Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Features
1.2 Assumptions
2. Page Manager overview
2.1 Clickable links and icons
3. Pages
3.1 Add a page
3.2 Basic properties: Edit basic properties
of page nn
3.3 Advanced: Edit advanced properties of
page nn
3.4 Content
3.5 Delete a page
4. Sections
4.1 Add a section
4.2 Basic properties: Edit basic properties
of section nn
4.3 Advanced: Edit advanced properteis of
section nn
4.4 Delete a section
5. Moving areas, sections and pages
6. Locked pages
7. To conclude
The Page Manager is the
heart of Website@School. Here you create pages and sections and add
modules to pages. Modules can be text editors with which you create texts
with images, or modules like a guestbook, a sitemap or a calendar. To
explain its features, please read this little introduction.
With the Page Manager you manage the website of a school. The website
contains Areas. An area is a separate part of the website that, for the
website visitor, appears as a site on its own. Examples: the Area of the
Board, an Area for the team, several Areas for teachers and their
subjects, Areas for grade 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, for the parents committee,
for all other workgroups, et cetera.
Areas that are not publicly accessible are Private Areas (also called
Intranets). These Areas are only accessible with a username and password.
Everyone can have an Intranet, if necessary. In this way a the website of
the school can contain dozens of public- and private Areas.
Areas
An Area contains nodes. A node, in computers, represents a basic unit
used to build data structures such as linked lists and trees. In
Website@School nodes can be sections and pages in Areas.
If one compares a site with a harddisk, the Areas resemble the partitions
on the disk.
Sections
Sections are distinct parts of an Area. A section can be, for example,
School info, Parents, Health Care,
Poems, et cetera. Sections can contain sub sections, sub
sub-sectons and even much deeper.
To stay in the disk comparison, sections resemble directories or folders
on a hard disk.
Pages
Nodes can also be pages. A page needs a module so you can do something
with the page.A module is a self-contained component of a system, which
has a well-defined interface to the other components. In Website@School a
module can be virtually everything. A module can be a text editor to
create pages with texts and images, like the 'School Guide' or a
poem. A module can also be a Guestbook to fill out by your website
visitors, or an e-mail page, a Sitemap, a Forum, et cetera.
To stay in computer terms, a page resembles a file. And a file can be
almost anything.
For an overview of the available modules, see the Table of contents, paragraph
Modules.
The general idea of the
Page Manager was described above. Below its main features are described
in no particular order.
-
General: Manage the Areas (Public and Private
(Intranets)), sections and pages. Areas, sections and pages can be
completely pictural, enabling navigation by analphabetics, children,
visual artists, cartoonists, et cetera.
NOTICE:
Areas can be managed, not created or deleted. This is done in the
Configuration Manager and is discussed in chapter Configuration
Manager, paragraph 3. Areas.
- Sections: Create, edit and delete sections. Set
properties of sections: the name of a section, a short description, the
location in the tree (set parent section and order in that section),
make a section read only or hidden, set embargo-, expiry date and time.
Only icons can be used to 'name' sections, thus enabling a
completely visual site for analphabetics or young children.
-
Pages: Create, edit and delete pages. Set properties
on pages: name , short description, change area, location in the tree
(set parent section and order in that section), select a module for
the page, make the page visible, hidden [1] or under embargo, set
embargo- and expiry date and time, use icons to 'name' pages
and define height and width. , set website-to
link to URL, set target of URL.
[1] NOTICE:
Hidden does not mean inactive. A hidden page is
retrievable, if the URL is known. Selecting embargo and
expiry results in inactive pages; i.e. not visible and not
retrievable even when the URL is known.
- Greyed out: Publlic Areas, sections and pages you
have no access to are greyed out.
- Invisible: Private Areas (Intranets) you have no
access to are invisible.
- Bazaar Style Style: Edit
style at section and page level. For an explanation, see appendix
4.2 Bazaar Style
Style. The technical details are discussed in paragraph 3.4.1 Bazaar Style Style at area
level.
- Bazaar Style Style:
Website@Schools implementation of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). With
BSS layout can be adapted per Area, section or page.
For teaching or training purposes BSS changes can be undone and the
style sheet reset to its default values.
