Halo 4 Web File Browser FAQ

Games Other Halo
1

Halo 4 Web-Based File Browser

If you’re fairly new to the web-based File Browser, then feel free to read this FAQ! I’d also recommend checking out the news articles that describe the in-game File Browser and the web-based File Browser.

A table of contents is below. Each FAQ also has a list of keywords (such as “downloads” or “stats”), so if you don’t feel like checking this list, try using Ctrl+F to look for relevant words.

What are…?
» …the basic kinds of files that can be found on the File Browser?
» …“Likes”?
» …“Most Downloaded” and “Most Recommended”?
» …“tags”?
» …Custom Searches?
» …Recent Screenshots?

How do I…?
» …view someone’s File Share?
» …download a File?
» …link to a File?
» …see how many Downloads a file has?
» …view the tags I have applied to files?

Tell me more about…
» …tags.

2

What are…

» What are the basic kinds of files that can be found on the File Browser?
(keywords: clips files films games maps types variants varieties)

A screenshot is a still image of a scene in the game. These can be created when you watch replays of past matches, using Halo 4’s Theater. The File Browser allows you to save screenshots to your computer.

A map variant is a set of Forge modifications made to a base map. A single map variant can be a set of simple edits to weapon spawns, or it can be an entire community-made map built out of Forge pieces.

A game variant is a set of modifications made to a gametype (core game mode). “Slayer” is a gametype; “SWAT” and “Infinity Slayer” are Slayer game variants.

Films and film clips are full and partial replays of a Halo 4 match, and can be watched in-game using Halo 4’s Theater. A film or film clip is not a video file; instead, it is a list of every single thing that happened during a match. When you “watch” a film, you are actually watching the events of that match happen again in real-time.

» What are “Likes”?
(keywords: needs-verification counts files likes recommended recommendations stats statistics)

Likes in the web-based File Browser appear to be the same as Recommendations in the in-game File Browser. When you like/recommend a file, your friends will be able to see it when they view the “Recommendations” menu in the in-game File Browser. The file will also appear higher in searches that are sorted by Likes/Recommendations.» What are “Most Downloaded” and “Most Recommended”?
(keywords: counts downloaded downloads files likes recommended recommendations searches stats statistics)

Most Downloaded and Most Recommended are default searches that are built into the File Browser. They retrieve all files created within the last 7 days, sorted by Download or Like counts.» What are “tags”?
(keywords: files finding keywords searches searching stats statistics tags tagging)

Tags are search keywords that have been applied to a file. Anyone can apply a tag to any file.

The idea is that people can tag their content with relevant words. For example, a map can be tagged with the gametypes it plays well on – “ctf”, “flood”, and so on. That map, and others like it, can then be found by searching for those tags. A person looking for a map that supports King of the Hill, for example, can search for map variants with the “koth” tag.

For more information on tags, including limitations and advice, see the sections “What are Custom Searches?” and “Tell me more about tags.”

» What are Custom Searches?
(keywords: counts custom downloads files finding likes recommendations searches searching stats statistics tags tagging)

A Custom Search is an advanced search for files based on certain attributes that they have.

Custom Searches can filter files by

  • The file’s age
  • The file’s author (in-game searches only)
  • The multiplayer gametype that the file was created with
  • The map that the file was created on
  • The tags that a file has

Note that in-game, you may only search for one tag at a time. On the Waypoint website, you can search for multiple tags, but cannot search for files by a certain author. Searches for multiple tags are “OR” searches: a file will appear if it has at least one of the entered tags.

» What are Recent Screenshots?
(keywords: automatic files finding recently screenshots taken theater uploading)

Recent Screenshots are the 25 most-recent screenshots that you have auto-uploaded. You can view them in the web-based File Browser them by going to your File Share (click “VIEW YOUR FILE SHARE” in the upper-right corner), and then clicking “RECENT SCREENSHOTS”.

When you take a screenshot in Theater, Halo 4 will try to automatically upload it to the web. If the upload succeeds, then people will be able to find the screenshot in Custom Searches. The screenshot will not be in your File Share, however; instead, it exists in some cloudy, mysterious space beyond it. If you manually upload it to your File Share, then there will be two separate copies of it online (which usually isn’t something to worry about).

Note that a screenshot will not automatically upload if you are not connected to Xbox LIVE, and it will not automatically upload if its title or description contains any text that Xbox LIVE’s profanity filter catches. If your screenshot is caught by the filter, then a message will be displayed in-game, shortly after you’ve taken the screenshot.

3

How do I…

» How do I view someone’s File Share?
(keywords: access files find gamertags share view)

When you’re at the File Browser, the fastest way to view a specific user’s File Share is to:

1. Click “VIEW YOUR FILE SHARE” in the upper-right corner of the Browser.

2. Look at the Address Bar. Edit the URL: replace your gamertag with the gamertag whose File Share you want to view.

3. Go to the edited URL.

NOTE: Some web browsers may be picky, and demand that you replace spaces in the gamertag with “%20”. So to view bs angel’s File Share, you might have to type “bs%20angel”.

» How do I download a File?
(keywords: computers downloads files send to xbox)

Screenshots can be downloaded to a computer. Other files can be queued for download to your Xbox; the download will begin the next time you start Halo 4.

