DNN Intro for Site Administrators

Transcription

1 Archdiocese of Chicago DNN Intro for Site Administrators For DNN Mike Riley 6/6/2012

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3 CONTENTS About DNN... 1 Traditional Web Development (Static Pages)... 1 Database-Driven Development (Dynamic Pages)... 1 Why DotNetNuke?... 1 Planning Your Site... 1 Maintaining Your DNN Site... 5 Logging In... 5 Changing Your Profile... 6 Control Panel... 7 Modules... 7 Mode... 7 Page Functions... 7 Common Tasks... 7 Initial Site Setup... 9 Create Security Roles and Users... 9 Create Folders for Images and Files Adjust Site Settings Pages Creating New Pages Copying Pages Adjusting Page Settings Deleting Pages Admin: Pages Modules Panes Adding a New Module... 24

4 Moving Modules Within the same page To another page Deleting Modules Basic Module Settings Varying Container Appearance Adding Existing Modules Modules: Adding, Editing and Deleting Content HTML Module Edit Content Options CK Editor CK Editor Toolbar Formatting Text in DNN Insert/Edit Link Insert/Edit Image Uploading Images Insert/Edit Table Announcements Module Announcements Module Settings Announcements Examples Documents Module Uploading Files Documents Module Settings Events Module Event Fields Event Categories Event Locations... 53

5 Events Module Settings SubCalendars Sample Uses of Subcalendars Search Input 1.0.0/Search Results Modules Search Input Search Results Links Module Links Module Settings Admin: Recycle Bin Finalizing a DNN Site Checking Your Site Content Empty Pages Balanced Pages/Balance Within Pages Permissions Home Page Update Plan Launching Your DNN Site DNN Tips Maintaining Your DNN Site Not adding new pages/modules Support Websites DNN Tutorials (Archdiocesan Network Only) Published Books IT Assistance Line DNN User Group... 76

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7 ABOUT DNN DotNetNuke is an open-source Web Application Framework ideal for creating and deploying projects such as commercial websites, corporate intranets and extranets, online publishing portals, and custom vertical applications. In other words, DotNetNuke (DNN) is a web-based website creation and maintenance utility that you can use to quickly and easily create and maintain a website. DotNetNuke was first introduced in April 2004 and has had regular upgrades developed since then (over 23 updates to the core application). DNN is based on Microsoft s ASP.NET technologies and uses Microsoft SQL Server as its data store. DNN is an open-source application meaning that it s available at no cost and the underlying code that runs DNN is made available. TRADITIONAL WEB DEVELOPMENT (STATIC PAGES) In traditional web development, someone needs to create each and every page in your website and provide a means to access those pages (creating links). While traditional development does give you the most control over each page in your site, it doesn't take advantage of any newer technologies and is the most time consuming. DATABASE-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT (DYNAMIC PAGES) Database-driven development involves storing content of pages within a database and then building each page ondemand using server-side scripting (such as ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, JSP, etc.). FrontPage and Dreamweaver both contain tools that automate some basic database-driven functionality. For an entire website that is databasedriven, you'd need to code your entire site by hand. WHY DOTNETNUKE? After experimenting with developing our own database-driven web application for agencies, parishes, and schools, I began investigating off-the-shelf web applications. DotNetNuke was chosen because of its history, the server requirements, ease of installation, and ease of use. PLANNING YOUR SITE When planning a DNN site (or any website), you'll want to think about what content you are going to make available on your site and how you will organize your content. Think in terms of how a visitor would navigate your site to get to the desired content. In DNN, this will determine your page/navigation structure of your site. You may want to start out by sketching a "site map" for your site to help you plan and organize your content. The following diagram is an example of a parish website. 1

8 Home Our Parish Sacraments Youth Ministry Ministry Opportunities Staff Baptism Bulletins Reconciliation History Confirmation Marriage When sketching out your site map, keep in mind that less is more. If you have too many pages in your site, it will be harder for visitors to find the information they're looking for. Also, keep in mind that with DNN, you can have content from one page referenced in other pages in your site (so that if there's content that should appear in more than one page, you can easily accomplish this). 2

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11 MAINTAINING YOUR DNN SITE You maintain the content of your DNN site using a web browser. The preferred browsers for maintaining content of a DNN site are Internet Explorer and Firefox. Mac users should use Firefox. If you use a different browser to maintain the content of your site, some of the tools won't be available. LOGGING IN Before you can maintain the content of your site, you need to log into your DNN site. To log into your DNN site: Browse to your site with Internet Explorer or Firefox Click the Login link (normally located at the upper right) Enter your User Name and Password Click Login If the skin that is applied to your site does NOT include a Login link, you can still access the login page for your site. Type the address of your site followed by /login.aspx. If you forget your password, the Forget Password? link will your password to the address associated with your User Name. 5

12 CHANGING YOUR PROFILE After logging into your DNN site, you may see your name listed near the Logout link. Clicking this link will display your profile. Click Edit Profile to access your profile. When you first log into a DNN site that is hosted by the Archdiocese, you'll want to verify or update some of the information in your profile. Change Your Password Use the Manage Password link to create a new password. Enter your Current Password, create a New Password and type your new password (again) in the Confirm Password box. Click the Change Password link to set your new password. Set Your Time Zone and Default Language (Preferred Locale) Click on Manage Profile. Scroll down to the bottom of your profile. Select the appropriate Time Zone and Preferred Locale (language). Click the Update link to save these changes. 6

