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Drupal Training Series

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The Page content type is best suited for static information. ... Text that is pasted in from a web page utilizing valid HTML/CSS will translate very well. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Drupal Training Series


1
Drupal Training Series
  • Basics

2
What Well Be Covering
  • CMS Overview
  • Permissions Access Roles
  • Getting Started
  • Ex. 01 Log into Discover Drupal 6
  • Page Content Type
  • Ex. 02 Create a Page Node
  • Locating Nodes
  • Ex. 03 Using the Content View
  • Revision Tracking
  • Ex. 04 Create a Revised Draft
  • WYSIWIG Editor
  • Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
  • Ex. 06 Paste Text from Word
  • Ex. 07 Change Text Styles
  • Ex. 08 Change the Input Format
  • Ex. 09 Create an Anchor Link
  • Ex. 10 Create an Internal Link
  • Ex. 11 Create an External Link
  • URLs

3
CMS Overview What is a Content Management System?
  • Content Management System (CMS)
  • Computer software, or group of interdependent
    software applications, used to create, edit,
    publish, and manage different types of content in
    a consistent and orderly fashion
  • Web Content Management System
  • A CMS designed to simplify web-based publications
    for users who author web based content

4
CMS Overview What is Drupal?
  • Drupal is
  • A Web Content Management System
  • CMS of choice for CWS
  • A framework originally written by Belgian
    computer scientist Dries Buytaert, PhD as a
    Bulletin Board System (BBS)
  • An open source project as of 2001
  • Hosted at OSUs Open Source Lab

Very active programming community at
http//drupal.org
5
Permissions and Access Roles
  • Permissions are what particular users are allowed
    to do within a particular website
  • Security feature
  • Provides organization and responsibility levels
    for team based initiatives
  • Access Roles are categories of users, each with
    different levels of permissions
  • OSU Drupal 6 has three different Access Roles
  • First level Author
  • Second level Advanced Author
  • Third level Administrator

6
Permissions and Access Roles Author Access Role
  • First permission level
  • Permissions include
  • Create, edit, publish all default content types
  • Upload embed images
  • Embed video content
  • OSU Media Manager
  • Use Full-HTML input
  • Change styles on a per-page basis using Edit CSS
    Style button in text editor
  • Administer Menus
  • Administer Taxonomies
  • Administer some layout elements
  • Enable default blocks
  • Create default blocks

This role would be for someone who only needs to
contribute or edit site content
7
Permissions and Access Roles Advanced Author
Access Role
  • Second permission level
  • Has same permissions as Author
  • Other permissions include
  • Create custom content types
  • CCK
  • Administer data queries displays
  • Views
  • Define or Change Input Formats
  • Create Glossaries
  • Context sensitive help feature
  • Utilize PHP code
  • Scripting language used for producing dynamic web
    pages

This role would be for someone who needs to work
as a site developer someone who needs to
perform some type of programming or site structure
8
Permissions and Access Roles Administrator
Access Role
  • Third permission level
  • Has same permissions as others
  • Other permissions include
  • Ability to change site settings
  • Themes
  • General Site Information
  • Change module configurations
  • Add manage directories
  • User Management
  • Add new users through Drupal interface
  • Raise or lower existing user Access Level
  • Create custom Access Roles
  • Create custom Permission Sets

This role would be for someone who is in charge
of managing the users on a site this role may
or may not work in a programming or site
structure capacity
9
Getting Started Your Learning Environment
  • A common fear in technology classes is that
    something will get broken.
  • Central Web Services has developed a training
    area specifically for new users. You might make
    a mistake or two, and its all right if you do.
  • The training area well be using, Discover
    Drupal, is a multi-user site. This means that
    everyone is working on the same site at the same
    time.
  • This is an interactive class. Dont be afraid to
    speak out concerning any questions or comments.

