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AIS RedDot CMS Tips

by Web & Communication Services

May 2012

Web Page Publishing Questions

In this month's CMS tip, we're going to cover a number of questions that you, as a content provider, should ask yourself before submitting a page to workflow for publication to the AIS Web site.

File Names

Have all pages, images, and media files been given appropriate and meaningful file names? Do those file names follow existing naming conventions?

Page Titles

Have all pages been given descriptive and informative page titles?

Content

Is the content of the page important and relevant? Is the content in the right location, or would it be better in another location on the Web site or in another Web environment (public site vs. intranet)? Does the content make sense, and can it easily be read and understood by an average user?

Timeliness

Does the page cover appropriate dates and times? Will posted information become out of date or not allow users appropriate lead time for action?

Spell and Grammar Check

Has the page been spell checked and grammar checked?

Images

Have all images been described or labeled using alternate (ALT) text? Are the images in the most appropriate file format, and are they sized appropriately to fit within the content area?

Link Check

Are all hyperlinks working correctly? Have all links been given informative and contextual link text? Do external links open in a new window, and do internal links open in the same window?

If you have any questions or need assistance in getting your pages ready for publication, please let us know.

April 2012

Naming Conventions Review

Naming conventions are important in any Content Management System (CMS) for ensuring consistency of published material and for effectively managing content stored within the CMS. With that in mind, let's review a couple of the standards that we've discussed in previous CMS tips.

Naming Download Items

A significant portion of content on the AIS Web site is in the form of downloadable files, such as Word files and PDFs. While the names of these files will most likely not matter to our audience, it's very important that the files be named in a logical fashion in order to manage the hundreds of files once they are embedded within RedDot. If they were named in a random fashion, then they would be much more difficult to find, replace, and delete than if they were named in a logical, predictable manner.

Our goal is the latter, and we wrote about naming conventions for downloadable files in our October 2009 tip: Naming Download Items.

Assigning a File Name to a Page

The file name on a foundation page within RedDot becomes the final piece of the Web address on that newly created page. As such, it is important that it be named in a manner consistent with the rest of the site for the sake of consistency, clarity, and organization. Note: I say foundation page in order to differentiate between a main page within RedDot (which has a URL) and the components that can be placed on a foundation page (which would not require a URL).

In order to review, please see our September 2009 tip: Assigning a File Name to a Page.

March 2012

Formatting Web Text, Part IV: Making Long Pages More Readable

When a visitor views a Web page, they want short sentences that get to the point and give them the information in an understandable way. So, how do you keep it short when you have a lot of information to share, and how can you present that information in a usable way that your visitor can find what they are looking for? In this month's tip, we will focus on techniques to improve the readability of pages with a considerable amount of content.

1. Trim what you can; there is always some editing possible. Here are a few ideas:
   • Change passive to active voice. This makes the content more engaging and easier to read, and in many cases, it eliminates extra words.
   • Remove unneeded prepositional phrases.
   • If possible, replace big words with smaller ones.
   • Eliminate entire sentences if they repeat something already said or if they do not logically flow from the previous sentence.
2. Break long paragraphs into multiple paragraphs. Sometimes this little step can help significantly.
3. Break things into bullet points. Lists are able to be scanned and make content easier to read.
4. Use graphics to help convey ideas or processes. Are there concepts or features that can be better illustrated instead of described? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then let's get more pictures and remove those thousand words.
5. Use headings to break up your content. A good heading allows a reader to jump to the portion they need and makes the overall page appear better organized.
6. Use a table of contents at the top of the page. An organizational technique often used is to break the content into sub-sections with headings that correspond to a "table of contents" at the top of the page. Anchors are attached to all of the headings, and a list of links (often called "jump links") is used to create the table of contents. The links "jump" to the corresponding heading lower on the page.
7. Bold key points (sparingly) in your paragraphs.

If you have any questions, let us know.

February 2012

Pages Saved as Draft

Within RedDot, pages and page components that have been created or changed but have not been submitted to workflow will remain in a user's drafts. Pages and page components saved in draft form are only visible to the last editor. All other users will only see the last released status of the page or page component.