13 CONTROL PANEL Once you are logged into your DNN site, additional tools will be available to you. As a portal Administrator, you have full control over all of the content in your site. You can grant other people permission to maintain content in your site as well (covered in Admin Modules). After you log into your site, the Control Panel will display at the top of the screen. The Control Panel can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the arrow at the far right of the Control Panel. Collapsed Control Panel Expanded Control Panel MODULES The Modules section lets you add modules to a page. Modules contain the actual content that you display on a page. Different modules are designed to display content in different methods. When adding a module, you choose the desired module, enter a Title (Heading) for that module, choose where to place it on the page (Pane and Insert) and its Visibility. MODE While developing your DNN site, you may occasionally switch Modes to get an idea of how the site appears for your visitor. Switching from Edit mode to View mode can give you a general idea of the page's appearance for non-authenticated users. While maintaining the content of your site, you MUST be in Edit Mode. Layout Mode is rarely necessary (but is vital in certain situations). PAGE FUNCTIONS Page Functions let you add, delete and copy pages as well as accessing settings of a page. Within DNN, a page can be an actual page, navigation menu item or both (by default, a page is both). COMMON TASKS Common Tasks give you access to some commonly used administrative features. 7

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15 INITIAL SITE SETUP When developing a new DNN site, there are a few things you should do right away. CREATE SECURITY ROLES AND USERS One of the many benefits of using DotNetNuke is the ability to distribute the maintenance of a website among several people. While you can grant other users Administrator permission, this can be risky. Administrators have almost total control over your entire site. A better method is to create additional Security Roles and then grant Edit permissions as needed to those roles. To create a Security Role: Choose Admin, Security Roles Choose Add New Role from the module s drop-down menu Enter a name for the Role Enter a Description Click Update Note: You will still need to grant permissions to the role. Simply creating a role called Editors does NOT automatically grant any permissions. 9

16 Once you have created your Security Roles, you can assign users to those roles. To create a new user: Choose Admin, User Accounts Click Add New User Enter the desired information for the user Click Add New User Note: When creating a new user, it's a good idea to specify the password for the user and then manually create an to that user providing them with their User Name and Password. Notification s can get blocked by SPAM filters. Once a User Account has been created, you can assign that user to Security Roles. To assign a user to a security role: Choose Admin, User Accounts Locate the user account Click the Manage Roles (padlock) icon next to the Username Choose the desired Security Role from the drop-down list and click Add Role to User 10

17 CREATE FOLDERS FOR IMAGES AND FILES In a DNN site, you (and other content editors) are likely to include images and other files. All of these files are uploaded into your site. You should create subfolders to help you better organize the files within your site. To create a folder: Choose Admin, File Manager Select the parent folder in the Folder section Enter a name for the folder and choose its security option Click Add Folder Note: The Folder security option determines whether or not the files within the folder can be accessed outside of your website. From within your site, the folder permissions apply. Secure File System folders can only be accessed from within your site. External sites can NOT create direct links or references to any of those files. In addition, you can only LINK to these file (you can t display secure images within a rich text area, for example). After creating a folder, you'll want to set the Read/Write permissions on the folder. To set folder permissions: Choose Admin, File Manager Select the folder Choose the desired permissions Click Update Note: Normally, you grant Open Files in Folder permission to All Users and grant Browse and Write permissions to editors. Open Files Browse Files Write Files in this folder are viewable/downloadable Files in this folder can be used in content added by that group Group can UPLOAD files into that folder. 11

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19 ADJUST SITE SETTINGS Another step you may want to complete before adding content to your site is to establish your Site Settings. The Site Settings control the default behavior of the site. Basic Settings Site Details: Title Site Details: Description Site Details: Keywords Site Details: Copyright Appearance: Logo Appearance: Portal Skin Appearance: Portal Container Appearance: Edit Skin/Edit Container Advanced Settings Security Settings: User Registration Page Management: Home Page Usability Settings: Inline Editor Enabled? Usability Settings: Control Panel Mode Usability Settings: Control Panel Visibility Usability Settings: Control Panel Security Other Settings: Administrator Other Settings: Portal TimeZone Stylesheet Editor The name of your website. Displayed in banner with AOC Tabs/Buttons templates. Not normally used. Displayed in banner with AOC Tabs/Buttons templates. Not normally used. Text displayed in the Copyright section of pages within your site. If you clear out the information entered here, the copyright text will be generated automatically from your site Title and current year. A graphic logo for your site. Lets you specify the skin applied to pages in your site. Lets you specify the default containers used. Normally the same as Portal Skin/Portal Container Set this to None at the beginning. (Visitors can NOT register on your site.) Specifies which page in your site is the Home Page. You can't delete the page that is currently set as your Home Page. Specifies whether the Inline Editor is used on your site. Indicates the default mode for pages when a user has edit permissions. Indicates whether the control panel starts maximized or minimized. Choose whether the control panel is visible for users with edit permission for any part of the page or whether they need edit permission for the entire page. Sets the default Administrator for the site. That account's address is used to send admin notifications. You can't delete the current Administrator account. Sets the timezone for your site. Used to override CSS used by your site. 13

