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The Announcements
Module Introduction The Announcements
module allows visitors, registered users and site administrators to input
important news or announcements for administrative approval to post on the
main page. Allowing visitors or registered users to post info quickly and
easily via this module gives them a voice on your site. Future
announcements can be queued up and automatically posted on their specified
date. Expiring announcements can be automatically removed from the
Main page on a specified date. An announcement can
consist of several parts. The only required parts are a Subject and a Summary
(see Figure 1). Optional parts include a Body, Image, Category, Post
Creating a New
Announcement Before adding text to
an announcement, organize your message. An announcement may be a few short
paragraphs "above the fold" or may include a page or more that
extends "below the fold" via the Read More hyperlink (Figure
2).
Think of a post date
and expiration date as well. When you are ready, follow these steps: 1.
Make sure you are
logged into an account that has permission to post announcements. 2.
From the Control
Panel, select the Site Content tab. 3.
Find and select the Announcements
module. 4.
Click New
Announcement in the Main Menu across the top. 5.
Fill out the Subject,
Summary, and other parts as neccessary. 6.
Take a moment to
proofread your content and double check your settings. 7.
Click Save to
save your announcement. 8.
The announcement will
be posted on the date specified in Post On (Figure 3).
Deleting an
Announcement First, ensure you want
to permanently delete a particular announcement. You can always hide an
announcement from public view if you are unsure about deletion (see section
below on Hiding or Showing an Announcement). If you are sure you want
to delete an announcement, follow these steps: 1.
Make sure you are
logged into an account that has permission to delete announcements. 2.
From the Control
Panel, select the Site Content tab. 3.
Find and select the Announcements
module. 4.
You will be shown a
list of Current Announcements. 5.
Locate the
announcement you wish to delete and click the Delete button for it
under the Action column. 6.
You will be asked to
confirm the deletion. 7.
If you are sure, click
the Yes button. 8.
Your announcement will
be deleted and you will be returned to the announcement listing. Hiding or Showing
an Announcement The Hide and Show
selections will hide an announcement from public view or make it viewable
by the public. Follow these steps to hide or show an announcement: 1.
Make sure you are
logged into an account that has permission to hide or show announcements. 2.
From the Control
Panel, select the Site Content tab. 3.
Find and select the Announcements
module. 4.
You will be shown a
list of Current Announcements. 5.
Find the announcement
you wish to hide or show. 6.
Click the Hide or
Show button accordingly for the corresponding announcement in the Action
column (Figure 4). 7.
The announcement list
will refresh and the announcement will be hidden or viewable.
Announcement Module
Settings The Announcements module
offers several settings that allow you to customize the way it displays
announcements. The following settings are available (see also Figure 5):
To access, change, and
save the settings for your Announcements module follow these steps: 1.
Make sure you are
logged into an account that has permission to edit the settings for the Announcements
module. 2.
From the Control
Panel, select the Site Content tab. 3.
Find and select the Announcements
module. 4.
Select Settings from
the main menu across the top. 5.
Change the settings
appropriately. 6.
Click Save Settings
to save the changes.
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The Web Pages (or PageMaster) Module
Introduction
The WebPageMaster
module is used to create and edit web pages for your site. Web PageMaster also
allows you to post a page you created as the "Main Page" for
your site. It is also integrated into several other phpWebSite modules which
extend its functionality(See Figure 1). (You must have these other modules
installed before the functionality will be available.)
Some of these modules
include:
Menuman- offers a quick, easy
method of adding pages to your sites menus.
FatCat- allows categorization
of pages so users can easily find pages that contain related information and
other items that contain related information.
Comments- allows visitors to
your site the ability to post their comments on information contained in your pages.
The content of a page is
broken into two parts, a Page Title and Page Sections.
Each section is broken
into three parts, a section title, section text (the main information for that
section), and a section image (see Figure 2). It's good to have in mind the
number of sections you will be using, the relative content for each section,
and the order of these sections in your page. The section image is always
optional. The layout of a page is dependent upon the template selected for that
page and the layout or template of each section.
Creating a Page
It is recommended that
before you create a page using PageMaster that you plan ahead on the content
and layout of that page before attempting to dive in and create it. Once you
have a page planned out, follow these steps to create your page:
1.
Open your Control Panel and navigate to the Site Content tab.
2.
Select the web PageMaster module from the list of modules.
3.
Select New Page from the main menu.
4.
Enter your Page Title.
5.
If your page fits into
one of your site's Categories,
select it from the list provided.
6.
Select a Template for your page. The default template is the only
template to ship with phpWebSite.
7.
If you have the Comments module installed, you can choose to allow
comments on your page that allow anonymous or registered users to post
comments.
8.
Check the information
you entered to make sure it is correct and click the Go button.
9.
You can now start adding
Sections to your page. Sections are added from top to bottom.
10. Enter a Section Title for your section.
11. Enter the Section Text for your section.
12. Optionally, select an Image from your hard drive to upload to your section.
If you supply an image, you must also supply a Short Image Description for that image in the Short Image Description
field. You may also select an image via Image URL.
13. Select a Template to use for the layout of your section.
14. Check to be sure the information you entered is
correct and click the Save Section
button to save your section.
15. You will now see the section you just created at
the top of your page. You can choose to edit or delete a section by clicking the
Edit or Remove buttons respectively within the section.
16. Repeat steps 10 - 14 to add more sections to
your page.
17. When you have added and saved all your sections,
click the SAVE PAGE button to save your page.
Be sure to carefully read the warning before saving the page.
18. You will now be taken back to your list of pages
and your new page will be shown in the list.
By default when a page
is first saved, it is marked as hidden (you will see the Show button which
indicates it's hidden).
To make your page
viewable by your site visitors click the Show button for the newly
created page. Alternately, you can click the Hide button to hide a page
from your visitors. To make changes to an existing page, click the Edit
button for the respective page. To remove an existing page, click the Delete
button for the respective page. You will be prompted to confirm the
deletion of the page before it is fully removed.
Editing a Page
To edit a page, select List
Pages from the Main Menu and find the page you wish to edit in the
list of pages shown. Click the Edit button under the Action column
for the page you wish to edit. You will be taken to the same edit mode as when
creating a page. From here you can choose to edit or remove any section within
the page by clicking the Edit or Remove button respectively
within the section.
To edit the Page
Title, Categories,or Template, click the Edit button located
in the title bar of your page.When you have updated the information, click the Go
button to return to editing the sections within your page. When all the
information within your pages and sections are updated, click the SAVE PAGE
button at the bottom of the page. Make sure to carefully read the warning
before saving the page.
Removing a Page
To remove an existing
page from your site, select List Pages from the Main Menu and
find the page you wish to remove. Click the Delete button under the Actions
column for the respective page. You will be asked to confirm the deletion.
If you are sure you want to completely remove the page, click the Yes
button and the page will be removed. If you are not sure, click the No
button and the page will remain.
If you do not wish to
delete a page but want to hide it from your visitor's view, you can choose to
just hide it instead of fully removing it. Select List Pages from the
Main Menu, find the page you wish to hide and click the Hide button
for the respective page. The Hide button will turn into a Show
button. When you are ready to show the page to the public again, click the Show
button for that page.
Setting the Main Page
To set a Web PageMaster
page as your main page, select Set Main Page from the Main Menu.
The current saved pages are shown with Select buttons to the right of
the titles.
