[Koha] Setting folders for access_dir

[David Liddle]

Hello Aida, I just had my first experience with the “access_dir” function today. I’m experimenting with using it to expose the files that I have put into the following new directory on the server:

/var/lib/koha/libraryname/web/

The idea is to put files in this directory that can be referenced by URLs that are manually entered in system preferences, e.g. the favicon.ico image shown in the browser tab. The location of this directory was suggested to me in Bug 33115, https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=33115, because I was looking for a directory that would be included in the Koha backup routine and koha-dump and could be served through the web.

Back to the use of “access_dir”. By listing the files in that directory, a staff user with the access_files permission can see what files are available for logos and icons, for example, and enter the appropriate URL in the system preferences by putting the file name after the base URL and /web/ (as set up according to the bug commenter’s suggestion). I don’t expect it to be used this way very much, but doing this can enabled authorized staff to make changes to the site’s appearance without asking a system administrator to do everything.

The feature only lists the files in the staff interface and allows the staff user to download them. They can’t be edited or deleted, so they’re safe.