10
Getting Started Usability Concerns
  • Usability, as it relates to web publications,
    usually refers to how clearly a web site is
    designed and how accessible it is to a wide
    audience. There are a few different things to
    consider here including, but not limited to
  • How clear is the navigation?
  • Has thought been given to users with
    disabilities?
  • Does the site work with many different browsers?
  • Do features actually work as they are supposed
    to?
  • Throughout all Drupal workshops, if there are
    potential usability issues, they will be
    addressed in their corresponding sections.

11
Getting Started Browser Choice
Just so everyone is on the same page, please use
Mozilla Firefox as your browser.
This is to ensure consistency between all
participants, class materials, and the instructor.
  • To get to the Discover Drupal 6 Training site go
    to
  • http//drupaldev.cws.oregonstate.edu/training/disc
    over-drupal-6

12
Getting Started Anonymous v. Authenticated Users
  • When you first encounter the Discover Drupal 6
    website, notice the lack of menus.
  • This is what the general public, generically
    referred to as anonymous users, will see if they
    were to visit this site.
  • Right now, you are considered an anonymous user
    the Drupal site does not recognize you.
  • An authenticated user, someone who is registered
    with the site, will see something a little
    different upon logging in

13
Getting Started Ex. 01 Log Into Discover Drupal 6
1
http//drupaldev.cws.oregonstate.edu/training/disc
over-drupal-6/login
  • To log in to the Discover Drupal training site,
    do the following
  • Type the word login at the end of the URL
  • The ONID login dialog box appears
  • Enter your ONID username and password
  • Click the Login button
  • Once logged in, the Navigation menu will display,
    which is where all of the controls are
  • Note the block title Navigation will be replaced
    by your ONID user name

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Getting Started Single Sign On Service (SSO)
  • OSU Drupal 6 utilizes a web service called Single
    Sign-On Service (SSO). This service allows ONID
    users to use many different web applications at
    one time without having to log in to each one
    separately.
  • There is a time limit on SSO. If nothing is
    submitted or saved within a certain time period,
    the user will be disconnected from ONID.
  • Its good computing practice, in general, to save
    content on a regular basis (about every 15
    minutes or so).

15
Getting Started Basic Content Terminology
  • Drupal has many terms. Here are a few to get
    started
  • Content Any sort of material published in a
    Drupal site
  • Text
  • Images
  • Video
  • Content Type The form that is used to create a
    particular type of content. The standard content
    types in OSU Drupal 6 are
  • Album
  • Announcement
  • Book Page
  • Page
  • Poll
  • Story
  • Node A general, collective term for all content
    types

16
Page Content Type
  • OSU Drupal 6 offers many different Content Types
    to work with. Today, though, well focus on just
    one of them, the Page content type.
  • The Page content type is best suited for static
    information. Static information is information
    that doesnt change very often. A good example
    is the kind of information thats commonly found
    on an About Us or Contact Us web page.
  • Within this one content type, well explore a few
    different things, including some general features
    that are found on all default content types and
    basic use of the text editor.

17
Page Content Type Ex. 02 Create a Page Node
  • To create a Page node, do the following
  • Within the Navigation menu in the left sidebar,
    click on Create Content gt Page
  • A new Submit Page form opens

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Page Content Type Ex. 02 Create a Page Node -
Page Features
  • On the Page content type, at the top, we have
  • Title field
  • Menu Settings group
  • Menu Link Title field
  • Parent Item drop-down box
  • Weight drop-down box
  • Body field
  • Disable Rich Text toggle
  • Input Format group
  • Filtered HTML option
  • Full HTML option
  • Book Outline group
  • Book drop-down box
  • Weight drop-down box

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Page Content Type Ex. 02 Create a Page Node
Page Features (continued)
  • On the Page content type, at the bottom, we have
  • Revision Information group
  • Create New Revision toggle
  • Log Message field
  • URL Path Settings group
  • Automatic Alias option
  • Alias field
  • File Attachments feature
  • Authoring Information group
  • Authored By field
  • Authored On field
  • Publishing Options group
  • Published option
  • Promoted to Front Page option
  • Sticky at Top of Lists option

