File Element and # of times a file can be uploaded

[ed_from_nnj]

One of the pages on my website is a page that I use for centralized downloads of files/information for my users.

It has a very simple layout -

Description                Download File          Last updated on

Text element              File element             Text element

Some of the download files are  PDF  files

Some of the download files are  Excel  files

I use Chrome as my browser for all this work.

I update these files on a regular basis and use the File element to upload the current file onto the page

Then I publish the page.  Very straightforward process.  

The information in the file changes.  The filename stays the same.  There is no reason to change the filename.

The purpose of the page is a central distribiution point ... instead of sending out emails with the updated files every 2-3 days.    

The following issue started last September for Excel files only  ( PDF files have worked fine since the beginning )

After about 20 updates of the Excel file ... uploading an updated Excel file with the same filename ... into the same file element ... and publishing the site ... when a user accesses the newly published site they download the previous Excel files.   The file element does not have the correct file when the user tries the download ....  i.e.  the user does not see the 21st update of the Excel file, the file being downloaded from the newly published page is the 20th update which the user already downloaded 2 days ago.

I emailed this issue to Weebly support.  The initial answer I received was ...

"The system gets confused so I should change the filename slightly"

I have a Pro subscription since 2012 and frankly I would expect a better answer than that from support.   

I asked if my email thread could be forwarded to 2nd level weebly support to be addressed as a software issue.  

As of today, this process has worked fine for PDF files using the File Element

The PDF files get updated with new into, they keep the same filename, the file gets uploaded into the file element, the site gets published.

Those PDF files are changed on a regular basis and are changed on the same schedule as the Excel files

The process seems to "gets confused" with Excel files using the File Element

So it seems that is the weebly error here ... what is the file element doing incorrectly with Excel files ?   

I did change the name of the Excel file mid-September when this happened the first time

That is a band-aid that masks the error for a certain time period until the error shows up again

And yes, i had this same issue again this past monday Oct 5

No matter how many times I uploaded my Oct 5 update for an Excel file, the Oct 3 version of the Excel file is being  downloaded from the file element.

Weebly technical support stating the "system gets confused" is an acknowledegment the problem/issue is known

Why can't this issue be fixed ?   There has to be some reason why the File element works fine for PDF files but has an issue with Excel files ?    

One of the main purposes of a website is to provide updated information using a common point of access / central view.  Is Weebly really saying it has a problem providing that basic process with its file element ?    

This process has 

When this first happened in September, I did 

There was no errors in the upload process using the file element of the current update of the Excel 

I have updated the PDF files 25 times and have never had

[seicolegwr]

@ed_from_nnj 

The information given to you by Weebly support is correct. This is the problem: The information in the file changes.  The filename stays the same. 

When you upoad a file to Weebly and then replace that file with another one Weebly does not delete the original file. The file stays in the system (which is actually a good thing if you make a mistake and need to revert to it). The only way to delete the original file(s) is to delete the element that contains the file(s) (even this doesn't always work) or have Weebly support delete it for you. This means that if you persevere with the same filename across different versions of the file the system has no way of telling which version of the file is the currently correct one and tends to default to the earlier file uploaded. In my experience this can even occur if files with the same name are uploaded to different elements (sometimes even on different pages) and is true of both pdf and image files, so I assume Excel too. I wouldn't rely on the pdf files always working.

In your case, it would be advantageous if the system automatically deleted all previous file versions or defaulted to the most recent upload version, but I suspect other users (myself included) would consider that to be problematic.

The fix is simple - if you consistently make sure the filenames used differ slightly, something like File A vers.1, then File A vers.2 etc - and/or simply add a date to the filename - the system should work for you.

Hope this helps, Gary

[ed_from_nnj]

Thanks Gary for your feedback, I can appreciate your need for having those past files retained by Weebly.  I have 3 points that I would welcome your comment on regarding the points you previously made

Point 1 – as far as I know the ultimate end-user of the page does not have an option of downloading a file from a week ago, a month ago … they click on that file element and get the file that is associated with the element when it was published.  So reverting to previous files seems to be something only the web site creator could do.  Which leads to Point 2

Point 2 – where in Weebly does the web site creator have access to these previous files you write about ?  How does one revert to previous files in the file element ?  Is there some special keystroke pattern you have to hit to bring up this list or some step by step procedure you have to do to see or access it ?  The way you wrote your point regarding the usefulness of reverting to prior files leads me to believe that is something any web site creator can do if they need to.

Point 3 – the fact that Weebly keeps these older files when new ones are uploaded leads me to believe they are using some type of  list/table, array, multi-dimensional array … whatever mechanism they have in place to keep track.   I’ve done my fair share of programming so why not provide the following for the File Element

                 Keep Image/FileName History ?   Yes/No   with the default being Yes

A simple flag/switch added to the File Element

With a default of yes, you personally would not notice any change as things would stay as they are – the files and filenames are kept for you to revert to if needed.

But for someone like me, selecting No means Weebly could remove those older files / filenames from the  list/table mechanism they are using to keep track of them and simply keep replacing and using the very last one I have uploaded.   If anything I am reducing the memory space my specific website needs to keep track of these things because I am asking that they only keep track of the last one.   

This would give the flexibility to satisfy your needs and my needs.   Yes = they still keep track of as many prior files as they always have … something you desire.  For me, I only need the last file – I keep my history of those files in folders on my laptop so I can always revert back to a specific file if I had to.   It allows me to keep my filenames consistent and easy for my end-users. 

Is this an unreasonable software fix/addition to ask for ?   

It is clear that there is some numeric limit that Weebly has with respect to keeping track of these files and filenames.  And that numeric limit is what I am running into … 20 … 25 … 30 … whatever the number is.  It is not unlimited.  My suggestion makes my numeric limit 1 – the last one.   And keeps whatever limits are in place for people like you that want this feature to continue.    It gives the flexibility to address people like you and people like me.  That’s been my experience with good software – flexibility to meet different needs.

Look forward to your comments on Point 1  2  +  3  -  Edward

[seicolegwr]

@ed_from_nnj 

Re 1: If a file was uploaded in error perhaps to the wrong element or, as once happened to me, was corrupted (and I stupidly had no backup) it's possible to have Weebly support delete the most recent upload and reinstate the old file, which for me was better than nothing until I could patch together a new one. Which brings me to 2: Users have no access to files directly uploaded to elements. Only Weebly does (and Weebly support is obviously under-resourced nowadays). There is an alternative, however, by uploading files to a dedicated folder in the assets section (or use Google Drive etc) and then link to those files - that way you can delete the old file, upload a new file with the same name, and the naming problem goes away. I agree with you re 3, it would be better to have some control over this when uploading.

Why not make your suggestion in the Give Feedback forum?

Gary 

[ed_from_nnj]

In the past when strange issues like this have appeared I was able to work with level 2 support directly and send more detailed info and various test results to them.  So I am working on trying to do the same here. 

After that I’ll add to the Give Feedback forum.  

All the workarounds suggested are nice ideas but the whole premise of having to do workarounds like file renames and links to google drives, etc is because there is an inherent flaw in the functionality of the software.   My Point #3   -  setting a flag/option/switch  -  is one of the most common programming techniques used to add the functionality and eliminate the need to suggest all those workarounds in the first place.