Mediasation Content Management System 4.0 Users Guide & Training Manual

Transcription

1 Mediasation Content Management System 4.0 Users Guide & Training Manual 2008 Mediasation Web Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. Mediasation, Inc. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Version: October 2008 Editor: Jaimee Wolbert This documentation contains information protected by copyright. Without prior written permission, any part of this document may only be reproduced, translated, stored, or analyzed by Mediasation, Inc. The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Mediasation, Inc. shall not be responsible for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained in this document. Mediasation, Inc. will not be liable for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the furnishing, performance, or use of this documentation. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 1

2 Your CMS Login Information: Domain Name: User Name: Password: CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 2

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS WHAT IS A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?...5 FIRST THINGS FIRST... 7 LOGGING IN TO THE CMS...7 TERMS, TERMS, TERMS...8 INTERFACE...8 PAGES... 9 Create a New Page... 9 Select Your Page Layout...10 Edit Your Page...11 Preview Your Page...11 Drop Your Changes...11 Publish Your Page...11 Review Page Versions...11 Set Page Properties...12 Manage Page Permissions...12 Select Your Page Template...13 Add Header Images...13 Link Header Images...14 Add Margin Content...15 Manage the Menu...15 View the Current Version of a Page...16 Delete a Page...16 IMAGES...17 Create a New Album...17 Manage Albums...17 Upload an Image...17 Add an Image to a Page...18 Resize an Image...19 Crop an Image...19 Rotate or Flip Image...20 Add Photo Border or Bevel...20 Adjust Color and Shadow...21 Image Edit History...21 Delete an Image...21 Other Options...22 Stock Photos...22 DOCUMENTS...23 Upload a Document...23 Change Document Permissions...23 View a Document...23 Edit Document Properties...24 Delete a Document...24 EDITORS...25 Add a New Editor Group...25 Add a New Editor...25 Edit an Editor...26 Delete an Editor...26 PREFERENCES...27 Choose Your Content Editor...27 Use Spell Check...27 Manage Feedback Plug-in...27 CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 3

4 Manage Directory Plug-in...27 Manage Calendar Plug-in...28 Add Google Codes...28 Add Global Metatags...28 PLUG-IN: USERS...31 Add a User...31 Edit a User...32 Delete a User...32 Disable a User...32 Enable a User...32 PLUG-IN: DIRECTORY...33 Manage Your Directory Plug-in Preferences...33 Add an Entry...33 Edit an Entry...33 Delete an Entry...33 PLUG-IN: CALENDAR...35 Select Calendar View...35 Add a Calendar Event...36 Edit a Calendar Event...36 Delete a Calendar Event...36 Calendar Integration...36 PLUG-IN: FORM BUILDER...37 Understand Form Properties...37 Add a Form...38 Place a Form on a Page...39 Edit a Form...39 Delete a Form...40 PLUG-IN: FEEDBACK...41 Viewing Site Visitor Feedback...41 Deleting Site Visitor Feedback...41 WYSIWYG EDITOR...43 Inserting and Modifying Text...43 Other WYSIWYG Features...45 Inserting and Modifying Tables...46 Links, Images, and Special Features...47 GLOSSARY...49 CONTACT INFORMATION...51 CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 4

5 WHAT IS A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM? So, you are ready to build a website. Now what? While the Internet and a web presence have become part of day-to-day life for today s businesses, creating a website can be overwhelming. Developing the "look and feel" for the site, writing content, and maintaining that content are important components in ensuring your website is a powerful sales, marketing, and customer service tool for your business. Unfortunately, many small businesses simply don t have the time, resources, or expertise necessary to manage a website. This is where a content management system (CMS) comes into play. A content management system is a web-based application used to manage the content of a website. The content management application enables the content manager/author to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a website without knowing the first thing about HTML, java, applets, or any other foreign web language. This approach allows employees to work with greater efficiency and productivity, benefiting your company in countless ways. A CMS helps users manage professional websites by supporting the creation, management, and organization of content through the following functionality:! Document management enables the administration of large numbers of documents and control of permissions over who can see which documents! Centralized management of the content layout, look, and feel provides for a consistent, professional website! Link management ensures valid hyperlinks to content within your site or external to it! Image management and organization offers a user-friendly way of adding your own images to the site! Centralized e-commerce ordering solutions enables you to turn your website into a revenuegenerating team member Not only does the CMS enable management of the site s content, but it also supports instantaneous modifications to the layout of the site. So, as your company evolves, so does your website. You are no longer tasked with updating the look or layout of individual pages. Instead, once your new design is created, your site can reflect this look immediately, reducing the strain on your website managers and eliminating confusion for your customers. The advantages of using a CMS to manage a website are endless:! Saves time and money! Increases efficiencies! Effortlessly expands a business s reach! Supports a professional, polished image! Puts the power in the hands of the business CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 5