Find the page you wish
to have as your main page and click the respective Select button to set
it. The current main page is marked with CURRENT in green to the right
of the title. This also appears in the regular page list. If you wish to hide
the main page all together, select List Pages from the Main Menu
and click the Hide button for the respective page.
The Document Manager (formerly File
Manager) Module
Introduction
The File Manager
is a simple module that allows Administrators with the appropriate rights to
upload files to their sites. These files can be anything from mp3s to archives
of data. All files should be categorized via the FatCat categorizer to
allow them to show up in key areas of your site.
Adding a New File
Before uploading a new
file, make sure you have decided what the description of the file will be and
which of your site's categories the file will fall into. Then, follow these
steps to upload your new file:
1.
Make sure you are logged
in and have permission to use the File Manager.
2.
Open your Control
Panel.
3.
Select the Site
Content tab.
4.
Find and select the File
Manager module.
5.
Click Add New File
(Figure 1).
6.
Click the Browse button
under Upload File and select the file you wish to upload.
7.
Fill out the Description
for your file.
8.
Select the Category or
categories this file will belong to (Checking "Sticky" will
make it always show up in the What's Related area for categories).
9.
Click Submit
(Figure 2).
10. Your file will be saved and you will be
presented with the Details of the uploaded file.
11. Click Return to Main to return to the
current file listing.
Editing an Existing File
Before editing a file,
make sure you have decided what changes will be made including the description
of the file will be and which of your site's categories the file will fall
into. You can also upload a new file to replace the current one. If this is the
case, then have in mind where the file is located. Then, follow these steps to
edit your file:
1.
Make sure you are logged
in and have permission to use the File Manager.
2.
Open your Control
Panel.
3.
Select the Site
Content tab.
4.
Find and select the File
Manager module.
5.
Find the file you wish
to edit in the file listing.
6.
Select the check box
next to the file you wish to edit.
7.
Select the Edit option
from the drop down list of actions (See Figure 3).
8.
Click Go.
9.
If you wish to change or
update the current file with a new copy, click the Browse button under Upload
File and select the file you wish to upload. Once you finish editing, the
current file will be replaced by the new one you just selected.
10. If you wish to change or update the description,
simply update the text in the Description box.
11. If you wish to change the categories your file
appears in, select those categories in the Categories box.
12. Check over your changes one last time to make
sure you haven't made any mistakes.
13. Click Submit.
14. Your changes will be saved and you will be
presented with the details of the changes.
15. Click Return to Main to return to the
current file listing.
Removing an Existing File
Before removing a file,
make sure you are positive you want to remove it from the File Manager.
Once the file is removed, it cannot be recovered. If you are sure, follow these
steps to remove your file:
1.
Make sure you are logged
in and have permission to use the File Manager.
2.
Open your Control
Panel.
3.
Select the Site
Content tab.
4.
Find and select the File
Manager module.
5.
Find the file you wish
to remove in the file listing.
6.
Select the check box
next to the file you wish to remove.
7.
Select the Delete option
from the drop down list of actions.
8.
Click Go.
9.
You will be asked to
confirm the deletion of the file. If you are sure click Yes, otherwise
click No.
10. If you select Yes, your file will be
removed and a success message will be shown.
11. If you select No, your file will not be
removed and a message will be shown to confirm the file still exists.
12. Click Back to Main to return to the
current file listing.
Hiding or Showing an Existing File
Hiding and showing a
file will hide it from your site visitors or allow your visitors to view the
file. Before hiding or showing a file, make sure you are positive you want to
hide or show that particular file. Keep in mind, you can select multiple files
from the file listing to hide or show. Follow these steps to hide or show your
file(s):
1.
Make sure you are logged
in and have permission to use the File Manager.
2.
Open your Control
Panel.
3.
Select the Site
Content tab.
4.
Find and select the File
Manager module.
5.
Find the file(s) you
wish to hide or show in the file listing.
6.
Click the check box(es)
next to the file(s) you wish to hide or show.
7.
Select the Hide
or Show option from the drop down list of actions.
8.
Click Go.
9.
The file listing will be
refreshed with the file(s) you had selected hidden or viewable.
Introduction
Most content modules in
php Web Site share a common need: to categorize data. Instead of having each
module track categories independently, FatCat manages it for them all.
Centralized categories improve data organization and flow and consequently
improve user interaction.
Getting Started
Before you begin
creating categories, you need to decide the structure of your tree. The amount
of time you spend up front determining how your category tree will branch will
save you ten times that amount of time in the future.
First, ask yourself:
what is the purpose of my site? Let's say I am making a site about cooking. I
may decide my site's purpose is to post recipes. So, I might make the first two
categories Recipes and Advice.
Then I would determine
how to organize my recipes:
Under Recipes, I decide
to make three categories: Desserts, Main Course, and Appetizers.
Under Advice, I would
make four categories Dietetic, Preparation, Appliances, and Utensils.
That should be enough to
get started. I may decide to add more categories later. For example, under
Preparation I may have the categories Poultry, Vegetables,
and Beef because I feel each of
those deserves a separate area of preparation. Or if I think there won't be
enough information under Poultry and Beef, I may combine them under one
category: Meat. You aren't chained to
the choices you make for categories but it will save you time if you plan
beforehand.
Creating, Editing and Removing
Categories
Now that I know what
categories I need, I can start making them. We know the top two categories
(Recipes and Advice), so we will want to make those first.
Creating Categories
First,
go into your Control Panel and click on the Site Content tab.
Next click on the FatCat Categorizer option. Once there you should see a
drop down box with the words <Top Level>. Next to that is a button
labeled Create Category. Since we are first making
our top level categories, this is a good selection. Go ahead and click the
aforementioned button. You will now come to the Create Category form. Let's go
through the elements of the form.
·
Parent This controls the parent
of the category I am creating. This echoes my selection from the previous page.
Since I want Recipes to be at the top of my category tree I will leave this at
<Top Level>.
·
Title Fairly self-explanatory. I
will just type "Recipes" here.
·
Description Although not required, it
is a good idea to explain the purpose of a category. Type the description of
the category here (e.g. "Recipes are your culinary blueprints to great
food!").
·
Template The template controls the
layout of the View Category page. Just leave this at default.tpl.
·
Image and Icon You may want to upload an
image for you category. Make sure you read the "Images and Icons"
section below.
When
I have finished entering the information on my Recipes category, I will click
the Create Category button. My first category is complete! (See Figure
1.)
Other Categories
Once
you create your first category you should be able to start developing your
"tree".
Earlier
we decided to create categories named Desserts, Main Course, and Appetizers. Choosing
Recipes instead of <Top Level> from the drop box allows me to create
these categories under Recipes. I can also choose a parent from the drop down
box on the creation screen.
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Recipes > Desserts |
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Recipes > Main
Course |
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Recipes > Appetizers |
Once
I pick Recipes as the parent, I would just create these other categories as I
did their parent (Figures 2 and 2).
If
you are following along, you should start to see more options in your drop down
box. You would see something like the following list:
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|
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Recipes > Desserts |
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Recipes > Desserts
> Cakes |
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Recipes > Desserts
> Pies |
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Recipes > Main
Course |
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Recipes >
Appetizers |
The
"greater than" sign (>) indicates that Desserts, Main Course and
Appetizers are under the Recipes category.