You can view a list of pages and page components that you currently have in your drafts by following these simple steps:

1. While logged into RedDot, click on the Tasks button in the left-hand menu bar.
2. If you have pages or page components in draft status, then you will see a heading labeled "Pages saved as draft." You will also see a link labeled "X Edit Pages," where X is the number of pages or page components that are currently in your drafts.
3. Click on the link X Edit Pages to bring up a list of pages and page components that you currently have in draft status.
4. When the result list appears, you have a number of operations that you can perform on these pages or page components:
   1. You can preview the page or page component in redlining mode, which will show changes that have been made to the page or page component.
   2. You can preview the page or page component as it would appear on the live site when it publishes to the Web server.
   3. You can submit the page or page component to workflow.
   4. You can undo any changes you may have made to the page or page component.

Note: When you have a page or page component opened within RedDot, you can also access these options from the Actions menu at the top of the screen.

If you have pages or page components that you are unable to remove from your drafts, please contact us and we will be happy to help you get them cleaned up.

January 2012

Formatting Web Text, Part III: Things to Avoid

In this month's tip, we will focus on things to avoid when writing content for the Web. Keep in mind that the Internet is different from print, and different rules and conventions apply. These simple rules will help ensure that your content can easily be read by your audience.

• Don't use all capitals since they are sometimes difficult to read clearly on a screen. Also, when you're online, all capital letters means that you're SHOUTING!
• Don't underline words for emphasis since the convention on the Web is that an underline means a link. Instead, use bold or italicized text for emphasis.
• Don't overuse bold or italicized text in your content. It will make your text hard to read, and you will lose your points of emphasis in a sea of distracting text.
• Don't center-align, right-align, or justify text because it can be difficult to read. Text should always be left-aligned.
• Don't forget to proofread and spell-check your content before you publish it. Research shows that bad spelling and grammar reduces user confidence and trust, and it looks less professional.
• Don't forget that links should be descriptive and clearly convey to users what they are clicking on. This is effective both for users and search engines. Instead of writing "click here" or "click here for the annual report" to link to the annual report, make the link read something like "Our Annual Report is now available" or simply "Annual Report." There is never a need to write "click here" since users all know how links work.
• Don't copy and paste text directly from a Word document because Word adds a lot of junk code and carries across formatting that can be very difficult to remove unless you know HTML code. Instead, use the "Paste from Word" button in the text editor, or copy and paste the text from Word into Notepad to remove any excess formatting.
• Don't publish outdated content on your pages. Outdated information will make your content irrelevant and cause confusion for readers.

If you have any questions, let us know.

December 2011

Formatting Web Text, Part II: Bullets

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If you don't properly format content for the Web, then you might as well not bother publishing it on any Web site. Improperly formatted content is simply not going to be read, not because Web readers are fussy about formatting but because they don't have the time or patience to search for important content when it should be obvious.

In that vein, we'll talk about the effectiveness of using bullets on the Web in this month's CMS Tip, and we'll do it two different ways--one that uses bullets and one that uses a standard paragraph. Then you, the home reader, can decide which is most likely to be read.

Example using bullets:

• Bullets draw attention to the content.
• Bullets break up endless text, making it easier for a Web reader to see.
• Bullets are easy to read.
• Bullets highlight the important information, not allowing the writer to give unnecessary detail.

Example using a simple paragraph:

Bullets are more effective for Web readers for a number of reasons. Perhaps most important, bullets draw attention to the content since it's an easy-to-follow list. This is not a new concept; it's something that we've done since the advent of the word processor. Bullets have always been used to grab the attention of readers. Bullets also break up what might end up being a seemingly endless string of text. This is especially important to Web readers since they tend to scan for important content rather than read every letter on a page. Also, the very nature of being separated from the rest of the text by additional margins and the visual interest of the bullet means that information contained in a bulleted list is easier to see. Finally, by not mixing the information in with the extra words needed to write in complete sentences (or giving the writer the opportunity to over-explain the points being made), the bulleted points a) are easier to read and b) highlight only the important information, which is what Web readers ultimately require.

November 2011

Formatting Web Text, Part I: Multiple Headlines

Few things in life are simple, but this is: If you don't format Web content properly, then it will not be read--and you will have wasted your time.

Web Audience Is Unique

• Web readers generally scan content, as opposed to reading it like someone would a novel.
• Web readers have short attention spans. If they don't find something quickly, then they move to a different site faster than you can say "Wait--there's good content here!"
• Reading on a computer screen is more difficult than reading a newspaper or a book.
• An increasing number of Web readers have screens smaller than the size of their palms. Try reading "War and Peace" that way!