To download a screenshot to your computer, view the screenshot’s details and click “Download”. If the file that you are given has a very long and weird name, be sure to save it with a *.JPG file extension. Otherwise, your computer may not be able to figure out what kind of file it is.

To send other files to your Xbox, view the files’ details and click “Send to Xbox”.

» How do I link to a file?
(keywords: addresses files finding getting hyperlinks linking links locations to urls)

There are two ways to copy a file’s URL.

The simplest way is to view a file’s details, and then just copy the URL. However, if you found the file during a search, this can result in a bloated URL with a lot of extra junk data.

To get the shortest URL possible, view a file’s details. Copy the URL, open a new browser window or tab, and load the copied URL. As that page loads, its URL will shorten itself. You can then copy the shortened URL.

» How do I see how many Downloads a file has?
(keywords: counts downloads files statistics stats)

View the file’s details (click on its thumbnail), and then look for a “Download” or “Send to Xbox” button. The number of Downloads is displayed next to that.

Note that very large download counts will be shortened. (For example, a file with 24338 downloads will show as “24.3K”.)

Please note that viewing a file in-game appears to increase the Download count, even if you don’t actually select “Download”. This does not happen if you view the file on the Web without downloading it. As a result of this oddity (which Halo 4 inherited from Halo: Reach), Download counts are not likely to be accurate.

» How do I view the tags I have applied to files?
(keywords: applying applied bookmarking bookmarks files finding history searches searching tags tagging)

To view the tags that you have applied to files, start at the File Browser, and click “VIEW YOUR FILE SHARE” in the upper-right corner. When your File Share loads, you will see three new links above the content: “FILE SHARE”, “RECENT SCREENSHOTS”, and “TAG HISTORY”. Click “TAG HISTORY”.

Here, you will see a list of every single tag you have ever applied, along with the number of times you’ve used each tag. If you click on one of the tags, you will see a list of the files that you have applied that tag to. Files that other people have applied the tag to will not be listed.

This makes tagging a great way to bookmark files that you like. You can tag files with something like “john doe likes this”, and use the Tag History to return to those files later. The benefit of using the Tag History over a typical Custom Search is that if some jerk spots your tag and starts applying it to random content, your Tag History will only show the files that you applied your tag to. (Just remember to be considerate to the file author, and don’t use insulting or very spammy tags for your bookmarks.)

4

Tell me more about…

» Tell me more about tags.
(keywords: files find lengths searches searching tags tagging)

Tags applied through the web-based File Browser can be up to 30 characters long. They can contain letters, numbers, and semicolons; invalid characters (and obscenities) will be automatically stripped out when the tag is applied.

The best tags to apply are ones that people are likely or somewhat likely to use. If you’ve built a Flood map, for example, you should tag it with “flood”, “infection”, and “zombies”, so that people can find it when looking for Flood maps. For a screenshot, you could tag it with visual elements like prominent colors or weapons.

It is a good idea to tag a file with its own name, and with your gamertag. This makes it easier for people to find it a second time (if, for example, they like it and wish to recommend it to their friends).

You can also use tags as a bookmarking system for other people’s content. If you see a lot of files that you can like, then you can apply a tag like “i like this file”, and then use your Tag History (see section “How do I view the tags I have applied?”) to return to those files later.

5

Reserved.
You never know when you’ll need more room.

6

Reserved.
You never know when you’ll need more room.

7

I was really hoping Films could be downloaded from the Waypoint computer site, it would make a huge difference! Please take this into consideration 343.

8

I would also like films and clips to be downloaded, or at the very least could you make them watchable online, that way people could just use screen recorders and stuff to download them themselves :slight_smile:

9

> I would also like films and clips to be downloaded, or at the very least could you make them watchable online, that way people could just use screen recorders and stuff to download them themselves :slight_smile:

They’d require the same technology either way: basically a modified copy of the game that can run on servers and pipe its graphics engine output into a video file.

Bungie custom-built their own tech to do that, and that code wasn’t transferred to 343i with the Halo franchise. 343i would have to build the feature from scratch. I hope it gets done, but it’ll probably take a long time.

10

is it possible to remove a file, such as a screenshot, from the browser if you are the author?
[just wondering. i think i already know the answer though lol]

11

> is it possible to remove a file, such as a screenshot, from the browser if you are the author?
> [just wondering. i think i already know the answer though lol]

As far as I’m aware, no.

If the only copy of that file in existence is on your File Share, then deleting it from there will get rid of it. However, I think that if a file is uploaded to Recent Screenshots, then that counts as a separate copy.

If you want to ensure that you can upload a screenshot, but don’t want it in your Recent Screenshots, then put an obvious profanity into the description when saving it in Theater. That will prevent the auto-upload, and then you can change the description and manually put it in your Share.

If you do that, and if you’re lucky enough that no one copies the file to their own Share, then you should be able to delete it from the File Browser forever, whenever you please.

(Why the odd workaround? IIRC in Reach, screenshots taken while offline could not be uploaded to File Shares. I don’t know if this is still true in Halo 4, but I don’t see why it would change.)