6 CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 6

7 FIRST THINGS FIRST Now that you understand why a CMS is such a wonderful tool, you need to understand how to use it. By now, you should already have defined the navigation of the site (i.e. what topics you will provide to help your site visitors find their way around your site and to the information they need). You have likely already drafted content for each of those sections and considered what images you want to use. Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to login to the CMS. LOGGING IN TO THE CMS To begin using the Mediasation Content Management System, start up your web browser (i.e. Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) and type in the following web address: Note: To access the CMS more quickly in the future, bookmark this address so it is only a click away! If you are the site administrator, enter the login information that was provided to you by Mediasation during training. If you are a content editor, your login information will be provided to you by the system administrator at your organization. Enter your user name, password, and domain name in the appropriate boxes, and then click "Log In." If you entered your login information correctly, you will be taken to your site within the Mediasation CMS. If your login was not successful, re-type your information. Note: User names and passwords are case sensitive. To end your session, click the "Log Out" button in the top navigation of the CMS. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 7

8 TERMS, TERMS, TERMS It s important to note the difference between "pages" and "orphans." Pages comprise your website. As you navigate through the site, you are viewing HTML pages. Orphans are pages that are not hooked into the menu, meaning the menu does not link to that page. Moving a page from the main menu and to the "Orphans" list is a good way to keep that page from being seen while not deleting it; for example, if you would like to save it for later editing. Documents are information in a format like Word (*.doc), Excel (*.xls), Portable Document Format (*.pdf), etc. You may load documents in the CMS and link to those documents from within your site content. Images are items such as pictures and logos that are used on your site to complement the text. Load images in.jpg,.gif, or.png formats. INTERFACE Let s take a look at the interface of the CMS. Across the top of the screen is the menu for the CMS. There are seven sections of the CMS:! Pages: add new pages to your site, edit existing pages, manage your menu, and more.! Images: upload, edit, or remove custom images.! Documents: upload or remove documents (i.e. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, etc) for use on your site.! Editors: add or remove editors and define their ability to modify the site.! Plug-ins: manage users, view site feedback, create forms, create online directories, and more.! Preferences: choose your content editor, specify address for site feedback, enter Google codes, enter meta data, and more. Upon logging in to the CMS, you are taken to the Pages section. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 8

9 PAGES From the Pages section, you can add new pages to your site, edit existing pages, and manage your menu. Begin by creating your first page. Create a New Page To add a new page to your site, click the "New Page" button. This will open the new page pop-up. Enter a page title (what will appear in the title bar of the visitor s browser), the name in menu (how this page should appear in your site s menu), and whether or not the page should appear in the menu or if it is an orphan (see page 8 to learn more about pages and orphans). To create a log out page for users, select the checkbox beside "Yes, page is a log out page." To create a page that links directly to another page, select the checkbox beside "Yes, link to another page." Note: Most pages will not have either of these boxes checked. If the page will appear in the menu, you need to note whether or not is a "top level" menu item, meaning it will be part of your primary navigation, or whether the page will be in your secondary navigation, meaning the page has a "parent" and you need to denote what page is the parent. The parent is simply the page above the page you are creating in the menu. For example, if you have a page called "Furniture" and you create a page called "Desks," you would choose "Furniture" as the parent of "Desks" so "Desks" would appear beneath "Furniture." If you do not want the page you are creating to be in the menu, you can make the page an orphan. Note: You must use alphanumeric characters for the names of your pages. You cannot use special characters like apostrophes, ampersands, etc. (& * Once you have added your page, the next step is to choose the layout of the page. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 9

10 Select Your Page Layout The Mediasation CMS 4.0 has more than 20 different page layouts to ensure your content can be presented in the desired manner. Select the "Change Layout" option above the page content section of the CMS. After clicking on the layout button, a pop-up box will appear with various layouts. Simply click on the preferred layout for your page. There are layouts that include text only, single or multiple images plus text, images only, forms, calendars, and more. You are now ready to begin adding your content to the page. You may change the layout of an existing page at any time by following this same step. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 10

11 Edit Your Page To add or edit content, click anywhere in the "Your content goes here!" box. A pop-up box will appear with your content editor. Enter your copy and format the text as desired (see page 43 for information on using a WYSIWYG editor). Click "Save." Preview Your Page Once you have added content, you can preview what the page will look like in your template by clicking on the "Preview Changes" button in the top menu. The preview button is only available if a page is different from the current live version. Drop Your Changes If you have made changes to an existing page and are not happy with those changes upon previewing the page, you can click "Drop Changes" to revert to the last saved version of the page. Publish Your Page If you are happy with your page, you are ready to save changes and make the page live. To do so, simply click the "Publish Page" button. Your page is now live on your website. Review Page Versions The "Versions" button enables you to view all previous versions of a particular page. From here, you can rollback to a previous version of a page by clicking on the "Revert" icon beside the desired version. After doing so, you will need to publish that page again. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 11