For those reasons, a traditional paragraph format will not work for Web content. There are several ways to format text to make it easier to read, including using multiple headlines on each page.  

Multiple Headlines

Break large chunks of text into sub-sections, which will:

• break up the content so that it does not look too intimidating to tackle.
• be easier to read.
• allow users to pick and choose which content to focus on. (The reader may not need the introductory material to a topic with which he's familiar; he might want to jump to more specific information toward the end of the page.)

Future tips

Future tips on formatting text will include using bulleted lists (see how much it helped with this post?), using short paragraphs, highlighting a few key words, eliminating unnecessary words, and breaking up text with images.

If you have any questions, let us know.

October 2011

Using the Text Editor, Part III: Working with Images, Part II

In last month's tip, we covered the basic steps involved with inserting an image into a page using the text editor. This month's tip will focus on uploading an image from your computer for insertion into a page.

To insert an image from your computer into a page, do the following:

1. While in the text editor, place your cursor where you'd like to insert the new image.
2. Click on the Insert/edit image button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Insert/edit image command by right-clicking within the content area of the text editor.
3. Click on the Asset Managers tab in the Insert/edit image dialog.
4. From the Asset Managers pull-down menu, select the "Content Images" option.
5. Click on the General tab.
6. Click on the Browse Server button.
7. When the Media Asset Management dialog appears, click on the Select asset from local file system link.
8. When the Transfer Local File dialog appears, click on the Browse button.
9. Locate the image on your computer and click on the Open button.
10. In the Media Asset Management dialog, locate and select the link for the image you just uploaded.
11. Click on the OK button.
12. Fill in the Image description field with descriptive text about the contents of the image. This will be the ALT text for the image.
13. Click on the Insert button to insert the image.

As always, let us know if you have any questions.

September 2011

Using the Text Editor, Part III: Working with Images, Part I

This month's tip is a continuation in our series on how to use the text editor within RedDot CMS, and it focuses on how to insert images within the editor environment.

To insert an image into a page, do the following:

1. While in the text editor, place your cursor where you'd like to insert the new image.
2. Click on the Insert/edit image button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Insert/edit image command by right-clicking within the content area of the text editor.
3. Click on the Browse Server button in the Insert/edit image dialog.
4. When the Media Asset Management dialog appears, select the link for the image you'd like to insert.
5. Click on the OK button.
6. Fill in the Image description field with descriptive text about the contents of the image. This will be the ALT text for the image.
7. Click on the Insert button to insert the image.

In next month's tip, we will go into further detail about how to insert an image into the text editor. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

August 2011

Capitalization of Titles and Links

Proper capitalization of headlines and links can be complicated, especially when inside of a content management system (CMS).

With that in mind, here are a few guidelines for those using RedDot:

• Use standard headline capitalization rules (see August 2011 writing tip) when creating the headline for a newly created page within RedDot since this appears on the Web site as it's typed into "Edit via Form."
• Use standard headline capitalization rules (see August 2011 writing tip) when creating a link within a Link's Area template since this also appears as it's typed on the Web site.
• Use only lowercase when creating the file name for a newly created page (see last month's CMS tip).
• Use only lowercase when naming a file (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, etc.) that will be added to the Web site via the Download Item template (see the Naming Download Items CMS tip). This is one of our Web standards. 

If you have any other capitalization or Web standard questions, let us know.

July 2011

Reminder: File Names Needed on Newly Created Pages

This month's tip is a simple reminder about the need to put a file name on newly created pages.

The file name becomes the last part of the Web address, and not including one means that the URL will be automatically generated and will not match the structure of Web addresses for the rest of the site, potentially confusing users.

Not including a file name is the most common of all mistakes made by content providers, which is understandable since it requires an extra step. Most of the page changes can be done through the "Edit via Form" red dot, while adding the file name requires clicking on the "Properties" tab in the main navigation at the top of the page.

Adding a file name is not difficult, though, and we've talked about it before--in our very first writing tip: Assigning a File Name to a Page.

Let us know if you have any questions.

June 2011

Automatically Create a Table of Contents (Jump Links) for Long Pages

When working on pages with a lot of content, an organizational technique often used is to break the content into sub-sections with headings that correspond to a "table of contents" at the top of the page. Anchors are attached to all of the headings, and a list of links (often called "jump links") is used to create the table of contents. The links "jump" to the corresponding heading lower on the page.