- Move: Move Areas, sections and pages between Areas
and sections. This feature enables easy manipulation of content and
enables to split or merge Areas and sections.
- Tree views: The mode in which the
area/section/page tree is shown, can be set to maximal, minimal or
customised.
- Module: Attach a module to a node (page). For an
overview of the available modules, see the Table of contents, paragraph
Modules.
-
Locking: Sections or pages that are processed are
locked. A locked section or page cannot be processed by other users.
If another users tries to access a page in use, a warning message is
displayed, telling who is processing the page. Locks are
automatically removed when the page is no longer in use by the first
user or in 24 hours or less.
NOTICE:
If a section is locked, the underlying pages and subsections are NOT
locked.
- E-mail alerts: Most actions in the Page Manager
result in sending e-mail alerts. This is discussed in chapter Configuration Manager,
paragraph 5.
Alerts.
This chapter
elaborates on other chapters. We assume you have read and
done
the
General part of the
Table of Contents.
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To open the
Page Manager, please click on the Page Manager
![pagemanager.gif [ Pagemanager ]](pagemanager/pagemanager.gif)
icon to enter the
Exemplum Primary School dialogue:
![[ Exemplum Primary School with numbered items ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_overview.png)
pagemanager_overview.png
The Page Manager opens on the Exemplum Primary School
Area, i.e. the Home Area. The Home Area is the starting area of
the site. For further details, please see the chapter Configuration Manager,
paragraph 3.
Areas.
Explanation:
-
Menu pane: Depending on the task you are performing
the Menu can have two modes:
- Work place pane: The right pane of the screen now
shows the title of the Area and it's pages and sections in the form
of a 'bottom up' tree. All sections and subsections are
displayed minimal.
When pages or sections are created or managed, the workplace is used
for that purpose.
- Add a page: By clicking
the link you enter the Add a page dialogue. This
option is discussed in paragraph 3.
Pages and its subsections.
- Add a section: By
clicking the link you enter the Add a section
dialogue. This option is discussed in paragraph 4. Sections.
-
Set tree view: Three clickable links are available
to perform the following actions:
- maximal: Fully
expands the tree, showing all underlying sections, subsections and
pages.
- minimal: Collapses
the tree as much as possible. Only the root section(s) and page(s)
are shown.
- customised: When
certain section(s) were manually opened, whereafter maximal or minimal was
selected, customised brings you back to
the section(s) you had previously (manually) opened.
In the
list of pages and sections, pages are associated with 6 clickable
links: 5 icons and the title of the page. All 6 clickable links can
be used to manipulate page properties one way or another. Some of the
icons also provide a visual indication of a particular aspect of the
page, e.g. is this page the default page or not, or is this page
visible, invisible or hidden.
- Home icon visible:
/greyed out:
:
A visible home icon indicates the default (opening) page
within a section or area, i.e what the visitors will see first.
Greyed out icons on all other pages/sections indicate that
these are not the default.
- Trashcan icon:
: By clicking the Trashcan icon
you can delete the
associated page or section. This is discussed in paragraph 3.5 Deleting pages or paragraph 4.4 Delete sections.
- Pencil icon
: By clicking the Pencil icon you can navigate
directly to the Basic properties of a page or section. These options
are discussed in paragraphs 3. Pages
and 4. Sections.
-
Paper sheet icons: The Paper sheet icons indicate
the visibility of a page:
- Visible
: The filled out page indicates that the page
is visible for visitors.
- Invisible
: The empty page indicates that the page is
not visible for visitors, i.e. hidden.
NOTICE:
Hidden does not mean inactive. A hidden page is
retrievable, if the URL is known. Selecting embargo and
expiry results in inactive pages; i.e. not visible and not
retrievable even when the URL is known.
By clicking the paper sheet icon, you can navigate directly to the
Advanced Properties of the page. These options are discussed in
paragraphs 3.3 Edit page: advanced
properties and 4.3 Edit section:
advanced properties
-
Looking glass/Folder icons:
- Looking glass
: By clicking the Looking glass you can preview
a page. The page opens in new small window. To open the page full
screen, right clik on the icon and select "Open Link in New
Window" ( in Firefox).
NOTICE:
Preview is, by design, just a preview of the page in the Area.
Section and page links are not clickable.