12 Set Page Properties Once you have created a page, you can modify the name of the page and how the page appears in the menu by clicking the "Edit" button on the Properties tab in the left column of the CMS. From here, you can also manage the page s meta tags, including keywords and descriptions. Meta keywords are simply a list of keywords for the page that you are viewing. Meta descriptions are a few sentences describing the page or your company. Meta tags are used to help search engines classify your pages properly, increasing the chances your pages will appear in web searches. Note: Meta keywords must be separated by commas. Typically, ten to fifteen keywords should be included per page. Manage Page Permissions Page permissions enable you to control who can view the pages on your website. Clicking the "Edit" button on the Permissions tab in the left column of the CMS will open a window that lists all of your current users. You can make pages visible to the general public or specific people. This functionality is useful in a number of situations; for example, if you want to provide information on a specific project to a client without providing the information to everyone who visits your site. Note: This option only applies to sites using the Users Plug-in (see page 31 for more information.) CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 12

13 Select Your Page Template Templates correspond to the layout of your design. Most sites have a designated "Home" template for the home page and a "Default" page template for internal pages. If your design allows you to select your page template, you may do so by clicking "Edit" beside the Page Template tab. If this option is not available, this box will not display in the CMS. A pop-up box will appear that displays all of the available templates. Click the template you wish to select and the tab will automatically be updated. To make this change live on your website, click the "Publish Page" button. Add Header Images If your design allows you to add or edit header images, you may do so by clicking within the header image box. If this option is not available, this box will not display in the CMS. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 13

14 A pop-up box will appear with your image gallery. Navigate to the appropriate image by selecting an album name from the right hand menu and using the "Previous" and "Next" options. When you have found the appropriate image, click on it to add it to the header image slot. You may enter multiple header images to suit the needs of your site. Anytime a user visits the page, one of the designated header images will display at random. Link Header Images If your design allows you to link header images, you may do so by entering a link in the space beneath the header image. If this option is not available, this box will not display in the CMS. Click anywhere in the "Enter a link" box and a pop-up box will appear with a space to insert the link. Enter the desired URL and then click "Save." Note: Although it is possible to link to an external site, header image links are better suited for linking to pages within your own website that are related to the header topic. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 14

15 Add Margin Content If your design allows you to enter margin content, you may do so by clicking anywhere in the "Your content goes here!" box in the Margin Content section. A pop-up box will appear with your content editor. Enter your copy and format the text as desired (see page 43 for information on using a WYSIWYG editor). Click "Save." Note: Margin content is usually greatly confined by the size constraints of the design. Manage the Menu By clicking the "Manage Menu" button, you can arrange the current pages in your menu structure. You can move pages to the top level of your menu, move pages beneath different pages, and re-order pages. You can also make a page an orphan, enabling you to work on a page without the page being accessible from your website s menu. To make changes, simply select the page you wish to move, and drag it to the desired location. When you have completed arranging the order of pages in your site, click the "Save" button to save the changed menu to your website. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 15

16 View the Current Version of a Page To view the current version of a page available from your website, you can visit that page on your site or click the "View Current" button. Delete a Page To delete a page, click on the "Delete Page" button in the top menu. You will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click that you wish to continue, and the page will be permanently removed from your website. Note: Deleting a page is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 16

17 IMAGES The Images section enables you to upload custom images to use on your site. You can also delete existing images or re-size those images to be more appropriate for your page. Access the Images section by clicking "Images" at the top of the CMS. Create a New Album Images can be arranged in albums. To get started, create an album or select an existing album. To create an album, select the "Add A New Album" button at the top of the screen and enter an album name in the space provided. After entering the name, select "Save" to make the album available. You can create multiple albums to keep all of your website images organized. To select an existing album, click the album name, click the "View" to the right of the album strip, or click the "View All Photos" link below the album strip. Manage Albums To rename an album or review details such as who created it and when it was created, click the "Rename" button. Enter a new album name in the space provided and click "Save" to save your changes. Upload an Image To upload an image from your computer to your website, move into the appropriate album. Click the "Select Images" button and a window will open up allowing you to browse through files on your computer. Once you locate the desired image, click "Select," and the window will close. The image you selected will be uploaded to your gallery and a thumbnail of the image will appear in the lower section labeled "Photos in this Album." Select "Manage Albums" to return to the main Images section. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 17

