Uploading images and documents via FTP
The primary method for uploading images and documents is through the Genesys FTP server. The connection settings are listed below. Your FTP username is the same as your Genesys username (your email address), but the FTP password is a separate password that you generate yourself.
If your genebank uses GGCE, images stored within GGCE can be synchronized directly with Genesys. This keeps your published images in step with your GGCE records automatically, without needing to manually upload via FTP.
See the GGCE documentation for configuration details.
Preparing images for upload
Make a folder YOUR_INSTCODE on your local computer to hold files to be published on Genesys. Create a subfolder acn. Within the acn folder, create a folder using the accession number as the folder name. This folder holds all files for a single accession.
Your folder structure should look like this (example for PHL001):
PHL001/acn/
PHL001/acn/IRGC 1/image1.jpg
PHL001/acn/IRGC 1/image2.jpg
PHL001/acn/IRGC 1/image3.jpg
PHL001/acn/IRGC 2/image1.jpg
Filenames are not important, but they must be unique within each accession folder.
If an accession number contains /, replace each slash with - when creating the folder name. For example, an accession numbered AA/KIR/001 should use a folder named AA-KIR-001.
Getting an FTP password
Log in to Genesys and click My Profile in the user menu. If your account is trusted, you will see a button Generate FTP password. This creates a dedicated password for FileZilla and other FTP clients. It is separate from your Genesys login password, which is useful if you sign in with Google and do not have a traditional password.
The FTP password is shown only once when generated, so copy it somewhere safe.
If you have trouble generating your FTP password, contact helpdesk@genesys-pgr.org.
Connecting with an FTP client
An FTP client that supports FTP over Transport Layer Security (TLS), such as FileZilla, is required.
Use the following settings for Sandbox (testing environment):
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Host | ftp.sandbox.genesys-pgr.org |
| Port | 2223 |
| Protocol | FTP |
| Encryption | Require implicit FTP over TLS |
| Logon type | Normal |
| Username | Your sandbox Genesys username (email address) |
| Password | The generated FTP password |
Use the following settings for Production (live portal):
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Host | ftp.genesys-pgr.org |
| Port | 2222 |
| Protocol | FTP |
| Encryption | Require implicit FTP over TLS |
| Logon type | Normal |
| Username | Your production Genesys username (email address) |
| Password | The generated FTP password |
Uploading process
Connect to the Genesys FTP server and navigate to the folder /wiews/YOUR_INSTCODE. Then synchronize the acn directory from your local computer with the remote FTP server.
Checking that images appear
After uploading, open the details page for one of the accessions for which you uploaded images. The gallery should display within a few minutes.
Updating file metadata
After images and documents are uploaded, you can add or update their descriptive metadata directly from the Genesys file explorer. This helps users understand what each file shows and how it relates to the accession.
Open the file explorer
Log in to Genesys with an account that has permission to manage your genebank data. Go to your genebank page at www.genesys-pgr.org/YOUR_INSTCODE and click Browse Files to open the file explorer for your uploads.
The acn folder holds the images and documents that belong to individual accessions.
Download the current metadata
In the file explorer, click Download Metadata. Genesys prepares a tab-separated (CSV/TSV) file containing metadata for all files in all subfolders and downloads it to your computer.
Edit the metadata in a spreadsheet
Open the downloaded file in Excel. If the values are not already split into columns, use Excel's Text to columns feature and choose the tab delimiter.
Update the relevant metadata fields. You can edit the columns from title through bibliographicCitation, but do not modify columns A through F. Those first columns identify the files and must stay unchanged so Genesys can match each row back to the correct upload.
Save as tab-delimited text
When you are done, save the file as a Tab delimited Text file with a .txt extension.
Upload the updated metadata
Back in the Genesys file explorer, click Upload metadata and select the tab-delimited .txt file you just saved. Wait for the operation to finish updating your records.
You must upload the metadata file in tab-delimited format. Other formats will not be processed correctly.