The
list can continue like this forever, but don't try to get there. Keep your list
orderly. Three to four categories should be sufficient. If biologists can
classify all life with only seven category levels, you should be able to make
do with five.
Editing Categories
Should
you need to edit a category, just select it from the drop down box on the
administration page and click the Edit Category button. You will be
taken to a page quite similar to the creation page. Edit your changes and click
the Update Category button.
Removing Categories
If
you decide you want to remove a category from the system, make absolutely sure
you have moved any subcategories to another parent. All information associated
with the category will be removed permanently. When you are certain you want to
remove this category, choose it from the drop down box on the administration
page and click the Delete Category button.
Images and Icons
When creating or editing
categories, you may decide you want to add a little more flair to them with
graphics. FatCat allows you to upload images and icons to each
category.
Size is the biggest
difference between an image and an icon. Images are much larger than icons. The
other difference is where they show up. Icons are commonly accompany
information under that category. Images are usually only seen when some if
reading information about the category itself.
Before we get started,
let's lay down the rules for images and icons.
1.
Images and icons should
be of the gif, jpeg (or jpg as it is more commonly spelled), or png format. You
can tell what format your graphic is by looking at the file extension (i.e. the
last three letters of filename). Any other image types (e.g. bmp, wmp, psd
etc.) won't be allowed.
2.
Icons must be even smaller:
50 pixels wide by 50 pixels high or less.
3.
Images should be around
200 pixels wide by 200 pixels high. Anything larger than that tends to gobble
up space and detract from the description of the category.
4.
Both icons and images
should have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (or dpi). Remember, monitors don't
need high resolution to show a clear picture. Anything over 72dpi is overkill
and makes the image file bloated. Digital cameras usually store pictures at
300dpi to 1200dpi so be careful.
Upload an Image or Icon
To upload an image,
click the Browse button. Go to the
directory that contains your image file and select it by double clicking or
clicking OK. The directory path to your image should now appear in the text box
next to the Browse button. Now if you create or update your category, the image
will accompany the title and description on the view page.
You can upload an icon
the same way. Click Browse, choose your icon, and
save the category.
After uploading at least
one image or icon to the system, you will see a drop down box with that
graphics file name selected. If you decide you do not want to use a graphic for
the category you can choose <None> in
the drop down box. If you later prefer to use a different graphic entirely, you
can select it from the drop down box as well.
Remove an Image or Icon
Finally if you never
want to see a graphic again, select the file name and click the Remove Image or Remove Icon button.
One other feature you
can take advantage of on this page is thumbnails. These are small versions of the currently selected image. Once
created, they can be used as icons. Creating them is easy, either Browse to the
image you want to use or select one from the image drop down box and then click
the Create Icon
from Image button. Your new icon will then be set!
A few rules about
thumbnail icons. First, not all images lend themselves well to icons. A
landscape for example would be unrecognizable as an icon. An image of an object
or a portrait would lend itself well to an icon. Experiment with them. Second,
you can only make thumbnails from jpg or png image files. Sorry, but gif files
are copyrighted material and you have to pay to alter the format.
Now What?
So how are these
categories used? Most of the content modules that come with phpWebSite tap in
to FatCat.
When you create an
event, announcement, or a page there is a multiple select list to choose the
category (or categories) to which you want that item associated. To select the
category or categories associated to your item, highlight them by clicking each
one. Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard while left clicking to highlight
more than one at a time. When you save your item, it will be indexed to the
categories you have selected.
Categorization comes in
handy when another item shares that category. Let's say I have a pecan pie
recipe (my favorite). I go under PageMaster and create the recipe page for it.
I decide to assign the page to the category Recipes > Desserts > Pies.
Later I find out there
is going to be a pecan pie bake-off where I live. So I post an announcement
with the same category. Since I may post a lot of announcements, I decide to
post the event to my calendar.
Now when the users come
to my site they may see the announcement about the bake off. When they read it,
a different box, the What's Related
box (Figure 4), will appear showing them the other items that are related to
this announcement, namely the calendar event and the recipe page. They can then
click the event or the recipe page to get more information. As you add more
content and use FatCat to categorize them, the easier and more interactive your
site becomes.
Sticky Items
Sometimes there is
something that is so important, you want to make sure it is seen whenever
something in the same category is viewed. To do so, you can just check the
Sticky check box under the category listing. Although there is a limit on how
many related items can appear, Sticky items will ALWAYS appear.
Back to the Admin
You should now be
familiar with creating, editing, and using categories in FatCat. You should be
aware of two more options on the administration screen.
Default Icon
Some
modules, like Announcements, make extensive use of the category icons.
Sometimes you may want to supply a filler icon for a category. The Default
Icon option will assist you. Just pick an icon you have on your computer or
use one you have already uploaded. See the Images and Icons section
above to see how to choose an icon.
Once
you have selected your Default Icon, this picture will represent any category
currently lacking an icon.
What's Related Limit
Earlier,
you learned about the What's Related box. Pick a number from this drop down box
to determine the maximum amount of related elements to display per module.
Remember that Sticky items will always appear, ignoring the limit number.
Conclusion
Hopefully you should now
be able to use categories to their fullest. The more you use them, the more
information you give your users. If you have any questions about this
documentation, please contact me at matt at tux dot appstate dot edu.
The Menu Manager Module
Getting Started
Menus within your php WebSite
are used for site navigation. To begin using the Menu Manager module you
must go to the Site Content tab of your Control Panel. The link
says Menu Manager and may have an icon that looks like an open menu. Click on
the textual link or the icon to continue.
Listing Menus
When you first startup
the Menu Manager you will find its admin menu followed by a list of menus (if
there are any in the database). If there are no menus you should see a message
that says: There are no menus in the database at this time (Figure 1).
The admin menu allows
you to List Menus, Create a Menu, or go to the Image Manager.
This menu might follow you around because it is available on some of the
administrative screens. At any point you can click the List Menus link and get
back to this page. Each menu in the list contains Edit, Delete, and Activate/Deactivate
functions.
·
Clicking the Edit
button on the row of the menu you wish to edit will take you to the Edit screen
which will be discussed later.
·
Clicking the Delete
button on the row of the menu you wish to delete will take you to a Yes/No
confirmation. The confirmation is to make sure you want to delete the menu
(make sure this is what you want to do and that you have selected the correct
menu). Click Yes to remove the menu and all of its links from the
database. Click No to cancel the deletion process.
·
Clicking the Activate/Deactivate
button on the row of the menu you wish to change will toggle it between being
viewable by the public or not.
Creating New Menus
The Create a New Menu
page allows you to configure all of the settings for your new menu. The
options you see here can be changed later via the menu settings when you are
editing your menu. Settings for the most part can be left at their default
values and the menu will function the way most expect. Most of the options are
for those who would like to really configure their menu.
1.
Click on the Create
Menu link in the admin menu at the top of the page, this will take you to
the Create a New Menu page.
2.
Next begin to fill out
the fields appropriately (Figure 2).
3.
Menu
Title: The text title that
will show up at the top of the menu. You should always provide a title for your
menu, although it is not a required field. A title will help you distinguish it
from other menus.
4.
Menu
Spacer: This value is a numeric
value which represents the number of extra spaces the menu will add
automatically to each nested level of the menu. The menu will always start with
0 space at the first level of the menu. (ie. a value of 2 for the menu spacer
will put 2 spaces on the first nest of the menu and 4 spaces for the second
nest)
5.