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Page Content Type Ex. 02 Create a Page Node
Add Content to Page
  • To add your first bit of content
  • Enter some text in the Title field
  • Enter at least two lines of text in the Body
    field
  • Click on the Publishing Options group to open it
  • Uncheck the Published option

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Page Content Type Ex. 02 Create a Page Node
Preview Draft
  • To preview the content
  • At the bottom of the form, click the Preview
    button
  • A Preview screen will appear at the top of the
    form
  • Note A preview will show a yellow background.
    Depending on your monitor settings, sometimes
    this coloration may not be very obvious.
  • Also notice the slight difference between the
    Preview screen and the editor field. The Preview
    screen is how content will appear when published.

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Page Content Type Ex. 02 Create a Page Node
Save Draft
  • To save the node
  • Click the Save button
  • A notification will appear that a draft of the
    content has been saved
  • Note A draft preview will show a pink
    background. Depending on your monitor settings,
    sometimes this coloration may not be very
    obvious.

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Locating Nodes Overview
  • You may notice that we didnt even bother setting
    a menu link for the node that was just created.
  • Draft nodes will not display a menu link at all
    even if one is set. When nodes are in the draft
    state, they are not visible by anonymous users
    and any menu links that are associated with the
    node are disabled.
  • You can still locate and access your draft
    material, though, by using the Content feature.
  • This particular feature is a View of all content
    on the site.

24
Locating Nodes Ex. 3 Using the Content View
Filtering Results
  • With large sites, it can be tedious trying to
    find one particular node, which is why youre
    able to filter the list.
  • To filter the list of content shown
  • Click on the Administer gt Content Management gt
    Content menu item
  • Leave the Status option selected
  • In the top drop-down box, change Published to Not
    Published
  • Click the Filter button

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Locating Nodes Ex. 3 Using the Content View
Viewing Your Node
  • To view a draft
  • Click on the desired title in the list of
    unpublished content
  • A view of the draft content will appear

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This one needs some help
26
Revision Tracking Overview
  • The ability to apply revision tracking to both
    published and draft content is a great benefit
    that Drupal supplies.
  • Utilizing revision control may be desirable for a
    few different reasons including
  • Group projects where many contributors are
    working on the same document
  • Security for works-in-progress
  • Convenience if a roll-back to a previous version
    is desired
  • By default, the revision capabilities are set to
    be enabled on an as-needed basis. The ensuing
    process must be followed every time you wish to
    add to the revision history.
  • Site administrators have the option of making
    revision tracking an automatic process, though,
    if desired.

27
Revision Tracking Ex. 04 Create a Revised Draft
  • To track a revision, do the following
  • Click on the Edit tab above the preview to open
    the content in edit mode.
  • Add another line of text in the Body field
  • Scroll down to the Revision Information group and
    click to expand it
  • Check the Create New Revision box
  • Describe the change made in the Log Message field
  • Click the Save button

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Revision Tracking Ex. 04 Create a Revised Draft
View Revision List
  • To view the revision list
  • Click on the Revisions tab at the top of the
    screen
  • A list of content revisions appears
  • A few operations can be performed from here
  • View content by clicking on desired Date and Time
    link
  • Revert content by clicking on the Revert link
  • Delete content by clicking on the Delete link
  • Click on the top revision in the list to open the
    most recent draft

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WYSIWIG Editor Overview
  • Web-based WYSIWYG text editor module
  • WYSIWIG What You See Is What You Get
  • Allows users to utilize a text editing interface
    similar to a word processing application versus
    coding in HTML
  • Individuals can toggle this feature on and off at
    their discretion
  • Leave this feature enabled for this workshop

HTML Code
WYSIWIG Editor
30
WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
  • To edit a draft from view mode
  • Click on the Edit tab to open in edit mode
  • The editor appears with the Rich Text Editor tool
    bar
  • Very similar to existing text editor toolbars
    available in programs such as MS Word
  • Hover over an icon for a second to see the name /
    function of the button

