the complete URL for your image. (Important: Be sure to include the http:// or https:// prefix.)
3. Set additional image properties:
   • For Describe this image for someone who cannot see it, (required) enter a brief description of the image or check Description not necessary. We strongly recommend describing each image to make your content accessible to all.
     • Note: You will be unable to insert an image unless you provide a brief description of the image in Describe this image for someone who cannot see it or check Description not necessary.
   • To resize your image, check Auto size, then enter a new width or height. (When you click away from the entry box, the other dimension will auto-complete).
   • To align your image to the left or right of the text (for example), use the Alignment drop-down menu.
4. Select Save image.

Note: You can reopen to the Image properties window by double-clicking on an image in the Editor.

Align an Image

The alignment of images loaded in the BFCA Education Portal is configured in the Image properties window of each image.

1. In the Editor entry box, double-click the image. The Image properties pop-up will open.
2. The Alignment drop-down menu gives you an option to select either Top, Middle, Bottom, Left or Right alignment.
   Select Save image. The Image properties window will close and the image will appear in the Text editor entry box aligned as set.

Resizing images 

The BFCA Education Portal will scale each image automatically to fit within the available area the image is placed in, such as a forum post, label, or block. This makes images “responsive” (meaning that even a very wide image will fit on the screen, whether viewed on a mobile phone, tablet or large computer display).

While the BFCA Education Portal also allows you to force the size that an image appears on a page, the image file still downloads at its original dimensions. Therefore:

• If you upload a large image (e.g., from a camera) and set it to display very small, page-load time will be slow.
• If you upload a very small image and set it in the BFCA Education Portal to appear larger than it’s actual pixel dimensions, the image will appear blurry.

We strongly recommend that you resize an image before uploading to the BFCA Education Portal, ideally no wider than 500 or 600 pixels for insertion into the BFCA Education Portal. We also recommend that you resize photos before inserting them into a Word or PowerPoint file. This helps to keep the file size manageable, especially if you plan to post that file in the BFCA Education Portal. Fortunately, it’s not hard to resize photos, even without special editing software. 

• Resizing images for Macs
• Residing images for Windows

Set Image Size Attributes

To force the maximum dimensions that an image displays:

1. In the Editor text box, add a new image or double-click an already existing image. The Image properties pop-up will open.
2. In the Image properties window locate Size. Select Auto size (at right) to prevent distorting the image.
3. Change the value inside one of the boxes to shrink the image (we do not recommend enlarging). The editor will automatically adjust the other dimension (width x height) .
   To confirm changes, click Save image.  The Image properties window will close and the image will appear in the Editor text box.

Note: This process only changes the size an image is displayed in the BFCA Education Portal. It does not affect the image file. This process can be repeated as many times as needed without affecting the original dimensions of the uploaded file