Template: The template for the menu is just there to give
the ability for someone to highly configure their menu. For most this option
will just stay at default unless you really know what you are doing.
1.
If you would like more
information on templating please see the TEMPLATE.txt doc in the docs
directory for the Menu Manager. The image map checkbox is there for
furthur templating configuration.
6.
Allow
View: The allow view option allows
you to choose which modules must be active in order for the menu appear. You
can select one module or multiple modules. The default is to select all of the
modules so if none are selected then the menu will be viewable for all of the
modules currently installed. If a module is installed after the menu is
created, and you want the menu to show up for the module, you will have to come
and select it under the menu settings.
7.
Default
Theme Variable (See Figure 3): This allows you to choose where the menu will show up on the page
after it is created. This is the only time you can set this option within the
menu manager. After it is set it can be changed via the layout modules box move
option. The values for this option are pretty self-explanatory.
8.
Menu
Indent: The menu indent can be
one of two things: a character or an image. If the radio button is selected for
a character, then the menu manager will use the character selected from the dropdown
box before every link in the menu. Also if an activity color is set for that
character then the character will turn that color when the link it shows up
before is the link that was just clicked. If the radio button is selected for
an image then the images chosen will show up before each link (depending on the
activity of the link). The images found in the dropbox here can be uploaded via
the image manager.
Image Manager
The Image Manager
just gives you a web-based interface to upload images you want to use as an
indent item at that is all. If you do not plan on using an image for your
indent item then you will not need to use the image manager. Current images can
also be removed from the system via this page by just selecting the image and
clicking delete.
Editing Menus
To edit a menu you must
list all of the current menus as described before and click the Edit
button next to the menu you want to edit. Now you will see a list of all
current links in the menu. If there are no links in the menu, you will get a
message that says: No items for this menu.
Adding Menu Items
1.
A menu item may be added to the menu by clicking on the Add
Menu Item button at the bottom of the window (Figure 4).
2.
After you click this you will see a screen which will
give you three options (Figure 5).
1. Title: The text representation of
the link that will be placed in the menu. This field is required.
2. URL:The url of the link you
want to add. If webpages are
available they will show up here in a dropdown box. You can either fill out the
url or pick a PageMaster page. When a PageMaster page is chosen, then the url
field is populating accordingly so it does not need to be filled out (In this
case the user submitted url will be ignored).
3. Display: This option allows you
define how the link will act and display on your site.
1. Internal: The page is internal to
the site and the menu will expand at that point where the menu is clicked.
2. External: The page is external which
means it is not located within your site (ie. links to another site) this will
not detect your position in the menu.
3. New Window: This option will cause the
link to open in a new browser window.
3.
Select where on the menu you would like the menu item to
go. The very top radio button means you want the link to be a top level link
(ie. not nested under another link). If any other radio button listed next to
another menu item is selected, that means you want the link you are adding to be
nested under the item selected. Finally, if this is the first link you are
adding to the menu then it can only be a top-level link.
Basic Edit
This
is the first mode you will see when editing your menu. At any time you can
switch to the advanced edit mode by clicking the Turn On Advanced Edit
button. The basic edit allows you to edit the textual representation of the
menu item, change the activity of the menu item, change the order of the menu
item, and delete menu items. All of the edit and delete options can be done at
once by checking more than one check box and then clicking the appropriate
submit button. However, ordering of menu items can only be done one at a time
by clicking the arrow in the direction you want it to go.
To
update a menu item:
1.
To update the text, change the value in the text field of
the link you want to edit and check the box next to the link, now click the Update
Menu Items button and you are done.
2.
To toggle the activity of a menu item check the box next
to the item you want to change and then click the Activate/Deactivate
button.
3.
To change the order of a menu item just click the up or
down link next to the item you want to move. Only items that are on the same
level (in the same nest) can be ordered. An item can not be moved to another
nest at this point in time. This option is in the plan for future versions.
4.
To delete an item check the box next to it and then click
the Delete button. A confirmation will then appear making sure you are
deleting the links you want. If you click Yes that link will be deleted
along with ALL of the links nested under it.
Advanced Edit
The
advanced edit mode will also allow you to edit the textual representation of a
menu item and delete a menu item. It will also allow you to edit the url for
the menu item, and the display method as described earlier. All of the edit and
delete options can be done at once by checking more than one check box and then
clicking the appropriate submit button.
To
update the menu item:
1.
Edit the textfield containing the information you want to
change.
2.
Then check the box next to the item and click the Update
Menu Items button.
3.
If you select a webpage then you do not need to
edit the url field, the menu will take care of that for you.
4.
To update the display, select the display you want then
check the box next to the item and click the Update Menu Items button.
5.
To delete an item check the box next to it and then click
the delete button. A confirmation will then appear making sure you are deleting
the links you want. If you click Yes that link will be deleted along
with ALL of the links nested under it.
Settings
The
Settings button will take you to the settings for your menu. These are
all the same options seen before when creating a menu. Click Save at the
bottom to update any changes you may make on this page.
Add Module Default
This
allows you to add a link of a specific module's user view to the menu. After
clicking this button, select the module you want to add a link to and then
select the position you would like to see the link in the menu. Finally click Add
Menu Item. Your are done.
The Block Maker Module
Getting Started
Blocks are one of the
most basic components of a web site. Blocks created by Block Maker are
used for placing small amounts of content on your site (If the content is going
to be longer than just a few sentences, then consider creating a PageMaster
page).
The Block Maker module
can be found under the Site Content tab of your Control Panel.
Block Maker's icon shows a cursor hovering over a series of blocks.
Listing Blocks
The first time you enter
the Block Maker module you see a listing of all blocks currently in the
database. You can always return to this list from anywhere in the module by
clicking the List Blocks link at the top of the page. The listing of the
blocks allows you to edit, delete, and activate or deactivate blocks.
·
Clicking the Edit
button on the row of the block you wish to edit will take you to a form for
modifying that block (editing blocks is explained below).
·
Clicking the Delete
button on the row of the block you wish to delete will take you to a Yes/No
confirmation. This confirmation makes sure you want to delete the block
selected. Ensure that you have selected the correct block and you want to
permanently delete it (There is no recovery after you click Yes). Click No
to cancel the deletion process.
·
Clicking the Activate
or Deactivate button on the row of the block you wish to change will determine
whether or not the block is viewable to the public.
Create a New Block
Creating a new block is
quite easy. Just follow the directions below and you will be done before you
know it.
1.
Click the Create A
New Block link at the top of the page. This takes you to the form you need
to fill out. If at anytime you wish to cancel what you are doing just click the
Back to Main link at the top of the page.
2.
Next fill out all of the
necessary fields. The Title, Content, or Footer fields are
not required, but if you don't put any content in the block the block will not
be created.
3.
The Title field
is used as just that, a title. It also represents the block in the list of
blocks mentioned above.
4.
The Content field
is where most of your information will go. There is a small wysiwyg provided
here for those with javascript enabled. The wysiwyg gives you the ability to
easily add several different html tags into your content.
5.
The Footer field
is rarely used and must be supported by the boxstyle the block is using. You
can ignore it.
6.
The Default Theme
Variable is used for the placement of the block on your site. This is not
set in stone and can be moved later via the Layout Admin module's box
move. The choices in this dropbox explain exactly where on the site the block
will be placed by default (see Figure 1).