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
Changing the Format
  • The Format drop down menu contains pre-set
    attributes for fonts which include point size and
    font type
  • Highlight the first row of text in the Body
    field
  • Click on the Format drop-down menu to open it
  • Click on one of the options in the list
  • The highlighted row of text will change according
    to the format selected

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
Changing the Font Effect
  • The available font effects are Bold, Italic, and
    Underline. To change the font effect
  • Highlight the first row of text again
  • Left-click on I to activate the Italic effect
  • The selected text will change and display an
    italic effect
  • Try some other font effects

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
Applying Bullets
  • To add bullets (or numbers)
  • Select the second and third rows of text
  • Click on B to activate the Bullets effect
  • Note that bullets are also known as an Unordered
    List and numbers are known as an Ordered List
  • The selected lines of text will display bullets

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
Indenting Text Lines
  • To indent text lines
  • Highlight the third row of text
  • Click on B toolbar button to indent it
  • Note how the solid bullet changes to a hollow,
    sub-bullet
  • To break out of the bullets, just hit enter a few
    times.

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 05 Using the WYSIWIG Editor
Preview Format Changes
  • Lets take a look at the progress to date
  • Scroll to the bottom of the editor and click on
    the Preview button
  • The preview screen appears at the top of the
    editor
  • Its not much, but its getting a little more
    interesting. Click on the Save button

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 06 Pasting Text Overview
  • Different word processing programs contain
    different programming elements. Different web
    browsers also contain different programming
    features.
  • In many situations, pasting directly from one
    text editor into another one can cause some
    strange formatting behavior.
  • For OSU Drupal 6, the WYSIWIG text editor will
    accept paste entries directly from MS Word using
    both Internet Explorer and Firefox.
  • Using different word processing software, such as
    Open Office Writer or WordPerfect, along with
    different browsers, such as Safari, may sometimes
    yield some strange formatting behavior.
  • Text that is pasted in from a web page utilizing
    valid HTML/CSS will translate very well.

37
WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 06 Pasting Text Copy Word
File
  • To copy the example document
  • Click on the drupal-core.doc file in your lab
    materials folder
  • Note the formatted text in the file
  • Times New Roman font
  • Larger, bold headers
  • Bulleted list
  • Select all of the text in the document by
    pressing the Ctrl A keys
  • Copy all of the text in the document to your
    Windows clipboard by pressing the Ctrl C keys

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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 06 Pasting Text Paste Word
File
  • To paste from Microsoft Word
  • Place the cursor after the existing text and
    enter down to make space
  • Press the Ctrl V keys to paste the text
    directly into the text editor.

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Enter down to about here
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WYSIWIG Editor Ex. 06 Pasting Text Preview MS
Word Paste
  • Preview the draft
  • A clean preview should appear
  • The pasted content should have bold sub-headings
    and bullets
  • Note, though, that the font is not the Times New
    Roman font used in the Word document. Instead,
    its Arial.
  • This is the theme at work. Its taking some
    information from Word and using it, but the theme
    is overriding some styles. This is normal.
  • If everything is satisfactory, click on the Save
    button

Bold Sub-Headings
Bullets
40
WYSIWIG Editor Styles
  • While exploring the Discover Drupal 6 site, it
    can be observed that some elements within the
    site are consistent.
  • The background is always the same
  • The menu items all look similar
  • The colors for certain items, such as headings,
    are consistent
  • Some images are always the same and are located
    in the same place
  • Whats occurring here is that the Drupal site is
    being told how to look from a set of styling
    commands known as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
    CSS is what is used to create the Theme of the
    Drupal site.
  • In the standard installation of OSU Drupal 6, the
    only role that can change the theme is the
    Administrator.
  • Authors can override some style settings on a
    per-page basis, though.
  • Lets find out how to do this

41
WYSIWIG Editor Styles Ex. 07 Change Text Styles
  • To edit the CSS Style on your node
  • Click the content type Edit tab to open in edit
    mode
  • Highlight the area in the Body to receive a style
    change
  • Click on the A toolbar button
  • The Edit CSS Style dialog box opens
  • There are many features here that a user can get
    lost in so lets just stay on the Text tab for
    now