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21 PAGES One of your first steps in setting up your DNN site is to create the pages and navigation for you site. By default, each page added to your site appears in your site's navigation menu. CREATING NEW PAGES To add a new page/navigation item: Click the Add link in the Page functions section of the Control Panel Enter the information in the Page Settings as desired (see next page) Click the Update link (at the bottom) As you add/edit information in DNN, you'll notice that Help indicators (question marks) appear in many places. Clicking the Help icon will give more information about that setting (if information is available). When you click update, you will remain in the Page Settings page. Click Back or select your new page from the Navigation Menu to view the new page s content. 15

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23 Page Details Page Name The text that display in the Navigation Menu. Page Title The text that displays in the Title Bar of the browser. This defaults to the Page Name if left blank. Description Text that displays when the page is listed in Search Results. Keywords Keywords that may help a search engine better index your page. Parent Page Indicates the page this should display as a menu item underneath. Insert Page Lets you specify where, in your navigation, the page will appear. The default is After the current page. Include In Menu? Specifies whether or not a page will display in a menu. You would normally NOT include a page in the menu if a visitor shouldn't be able to navigate to that page. For instance, a page thanking a visitor for registering for an event is pointless until that visitor has registered. Permissions Indicates which security groups can view and/or edit a page. If your site is live and you are working on a new page, you normally would not allow All Users to view the page. Once the page is ready to be displayed, you would change its View settings. You should ALWAYS grant permissions to GROUPS rather than individual users. 17

24 Copy Page Copy From Page Lets you choose one other page to copy modules from into the new page. Specify Modules When Copy From Page is selected, you can choose to copy existing modules, empty versions of the modules, or links (references) to the module. Appearance Page Skin Lets you specify the skin for the new page. Normally, you use the default portal skin for all pages in your site. Page Container Lets you specify the default container for modules added to the page. Disabled Makes the "page" a Navigation item only (it's not clickable). This is used for menu items with Child Pages. Page Header Tags Additional HTML code added to the Head section of the page (for advanced users). Other Settings Start Date The date the page will start being visible. End Date The date the page will STOP being visible. Link URL Specifies that the menu item points to something other than this page within your DNN site. 18

25 COPYING PAGES If you have an existing page whose settings you've extensively modified and you want to create a new page that uses most of the settings of that existing page, Copy the page instead of creating a new page. The only real difference between creating a New page and Copying an existing page is what the default Page Settings will be. ADJUSTING PAGE SETTINGS You can easily change the settings of an existing page. Simply browse to that page and click the Settings link in the Page Functions section. When changing the settings of an existing page, you have some new options available. These settings only affect a page that has Child pages. Copy Permissions to Descendents Set the permissions on all child pages to the same settings as the parent page. Copy Design to Descendents Sets the Page Skin and default Page Container of child pages to the same as the parent page. DELETING PAGES If you no longer need a page in your site, you can delete it. Browse to the page and click Delete from Page Functions. Any child pages will also be deleted. You can also click the Delete option at the bottom of the Page Settings. Deleted pages go into your portal's Recycle Bin. 19

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27 ADMIN: PAGES If you are going to rearrange several pages within your site or you need to modify settings (or content) of a Hidden or Disabled page, you'll want to use the Pages option from the Admin menu. The Admin, Pages page includes the Tabs module (a DNN page is also referred to as a Tab). To move a page, select the page and click the appropriate Move Page button. To delete a page, select the page and click the Delete Action. To change the settings of a page (the only way to change settings of a Disabled page), select the page and click the Edit (pencil) icon. To browse to a page (the easiest way to edit a Hidden page), select the page and click the View icon (magnifying glass). 21

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29 MODULES Once you have your navigation structure set up, you'll want to begin adding Modules to the pages in your site. Modules are what contain the actual content that is display on the page. There are several modules available in DNN. The type of module you choose is based on how you want the information to be displayed and processed. The following Modules are part of the "core" of DNN (they're developed by the DNN team) and are available to all DNN sites running on the Archdiocesan DNN application. These are the modules that are covered in this course. Module Announcements Documents Events HTML Links Search Input/Search Results Description Used for multiple, date-stamped Announcements. Individual announcements can have their own start and end date. You can specify how many days an announcement will display before it disappears. A library of downloadable files. The downloads module can automatically display the file size of each file as well as how many times the file has been clicked. Used to render a calendar of events. Each event must have a start and end time (there is no support for All-Day Events). You can also allow registered users to sign up for events. Used for permanent content that, once added, will rarely change. A list of links to other websites, pages within your site, or files available in your site. Gives visitors a means of searching within your site (in case the skin does NOT include Search). PANES When you add a module to a page, you choose which Pane to add the module to. You can see the panes by choosing the Layout View. In Edit view, the pane will be temporarily highlighted if you choose a different Pane. The available Panes are determined by the Skin that is applied to a page. Each skin MUST include a Content Pane. The standard Archdiocesan skin includes a Content Pane, Menu Pane, and Right Pane. Other skins may include additional panes. In most skins, empty panes will fully collapse when the page is viewed. You do NOT have to put something in every pane in a page. Some skins contain large number of panes to accommodate a large variety of page layouts. 23

