Using UK Cloud

How do I access UK Cloud Storage?

From a web browser on any device or computer: https://cloud.extinctionrebellion.org.uk.

It is linked from the Hub and Forum.

You can optionally download the Nextcloud App on your smart phone or tablet (Android or iOS) https://nextcloud.com/install/#tab-mobile or search for "Nextcloud" in your App store.

Home Screen

1. Clicking the logo or the Home icon will take you back to this screen.

2. To show recent activity click on Activity - things you have done and things other people may have shared with you.

3. Click on Calendar to see your Calendars, which you can sync with your own devices and share with other users.

4. Click on Deck for the 'Kanban' project management app.

5. Click on Polls to create polls you can publish to other cloud users, or on the wider Internet.

6. Click on Forms to create forms you can publish to other cloud users, or on the wider Internet.

7. Click on Hub to go to the UK Comms Hub.

8. The three dots menu holds any more options that don't fit in your screen width, e.g. icon links to the the UK Forum, Mattermost and XRUK website.

9. Magnifying glass - search.

10. Bell (plus red dot) - notifications (if you have notifications to read a red dot will appear).

11. Your avatar/letter - click to change personal settings, upload a pitcure or logout.

12. The "Breadcrumbs" area. The path to the current folder will appear here - click a parent folder to jump back. If you can edit in the folder a (+) icon will appear to allow you to create or upload a new file or folder, otherwise the message shown in the screengrab above will be shown.

13. The folder and file list. Click on a folder name to open that folder. Click on a filename to view or download.

14. If a file is shared with you then you will see the avatar of the person who shared it with you on the right. Click here to share this file or folder with others.

15. Tap on the three dots next to the file for options including download, edit, and add to favourites.

16. Click on the light blue area to open the Details Pane for the file which gives you additional information and options.

17. The left Side menu gives you extra views including items you have marked as "Favourites" - a useful quick way to find folders or files you often need.

How to Add or Remove a File

Add: Click the button at the top of the screen and select 'Upload File', then choose your file to place a copy on the Cloud. Note that you can only do this in folders where you have write permission.
Delete: Click the three dots to the right of the file and select 'Delete File'.

How to add a Google Doc to UK Cloud

Obviously the ideal is to move the document from Google Docs to the Library - download it from Google, upload it to your shared Library area, and then delete it from Google Docs. The Library is the shared part of the UK Cloud.

However it may be desirable to leave the document in Google's care and simply have a link to it in the Library. In this case:

1. Get a link from Googledocs - with whatever options you require.
2. Navigate to the folder where you want the link to appear (in your shared library folder if you want all rebels to have it, or in your group folder if it is private to your group).
3. Click the button at the top of the screen and select "New Link".
4. Enter the name you want for the link as it will appear in the file list (doesn't have to be the filename, keep it fairly short). Don't delete the ".URL" on the end of the name. Press enter or click the arrow.
5. In the box that pops up after a second or two enter the link URL that you got from google (or any other link you want) and click "Save".

And that's it. Your link will appear in the list of files, with a globe icon to indicate it is an external link:

How to share a document with another Rebel

If you know that the user has access to the file - all users can access everything in the Library, and people in your group can access anything under your group folder - then get a 'Direct Link':

1. Find the file in UKCLoud. Don't open it, click on the file's sharing icon (14 above). This will open the sharing tab of the file info pane on the right.
2. At the top of the Info pane is a thumbnail preview of the file (if one is available) or a file-type icon, under that is the filename and a list of existing shares, and near the bottom is "Internal link" with a little icon
3. Click the icon and a link will be copied to your clipboard ready for you to use. This link will continue to work even if the file is updated, renamed or moved - so long as the person clicking the link has access to the file.

If the user doesn't have access to the file then you will need to share with a named user, or make a public share link as below.

How to share a file or folder

To open the sharing tab for a file or folder, click on the icon on the right of the file name. This may be a sharing icon , a link icon or the icon of the person who has shared it with you.

There are 3 types of sharing on UK Cloud:

1. Sharing a link to someone else in your group, or another group that can see the file, so they can find it easily.
   Click the copy link icon by Internal link (1 in the screenshot above), which copies the link to your clipboard, from where you can paste it into any program (e.g. Mattermost or email). The link will only work for people that already have access to the file or folder on UK Cloud.

2. Sharing with a named user or group on UK Cloud
   Type the name of the user or group into the box (2 above). When you start typing, a list of names pops down to help you, to make it easier. When you click on one of the names, it creates a share in the list below. The file or folder will appear in the user's (or every user in the group, if you shared to a group) "All files" page as a share. Please don't do this unless the person or group you are sharing with really wants the share - otherwise you will clutter up their All files page with shares they don't want, and have to delete. The default is to share stuff so people can edit it, but you can alter the permissions with the ... menu next to the share.