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WYSIWIG Editor Styles Ex. 07 Change Text
Styles CSS Dialog Box Text Tab
  • Text Properties
  • Font drop-down field
  • Changes font type (Arial, Times NR, etc)
  • Size drop-down field
  • Field one size of text
  • Field two units of measure
  • Weight drop-down field
  • Boldness of text
  • Style drop-down field
  • Slant of text normal, italic, oblique
  • Variant drop-down field
  • Allows for all small caps
  • Line Height drop-down field
  • Field one set desired value
  • Field two units of measure
  • Case drop-down field
  • Force all caps, all smalls, or capitalize first
    word
  • Color field / palette
  • Choose a color

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The best way to get to know the CSS Dialog Box
feature is to use it. Experiment around and see
what things do. It can actually be pretty fun.
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WYSIWIG Editor Styles Ex. 07 Change Text
Styles Changing Text Excerpt Colors
  • Changing the text color of an excerpt in a
    paragraph can sometimes be helpful to add
    emphasis. Its tricky with CSS, though, as the
    system tries to change the entire paragraph to
    the new color.
  • Theres a way to do it though
  • Highlight the desired text including the space
    before and after
  • Click the B tool button to bold the text
    slightly
  • Highlight just the word again
  • Click the A tool button to open the CSS Edit
    Style dialog box
  • Click the color picker (or enter the Hex or RGB
    values, if known)
  • Click the color picker Apply button
  • Click the Update button

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WYSIWIG Editor Styles Ex. 07 Change Text
Styles Usability Concerns
  • Along with the ability to change something as
    simple as color, comes the responsibility to
    consider potential outcomes.
  • According to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
    some form of hereditary color blindness affects
    approximately 7 of American men and about .4 of
    American women. This does not count color
    blindness that occurs due to injury.
  • There are different types of color blindness
    blue-yellow, red-green, and total. Use caution
    with color changes to ensure usability for your
    audience as a whole.

No Color Blindness
Blue-Yellow Color Blindness
Red-Green Color Blindness
Total Color Blindness
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WYSIWIG Editor Styles Ex. 07 Change Text
Styles Preview Style Change
  • Click on the Preview button at the bottom of the
    editor
  • Some of the style changes arent showing.
  • You may be wondering why the preview doesnt show
    any style changes. Lets find out why

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WYSIWIG Editor Input Formats
  • An Input Format is the type of input that a
    content provider is allowed to enter into a
    Drupal site.
  • Different access roles can have different input
    format permissions. There are a few reasons for
    having this type of feature, but the most
    important is the overall security of the site.
    Some types of code, such as PHP, can break a
    site, either accidentally or intentionally.
  • Authors can use both Filtered HTML and Full HTML
    input formats. Filtered HTML strips all but the
    most necessary of HTML tags out including ones
    that change style. This is the default setting
    for all pieces of content. Full HTML allows a
    user to make style changes.

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WYSIWIG Editor Input Formats Ex. 08 Change the
Input Format
  • To change the input format
  • Scroll down the page to the Input Format group
    and click on it to expand it
  • After the Input Format group opens, select the
    Full HTML option

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WYSIWIG Editor Input Formats Ex. 08 Change the
Input Format Preview Input Format Change
  • Preview the draft
  • All style changes should now appear
  • If everything is in order, click on the Save
    button

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WYSIWIG Editor Links
  • The Hyperlink, or Link, is the oldest conceptual
    element on the Web, in fact, the Web was actually
    created specifically to use linking.
  • There are three main categories of Links
  • Anchor
  • Jumps to another location within the web page
  • Internal
  • Jumps to a different web page within the same web
    site
  • External
  • Jumps to a page on another web site