30 ADDING A NEW MODULE You can add modules to any page that you have Edit permissions on. Remember, as a portal Administrator, you have Edit permission for your entire site. To add a new module: Make sure Add New Module is selected in the Module section of the Control Panel Choose the desired Module from the Select a Module drop-down Enter a Title for the module (if you leave the title blank, it defaults to the name of the module) Choose the starting Visibility for the module Choose the Pane to add the module to Choose whether to insert the module at the Bottom of that pane or Above/Below another module currently in that pane Click Add Module to Page MOVING MODULES You can easily change where a module appears within your page and even move a module to a completely different page. WITHIN THE SAME PAGE To move a module within the same page: Click the module's drop-down menu indicator Choose Move Click on the desired Move option Note: It is possible to drag and drop by dragging a module by its title. This is a skill that is very difficult to master. 24

31 TO ANOTHER PAGE Moving a module to a different page in your site requires different steps. To move a module to a different page: Click the module's drop-down menu indicator Click on Settings Expand the Page Settings section Expand the Advanced Settings (in Page Settings) Choose the desired page from Move To Page Click the Update link at the bottom Moving a module to a different page will move it to the TOP of the CONTENT PANE. DELETING MODULES If you've added a module by mistake, you can easily remove it. To delete a module: Click the module's drop-down menu indicator Click on Delete Click OK when prompted You can also Delete a module from the module Settings page. 25

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33 BASIC MODULE SETTINGS When you add a module to a page, you may want to change some of the normal behavior of the module. Every DNN module shares a common set of module settings. To change a module's setting: Click the module's drop-down menu indicator Click on Settings Enter the new desired settings Click Update at the bottom of the page 27

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35 Module Settings: Basic Settings Module Culture Module Module Title Permissions Inherit View permissions from Page Displays the name of the culture (language) you are currently configuring. Displays the name of the module being used (can't be changed) The title for the selected module. Specifies which security groups and users have permission to view and edit the module's content. Some modules have additional permission settings Specifies that the module's View settings are the same as the page the module appears on. Module Settings: Advanced Settings Display Module on All Pages? Hide Admin Border Header Footer Start Date End Date Added to Pages Check this box to have the module appear in every current (and new) page within your site. You can delete the module from individual pages if desired. To remove the module from ALL pages, uncheck this box and click Update. The module will then only display on the current page. You can then delete the module from the current page (if desired). Turns off the red border that normally displays around modules that are visible to Administrators only. HTML or plain text that appears ABOVE the module. HTML or plain text that appears BELOW the module. The date the module will begin displaying The date the module will STOP displaying Shows which additional pages in your site display this specific module. This occurs if you chose Add Existing Module or Display Module on All Pages. 29

36 Page Settings: Basic Settings Alignment Color Border Collapse/Expand Display Container? Allow Print? Allow Syndicate? Module Container Cache Time Alignment of content within the module. This doesn't work consistently with all containers. A background color in the module. Use a named HTML color or the #RRGGBB code. Width (in pixels) of a border around the module Specifies the initial display of the module. Choosing None means the module is ALWAYS expanded (can't be collapsed). Specifies whether the container around the module should display. Displays or hides the Print Friendly icon Indicates the module can generate an RSS feed. The Announcements module is one of the few modules that Syndicate works correctly on. Specifies the container that surrounds the module. Varying containers will give your pages a more interesting visual appearance. Leave as is or set to 0 if a module is acting up. Page Settings: Cache Settings Cache Duration (seconds) Leave as is or set to 0 if a module is acting up. Page Settings: Advanced Settings Set As Default Settings Apply to All Modules? Move To Page Specifies that some of the Page Settings: Basic Settings will become the new default. Specifies that some of the Page Settings: Basic Settings will be applied to ALL modules in your site. Use this with caution. Once you make this change, you can't easily undo it. Lets you move the module to a different page in your site Most modules also have their own section of settings that are specific to that type of module. These settings are covered in the sections for the specific modules. VARYING CONTAINER APPEARANCE A page that displays multiple containers that use the same container results in a very flat appearance to a page. You should vary the containers in a single page by choosing different containers throughout the page and/or applying background colors and borders to the containers. 30