7.
The Allow View
option enables you to select which modules must be active in order for the
block to appear. For instance, you can select PageMaster and the block
will only be viewable when a PageMaster page is being viewed. Most of the time
you will select all the modules so the block can always be seen (To select all
modules, simply do not select any: the saved block selects all by default).
8.
When you are done click
the Save Block button and you will be returned to the listing of blocks.
9.
Now you will need to
choose Activate in order to make the block viewable to the public.
Editing Blocks
Editing a block is much
like creating a new block except all of the fields are pre-populated with the
data that was entered when creating this block. If at anytime you wish to
cancel what you are doing just click the Back to Main link at the top of
the page.
·
Now you can modify the
content in the block and change its allow view options. The only thing you
can't change here now is the theme variable you chose when creating a block.
This has to now be modified by the Layout Admin module's box move.
·
When you are done
editing the block click the Save Block button and the block will be
saved to the database and return you to the list of blocks.
·
Make sure the changes
you made are correct because they will go live as soon as you save the block
(You may wish to deactivate it before you begin to edit, then activate it again
when you are finished).
The Calendar Module
Introduction
Calendar allows you to post events on your web page. It displays these
events in Daily, Weekly, and Monthly views. It also includes a
small view which allows users to see what is coming up within the next few
days.
Getting Started
You can get to the
administrative functions of Calendar two ways.
The first way is to view an Event, Month, Week, Day, or Year. The
administrative panel will appear at the top of the page (Assuming you are
logged in with the proper administrative rights).
The other way to access calendar is by clicking on the Calendar icon in
the Control Panel.
Creating Events
Click on the Create New Event in the Calendar administration panel.
You will come to the event form. Here is what you will need to fill out (see
Figure 1).
·
Active This defaults to 'On'.
If you want the event to be hidden from user view until later, change this to 'Off'.
·
Title Pretty
self-explanatory. This is the title of the event. Keep it short and don't
include the date or time. Let the rest of the form handle that.
·
Description
Although not required, you should fill this in with a description of the event
and its importance.
·
Image You can upload an image
to be associated with your event. Just click the Browse button and
choose an image from your hard drive. You can also use an image that is already
on the server by picking it from the drop down menu. Set your selection to <None>
if you decide you don't want an image with your event. Finally, select an image
and click the Remove button to delete the image file from the server.
·
Template - The template controls
the layout of your event when it is viewed. Normally, the default.tpl template
is sufficient. If however, there is another template file you wish to use,
select it from the drop down menu (see Figure 1).
·
Event Type
There are four event types. Click the radio button next to the one you wish to
use.
1.
Interval This event has a
definite start and end time and date.
2.
Starts At This event has a
definite start time but an undetermined end time.
3.
Deadline The start time of this
event is irrelevant but the end time is vital.
4.
All Day This event doesn't have
a start or end time (e.g. a holiday).
·
Start Time
This is the time the event starts. You do not need to set this for the All
Day or Deadline event type.
·
End Time This is the time the
event ends. You should set this for Interval and Deadline events,
but not for Starts At or All Day events.
·
Start Date
The date the event starts. Note that the Start Date must always be
before the End Date.
·
End Date The date the event
ends. Normally this is the same day as the Start Date, however you can
create an Interval event that takes place over several days.
·
Categories If
you have created categories in FatCat, you can associate the event to
one or more of them. If your event is important, consider clicking the Sticky
check box. This will assure it is seen in the What's Related box.
Click the Create Event button once you have finished filling out the
form. If there aren't any errors, your event should now appear on the calendar
(Figure 2).
Editing Events
To change an event's
data, find it using the calendar and view it. As an administrator, you should
see an Edit link. Click on that
link to go to the edit form. Your changes will not be saved until you click the
Update
Event button.
Deleting Events
To remove an event,
click on the Delete link that will appear
when you are viewing an event. This will permanently remove the event and its repeats
from the system, so be careful.
Repeating Events
If your event needs to
post more than once, you should repeat the event. Below the event form is the
repeat form. To get started, click the check box next to Repeat Event until and pick the termination date. The repeats will
cease after this date.
Now click on the radio
button next to your repeat option.
·
Daily - The event will appear
everyday until the termination date.
·
Weekly - The event will appear
on every checked weekday.
·
Monthly - Choose whether you
want the event to appear at the beginning of every month, the end of every
month, or every month on the same day as the start date.
·
Yearly - Choose this if you
want the event to appear on the same day every year.
·
Every - Here you can choose
specific weekday of each month for your event to appear. For example, you could
choose to have an event repeat on the second Tuesday of every month. First pick
which week you want the event to appear in. Then choose the weekday. Finally,
choose a specific month or the "Every Month" option.
When you are finished
setting your repeat options, click either the Create Event button (if
you are making a new event) or the Update Event button (if you are
editing an existing one).
Calendar Module Settings
Clicking on the Settings link will take you to the page of the same
name. There are only a few settings you may want to alter and you shouldn't
have to do so often (Figure 3).
·
Mini Month -
uncheck this if you do not want the small month view to show in the user view.
·
Days Ahead -
Set the amount of days in the future you want the calendar to look ahead for
events. Set it to zero if you do not want it to display at all.
·
Cache Calendar Views - Check this box if you want the calendar to cache some of its
pages. This can increase the speed of some views (especially month and year).
·
User Submitted Events - Check this box if you want to allow users to submit events.
·
Reindex FatCat - If
you have deleted an event and it is still showing up in What's Related, check
this box.
Click the Submit
button when finished.
User Submitted Events
If
you are allowing User Submitted events (see Settings) then users
will be able to suggest events. They will not be able to post repeats (imagine
an event repeated daily from 2003 to 2009) so they will need to put that
information in the description. To approve the event, go to the Approval
module and look for it listed there.
The Form Generator Module
Introduction
The Form Generator is a module used to create forms and collect
data from your site visitors online. Once data has been collected, Form
Generator allows you to export the data into a tab delimited file (you can then
import data into a spreadsheet program such OpenOffice.org Calc or Microsoft
Excel). Form Generator also offers some basic reporting features of its own,
but they are limited.
Some helpful things to
remember when using the form generator:
1.
The Main Menu is always shown across the top while
administrating the Form Generator module. This menu allows you to perform key
operations in certain areas of the Form Generator. Some of these operations
include: New Form, List Forms, Settings, Report, and Archive.
2.
When first entering the
Form Generator the Main Menu will only show two options: New Form and List Forms. The Menu will expand its options when a form has been selected
from one of the lists of forms. Certain options are shown for saved forms and
certain options shown for unsaved or unapproved forms.
3.
There are two parts to
forms: Settings and Elements. A form's settings can be altered at any time
in any form. They include settings like your instructions for the form, the
submission message shown upon successful submission of a form, whether or not
only registered users can view the form, and whether or not the form can be
filled out multiple times by your users. A form's elements are the actual
"questions" within your form. The elements are selected from a list
of HTML elements like text field, text area, drop box, check box, radio
button, and multi select. These elements can be used to ask and
gather all sorts of information. A form's elements can only be edited when a
form is in the unsaved state.
4.
Under List Forms, three separate lists are shown. Saved Forms are forms that have been saved and may or may
not contain data. That depends on whether or not you have the form available to
your site visitors and whether or not those visitors have filled out the form. Unsaved Forms are forms that are being built but haven't been
fully saved. Unapproved Forms are forms that were created by a user that is designated as
needing approval of their forms before they are made available to the public.