Creating and maintaining these jump links has always been a tedious job. Mostly, you want the links to be the same as the heading titles, and as soon as the titles change, the table of contents needs to be edited. The table of contents also needs to be kept up-to-date whenever new sub-sections are added to the page.

We've made the process much easier within RedDot CMS.

We have added the functionality to create and maintain this table of contents automatically by inspecting the components that are connected to the foundation page and generating the table of contents using this information. To set up the table of contents on your pages, perform the following tasks:

Set up the Foundation Page

The first step to turn on the table of contents is to activate the feature on your foundation page. To do that, do the following:

1. Click on the Open Page red dot on your foundation page.
2. Click on the Edit Elements via Form red dot.
3. Select the Table of Contents option from the pull-down menu if you'd like a dynamic table of contents created on the page:
   • Do Not Show Table of Contents - Do not show the table of contents on the page.
   • Show Table of Contents - Show the table of contents on the page. This option will create jump links to individual components connected to the page:
     • If you specify an Anchor Name on the components, then that name will be used to create the anchor name for the jump links.
     • If you do not specify an Anchor Name on the components, then the anchor name for the jump links will be created automatically from the Headline of the component.
4. Click on the OK button to save your changes and close the edit elements form.

Set up the Components on the Page

The next step is to set up the individual components on the page. This feature supports components created using the following templates: Links Area, Media File Download Organizer, News Slider, and Text Area. To set up the components, do the following for each component on the page:

1. Open the component by clicking on the Open Page red dot.
2. Click on the Edit Elements via Form red dot.
3. Fill in the Anchor Name field with the name of an anchor (should be all lowercase with no spaces).
4. Select the Back to Top Link option from the pull-down menu:
   • Do Not Show Link - Do not show a Back to Top link at the bottom of the component.
   • Show Link - Show a Back to Top link at the bottom of the component.
5. Click on the OK button to save your changes and close the edit elements form.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments.

May 2011

Last Updated or Reviewed Date

As announced in a recent e-mail to content owners and providers, we've added a new field, "Last Updated or Reviewed," when editing via form within RedDot CMS. We wanted to expand a little on the reasoning behind adding this field and how it will work in the future.

Where the Date Will Appear

Whenever the content blitz ends, the words "Last Updated or Reviewed: mm/dd/yyyy" will appear on the bottom of every foundation page of the Web site, near where the "Content Questions" contact and the optional "Support Questions" contact appears on the site.

In addition, the wording "Last Updated or Reviewed: mm/dd/yyyy" will also replace the current "Last Updated: mm/dd/yyyy" date that currently appears on any downloadable file on the site.

Reasons for the Change

The main reason for adding the date to all pages and download items is that nothing causes uncertainty in a user's mind about the vallidity of content on a site more than concern that the content might be outdated. These dates will serve as an indicator of the currency of the content on our site to outside users.

Some content is perfectly valid even if the date is not recent (some things simply don't change over the years), which is why we're using "Last Updated or Reviewed: mm/dd/yyyy" rather than simply "Last Updated: mm/dd/yyyy." If a document from 2006 still has validity, then the "Last Updated or Reviewed: 5/5/2011" statement will ensure that the content is still of value while "Last Updated: 5/5/2006" might naturally raise concern from users. Five-year-old data on a Web site is considered ancient history!

Another reason for adding the new line to all pages and download items is to make it easier for content providers and us (Web & Communication Services) to manage the content on the site. One quick look at a page or download item will indicate when the content was last edited or reviewed, making it easier to keep the content fresh and up-to-date.

Process for Using the Field

• Content providers should ignore the field until after having their content blitz work session.
• During the intial content blitz work sessions, the dates will be changed within RedDot; however, they will not appear live on the site.
• After approximately half of the content blitz sessions have been completed, the dates previously entered will appear on the site.
• The dates for the remaining sections will be added as the content blitz continues.
• After the content blitz has been completed, content providers will be responsible for keeping the dates current within their sections.

April 2011

Using the Text Editor, Part II: Working with Tables, Part II

This month's tip is a continuation of our series on how to use the text editor within RedDot CMS, and it focuses on setting up the header row of a table within the editor environment.