37 ADDING EXISTING MODULES You can also add an existing module to another page. In this way, the content will appear in multiple places in your website. The underlying content is the same, so you only have to maintain the content in one place. To add an Existing module: Make sure Add Existing Module is selected in the Module section of the Control Panel Select the Page that contains the module you are adding from Select the desired Module Choose the starting Visibility for the module Choose the Pane to add the module to Choose whether to insert the module at the Bottom of that pane or Above/ Below another module in that pane. Click the Add link For the most part, a "referenced" module can use different settings on different pages, with some exceptions. The Module Title is used in all instances of the module (you can't have a referenced module use a different title in different pages). The Events module's settings are tightly integrated in the module and will be the same in all instances of the module. If you remove a module reference from a page, it will be placed in your site's Recycle Bin. If the module you want to add as a reference is in the recycle bin, you must REMOVE it from the recycle bin or RESTORE it to the page. MODULES: ADDING, EDITING AND DELETING CONTENT Once modules are added to a page you can easily add, edit or delete content of the module. Most modules contain multiple items that are maintained individually. To add content to a module: Click the module's drop-down menu indicator (normally at the top left or top right of the module's title) Choose Add New item Fill out the form as needed Click Update (at the bottom of the page) When a module contains multiple items, you'll need to click the Edit (pencil) icon next to the item to edit or delete that item. 31

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39 HTML MODULE The HTML module is a frequently used module within DNN. Unlike other modules, however, once you've added a HTML module to a page, you will rarely change its content. Each HTML module only contains one set of content. This content is entered and formatted using the Rich Text Editor (CK Editor). EDIT CONTENT OPTIONS You maintain the content of the HTML Module by choosing Edit Content. The actual content is entered into the Editor. You can expand the Version History to access older version of the content and even roll back to a previous version. The Preview icons will display the version's content in the Preview Content section. Use the Rollback Content icon to restore an older version of the module's content. 33

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41 CK EDITOR The CK Editor is another open-source text editor that can be used with DNN. It allows you to enter and format content so that it looks as close as possible to what your visitors will see. The CK Editor might not be available if you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer or Firefox. CK EDITOR TOOLBAR Source Preview Cut/Copy/Paste Paste As Plain Text Paste From Word Spell Check Undo Redo Find Find and Replace Select All Remove Format Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough Subscript/Supersript Shows the underlying HTML Source Code that is generated by the editor. Experienced HTML users may find it easier to adjust certain settings directly in the Source. Opens the content in a separate window to give you a better idea of how the content will display for a visitor. Lets you move or copy content. The Paste button retains formatting of cut/copied content. Lets you paste copied/cut content and remove all of the formatting. This is the best way to paste in content. Lets you choose to remove some formatting when the content you are pasting is copied/cut from Microsoft Word. You should, however, use Paste As Plain Text and reformat as needed. Activate the WebSpellChecker.net application. If you need to login to be able to access websites, you ll need to be logged in for the spellchecker to work. Lets you reverse changes made Undoes an Undo Lets you search for a word or phrase within your content Lets you replace instances of words or phrases with a different word or phrase Selects all of your content. This is useful if you are starting over or need to remove formatting. Removes some of the formatting that has been applied. Applies bold, underline, italic or strikethrough effect to selected text. If nothing is currently selected, it turns on this effect so that it is applied to new text. Applies subscript or superscript formating 35

42 Numbered List/Bulleted List Increase/Decrease Indent Blockquote Text Alignment Insert/Edit Link Remove Link Insert/Edit Image Insert/Edit Flash Insert/Edit Table Insert Horizontal Line Insert Smiley Insert Special Character Format Lets you create bulleted and numbered lists. Lets you increase or decrease the LEFT margin Increases both the left and right margins Lets you specify the alignment of text (left, center, or right). Lets you apply a hyperlink to the selected object. Removes the link from the selected object Lets you insert an image within the rich content. Lets you add an SWF file (flash animation) within the editor. Lets you create tables Inserts horizontal line Inserts a small graphic from a preset library Inserts characters not available on the keyboard Applies HTML block-level formatting. Font Changes the typeface of the text. Size Changes the size of the text. Text Color Background Color About CK Editor Changes the color of the text. Changes the background color of the text. Information about the Editor. You can also right-click on an item within the Rich Text Editor to bring up a shortcut menu for that item. FORMATTING TEXT IN DNN You should be extremely conservative when changing text formatting in DNN (or any web site, for that matter). When all of your content is formatted differently, formatting begins to become meaningless. In addition, if you are applying a lot of formatting in the Rich Text Editor and WANT your content to be consistent, you're creating more work for yourself. 36

43 INSERT/EDIT LINK Text and graphics in a rich text area can also be hyperlinks to other websites, files in your DNN site or pages in your site. When you create a link to a different website, simply enter the address in the URL field. Use the Portal Page dropdown if you are linking to another page within your site. Click Browse Server to link to a file within your site. The Target tab lets you specify that the link opens in a New Window or Popup Window. While you may be tempted to open a link in a New or Popup Window, this can be extremely annoying to your site's visitors. Note: While you can create a MAILTO link, these links only work if the visitor has already configured an SMTP client on their computers. Visitors who only use web-based systems can't make use of mailto links. 37

44 INSERT/EDIT IMAGE You can add as many images in a rich text area as you like. These will help break apart large "walls" of text. You should only include images that you've uploaded into your site and not images from other websites. If you reference an image from a different website and that image is changed, deleted, renamed, or moved, it will either display a "broken" image or the "new" image. Use the Browse Server button to select (or upload) an image from your site. You can adjust the size of the image by specifying its height (or width). The Lock Ratio icon ensures the image won't be distorted. Border indicates whether a border display around the image and the border's thickness. Any image that is also a link to a file (or page) has a default border. To remove the border, you need to set the Border to 0. HSpace and VSpace allow for padding around the image. Align lets text wrap around the image, positioning the image to the alignment side. UPLOADING IMAGES While you can reference images that are in a different website, whenever possible, you should upload the pictures that you are displaying to your website. To upload an image: From Insert/Edit Image, click Browse Server Select the folder you want to upload the image into Click the Browse button (upper-right) to locate the file on your computer (or network) and open the file Click the Upload New File link 38