- Folder icon closed
: By clicking the icon, the folder is
opened, showing its underlaying content.
- Folder icon open
: By clicking the opened folder you
close it.
- Page/Section name:
- Clicking the name of the page opens the Content of the chosen module. For example, when a text
editor was chosen as module, you enter the text editor. Or, when the
guestbook module was chosen, you enter the management of the
guestbook.
- Clicking on the name of the section opens the
Basic properties of the section (same as the
Pencil icon).
NOTICE:
The icons 8 (Pencil), 9 (Visible/Invisible) and 10 (Page/Section)
directly lead to 3 options of editing:
- Pencil: Basic
- Visible/invisible: advanced
- Page/section: content
These direct links can serve as shortcuts, saving you a mouse click.
To add a page, click
in the Page Manager overview the
Add a page
link to open the
Add a page dialogue:
![[ Add a page, entry fields ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_add.png)
pagemanager_page_add.png
Explanation:
-
Name: The name of the page, for
example: Welcome.
NOTICE:
In this field at least one character must be entered. If a space is
entered (for example for a complete visual site), the Page Manager
indicates the page as (page/section nn has no
name) and in a breadcrumb trail the page is displayed as
[nn].
- Description of the page/section: In
this field at least one character must be entered.
The description is shown when hovering over the page name and in the
URL (Universal Resource Locator). For example, when Welcome to our
website is entered in this field, this description is visible
as:
http://exemplum.eu/index.php/1/Welcome_to_our_website.html.
Do not add the underscores, they are automatically added.
-
Parent section:
![[ Parent section menu, 'Section 3 (school info)' selected ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_add_parent_section.png)
pagemanager_page_add_parent_section.png
The dropdown menu can be used to put the page at the top of the
Area or at the top of a section. The place can be changed later on.
If not selected, the new page will be placed at the top of the
area.
-
Module:
![[ Module menu, 'Plain HTML-page (htmlpage)' selected ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_add_module.png)
pagemanager_page_add_module.png
In the dropdown menu select the module to attach it to this page
(node). If the Plain HTML-page (htmlpage) is
selected, it depends on the users preference, which text editor will
be used (Plain HTML editor of F(CK) Editor). This preference is set
in the users Basic properties.
-
Initial visibility: Three options are available:
- Save: After saving your work, the newly created
page will either appear at the top of the Area or at the top of the
chosen section. From there it can be further moved with the
Edit basic properties of page nn dialogue, discussed
below.
- Cancel: To cancel your action and return to the
Page Manager.
Now basic- and advanced properties can be set. Please see 3.2 Basic properties: Edit basic properties of
page nn and 3.3 Advanced: Edit
advanced properties of page nn
Clicking on the Pencil icon of a page opens the
Edit basic properties of page nn dialogue:
![[ Edit basic properties of page n, entry fields ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_basic.png)
pagemanager_page_basic.png
Explanation:
- Name: The name can be changed. In
this field at least one character must be entered.
- Description of the page/section: The
description can be changed. In this field at leas one character must be
entered.
- Parent section: Use the drowpdown
menu to select the section for this page.
If not already set when the page was created, it can be set now, if
necessary in conjunction with the Order dropdown menu,
discussed next.
-
Order:
![[ Order menu, 'Before all other pages/sections' selected ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_basic_order.png)
pagemanager_page_basic_order.png
In the dropdwon menu select where to put the page in its
section.
NOTICE:
The above two options enable you to move the page to all places in
the Area. If you want to move the page outside the Area, see
paragraph 3.3
Advanced under Area.
-
Module: If absolutely necessary
another module can be chosen here.
NOTICE:
When changing to another module ALL data in the old module
will be lost. Maybe it's a better idea to move this page to an
archive or make it inactive.
- Save: To save your results. After saving your
results, the page will appear at the chosen place.
- Cancel: To cancel your action and return to the
page manager main screen.