3. Sharing with everyone on the Internet Click the + sign next to Public Share Link (3 above). This creates a public share that anyone on the Internet can use, without having a login on UK Cloud. The share will be listed below, with a clipboard icon so you can copy it to your clipboard, from where you can paste it into any program (e.g. Mattermost or email). By default the share will be read only, with an expiration date, but you can change that with the ... menu. Obviously, please don't share any stuff that should not be public, especially including identifying details of people (unless you have their explicit permission in writing). Remember, if you share a folder, people can access everything in the folder and all its subfolders.

We suggest that most shares are done by a "role" login (a login and email that is attached to a role rather than an individual), because if someone leaves UK Cloud, their files and shares may become unavailable.

UK Cloud Features

The primary use of UK Cloud is to store and access files, including uploading, downloading and sharing.

Viewers - the following file types will open a viewer when you click them:

• PDF files (.pdf) - this is the default for most documents in the Library

• JPG, PNG and some other image files

• Text files (.txt) - there is no built in editor for text files, the use of Markdown files is preferred.

• Office files (.docx, .xlsx, etc) - These open read-only in OnlyOffice by default (see below for how to edit them). This will probably not work on a phone.

To download a file, right-click on the filename (or click the ... menu).

For files with no built in viewer or editor clicking the filename directly downloads the file.

Editors - the following file types will open an editor or can be created by clicking the [+] button (if you have write permissions):

• Markdown files (.md) - markdown is a text format with simple formatting. The Markdown editor/viewer allows many people to work simultaneously on the same document and automatically see each other's changes as they happen. Very useful for minutes edited during a meeting.

• Office files (.docx, .xlsx, etc.) - To edit an existing file, click on the ... menu (or right click) and choose "Open for editing". This will load the file on OnlyOffice, and many people can edit the same file at the same time (like Google Docs, only with more features, and secure).

Apps - these are the default extra apps available which create and open their own files:

• Deck - a Kanban style project management tool. Decks can be shared with others in a group to work collaboratively on a project.

• Calendar - a personal calendar which you can share with others and link with your device calendars. Group Coordinators can use this to create a shared group calendar.

• Forms - for creating forms for people to fill in, which can be shared with other users, or to anyone on the Internet.

• Polls - for creating Polls for people to respond to, which can be shared with other users, or to anyone on the Internet.

How to undelete a file

1. If you want to find that Deleted File, click 'Deleted Files', bottom left of UK Cloud screen, and search the resulting Deleted Files List for the lost File.
2. You may have to put the File Name into Search to help, as the Deleted File List may be long.
3. Also, if it is a recently deleted File, then ensure the List displays Recent First (toggle the up/down arrow).
4. Find the File, click 'Restore' and the File will be returned to its Folder.

How file storage is organised

As a user you have no personal storage area. UK Cloud facilities are not to be used for storing or sharing personal files, all files are the property of an XR group.

You will have read/write access to the storage areas for groups you belong to. Within a group's folder (on your home "All Files" page) any structure that suits the groups can be created.

N.B. Groups within UK Cloud may cover several groups within an XR Circle - for example a local group may have all of its working groups' folders within the main local group folder and available to all members of the group. Or a major working group may have its own private folder with sub folders for various teams and projects within the working group.

You will also have read-only access to some common folders - most of these you will find in the Library shared folder at the top level. There may also be other shared folders and files which have been shared with you by other groups or individuals - for some of these you might have been granted read/write access.

You can share files or folders with individuals, other groups, or publicly so anyone with a link can see them.

Although we do our best to keep the data in these tools reasonably secure, you must not post incriminating material of any kind here. By doing so you risk the authorities taking down the server, which would upset our communications severely. Not only would you risk your own arrest, but the arrest of the system administrators.

How to change the order of the header icons

In the browser view of UK Cloud there is a row of icons at the left hand end of the yellow header bar:

These link to the internal cloud apps (files, polls, forms etc) and some external websites.

As the screen width is reduced the icons flip from the right into a three dots drop-down menu.

The default order of the icons is: Files | Activity | Calendar | Deck | Polls | Forms | UK Hub | UK Forum | Mattermost | UK Website

You can customise the order to suit your requirements:

1. Click on your Avatar in the top right of the header and select "Settings".

2. In the left hand pane select "App Order". Uncheck any you don't want displayed and drag the remaining ones into the order you want.

Click away to something else and your ordering will be saved.

Why don't we have personal storage space?

Everyone’s Cloud account has 0 bytes of storage in their personal folder. This is for security reasons - if everyone had personal space, there would be nothing to stop someone uploading illegal material to their (fake) account, then reporting it to the police so they raid XR and shut down the servers.

Everyone has access to the read-only Library, and people in an XR group which has requested storage have full read-write access to their group’s storage (where we trust other members of the group would spot suspect files, and remove them).