45 INSERT/EDIT TABLE You can insert tables into a rich text area. Tables in Rich Text are commonly used to control the layout of the content or for simple lists that don't need to be sorted. If you need a "richer" table, use the Form and Lists module. When adding a table, you specify the number of rows and columns, height, width, border size, alignment (allows wrapping around the table), cell padding and spacing (internal and external cell margins), a caption (that displays above the table) and summary (embedded in the code but not displayed). Right-clicking within your table brings up additional table options. 39

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49 ANNOUNCEMENTS MODULE The Announcements module is one of the most frequently used modules in DNN. The Announcements module is used to display multiple items with their own Titles, Content, Start and End Dates. Announcement Field Title (Required) Description Link Publish Date (and time) Expire Date (and time) View Order Description The Title for the announcement The body text of the announcement. Specifies whether there is a "Read More" link for the announcement and what that link points to. The start date of the announcement. This also impacts the sorting. The date the announcement will no longer be available for site visitors. Used for sorting. Announcements are sorted by View Order (ascending), then Publish Date, with the newest announcements at the top of the list. If you think you might force announcements to the top of the list, announcements that don t need to be on top should have a View Order of 999. (Or consider using another module above the Announcements module for urgent announcements.) 43

50 ANNOUNCEMENTS MODULE SETTINGS The module-specific settings for the Announcements module let you control the display of the module and the RSS output of the module (if you've specified Allow Syndicate in the basic module settings). History (Days) The number of days an announcement will display before it disappears. This setting takes priority over an announcement's End Date. One common use is to display only a few day's worth of Announcements on the Home Page and having a reference to that module on a different page that displays announcements for a longer period of time. Description Length If you're using Allow Syndicate, you should set this to 0 (max length). Editor Height Lets you specify the height of the Rich Text area when adding/editing an announcement. Template(s) Tokenized HTML code to control the appearance of announcements. Clicking on Help will bring up the help page which includes a list of possible tokens. 44

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53 DOCUMENTS MODULE The Documents Module is used to create a library of downloadable files for your visitors. Documents Fields Title (Required) Description Category Owner Link Sort Index A brief name for the file Additional information about the file A category for the file The person who "owns" the file. The location of the actual file. This is also where you would upload a new file. You can also specify tracking options and whether the file opens in a new window. A sort order that you can specify for the file. 47

54 UPLOADING FILES When using the Documents module, you'll most likely be uploading new files to your website to include in the module. You can upload a file into any folder you have Write permission on (remember, portal Administrators have full access to their entire site). To upload a file: Select the folder you wish to upload the file into Click Upload New File Click the Browse button Navigate to and select the file you wish to upload Click Upload Selected File (this is what actually transfers the file to the website) Note: Files can be no larger than 5 MB. In addition, only the following file types are allowed: bmp, css, csv, doc, docx, gif, htc, htm, html, jpe, jpeg, jpg, js, mov, mp3, pdf, png, ppt, pptx, swf, template, txt, wmv, xls, xlsx, xml, xsl, zip. 48

55 DOCUMENTS MODULE SETTINGS The settings for the Documents module are typically adjusted to control which columns are displayed (and in what order) and the sorting of the Documents. Default Folder Show Title Link Display Columns Sorting Allow users to sort The initial folder that is selected when you add new documents. Indicates that the Document title will also be a link for downloading the file. Checked columns are visible. Use the arrows to change the order of columns. Change the display order of columns before you choose to make them visible (or invisible). Specifies the initial sorting of items in the module. You can sort by multiple fields. Makes column headings clickable so that visitors can sort. For bulletins/newsletters/etc., the most common sort order is Created Date, Descending. If you are going to include OLDER bulletins, consider using TWO Documents modules with different sorting. 49

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57 EVENTS MODULE The Events module is one of the more powerful modules within DNN. The module can be used to simply display a calendar of events or can be extended to allow for registration and other functionality. The core Events Module, however, is NOT well-suited for allowing event registration since it only lets registered users sign up for events.. We have a commercial module that works much better for Event Registration (covered in DNN Modules 1). EVENT FIELDS The fields that are available when you add an event are linked to the settings of the Events Module itself. Depending on the configuration of the module, not all fields will be available. 51