Clicking on the page Visible/Invisible icon of a page
opens the
Edit advanced properties of page nn dialogue:
![[ Edit advanced properties of page n, entry fields. top ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_advanced-top.png)
![[ Edit advanced properties of page n, entry fields. bottom ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_advanced-bottom.png)
pagemanager_page_advanced-top.png
pagemanager_page_advanced-bottom.png
Explanation:
- Readonly [ ] Make the page/section
readonly: Checking this option makes the page
readonly. This means that it's impossible to change its properties
or delete the page. This is a feature. For example, when you have
created HTML code, the FCK editor sometimes ruins your carefully
created code when editing that page. By making a page readonly, you
have to think twice. Why did you make this page readonly?
-
Area:
![[ Area menu, 'Public Area 1 (Exemplum Primary School)' selected ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_advanced_area.png)
pagemanager_page_advanced_area.png
In this dropdown menu you can select another Area for this page.
The page will be moved to the top of the tree in the chosen area and
can be further moved with the Edit basic properties of page
nn dialogue, by using the Parent section
and Order dropdown menus.
-
Icon pathname: Instead of a page name,
an icon can be selected as page name. Do not forget to put spaces in
the Name and Description fields.
This is a useful feature for sites for analphabetics or
kindergartens. It's thus possible to create a completely visual
Area and navigate via icons. The file path can be formed in three
ways:
- From the CMS program folder: For example
program/graphics/waslogo-284x71.png. No leading
slash!
- From CMS data folder: Use the Fileroot program
as prefix for the path to the logo, for example:
/file.php/areas/grade8/pupils-284x71.jpg. A slash
after /file.php!
- From an URL: For example
http://district1.exemplum.eu/graphics/schools/school17.png.
- Icon width: Speciefies the width of
the icon in pixels.
- Icon height: Specifies the height of
the icon in pixels.
-
- Target: The target
attribute can be used to let the browser open a document in a
frame with a specific name, or if the name does not exist, in a
new frame. A target is entered in this field as _blank
or _top.
- URL: An URL (Universal
Resource Locator) can be specified. Clicking on the page name on
the site brings the visitor directly to the specified website
location.
-
Hidden [ ] Hide the
page/section: To hide the page, check this option.
NOTICE:
Hidden does not mean inactive. A hidden page is
retrievable, if the URL is known. Selecting embargo and
expiry result in inactive pages; i.e. not visible and not
retrievable.
- Embargo: Set the date and time on
which the page will become visible and retrievable. The date/time
format must be:
yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss. Notice the space between date and
time.
-
Expiry: Set the date and time on which
the page will become invisible and no longer retrievable, even if the
URL is known. The date/time format must be:
yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss. Notice the space between date and time.
NOTICE:
An illustration of expiry and embargo can be found in the
demonstration data, in three different pages in the section
'School Info'.
-
- Save: To save your results. After saving you will
be returned to the page manager main screen.
- Cancel: To cancel your action and return to the
page manager main screen.
Clicking the
Content link gives access to the configuration
options of the earlier chosen module. Below are some examples.
![[ FCK editor, page content ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_content_FCK-editor.png)
pagemanager_page_content_FCK-editor.png
The chosen module was the Plain HTML-page (htmlpage).
In this case this user has set the FCK editor as her
default editor in her Basic properties.
![[ Plain HTML-page editor, page content ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_content_plain-HTML-page.png)
pagemanager_page_content_plain-HTML-page.png
The chosen module was the Plain HTML-page (htmlpage).
In this case this user has set the Plain editor as her
default editor in her Basic properties.
![[ Sitemap configuration, entry fields ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_content_sitemap.png)
pagemanager_page_content_sitemap.png
When adding the page, the Sitemap module was chosen in the
Module dropdown menu.
Management of modules can be found in their chapters, please see the
Table of contents, under
Modules.
Clicking on the
Trashcan icon opens the
Confirm delete of page nn Page Name (Page
description) dialogue:
![[ Confirm delete of page n Pagename (Description) ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_page_delete.png)
pagemanager_page_delete.png
Your last chance to decide. Are you sure? Sometimes it's better to
create an inactive Archive section to store once carefully
created content.
Explanation:
- Delete: To delete the page. After deleting you
will be directed to the Page Manager main screen.
- Cancel: To cancel your apparently unwise action
and return to the page manager main screen.
NOTICE:
Deleting pages does not delete the associated files. Deleting files is
discussed in the
File
Manager chapter, paragraph
4. Delete files and folders
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Sections are added, edited
and deleted in exactly the same way as pages. Since sections can only
contain pages, their only differ in that they lack the dropdown menu to
add a module and the options to add a target and an URL.