Once an unsaved or unapproved form is saved, it will move to the Saved Forms list.
5.
When clicking on a form
in a list, you will be viewing the form as a visitor to your site would view
it. However, as an admin you will see the Main Menu at the top. From the menu you can select to perform various operations
on the form you are viewing. You can always return to the form listing by
clicking List Forms.
6.
Something to keep in
mind when saving forms: Make sure you are positive the form is correct and
ready to be viewed and filled out by your site visitors. Once a form is saved
it will start collecting data. If you decide to edit the elements within that
form, the data collected by the form must be cleared and archived . Hence, you reset the form when you edit its
elements. A good practice is to Export the data from the form just
before you edit it's elements. You can always edit a form's settings no matter
which state it is in.
Creating a Form
It is a good idea to
have your form planned out in advance before diving in and creating a form. In
the plan, you should take into account the name of the form, the instructions
for the form, the submission message for the form, the elements to be contained
in the form and what HTML elements will be used to represent your form
elements, and what type of users the form is geared towards (anonymous or
registered visitors to your site). Once you have planned out the settings and
elements for your form, follow these steps to create one:
1.
Make sure you are logged
into an administrative account that has permissions to use the Form
Generator.
2.
From your Control Panel, select the Site Content tab.
3.
Find and select the Form Generator module.
4.
From the Main Menu, select New Form.
5.
You will be shown the Settings for your new form.
6.
Fill out the Name,
Instructions, Submission message, and other settings for your form.
7.
If your form falls into
one of your site's Categories,
specify it as well.
8.
Click Save Settings to save your settings and begin adding elements
to your form.
9.
You will notice that the
menu now has a Settings option and an Elements option. Selecting >Settings will take you to editing the settings for your form and selecting
Elements will take you to adding/editing of your form's
elements.
10. To add an element to your form, select the
element type you wish to add from the tool bar at the bottom and click Add.
11. See the section for adding the element you
selected for more specific instructions for that element.
12. Continue adding elements until you have all your planned elements within
your form.
13. Take a final look at your form to make sure everything is in order and make changes
where needed.
14. When you are sure your form is complete, click
the Save Form button on the tool bar
across the bottom to save your form.
Adding a Drop Box Element
Make sure you have
planned out the format of your drop box before continuing. You should have in
mind the label or question for the drop box, the number of options, the option
text to be shown to the user, and the actual value of each option to be stored
when it is selected.
Make sure you are
editing the elements of the form you wish to add the drop box to. Select Dropbox from the drop down list of elements on your
tool bar and click Add. Follow these steps to finish adding the element:
1.
Fill out the Name for your element. The Name is used to uniquely identify this particular
element within the form. Form Generator will attempt to auto-assign a unique
name to your element, but if you would like a different name you can change it.
The only restrictions are: the name must contain only alpha and numeric
characters, NO spaces, and be unique within the form you are editing.
2.
Fill out the Associated Text for your element. The associated text is the
text shown with your element. This text can be a simple label, question, or
instruction. (e.g.: Please select your age range:)
3.
Enter the Number of Options to be used with the drop box or select a Predefined Option Set (see section below: Predefined Option Sets).
4.
If this element is
required to be filled out, check the Required check box.
5.
Click Next.
6.
If you did not select a
predefined option set, you will now need to fill out the information for each
option in your drop box.
7.
For each option, enter
the Text which will be the
actual text shown to inside the drop box.
8.
For each option, enter
the Value which will be the
actual value stored if the corresponding option is selected. Optionally, if you
the value you want to be stored is the same as the text entered for each
option, you can select the Use option text as values check box at the bottom of the list of options. If that is
selected, you do not need to fill out anything for the values of your options.
9.
If you wish to have a
certain option selected by default when the form is first shown to your site
visitors, select the Default flag for the
corresponding option.
10. If you wish to save the set of options you just
created as a predefined option set, enter a name to save the option set as in
the Save option set as field.
11. Double check your option set and click Save Dropbox when finished.
12. The drop box will be saved and added to the end
of your form.
Adding a Text Field Element
Make sure you have
planned out the format of your text field before continuing. You should have in
mind the label or question for the text field and whether or not the text field
is required to be filled out.
Make sure you are
editing the elements of the form you wish to add the text field to. Select Textfield from the drop down list of elements on your tool
bar and click Add. Follow these steps to
finish adding the element:
1.
Fill out the Name for your element. The Name is used to uniquely identify this particular
element within the form. Form Generator will attempt to auto-assign a unique
name to your element, but if you would like a different name you can change it.
The only restrictions are, the name must contain only alpha and numeric
characters, NO spaces, and be unique within the form you are editing.
2.
Fill out the Associated Text for your element. The associated text is the
text shown with your element. This text can be a simple label, question, or
instruction. (e.g.: Please enter your full name:)
3.
Optionally, you can
enter a Size and a Maxsize for your element. The size will be the actual
size of the text field and will affect how many characters are shown at one
time in the text field. The maximum size is the maximum number of characters
you are willing to accept. A user may type in more than the maximum size
allows, but the Form Generator will store only the number of characters
specified with maxsize. If no size or maxsize is specified, Form Generator will
fill in default values for you.
4.
If this element is
required to be filled out, check the Required check box.
5.
Double check your input
and click Save Textfield
when finished.
6.
The text field will be
saved and added to the end of your form.
Adding a Text Area Element
Make sure you have
planned out the format of your text area before continuing. You should have in
mind the label or question for the text area and whether or not the text area
is required to be filled out.
Make sure you are
editing the elements of the form you wish to add the text area to. Select Textarea from the drop down list of elements on your tool
bar and click Add. Follow these steps to
finish adding the element:
1.
Fill out the Name for your element. The Name is used to uniquely identify this particular
element within the form. Form Generator will attempt to auto-assign a unique
name to your element, but if you would like a different name you can change it.
The only restrictions are, the name must contain only alpha and numeric
characters, NO spaces, and be unique within the form you are editing.
2.
Fill out the Associated Text for your element. The associated text is the
text shown with your element. This text can be a simple label, question, or
instruction. (e.g.: Please enter your full name:)
3.
Optionally, you can
enter the Rows and a Columns for your element. The rows will be the actual
number of rows in the text area and will affect how many characters are shown
per line. The columns are the actual number of columns in the text area and
will affect how many lines of text are shown at a given time. If no rows or
columns are specified, Form Generator will fill in default values for you.
4.
If this element is
required to be filled out, check the Required check box.
5.
Double check your input
and click Save Textarea
when finished.
6.
The text area will be
saved and added to the end of your form.
Adding a Mutliple Select Element
Make sure you have
planned out the format of your multiselect before continuing. You should have
in mind the label or question for the set, the number of options, the option
text to be shown to the user, and the actual value of each option to be stored
when it is selected.
Make sure you are
editing the elements of the form you wish to add the multiple select to. Select
Multiple
Select from the drop down list
of elements on your tool bar and click Add. Follow these steps to finish adding the element:
1.
Fill out the Name for your element. The Name is used to uniquely identify this particular
element within the form. Form Generator will attempt to auto-assign a unique
name to your element, but if you would like a different name you can change it.