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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 09 Create an Anchor
Link Insert Anchor
4
  • To create an Anchor link, first insert an Anchor
  • Click the content type Edit tab to open in edit
    mode
  • Add the following three lines of text above the
    text pasted in from Word these are known as
    references
  • Drupal Core
  • Core Modules
  • Core Themes
  • Select the Drupal Core sub-header
  • Click the A tool button to open the
    Insert/Edit Anchor dialog box
  • Enter the name drupal-core in the box
  • Note Use all small case and hyphens for spaces
  • Click on the Insert button
  • A small anchor appears near the Drupal Core
    sub-header

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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 09 Create an Anchor
Link Insert a Link
2
  • Next, insert the link
  • Select the Drupal Core reference
  • Click the L tool button to open the Insert/Edit
    Link dialog box
  • Select drupal-core from the Anchor drop down
    field
  • Add some descriptive text into the Title field
  • Click the Insert button
  • The new link will switch to a blue, underlined
    hyperlink

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Remember An anchor sinks to the bottom of the
page.
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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 09 Create an Anchor
Link Preview Test
  • Preview the work to view and test the links
  • As each reference in the link list is clicked,
    the screen should jump to the corresponding
    anchor
  • If everything works correctly, click on the Save
    button

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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 10 Create an Internal
Link Create Reference
  • First, create a reference
  • Click the content Edit tab to open in edit mode
  • Type the words Check This Link Out beneath the
    anchor link references
  • Highlight the newly added row of text
  • Click the R tool button to Right Align the text
    and distinguish it from the anchor link references

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Insert new line of text here
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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 10 Create an Internal
Link Insert the Link
  • Next, insert the link
  • Click the L tool button to open the CMS Link
    dialog box
  • This dialog box contains a list of all aliases
    used by this particular Drupal site
  • Select the congratulations menu item
  • Click the Insert button

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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 10 Create an Internal
Link Preview Test
  • Preview the page to view and test the links
  • Clicking on the internal link should open another
    window with a page from our training site
  • If everything works correctly, click on the Save
    button

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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 11 Create an External
Link Insert the Link
  • To create an External Link
  • Click the content Edit tab to open in edit mode
  • Select any unlinked word within the editor
  • Click the L tool button to open the Insert/Edit
    Link dialog box Fill out the information as shown
    in the example. And enter the URL
    http//drupal.org
  • Click the Insert button

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WYSIWIG Editor Links Ex. 11 Create an External
Link Preview Test
  • Preview the page to view and test the links
  • Clicking on the external link should open another
    window containing the Drupal home page
  • If everything works correctly, click the Save
    button

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URLs
  • A URL, or Uniform Resource Locater, is a pointer,
    or address, to a page or resource on the Web.
  • Most of us are familiar with the dreaded 404, or
    Page Not Found, message
  • A 404 message will appear for a few different
    reasons
  • User mistypes a URL in the address bar
  • A link is incorrectly set by the content provider
  • A web page using an absolute URL is moved and not
    redirected
  • A web page is removed
  • An alias is changed and the link is not updated

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URLs Absolute v. Relative URLs
  • There are a couple of different types of URLs
  • Absolute
  • A URL that points directly to a file on the
    Internet
  • http//drupaldev.cws.oregonstate.edu/training/dis
    cover-drupal-6
  • Relative
  • A URL that points to a another file/directory in
    relation to itself
  • /discover-drupal-6/home
  • This tells the computer to move to the top of
    the Discover Drupal 6 site directory in which all
    of the files relative to this site are stored
    from this starting point, the system counts
    down to the correct directory to find the
    necessary file
  • Sometimes a picture helps

60
URLs Why Relative URLs are Preferred
  • An Absolute URL only tells the computer the
    location of a particular resource
  • A Relative URL tells the computer how to get to
    that resource
  • Simplifies site migration
  • With Absolute URLs, all internal links would have
    to be manually reset
  • With Relative URLs, this is not necessary