18 Add an Image to a Page There are two ways to add an image to a page. From any layout that includes an image, simply click on the "Click to Add Image" icon. A pop-up box with your image gallery will appear. Navigate to the appropriate photo and click on it to have it automatically loaded on the page. To make this change live on your website, click the "Publish Page" button. From any layout that does not include an image, click in the page content section of the CMS. A pop-up box will appear with your content editor. Click the "Insert/Edit Image" icon and another pop-up box will appear. Select "Gallery" from the left hand menu to access your image gallery. Navigate to the appropriate photo and click on it to have it automatically loaded in the image preview window. From here, you can adjust the text flow around the picture and edit other image properties. When you are finished, click "Insert" to add the image to the page. To make this change live on your website, click the "Publish Page" button. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 18

19 Resize an Image To resize an image in your album click the "Edit this Image" icon below that image. The window will then display the image at its actual size, listing its current dimensions in pixels. Select the "Resize Image" option from the photo editor and change the height and width to the desired size. Click "Save Changes" and the image will be resized for you. Note: When resizing an image, keep in mind that you should only decrease the size. If you increase the image size, the image may become distorted and pixilated. You should also be careful to keep the image s original proportions or else the image will be distorted and appear stretched. Crop an Image To crop an image in your album, click the "Edit this Image" icon below that image. The image will display in a new window within the photo editor tool. Select the "Crop Image" option from the photo editor. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 19

20 Hover your mouse over the picture and a crosshair pointer (+) will appear. Click along the border where you want the cropping to begin and drag your mouse to expand the selection size. You can continue to increase or decrease the selection size by moving the white boxes on the perimeter of the cropping tool. When you have achieved the desired size, select the "Crop Image" option again and you will be prompted to confirm the action. Select "OK" and the image will be cropped for you. Rotate or Flip Image To change the orientation of an image in your album by rotating or flipping it, click the "Edit this Image" icon below that image. The image will display in a new window within the photo editor tool. From here, you can rotate the picture left or right, or flip your image vertically or horizontally by selecting the corresponding tool from the tool bar, represented by arrow icons. Add Photo Border or Bevel To add a border or bevel to an image in your album, click the "Edit this Image" icon below that image. The image will display in a new window within the photo editor tool. Select the "Add Border to Photo" option or the "Add Bevel to Photo" option from the photo editor. The border or bevel will automatically be added to your image. You can select the "Add a Border to Photo" option multiple times to increase the standard border size. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 20

21 Adjust Color and Shadow To adjust the color of an image or add a drop shadow to an image in your album, click the "Edit this Image" icon below that image. The image will display in a new window within the photo editor tool. From here, you can select the "Adjust Photo Color" option and the image s color will be automatically corrected. If you select the "Add Drop Shadow" option, the shadow will automatically be added to your image. Similarly, if you select the "Convert to Black and White" option, the image will automatically change as indicated. Image Edit History To review edits that have been made to an image (prior to saving changes), click the "Edit this Image" icon below the desired image. The image will display in a new window within the photo editor tool. Click the dropdown beside "Image Edit History" to see a list of edits since the previous save. From here, you may revert to a prior edit or to the original version of the image. Note: Once you save an image, the edit history is reset. Delete an Image To delete an image in your image collection, click on the "Delete" icon below that image. You will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click that you wish to continue, and the image will be permanently removed from your website. Note: Deleting an image is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. Consider removing the image from the page rather than deleting the image when possible. Also, after deleting an image from your image gallery, be sure to delete it from any web pages as well. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 21

22 Other Options In addition to editing images in your albums, you can use the image shortcut keys to quickly accomplish various functions. From the main album screen, select the "Copy This Image" icon below the image to add an additional copy to your album. Select the "Edit Image Properties" option to rename the image, add a description, move the image between albums, and review information such as the file size, image size, the date the image was added, as well as the user who added the image. Select the "View Image at Actual Size" option to view a full size version of the image. Stock Photos The CMS 4.0 also includes an Image Gallery of stock photos. You can access this gallery from any layout that includes an image. Simply click on the image placeholder in that layout. From there, you may choose to insert your own images or one from the Image Gallery. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 22

23 DOCUMENTS The Documents section allows you to upload Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, media files, Power Point presentations, and more to your website. Access the Documents section by clicking on the "Documents" tab at the top of the CMS. Upload a Document To upload a document to your website, click the "Select Documents" button. A window will open that will allow you to browse the files on your computer and locate the document that you would like to upload. Once you have located the file, click select to upload it. The document that you uploaded will appear in the documents section. Change Document Permissions You can define who can view the document by modifying the permissions of that document. To change the permissions of a document, click the "Permission" image next to the appropriate document. Note: This option only applies to sites using the Users Plug-in (see page 31 for more information). A dialog box will appear where you can select the users that should be able to view the document. "General Public" is selected by default. To change this, un-check the box beside "General Public." Then, check the box next to every user that you would like to be able to see the document. When you are finished, click "Save." View a Document You can view a document in your documents library by clicking on the "View this Document" button beside the document or by clicking on the document name. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 23