58 Event Fields Title (Required) All Day Event Start Date/Time End Date/Time Display End Date Importance Category Location Owner Notes Send Reminder Display Image? Recurring Settings The name of the event Check this for an event that does not have start and end times (only dates) The start and end date and time for the event Uncheck this to hide the end date/time (normally for an event with an unknown end time) The importance of the event. Events other than Normal importance can have icons displaying indicating their importance. The category of the event (chosen from your event categories) The location of the event (chosen from your event locations) The person credited as the creator of the event. Description of the event Allows visitors to receive reminders for events. Specifies whether or not the event has an image. Lets you specify a recurrence pattern for the event. EVENT CATEGORIES You can create categories (and assign categories to events). By default, an Events module will display a category filter drop-down. This can be extremely useful for Events modules with a large number of events. To create/modify Event Categories: Choose Edit Categories from the Events module drop-down To add a category, enter its name in the Category box and choose background and font colors (if desired) and click Add To edit an existing category, click on the category name and make the changes as needed To delete a category, click the red X next to the category name Click Return when finished Double-clicking the color wheel MIGHT open a color selector. This feature s availability depends on the configuration of the web browser you are using. 52

59 EVENT LOCATIONS Locations can also be attached to an event. The Location can also include a Map URL (the address of a web page that displays a map of that location). To create/modify Event Locations: Choose Edit Locations from the Events module drop-down To add a category, enter its name in the Location box and enter the Map URL (if desired) and click Add To edit an existing location, click on the location name and make the changes as needed To delete a location, click the red X next to the category name Click Return when finished The simplest way to generate a Map URL is to search for that location on your preferred mapping website (Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, etc), then copy/paste the address of the web page that is displays the map. 53

60 EVENTS MODULE SETTINGS The settings for the Events module affect its appearance, behavior, and available settings for events in the calendar. Unlike other modules, the Events module includes a specific option for settings (Edit Settings). Edit Time Interval Event Time Zone Permit Recurring Events Max Generated Occurrences Prevent Schedule Conflict Check for Location Conflicts Enable DNN Search Owner Change Allowed Delete Events Older Than Private Calendar Message Filter Events by Category s From Determines the options for start and end time for events. Specifies the default time zone for the module Allows the creation of recurring (regularly repeating) events Specifies the maximum number of recurrent event occurrences Prevents overlapping events Uses the event s location to prevent conflicts Allows events on the calendar to be searchable Activates the ability to change the owner of an event Specifies how many days after an event has occurred before it s removed from the calendar Text displays for users who can t edit the specific event Specifies that only the selected category s events will display (normally for subcalendars) Specifies the default From address used by this module. 54

61 Date Navigation Icon Bar Theme/Skin Default Module View Module Views Allowed Use Module Container & Skin Enable Category Select Enable Date Navigation Controls Enable Event Image Display Time Zone Icon Bar HTML First day of Week Controls the styling of the calendar. Specifies which display the calendar should start at Specifies which displays a visitor can choose. Unlike other modules, you typically WANT to limit the choices a visitor has for displaying of a calendar due to the differences between the views. Forces non-specified views to use the container/skin specified for that instance of the calendar (instead of your portal default) Displays a Category drop-down that will filter the displayed events Displays navigation controls (Today, View Date Go) on the calendar Allows images to be added to events Showed the time zone of the calendar Specifies location (or hiding) of Icon Bar Forces s sent by the calendar to use plain text, HTML or auto-detect (based on content) Specifies the first column in the calendar 55

62 Event Detail New Page Set Event Detail Page Allowed Enable Enroll Validation Popup Displays the event s details page in a new, blank page rather than using the existing module space. Allows you to specify that the details of the event are on a custom page (including a completely different website) When allowing enrollment, displays a confirmation popup before enrolling. Enable Month View Cell Events Show Events in Next/Prev Month Weekend Starts Friday Show Event Start Time in Title Event Day New Page Enable Selectable Day Show Event Icons Show Event Image Specifies that events will display in the cell for that date (see the Small Calendar example) Displays events that occur in the following/previous month when those dates are displayed in the monthly calendar. Shades Friday/Saturday instead of Saturday/Sunday. Displays the event start time in the cell. Opens an event s details in a new, blank page instead of replacing the current pane. Lets you click on the date to view a List of events on that day. Specifies which icons to display. Indicates whether or not an event s image will display. 56

63 Full Time Scale Include End Value Show Value Marks Show Event Icons Show Event Image Displays a 24-hour grid Highlights the time block for the end value (instead of stopping right before that block) Displays grid lines against each time in Week View when Include End Value is unchecked Specifies which event icons will (won t) display Indicates whether an event s image should display in the Week View Grid or Repeater Show Table Header Select Events by Days Select Events by Number Events Fields to Display Page size Default sorting Default Sort Column Collapse Recurring Show Event Icons Repeater as Table Repeater Columns Repeater Rows Use Time in Filter Indicates whether the layout uses Grid or Repeater. Repeater uses templates that can be customized. Displays column headings Specifies the date range of events to display Specifies an amount of events to display Indicates which columns are displayed Specifies the number of events to display at one time Sort direction Sort column Displays recurring events one time per list rather than each occurrence Specifies which icons to display Uses HTML tables for Repeater layout Number of repeater columns Number of repeater rows Specifies that the current time is used when determining upcoming events 57

64 SUBCALENDARS The display settings for an Events module affect ALL instances of that module. You can't change settings in one calendar reference without impacting the other "parent" calendar. You overcome this limitation by adding a new Events module and specifying SubCalendars. SubCalendars let you add events from other calendars into one calendar. Include Other Site Event Modules Add Sub-Calendar Name Enforce View Permissions Add/Remove Sub-Calendars Check this to allow subcalendars Appends the name of a calendar to the event title (to easily determine which calendar an event comes from) Specifies that the events must be viewable in the parent calendar to display Displays which calendars are included in this master calendar 58