This is the back end of the Discover Drupal 6
site. Its just a tiny fragment of a much, much
larger directory system in use at OSU.
61
URLs URL Aliases What An Alias Is
  • Whenever a node is created in Drupal, the system
    assigns it a unique numerical identifier referred
    to as a Node ID in Drupal speak.
  • If a node titled My Biography were created, and
    it was the 10th piece of content to be created on
    a site, Drupal would recognize it this way
    node/10
  • If the URL http//www.my-drupal-site/node/10 were
    used, the page My Biography page would appear
  • node/10 isnt very user friendly, though
  • A URL alias is, basically, a nickname that you
    give your web address to make it easier for your
    users to remember.
  • Simply put, with an alias youre telling Drupal
    node/10 also equals the name my-biography
    Drupal then relates the two and recognizes both
    as the page My Biography.

62
URLs URL Aliases Automatic Alias Feature
  • OSU Drupal 6 utilizes a module that will
    automatically alias all content.
  • It does this by simply using the title and
    programmatically enforcing some consistency
  • All letters are changed to lower case
  • All extraneous words (such as and, but,
    the, etc) are removed
  • All spaces are hyphenated
  • If the contents title is repeated, the automatic
    alias feature will enumerate the end of the alias
  • As an example, a piece of content titled This Is
    My Content would become my-content
  • If there were two pieces of content on the site
    with the same title they would appear as such
  • my-content
  • my-content-0
  • my-content-1, etc.

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URLs URL Aliases Why Is This Important?
  • Knowing about URLs and aliases is important
    because
  • Content providers have the ability to turn off
    the Automatic Alias feature through the content
    type form
  • Doing this inadvertently will result in creating
    content types that only have node references
  • Content providers have the ability to change
    aliases through the content type form
  • Doing this inadvertently, or without planning, on
    existing content can break a link or adversely
    affect menus
  • Doing this on existing content could result in
    invalid bookmarks for your audience
  • Sometimes, when setting links, a need may arise
    where an internal link needs to be manually set
  • Ex A content provider wishes to link from one
    page to a specific anchor link on another page

64
URLs URL Aliases Ex. 12 Toggle Automatic Alias
Feature
  • To toggle the Automatic Alias feature
  • Click the Edit tab to open the content in edit
    mode
  • Scroll down to the URL Path Settings group and
    uncheck the Automatic Alias check box
  • The path field will turn from grey to white at
    this point, the user can enter an alias manually
  • Note Ensure that manual aliases are entered with
    all small letters and hyphens between words
  • For simplicitys sake, its suggested that this
    feature not be turned off

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URLs URL Aliases Ex. 13 How to Locate a Node
Reference
  • To locate a node reference
  • In the Navigation menu, click on Administer gt
    Site building gt URL aliases to open the alias
    list
  • All aliases in use on the site are listed
    alphabetically in the Alias column
  • The node reference (or node ID) is listed under
    the System column
  • Filtering on the Alias column can be performed by
    entering the word to filter on in the Filter
    aliases field and clicking the Filter button
  • Sorting can be performed by clicking on the title
    of the desired column

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66
File Attachments What File Attachments Are
  • File attachments are files that are intended to
    be distributed.
  • As an example, an instructor may want to attach a
    pdf version of an article to a node for students
    to download and use.
  • The following should be taken into consideration
    regarding attachments
  • File format
  • Any file type can be uploaded
  • For general distribution, common file types, such
    as pdf, should be used to ensure your audience
    can open it
  • File size
  • 8 MB upload limit, by default
  • This can be increased on a case-by-case basis
  • Consider audience members who may be in a remote
    area and may not have a robust connection

67
File Attachments Ex. 14 Attach a File Locate,
Upload, and Attach File
  • To attach a file to a node, return to your pate
    by going to Administer gt Content management gt
    Content and clicking on the Edit operation
  • Scroll down the page to the File attachments
    group and click on it to expand it
  • Click the Browse button
  • This will open a window that shows the contents
    of a personal computer
  • Browse to the drupal-06-basics workshop materials
    folder on the Desktop and click on it
  • Find the file named drupal-rocks.pdf and select
    it
  • Click the Open button on the dialog box the
    dialog box will then go away
  • Click the Attach button on the content form