24 Edit Document Properties Select the "Edit Document Properties" option to rename the document, add a description, or review information such as the file size, the date the document was added, and the user who added it. Delete a Document To delete a document, click the "Delete" button next to the document you want to delete. You will be prompted to confirm your decision. Once confirmed, the document will be permanently removed from your site. Note: Deleting a document is permanent. Make sure you have a back-up of any document that you delete from our servers, as this action CANNOT be reversed. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 24

25 EDITORS The Editors section of the CMS enables you to define the individuals that can edit content on your website. There are different levels of editors. Access the Editors section by clicking the "Editors" tab at the top of the CMS. Site Administrators have full authority over all aspects of the site. They have the ability to: create editor groups add users and define user abilities create, edit, and publish content There is typically one site administrator. General Administrators have the ability to: add users and define user abilities create, edit, and publish content Content editors have the ability to: create, edit, and publish content Add a New Editor Group Click on "Add a New Editor Group" to add a new type of editor to your site. You can provide a name for the group and manage page permissions, document permissions, image permissions, menu permissions, plug-in permissions, and site preferences permissions. When you are finished setting up the groups permissions, click "Save." Add a New Editor To add a new editor, click on the "Add An Editor" button beside the appropriate editor type. Enter the user s name and assign a user name and password to that user. Select the editor group from the drop down and activate the user by checking the checkbox next to "Active." When you are finished, click "Save." CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 25

26 Edit an Editor To edit the editor s profile, click on the "Edit this Account" button next to the editor. You can change the user name, change the password, move the editor to a different group, or de-activate the editor. Delete an Editor To remove an editor, click on the "Delete" button next to the editor. You will be asked to confirm this action. Click that you wish to continue, and the editor will be permanently deleted. Note: Deleting an editor is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 26

27 PREFERENCES The Preferences section of the CMS enables you to define the type of content editor you would like to use. You may also manage certain aspects of your site s plug-ins. Access the site s Preferences section by clicking on the "Preferences" tab at the top of the CMS. Choose Your Content Editor The CMS provides two types of editors to use to enter site content. Plain Text Editor: Enter text with no ability to format, but with the option to convert content to HTML. WYSIWYG Editor: Fully functional "what you see is what you get" editor, enabling you to format your text in a variety of ways (see page 43 for information on using a WYSIWYG editor). Simply select your desired editor from the menu. Click "Save" to save your changes. Use Spell Check To have your content automatically spell checked, choose "Yes" from the "Use Spellcheck" menu. Click "Save" to save your changes. Manage Feedback Plug-in If you have created a form using the Form Builder plug-in (see page 37 for more information), you can define the address to which you want all form data sent. You may also choose to have feedback saved on the Mediasation server rather than sent via . Or you can choose both. Simply enter the appropriate address in the text box. To have feedback ed to that address, select "Yes" from the Feedback menu. To have feedback saved on the server, select "Yes" from the Save Feedback menu. To have feedback ed to you and saved on the server, select "Yes" from both menus. Click "Save" to save your changes. Manage Directory Plug-in To define the number of directory entries you would like to display on the Directory page, enter that number in the "Entries Per Page" box. Select "Yes" from the "Show Directions" menu if you would like the directory entries to include a map option that links the user to a new window with a map and directions to the entry address. Click "Save" to save your changes. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 27

28 Manage Calendar Plug-in You can select the preferred calendar view by choosing "month," "week," "day," or "upcoming events" from the drop down. Click "Save" to save your changes. Add Google Codes You can add Google verification, analytics tracking, and map API codes to every page of your site by inputting the appropriate code snippet into the corresponding preferences box. You can also generate a site map by selecting "Yes" from the "Generate Site Map" menu (Coming Soon). If you want to include orphan pages in your site map, select the check box beside this option. Click "Save" to save your changes. Add Global Metatags To enter global meta description and meta keyword tags (see page 12 for more information on these elements) that will be included on every page of your website, enter the appropriate information in the corresponding box. If you wish for these tags to override any metatags that have been setup on individual pages, select "Yes" from the "Override Page Metatags" menu. Click "Save" to save your changes. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 28

29 PLUG-INS Plug-ins are extensions of the CMS that provide added functionality. Form builder and feedback plug-ins are standard features provided with the Mediasation CMS; other plug-ins are available at an extra charge and may be ordered by contacting There are six plug-ins currently available:! Users (Client Page)! Directory! Calendar! Form Builder! Feedback! Catalog CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 29

