File hosting policy for spreadsheets etc. UPDATE: Internet Brands added function
 

FT (and IB) have policies for direct upload of various file formats - images and pdf, IIRC. This is definitely a positive step over the earlier versions of the site that were more limited.

This is a request to add a policy for upload/hosting of spreadsheets for tracking of miles, points, etc. In some cases these are hosted on external sites with reference made in threads here. This works, but it can be inconvenient for the hosting party, and involves more coordination to get the spreadsheet.

Given the wealth of information out there to be shared by members to help other members, I suggest that FT/IB allow upload of .xls.xlsx files (subject to some limitations/rules) for this purpose.

Cheers.

The Community Director is traveling at the moment, but will certainly see this suggestion as soon as she returns.

/Mod hat off: This sounds like a worthwhile idea. You have been offering to share spreadsheets relating to miles, etc. earning on Americans Air lines for some years, but placing these on proffered third party sites means there's not the stability and convenience of having them downloadable from FT. Other members such as BlondeBomber (spelling?) have generously shared tools with other members that have added considerable value to FlyerTalk over the years.

I doubt its worth for IB to spend money on such a service when google offers it for free. The UA fleet tracking sheets are a prime example:

https://sites.google.com/site/united...fleet-tracking

Eye popping stuff, all available for no cost.

Fair point. Although IB already allow file hosting for other types, and I would imagine that the number of such resources is few, so the cost would be negligible. Certainly could be on Google Docs, but would, IMO, be beneficial to have locally.

Good to see that other forums also have eye-popping content :)

Cheers.

how big do office files get? in terms of having size limits

With a lot of data they can get large. The one I have for AA mileage/status tracking is only about 785K

Cheers.

785K not large vs current maximum 7MB photos and 488K pdfs

matching 488K pdfs might be a start

I wonder if its macros that are the issue? Is it easier to embed a malicious program in an excel document than a PDF or Image? I mean that will affect the one who downloads vs the FT server.

Hi all,

I have asked Mike (our tech guru) what he can do for you here.

If we added more file types that can be uploaded to posts and wikiposts, would that resolve this? If so, please give us a list of those file types.

Thank you,

Paul

that kind of thing would not be good

could be helped by having post/join requirements ?

I think Kagehitokiri has a good idea; maybe uploading restricted to those with 90 posts and 90 days, consistent with the Wikipost requirements, or even 180/180 like The Coupon Connection if Admin feels there's cause for worry.

As usual, a disclaimer would be provided in instructions.


Microsoft docs, spreadsheets and possibly PowerPoint presentations (Google exports those formats as well), Adobe Portable Document Format / PDF would be useful. I'm sure others can weigh in. Images are already supported by downloading, iirc.

Well, I'll ask. I am not aware of any way to do that through VB; whereas enabling uploads of new file types is relatively easy.

What is the concern with newer users being able to upload the new file types (they can already upload all the existing ones)? Is restricting the new uploads to established users a dealbreaker, or just a "would like to have"?

I think that the point is that an Excel spreadsheet, or to a somewhat lesser extent, an MS Word doc can have embedded macros, and can therefore contain macro viruses. A minimum post count might help to deter a "bad actor" (Nicolas Cage???) from creating an account solely for the purpose of uploading an infected file.

Aha. Well, I must presume our head Tech, Mike, knows more than me about such things and would object if it were a problem.

He has advised me on how to make this happen, however, so all we need is a complete list of new file types to be added, and I can hopefully turn them on with the 90/90 or 180/180 (whichever you decide) restrictions, next week.

Paul

This wasn't my request, but I would imagine that you would want .xls and .xlsx, maybe .doc and .docx.
A case could probably be made for including open source variants, such as .ods for spreadsheets and .odt for documents, but I don't know that it is actually necessary, given that every spreadsheet application that I am aware of can read and write to the MS format. The same is likely true for documents. However, the reverse is not necessarily true, and would potentially leave users of MS Office unable some files.

Just my 2 cents.