The only restrictions are, the name must contain only alpha and numeric
characters, NO spaces, and be unique within the form you are editing.
2.
Fill out the Associated Text for your element. The associated text is the
text shown with your element. This text can be a simple label, question, or
instruction. (e.g.: Please select your age range:)
3.
Enter the Number of Options to be used with the multiple select box or
select a Predefined Option Set (see section: Predefined Option Sets).
4.
If this element is
required to be filled out, check the Required check box.
5.
Click Next.
6.
If you did not select a
predefined option set, you will now need to fill out the information for each
option in your multiple select box.
7.
For each option, enter
the Text which will be the
actual text shown for options in the multiple select box.
8.
For each option, enter
the Value which will be the
actual value stored if the corresponding option is selected. Optionally, if you
the value you want to be stored is the same as the text entered for each
option, you can select the Use option text as values check box at the bottom of the list of options. If that is
selected, you do not need to fill out anything for the values of your options.
9.
If you wish to have a
certain option selected by default when the form is first shown to your site
visitors, select the Default flag for the
corresponding option.
10. If you wish to save the set of options you just
created as a predefined option set, enter a name to save the option set as in
the Save option set as field.
11. Double check your option set and click Save Multiselect when finished.
12. The multiple select box will be saved and added
to the end of your form.
Adding a Radio Button Element
Make sure you have
planned out the format of your set of radio buttons before continuing. You
should have in mind the label or question for the set, the number of options,
the option text to be shown to the user, and the actual value of each option to
be stored when it is selected.
Make sure you are
editing the elements of the form you wish to add the radio buttons to. Select Radio Button from the drop down list of elements on your
tool bar and click Add. Follow these steps to
finish adding the element:
1.
Fill out the Name for your element. The Name is used to uniquely identify this particular
element within the form. Form Generator will attempt to auto-assign a unique
name to your element, but if you would like a different name you can change it.
The only restrictions are, the name must contain only alpha and numeric
characters, NO spaces, and be unique within the form you are editing.
2.
Fill out the Associated Text for your element. The associated text is the
text shown with your element. This text can be a simple label, question, or
instruction. (e.g.: Please select your age range:)
3.
Enter the Number of Options to be used with the radio button or select a Predefined Option Set (see section: Predefined Option Sets).
4.
If this element is
required to be filled out, check the Required check box.
5.
Click Next.
6.
If you did not select a
predefined option set, you will now need to fill out the information for each
option in your set of radio buttons.
7.
For each option, enter
the Text which will be the
actual text shown next to the radio buttons.
8.
For each option, enter
the Value which will be the
actual value stored if the corresponding option is selected. Optionally, if you
the value you want to be stored is the same as the text entered for each
option, you can select the Use option text as values check box at the bottom of the list of options. If that is
selected, you do not need to fill out anything for the values of your options.
9.
If you wish to have a
certain option selected by default when the form is first shown to your site
visitors, select the Default flag for the
corresponding option.
10. If you wish to save the set of options you just
created as a predefined option set, enter a name to save the option set as in
the Save option set as field.
11. Double check your option set and click Save Radiobutton when finished.
12. The radio buttons will be saved and added to the
end of your form.
Adding a Check Box Element
Make sure you have
planned out the format of your check box before continuing. You should have in
mind the label or question for the check box, the number of options, the option
text to be shown to the user, and the actual value of each option to be stored
when it is selected.
Make sure you are
editing the elements of the form you wish to add the check box to. Select Checkbox from the drop down list of elements on your tool
bar and click Add. Follow these steps to
finish adding the element:
1.
Fill out the Name for your element. The Name is used to uniquely identify this particular
element within the form. Form Generator will attempt to auto-assign a unique
name to your element, but if you would like a different name you can change it.
The only restrictions are, the name must contain only alpha and numeric
characters, NO spaces, and be unique within the form you are editing.
2.
Fill out the Associated Text for your element. The associated text is the
text shown with your element. This text can be a simple label, question, or
instruction. (e.g.: Check if you wish to receive mail about upcoming events.)
3.
Enter the Number of Options to be used with the check box or select a Predefined Option Set (see section: Predefined Option Sets).
4.
If this element is
required to be filled out, check the Required check box.
5.
Click Next.
6.
If you did not select a
predefined option set, you will now need to fill out the information for each
option in your set of check boxes.
7.
For each option, enter
the Text which will be the
actual text shown next to the check boxes.
8.
For each option, enter
the Value which will be the
actual value stored if the corresponding option is selected. Optionally, if you
the value you want to be stored is the same as the text entered for each
option, you can select the Use option text as values check box at the bottom of the list of options. If that is
selected, you do not need to fill out anything for the values of your options.
9.
If you wish to have a
certain option selected by default when the form is first shown to your site
visitors, select the Default flag for the
corresponding option.
10. If you wish to save the set of options you just
created as a predefined option set, enter a name to save the option set as in
the Save option set as field.
11. Double check your option set and click Save Checkbox when finished.
12. The check boxes will be saved and added to the
end of your form.
Editing, Removing or Moving Elements
Editing, removing, and
moving elements within a form are all similar operations. When editing a form's
elements, the existing elements are shown with the element name and a drop box
of options to the right of each element. To edit an element, select the Edit option from the drop box next to the
appropriate element and click Go. You will be taken to a page exactly like the page shown when
creating that particular element. Follow the instructions given for creating
that particular element in their appropriate sections within this document.
To remove an element,
select the Remove option from the drop
box next to the appropriate element and click the Go button. You will be asked to confirm whether or
not you wish to remove the element. Upon selecting Yes or No you will be taken back to editing your form.
To move an element,
select the Move Up or Move Down option from the drop box next to the
appropriate element and click the Go button. The element will be moved up or down in the form. If you
element is at the beginning of the form and you select Move Up, the element will wrap to the end of the form
and vice versa.
Predefined Option Sets
Predefined option sets
are sets of options that are used often when creating a form. Some examples
might be Colors, Sex, Yes/No answers, etc. Predefined option sets are created
when adding or editing a form element that can contain options. These elements
are Dropbox, Radio Button, Multiple Select, and Checkbox. See step 10 for any
of the mentioned elements for more details on actually saving predefined option
sets. There is currently no method for administrating or deleting predefined
option sets.
Adding an Existing Form
First, you must be aware
of the state of the form you wish to edit. If the form is saved, make sure you
have exported your data before you attempt to edit it (see section Reporting on Form Data). Once you start editing the elements of a
saved form, the form data collected is archived and cleared. Editing an unsaved
or unapproved forms have no "side-effects" as they contain no data.
Editing an Unsaved or Unapproved Form
Make
sure you have planned out the changes you wish to make to your form. In the
plan you should take into account the elements you wish to remove, elements you
wish to add, and settings you wish to change. If you are adding elements to the
form, make sure you have carefully planned the settings needed for the elements
as well as where those elements will appear in the form. Once you have your
plan, follow these steps to edit your form:
1.
Make sure you are logged into an administrative account
that has permissions to use the Form Generator.
2.
From your Control Panel, select the Site
Content
tab.
3.
Find and select the Form
Generator
module.
4.
You will be shown a list of your current forms.
5.
Find the form you wish to edit and click the linked Name of the form.
6.
To edit the Settings for the form you selected,
select the Settings link from the Main Menu.
7.
Change any settings you had planned on changing and click
the Save Settings button.
8.