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31 PLUG-IN: USERS The Users Plug-in enables visitors to your website to log in to your site and view pages that you create specifically for them. Access the Users Plug-in by clicking the "Plugins" tab at the top of the CMS and selecting "Users." Add a User Click the button labeled "Add New User." Enter the user s name and address, and assign the user a user name and password. If the user s account expires on a specific date, you can select the date from the calendar next to the "expires on" field to automatically deactivate the account on the date indicated. You can define the address to which you want the user s log in notifications sent and choose the home page you want the user directed to after logging in. You may also choose to make the user active (the default selection) or deselect the checkbox beside "Active" to deactivate the user until you wish to make the account available. Click the "Save" button to add the user. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 31

32 Edit a User To edit a user s login or password information or to rename the user, click on the "Edit" button beside the appropriate user s name. A window will open showing the user s current information. You may change the user s name, address, login name, password, or the account expiration date. You may also edit the "active" setting or home page selection. When you are finished with your changes, click on the "Save" button at the bottom of the screen. Your changes are now in effect. Note: Passwords are encrypted and the editor will not be able to retrieve a password, only change it. Delete a User To delete a user from your site, click on the "Delete" icon that appears beside that user s name. You will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click "Yes," and the user will be permanently removed. Note: Deleting a user is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. Disable a User To disable a user, click on the "Edit" button beside that user s name to view all of the user s current information. Uncheck the box next to "Active" by clicking in the box. Click "Save" at the bottom of the screen. The user is now disabled and will be unable to login to your site. You can also use the short cut key to deactivate a user. Simply click on the "Active" icon that appears beside the user s name to uncheck the box and disable the user. Enable a User To enable a user, click on the "Edit" button beside that user s name. Check the box next to "Active" by clicking in the box. Click "Save" at the bottom of the screen. The user's account is now active. You may also use the short cut key to activate a user. Simply click the "Active" icon that appears beside the user s name to check the box and enable the user. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 32

33 PLUG-IN: DIRECTORY The Directory Plug-in enables you to create an online directory. This plug-in works well for church directories, employee directories, or directories for your civic organization. The directory can include both individual entries as well as group entries for families, departments, or other groups. Access the Directory Plug-in by clicking the "Plugins" tab at the top of the CMS and selecting "Directory." Manage Your Directory Plug-in Preferences Under the preferences section of the CMS, you can specify how many entries per page you would like to set in the directory and if you would like the CMS to offer the "map" link next to an address (see page 27 for discussion of this under "Preferences"). Add an Entry To add an entry to the directory, click the "Add Entry" button. A form will appear that will allow you to provide the profile information for that entry, including first and last name, address, phone number, and additional notes. You can define the entry type by selecting "Individual" or "Group" from the group type menu. For group entries, you can also list other group members in the space provided. To upload a photo, select the "Browse" button beside the photo field. A window will open that will allow you to browse the files on your computer and locate the image that you would like to upload. Once you have located the file, click select to upload it. Click "Save" to save your changes. The entries will automatically be alphabetized by last name. Edit an Entry Navigate to the entry you wish to edit by clicking on the letter that corresponds with the first letter of the entry s last name. Entries are in alphabetical order; you may need to click the next page button to view the entry depending on the size of your directory. When you have located the entry you wish to edit, click the "Edit" button below the entry. This will display the entry s current settings. When you are finished making your modifications, click "Save" to update the entry information. Delete an Entry Navigate to the entry that you wish to delete by clicking on the letter that corresponds with the first letter of the entry s last name. Entries are in alphabetical order; you may need to click the next page button to view the entry depending on the size of your directory. When you have found the entry you wish to delete, click the "Delete" button below the entry. You will be prompted to confirm your choice. Select "OK" to confirm that you wish to permanently delete the entry. Note: Deleting an entry is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 33

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35 PLUG-IN: CALENDAR The Calendar Plug-in allows you to share your organization s calendar with visitors to your website. Access the Calendar Plug-in by clicking the "Plugins" tab at the top of the CMS and selecting "Calendar." Select Calendar View To select a calendar view, choose from the options at the top of the calendar. The calendar can display by a number of views, including day, week, month, or upcoming events. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 35

36 Add a Calendar Event To add a calendar event, navigate to the day to which you wish to add an event. Click the "Add" button next to that day. A form will appear that will allow you to input event details. Enter the name of the event, the start date, the start and end times, the event frequency, and a description. You can also enter an event end date based on either a specific date or a specified number of occurrences. Click "Save" to save your changes. Edit a Calendar Event Navigate to the day in the calendar that has the event that you wish to edit. Click the "Edit" button next to the event. Modify the details of the event and then click "Save" to save your changes. Delete a Calendar Event Navigate to the day in the calendar that has the event that you wish to delete. Click the "Delete" button next to the event. You will be prompted to confirm your choice. Select "OK" to confirm that you wish to permanently delete the event. Note: Deleting an event is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. Calendar Integration To add the calendar to your website, create the page to hold your calendar and choose the calendar layout (see page 10 for discussions on choosing your page layout). Once you select the calendar layout, choose "Save Changes" and your calendar will be displayed on your site. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 36