Attached File
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68
File Attachments Ex. 14 Attach a File Preview
and Test
  • Preview the page to test the file attachment. It
    will be located at the bottom of your node.
  • Scrolling down the page and clicking on the file
    attachment will open a dialog box asking you if
    you want to Open or Save the file. Click on the
    Open option to view the file.
  • If everything works correctly, click back on the
    browser and then click the Save button

69
Menus Overview
  • What Menus are
  • An organized list of features or content
  • Often contains sub-items
  • How Menus are Created
  • Standard menus automatically created by modules
  • Custom menus can be created manually by all
    content providers
  • Why Menus are used
  • To provide organization and clear direction
  • Users want to get there in four clicks or less
  • A plain website with a great menu system will
    beat out a beautiful website with a poorly
    designed menu system anytime

70
Menus Different Drupal Default Menus
  • When Drupal is first installed, there are three
    menus that are automatically created Navigation,
    Primary Links, and Secondary Links.
  • Navigation
  • Where all Drupal administrative tools are located
  • Only seen by site contributors logged into system
  • Do not place your content menu links within this
    menu
  • Primary Links
  • Default menu when creating menu links
  • Best place to store main menu items
  • Secondary Links
  • Also available
  • Of course, custom menus can be made as well.
    This is covered in the OSU Drupal 6 Formatting
    Blocks workshop.

71
Menus Ex. 15 Add A Menu Item To Primary Links
Menu
  • To add an item to the Primary links menu
  • Click the Edit tab to open the content in edit
    mode
  • Locate the Menu settings group and click on it to
    expand it
  • Add a title in the Menu link title field this
    can be the same as the title of the content or
    different
  • In the Parent item field, the default should be
    the ltPrimary linksgt option leave this as is
  • Leave the Weight field at 0 this will order all
    menu items alphabetically
  • Click on Publishing options and check the
    Published option
  • Click the Save button
  • Note Menu links will not appear for Draft
    (unpublished) content

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Menus Ex. 15 Add A Menu Item To Primary Links
Menu Primary Links Menu Activated
  • And now the Primary links menu shows
  • Menu creation has been greatly simplified in OSU
    Drupal 6 which has both benefits and potential
    drawbacks

73
Menus Usability Concerns
  • Menu development can be a tricky thing. As we
    build content, we naturally want our audience to
    be able to see everything at one shot. Often
    times, though, this is not feasible.
  • For example, if a site contains 300 pieces of
    content, that could translate into 300 menu links
    which is really too much for anyone to try to
    wade through. It can happen quite quickly,
    though, especially on the multi-user sites we
    have at OSU.
  • This is where planning and coordination come in
    even before the first piece of content is ever
    created.
  • Additional tools and features exist in Drupal to
    help with site optimization but the first and
    simplest is a pencil and a piece of paper

74
The Value of a Plan
  • Websites come in all shapes and sizes.
  • The bigger a site is, and the more contributors
    that are involved, the more important it is to
    try and figure some things out ahead of time.
    Much of this can be done even before the first
    piece of content is published.
  • For those who are simply interested in
    contributing or updating content on an existing
    site this workshop, as well as the following
    Content Types workshop is probably enough.
  • For those who need to be actively involved in
    developing a site from the ground up, CWS will
    also offer several workshops regarding how to
    strategize these things and use the more advanced
    features available in OSU Drupal 6.

75
Conclusion
  • This completes the OSU Drupal 6 Content Types
    tutorial. For additional tutorials, please visit
    WebTrain, the CWS web publishing training site,
    at
  • http//oregonstate.edu/cws/webtrain
  • To view and register for all OSU Drupal 6
    Workshops, visit the Professional Development
    Central Registration site at
  • http//oregonstate.edu/cws/register
  • To submit a Help Ticket or make a Site Request
    on-line, go to
  • http//oregonstate.edu/cws/contact
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