For explanations, please refer to
3.
Pages because in this paragraph we keep it short only showing
pictures.
Clicking the
Add a section link opens the
Add a
section dialogue:
![[ Add a section, entry fields ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_section_add.png)
pagemanager_section_add.png
For the explanantion, please see 3.1
Add a page.
Clicking on the name or the pencil icon of the
newly created section opens the
Edit basic properties of section
nn dialogue:
![[ Edit basic properties of section n, entry fields ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_section_basic.png)
pagemanager_section_basic.png
For the explanantion, please see 3.2
Basic properties: Edit basic properties of page nn.
Clicking the 'visible/invisible page' icon,
opens the
Edit advance properties of section nn
dialogue:
![[ Edit advanced properties of section n, entry fields, top ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_section_advanced-top.png)
![[ Edit advanced properties of section n, entry fields, bottom ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_section_advanced-bottom.png)
pagemanager_section_advanced-top.png
pagemanager_section_advanced-bottom.png
For the explanantion, please see 3.3 Advanced: Edit advanced properties of page
nn.
A section can
be immediately deleted when it has pages in it. The pages will also be
immediately deleted.
A section cannot be deleted if it contains non-empty subsection(s). These
sections first have to be deleted before the parent section can be
deleted. This is a security feature.
Clicking on the Trashcan icon opens the Confirm delete of
section nn Section Name (Description of the section)
dialogue:
![[ Confirm delete of section n Section name (Description), list of pages ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_section_delete_with_pages.png)
pagemanager_section_delete_with_pages.png
Explanation:
Your last chance to decide. Are you sure? Is this section really useless?
- Delete: To delete the section and pages in it.
After deleting you will be directed to the Page Manager main
screen.
- Cancel: To cancel your apparently unwise action
and return to the page manager main screen.
Trying to delete a section that contains non-empty section(s):
![[ Exemplum Primary School, pop up message: error message, Message=subsections not empty ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_section_delete_non_empty_subsection.png)
pagemanager_section_delete_non_empty_subsection.png
The directory contents of both 'School Info' and
'News' can be seen. You first have to delete the underlying
section(s) before you can delete the 'News' section.
NOTICE:
Deleting a section with pages that are processed (i.e. in use and thus
locked), will delete the the empty sections and pages in it, but
not delete the parent section and the locked page(s). You will
get an error message.
You first have to unlock the section or page before you can
delete it. For details on locking and unlocking pages, see paragraph
6. Locked pages.
NOTICE:
Deleting sections and pages does not delete the associated files.
Deleting files is discussed in the File Manager chapter, paragraph 4. Delete files and folders
(top)
The
content of Areas (Public and Private (Intranets)), i.e. sections
and pages can be moved with the basic and advanced properties of pages
and sections.
It is not possible to change a Public Area into a Private one and vice
versa. This is a security feature.
NOTICE:
Please bear in mind that (as example) images in pages, are possibly
stored in their Area directories or subdirectories. Moving the content of
an Area to another area will most probably result in broken links.
(top)
When a user tries to
access a page that is already processed by another user, a message is
displayed:
![[ Pupils of Grade 8, pop up window: page locked, Message=page locked by username since date/time ]](pagemanager/pagemanager_locked_page.png)
pagemanager_locked_page.png
When you see this message, Skype or hop on your bike to start a live
conversation with your colleague on the content of the page.
The page stays locked until the lock is released. This can happen in
several ways:
- By pressing the [Save] or [Cancel] button.
- By terminating the session, i.e. properly logging out.
- By waiting for the expiration of the lock. When a page is processed
and stays open for 30 minutes, the lock is released.
- Every night all eventually or accidentally locked pages and
sections are unlocked. This is a feature.
NOTICE:
Do NOT exit your browser by clicking the 'close' icon (the
'X') in the upper right corner of your browser, or by selecting
Exit in the broswers Menu. In both ways the file stays locked and the
lock will expire after 30 minutes or at night.
(top)
No conclusions so far.
(top)
Author: Dirk Schouten <schoutdi (at) knoware (dot)
nl>
Last updated: 2013-06-06