37 PLUG-IN: FORM BUILDER The Form Builder Plug-in allows you to create custom forms to fit your needs. Access the Form Builder Plug-in by clicking the "Plugins" tab at the top of the CMS and selecting "Form Builder." Understand Form Properties A form s properties consist of the field type, name, label, size of the field, value, and others. The CMS 4.0 includes 11 form field types: Text Field! A field wherein the user types text. Example Uses: Name, Phone Number, Text Area! A larger area wherein a user may type in a greater amount of text. Example Uses: Comments, Questions Password! Similar to text field, but the information entered by the user displays as dots on the screen to keep the password protected.! Example Uses: Create password for user login. Select! A dropdown field where users select a single response from the choices provided.! Example Uses: State Address Info, Payment Options Multiselect! A dropdown field wherein users may select multiple responses from the choices provided.! Example Uses: Areas of Interest, Appointment Preferences Submit! A button that, when clicked, sends the form information to the appropriate recipient.! Example Uses: Typically used as the last field in any form. Checkbox! A button that allows users to designate a preference by checking the field or leaving the field unchecked.! Example Uses: Newsletter Sign-up, notifications Hidden! A field that is not visible to the user. Hidden fields submit information that is not entered by the visitor.! Example Uses: Designate intended form recipient. File Upload! A field that allows the user to browse files on his or her computer to be uploaded and submitted with the form.! Example Uses: Resume Submission, Photo Upload Auth Code! A field that requires users to input the authorization code that is automatically generated by the form.! Example Uses: Typically used to prevent spam or automated form submissions. Header! This option is used to provide directions or to define sections within the form. It does not require the user to enter information. Example Uses: May be used to denote fields for shipping vs. billing information, to give instructions for data input, or other directives within the form. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 37

38 For each field type you will enter the corresponding information to create the different form elements. The "Field Name" of the form is how the field is referenced internally. This is not visible to the user. The "Display Name" is how the field is labeled in the form. This is what the user sees when completing a form and provides direction for what information should be entered into a field. The size of the form field is defined in pixels. When creating a field, you can edit the width of the field to correspond to the approximate length of the information that the user will provide. You can also denote if the individual field is required for proper form submission by checking the box beside "Required." The "Default Value" can be used in a number of ways. You may use it to specify a default entry that you anticipate users to enter or to provide an example entry to help website visitors better understand the form field requirements. For example, the default value for a phone number field could be: (XXX) XXX- XXXX. You may also leave the default value setting blank. Add a Form Click the "Add New Form" button and enter the form name in the space provided. Select the confirmation page that users should be directed to after they have completed the form. Note: Although any page can serve as a confirmation page, a dedicated "Thank You" page is well-suited for this purpose because it can include specific text to confirm that the form submission was successful and to acknowledge the user s interest in your website. Click "Save" to save your changes and be directed to the next portion of the form builder. The next step is building the form. Select the appropriate form element (see descriptions above) from the "Add Field" menu to develop a form that fits your needs. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 38

39 After you select the element, you will be directed to a form that allows you to input the individual field options described above. Click "Save" to save your changes. Continue creating fields until your form has all of the information you would like included. Place a Form on a Page Placing a form on your website requires that you create a page that will hold that form (see page 9 on how to create pages). You may wish to name that page "Contact," "Feedback," or another name that corresponds to the form s purpose. Once the page has been created, click on the layout section and choose the layout labeled "Form Builder" by clicking on it. You will then specify the appropriate form by clicking on the form image and choosing the form name from the drop-down box. Click "Save" to save your selection. Click "Publish Page" to make the page available live on your website. Edit a Form To edit an existing form, simply click the "Edit" button beside the appropriate form. From here, you can add new fields, edit existing fields, delete existing fields, and re-arrange fields in the form. To edit a specific field, click "Edit" beside the appropriate field. After making changes, click "Save." To edit the order of fields in an existing form, simply click the "Edit" button beside the appropriate form. You can arrange existing fields by clicking on the up and down arrows beside those fields. To move a field up in your form, click on the up arrow. To move a field lower in your form, click on the down arrow. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 39

40 You can also rename the form or change the confirmation page by selecting the "Edit" button below the form details. After making changes, click "Save" to update the form. To publish the changes on your website, you can either navigate to the appropriate page and select "Publish Page" or you can click "Publish Changes" within the form builder section. This will automatically update all pages that have the form installed. Delete a Form To delete a form, simply click the "Delete" button beside the appropriate form. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the form. Click "OK" and the form will be deleted. Note: Deleting a form is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. Consider removing the form from the page rather than deleting the form when possible. Also, after deleting a form, be sure to remove it from any web pages as well. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 40