65 SAMPLE USES OF SUBCALENDARS There are two main reasons to use a subcalendar: to combine events from multiple calendars into one display and to allow different views of the calendar on different pages. Your site might have individual calendars on different pages (for instance, a parish might have a Youth Group calendar, a Choir calendar, and a Single Group calendar). The events in each calendar might be maintained by a different group of people (so that the Youth Group can't add events to the Choir calendar). You can add another calendar to a page that NOBODY adds events to but includes those other 3 calendars as SubCalendars. A Small calendar is a great addition to your home page. However, without the "normal" Events module display, this can be frustrating for your visitors. You can add a new Events module to your home page and choose the Small Theme/Style. In addition, you'll want to tweak some of other Month View settings. Add your main calendar as a Subcalendar to this new events module. Month View Week View 59

66 List View Month View, Small Theme The following settings need to be set to display the Small calendar pictured above. Look & Feel Settings Theme/Skin Small Module Views Allowed ONLY Month Enable Category Select OFF Enable Date Navigation Controls OFF Enable Event Image OFF Icon Bar None Detail View Settings Event Detail New Page ON Month View Settings Enable Month View Cell Events OFF Show Events in Next/Prev Month ON SubCalendars Settings Include Other Site Event Modules ON Add SubCalendar Name OFF Add/Remove Sub-Calendars Select all desired calendars 60

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69 SEARCH INPUT 1.0.0/SEARCH RESULTS MODULES The Search Input and Search Results Modules are the modules that let visitors search for content within your DNN site. The skin that is applied to your site may already include a Search object on all pages. If the skin does NOT include a Search object, you should create your own search pages. If you are creating a stand-alone Search page, you can simply add both the Search Input and Search Results modules to the page. SEARCH INPUT Search Results Module Specifies the page that will display the results (that page MUST include a Search Results module). Show Go Image Uses a graphic for the "Go" button (to initiate the search) instead of a button Show Search Image Uses an image for the word "Search" instead of text. 63

70 SEARCH RESULTS Maximum Search Results Results Per Page Maximum Title Length Maximum Description Length Show Description? Maximum number of "hits" to return. Returns all items found from search when left blank. Number of results to display at once. The default (blank) is 10 per page. Specify max number of character to display or leave blank for unlimited. Specify max number of character to display or leave blank for unlimited. Indicates whether or not you want the Page Description to display. If only a few pages contain Descriptions, you should leave this unchecked. 64

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73 LINKS MODULE The links module is typically used to include a list of other useful websites. You can also use the links module to generate links to files in a folder within your site or child pages from your navigation. When using the Links module in Links mode, you will be able to add individual links. (Other modes automatically generate links.) Title (required) Link (required) Get Content Roles Description View Order The text to display for the link. The address (or file/page) the link points to For URL links, will automatically generated Title and Description for link from the page the link points to. Security roles that can view the link IF this is set in the module s settings. Additional information about the link. The sort order for the link. 67

74 LINKS MODULE SETTINGS The settings for the Links module control how the links will display. Module Mode Control Type List Display Format Display Info Link Wrap Links Use Permissions Specify whether you are manually adding links, displaying child pages from the selected page (Menu) or links to all files in Folder. If choosing Menu or Folder, you will need to select the parent menu or folder. Indicates whether links are displayed as a list or a dropdown. Vertical (top to bottom) or Horizontal (left to right). Horizontal displays are not normally used, since it s hard to control the positioning of the links. If you want links in a row, consider using an HTML module and a table to control the layout. Indicates whether ellipses will display after each link to let visitors view the link Description or use a Telerik Popup tooltip. Indicates whether or not the text of the links can wordwrap Enforce Roles for individual links. 68

75 Horizontal Links, Vertical Links, and Drop-Down Links When using the Links module to display a Menu, ALL child pages are displayed, even if they are hidden from the main Navigation menu. If a page is not visible to the current user (permissions), it won t display on the links. The sort order of the links is the order specified in Admin, Pages. When using a Folder of links, the filename of the link is displayed. The tooltip will indicate the file size. The links will display in alphabetical order. If the folder is NOT visible to the user (permissions), the links will not display. You cannot hide individual files, so if the folder is restricted by role, you should change the View permissions of the entire module. 69

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77 ADMIN: RECYCLE BIN When you delete a page or a module within your DNN site, the page or module will "move" to the Recycle Bin. You can then restore items that you deleted by mistake. (Note: Individual entries within modules are NOT put in the recycle bin. Using the Edit (pencil) icon and choosing Delete will PERMANENTLY delete those items). To restore a page: Select the desired page Click the Restore icon To restore a module: Select the desired module Click the Restore icon While you can choose to restore a module to a page that has been deleted, it will have NO effect. Clicking Empty Recycle Bin will attempt to delete the pages and files in your Recycle Bin. You may need to use this twice to fully empty the recycle bin. 71