You will now be taken into editing the elements of the
form you have selected.
9.
Stick to your plan and remove or add elements in the same
manner as when creating a form (see section Creating
a Form).
10.
When you have finished editing the elements within the
form, take a moment to look over the form for typos or errors.
11.
Select Save Form from the tool bar when you
are ready to save the form.
Editing a Saved Form
If
you are going to edit a saved form, make sure you have exported the form data
before you continue (see section Reporting on Form Data).
Make
sure you have planned out the changes you wish to make to your form. In the
plan you should take into account the elements you wish to remove, elements you
wish to add, and settings you wish to change. If you are adding elements to the
form, make sure you have carefully planned the settings needed for the elements
as well as where those elements will appear in the form. Once you have your
plan, follow these steps to edit your form:
1.
Make sure you are logged into an administrative account
that has permissions to use the Form Generator.
2.
From your Control Panel, select the Site
Content
tab.
3.
Find and select the Form
Generator module.
4.
You will be shown a list of your current forms.
5.
Find the form you wish to edit and click the linked Name of the form.
6.
Select the Settings link from the Main Menu.
7.
If you are not editing the settings of the saved form,
proceed to step 11, otherwise continue with step 8.
8.
Change any settings you had planned on changing and click
the Save Settings button.
9.
You will be taken back to the form listing with the
form's settings updated. If you still wish to edit the elements for the form,
click the linked Name of the form you wish to edit.
10.
Select the Settings link from the Main Menu
11.
Click the Edit Elements button at the bottom of the
settings page.
12.
At this point, Form Generator will want to archive your
form and it's data. If you are sure you wish to continue to edit the form's
elements, archive the form, and clear the form data, select the Confirm button. Otherwise, select Cancel and do not continue
following these steps.
13.
You will now be taken into editing the elements of the form
you have selected.
14.
Stick to your plan and remove or add elements in the same
manner as when creating a form (see section Creating
a Form).
15.
When you have finished editing the elements within the
form, take a moment to look over the form for typos or errors.
16.
Select Save Form from the tool bar when you
are ready to save the form.
Deleting a Form
First, make sure you
know which form you wish to delete and that you are absolutely sure you wish to
delete it permanently. If the form is a saved form, go ahead and export it's
data before you delete it (see section Reporting on Form Data). When you have completed that, follow these
steps to delete the form:
1.
Make sure you are logged
into an administrative account that has permissions to use the Form Generator.
2.
From your Control Panel, select the Site Content tab.
3.
Find and select the Form Generator module.
4.
You will be shown a list
of your current forms.
5.
Find the form you wish
to delete and click the corresponding check box next to it's name.
6.
Now select the Delete option from the drop box for the corresponding
list (i.e.: Saved, Unsaved, or Unapproved).
7.
Click Go.
8.
You will now be asked to
confirm the deletion of the form. Click Yes or No.
9.
If you selected Yes, your form will be deleted and you will be
returned to the form listing. If you selected No, the form will not be deleted and you will be returned to the
form listing.
Archiving a Form
Archiving a form is a
good way to save a particular "state" of a form. Only saved forms can
be archived since they are the only forms which could possibly contain data.
When a form is archived, the form, it's elements, and all it's data are all
saved in an archive file on the server. To retrieve an archived form, you need
to contact your system administrator. Follow these steps to archive a form:
1.
Make sure you are logged
into an administrative account that has permissions to use the Form Generator.
2.
From your Control Panel, select the Site Content tab.
3.
Find and select the Form Generator module.
4.
You will be shown a list
of your current forms.
5.
Find the form you wish
to archive in the Saved Forms
list and click it's Name.
6.
On the Main Menu you will see an Archive option. Click Archive.
7.
Your form will be
archived on the server and you will be taken to the Report view of the form.
Reporting on Form Data
Reporting is only
available for saved forms since they are the only forms that could possibly
contain data. There are a couple of ways to report on data entered into a form.
Form Generator has a built in method for browsing current entries in a form as
well as a method for exporting this data into a tab delimited file that can be
downloaded and imported into any spread sheet program (e.g.: OpenOffice.org
Calc, Microsoft Excel, etc.).
First, to enter into
reporting mode for a form, follow these steps:
1.
Make sure you are logged
into an administrative account that has permissions to use the Form Generator.
2.
From your Control Panel, select the Site Content tab.
3.
Find and select the Form Generator module.
4.
You will be shown a list
of your current forms.
5.
Find the form you wish
to report on and click it's Name.
6.
You will now see a Report option available on the Main Menu. Click Report.
7.
You are now in report
mode for the form.
Some statistical data is
calculated and displayed by Form Generator such as the number of complete and
incomplete entries, the total number of entries, and the date and time of the
last entry the form received. Shown below this information is a list of the
actual entries received by the form. There are several options you have
available for each entry. You can edit, delete, view, or print each entry.
When editing an entry,
the form is loaded with the data populated, and you are allowed to change any
value you wish. When viewing or printing an entry, just the raw data is shown
and not the form in it's entirety. If you delete an entry, it is permanently
removed from the form's data and can only be recovered through an archive if
one exists. It is recommended you archive your form data before you edit or
remove any of it's entries. This will ensure you have a backup copy in case of
emergency.
To export all the data
within the form, simply click the Export button. A archived ".zip"
file will be created by the Form Generator and will be sent to you through your
browser. Choose a suitable download location on your machine and save the file.
To unzip the file you can use the unzip command in *nix or the winzip, winace,
or winrar programs in a windows environment. A single file will be extracted
that is a tab delimited file containing your form's data. Using a spread sheet
program, import the file and then save it to a more workable format that is
native to the program you're using (i.e.: *.sxc for OpenOffice.org Calc or
*.xls for Microsoft Excel).
The Photo Albums Module
Getting Started
First navigate to the
administrative side of the Photo Album module. It can be found under the
Site Content Tab of your Control Panel. The link that says Photo
Albums and has an icon of a camera next to it.
·
Click on the textual
link or the icon to continue.
Listing Albums
When you first enter the
Photo Album you will see a listing of all the Photo Albums which are
currently in the database (Note that Figure 1 does not yet have an album). From
this list you can go to view each individual album.
In this album view you
can see thumbnail images of all the photos in the album. At the top of the page
with this list are two links. The first link is for listing albums: it will
always bring you back to this list. The other link says New Album and
will take you to the form you need to add a new photo album to the database.
Creating a New Album
When creating a new
Photo Album there are five fields to fill out but only one of them is actually
required (See Figure 2).
1.
The Name of the
album is the first field and the only required one. The name represents this
album in the listing of all the photo albums and throughout phpWebSite.
2.
The second field is Short:
it allows you to add a short description of your album. This may be used in
something like a search result.
3.
The next option (Activity)
is to choose whether or not you want the album to be viewable by the public.
Selecting Visible makes it viewable by your users and the public alike.
Selecting Hidden keeps it out of the view of the public and only
administrators with access can see the album.
4.
Next you can select a Category
for the album to go in. This is very useful if you would like the album to show
up as related data. If you do not understand categories and wish to find out
more, please refer to the chapter about the FatCat Categorizer.
5.
Finally you can add an Extended
description of your photo album. This is shown when listing all your albums so
visitors can read about them. A wysiwyg html editor is provided for adding very
basic html tags to the description.
Adding, Editing or Deleting Photos from
an Album