41 PLUG-IN: FEEDBACK The Feedback Plug-in provides you with the ability to capture and store form feedback from website visitors. Access the Feedback Plug-in by clicking the "Plugins" tab at the top of the CMS and selecting "Feedback." Once you have added a form to your site (see page 37 for information on creating forms), access the Feedback plug-in to review the form feedback. You may also choose to have the feedback ed directly to you (see page 27 for discussion of this under preference information). Viewing Site Visitor Feedback If you choose the "Save Feedback" option in the CMS preferences, you can view the feedback on the server through the Feedback plug-in. You will see a list of site visitors who have provided feedback, including the visitor s name, , and the date they left the feedback. You can click on the visitor name or on the "View Feedback" icon to view their complete feedback. Deleting Site Visitor Feedback To delete feedback, you can click the "Delete" icon beside the visitor s name, or select "Delete" from within the feedback details window. Note: Deleting feedback is permanent and CANNOT be reversed. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 41

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43 WYSIWYG EDITOR The WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor is the default content editor in the CMS. A plain text editor is also available (see page 27 for information on selecting an editor application). Inserting and Modifying Text To insert text into the WYSIWYG editor, you can either click into the editor and type directly into the window, or you can copy and paste from another source. There are many options for modifying the text after it is in place. Insert Clean HTML from Microsoft Word When text is pasted from Microsoft Word, unnecessary Word specific markup is carried across. This can result in web pages that take an unnecessarily long time to download and that have poor formatting. The Paste from Word button solves this by removing Word markup before pasting the text into your page. Format Text You can format text by selecting a style from the drop down menu. Note: Mediasation provides pre-set styles to complement the design. Highlighting, font color changes, and similar formatting modifications are not recommended. Create Bold Text Allows you to toggle bold on and off for text Create Italic Text Allows you to toggle italics on and off for text Create Underlined Text Allows you to toggle underline on and off for text Note: Use of the underline feature is not recommended as underlined text typically denotes a hyperlink. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 43

44 More Font Options Allows you to select superscript, subscript, and strikethrough options for text Highlight Text Choose from 216 web safe color options or manually enter the hexadecimal value for your required color Align Left Aligns text to the left Align Center Aligns text to the center Align Right Aligns text to the right Justify Justifies text so that the left and right margins align Other Alignment Options Allows you to select the alignment for individual sections of text Numbered List Allows you to insert a numbered list Bullet List Allows you to insert a bulleted list Other List Options Allows you to select additional list options CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 44

45 Decrease Indent Decreases indent for a selection of text by a pre-set amount, can be selected repeatedly until the desired indent is achieved Increase Indent Increases indent for a selection of text by a pre-set amount, can be selected repeatedly until the desired indent is achieved Other WYSIWYG Features Other WYSIWYG editor features can help with inserting or modifying text and other elements. Print Print contents of the editor window Find and Replace Find a word or combination of words and replace with specified text Spellcheck Review contents of the editor window for spelling errors Clean Up Source Code Removes unneeded html markup, such as empty or duplicate tags, to properly format the source code of your content Cut Cut, or remove, a selected section of text. Unlike deleting, the "cut" option allows you to move the text to another location without retyping it (using the "paste" option). Copy Copy a selected section of text Paste Paste a cut or copied section of text into a new location Undo Undo previous actions Redo Redo previous actions CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 45

46 Inserting and Modifying Tables Tables allow you to easily format content into columns and rows. There are many options for modifying the table after it is in place. Create Tables Easily set the number of columns and rows, cell spacing and padding, border width, border color, and background color. A preview of your table is shown so that you can get it just right before inserting it. Edit Table Row and Cell Properties Control the background color, border color, border width, cell padding, cell spacing, and horizontal and vertical text alignment. Your changes are previewed directly in the edit table window. Note: To remove the border from your table, set the border width to "0" pixels. However, some sites use a global style sheet to format table properties. If you are unable to change properties, contact support@mediasation for assistance. Insert Rows and Columns Allows you to quickly add multiple rows and columns Auto-Fit Column Widths to Contents Automatically adjusts the width of individual columns to fit the contents of that column Distribute Column Widths Evenly Automatically adjusts all columns to equal widths (dependent on the table content) Fixed Column Widths Allows you to set specific widths for individual columns Insert Row Above Adds a row above the row that your cursor is currently in Insert Row Below Adds a row below the row that your cursor is currently in Insert Column to the Left Adds a column to the left of the column that your cursor is currently in Delete Column Deletes the table column that your cursor is currently in Delete Row Deletes the table row that your cursor is currently in Delete Table Deletes entire table Merge Cells Combines a group of cells into one Insert Column to the Right Adds a column to the right of the column that your cursor is currently in Note: To ensure the best display with your design, avoid fixed width tables by leaving the "fixed column width" option unchecked when creating the table. CMS 4.0 Users Guide Page 46