Central File Services - Common Issues

If a folder or file in your user drive, department shared drive or cross-department shared drive will not open, consider the following:

1. Does the folder or file name contain any special characters?

• When connecting to Windows File Services using the "off campus" instructions, folders and files with names that contain certain special characters may not open or display. In the case of a folder, you may be able to click on it, but the files within will not display. However, when you connect using the "on campus" method, those folders and files will display and open without any problems. To resolve this issue for off-campus access, rename the folder or file and remove any special characters, including the following characters:  + ` ^ & { } [ ]
• Does the file name include the extension (e.g., .doc, .xls)?

• Files that were created without an extension cannot be opened in Windows File Services, because the system cannot determine which program to use to open the file. This issue is most common with files that were created by old Macintosh computers. If a file name does not include the extension, you can 1) rename the file to add the extension and then open the file, or you can 2) right click on the file and choose to "Open with" and then select the appropriate program.

Drives do not automatically appear

If restarting your computer does not make your drives appear, you need to manually connect to Windows File Services:

• Central File Services - Windows Instructions
• Central File Services - Instructions for Mac OS X
• Central File Services - Instructions for Mobile Devices

Corrupted files when using WebDAV for Mac

Dragging and dropping files into WebDAV can result in corruption of those files. If you choose to drag and drop, check to ensure that you can open the copied file before deleting the original.