When a new table is created, the first row is not automatically established as the header row, so the table will not display in the proper style on the site. To fix this problem, do the following:

1. Right-click on the first row of the table.
2. Choose Row > Table row properties from the context menu.
3. Select "Table Head" from the Row in table part pull-down menu.
4. Make sure that "Update current row" is selected and then click on the Update button.
5. Right-click on the first row in the table again.
6. Choose Cell > Table cell properties from the context menu.
7. Select "Header" from the Cell type pull-down menu.
8. Select "Column" from the Scope pull-down menu.
9. Make sure that "Update all cells in row" is selected and then click on the Update button.

Let us know if you have any questions about the above instructions or would like assistance when updating a table in your section.

March 2011

Outdated Content

Once trust has been broken, it's hard to regain. That applies to Web sites as well as life!

Web readers are savvy, and when they don't trust the information on a site, they use a different source. It's that simple.

One of the easiest ways to create distrust is to have--or appear to have--outdated information on a page; it immediately calls into question the validity of any content on that page and perhaps the entire section on which the page resides.

Here are few guidelines:

• Avoid Dates
  Whenever possible, avoid using specific dates. Instead of saying "As of March 3, 2011, XYZ service became available," say "XYZ service is available..." since that will never sound dated--unless the service is no longer available.
• Update Content
  When you must use a date, update content before it becomes outdated. "XYZ service is expected to be available on March 3, 2011," must be updated on or before March 3, whether the deadline is met or has changed.
• Subtle Words
  Subtle words, such as "new" and "now" have the same effect as an actual date on a Web site. If something launched in 2009 is still referred to as "new" or is said to be "now available," then users will think that the content has not been changed in two years, which is like a decade on a Web site.

Note: We will resume our series on working with the text editor next month.

February 2011

Using the Text Editor, Part II: Working with Tables, Part I

This month's tip is a continuation of our series on how to use the text editor within RedDot CMS, and it focuses on the basics of how to work with tables within the editor environment.

Creating a Table

1. While in the text editor, place your cursor where you'd like to insert the new table.
2. Click on the Inserts a new table button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Inserts a new table command by right-clicking within the content area of the text editor.
3. Define the properties for the new table in the Insert/Modify Table dialog.
4. Click on the Insert button to create the table.

Adding and Deleting Rows and Columns

1. Right-click on the location in the table where you want to add or remove a row or column.
2. Choose the action from the context menu:
   • Insert row before inserts a row on top of the selection/cursor.
   • Insert row after inserts a row under the selection/cursor.
   • Insert column before inserts a column on the left side of the selection/cursor.
   • Insert column after inserts a column on the right side of the selection/cursor.
   • Delete row removes the currently selected row/rows.
   • Delete column removes the currently selected column/columns.

Changing the Properties

1. Right-click on the location in the table where you want to change the properties.
2. Depending on the level of action (whole table/table row/single cell) select the corresponding action:
   • Table properties for affecting the whole table.
   • Table row properties for affecting the selected rows.
   • Table cell properties for affecting individual table cells.

Merging and Splitting Cells

1. Right-click on the location in the table where you want to merge or split the cells.
2. Choose the action from the context menu:
   • Merge table cells to merge the selected cells into one single cell.
   • Split table cells to split the selected merged cells.

In next month's tip, we will continue our focus on working with tables within the editor and will delve more deeply into how to work with tables. Let us know if you have any questions or comments.

January 2011

Using the Text Editor, Part I: Working with Links

This month's tip is the first in a series intended to assist content providers in understanding how to use the features of the text editor within RedDot CMS. In this month's tip, we will focus on how to work with links within the editor environment.

Linking to an External URL (External Link)

1. While in the text editor, select the text you want to convert into a link.
2. Click on the Insert/edit link button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Insert/edit link command by right-clicking on the selected text.
3. Enter the full URL, including the "http://" or "https://" portion of the URL, into the Link URL field.
4. Select "Open in New Window (_blank)" from the Target pull-down menu.
5. Click on the Insert button to create the link.

Linking to an Existing Page (Internal Link)

1. While in the text editor, select the text you want to convert into a link.
2. Click on the Insert/edit link button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Insert/edit link command by right-clicking on the selected text.
3. Click on Reference Page.
4. When the Page Search dialog appears, enter the criteria to locate the page you wish to reference (i.e., the Headline or Page ID).
5. Click on Start to search for the page.
6. When the Search Results list appears, click on the Headline of the page you wish to reference. Only reference pages that were created using one of the Content Pages templates. Do not reference pages using any of the Content Components templates. You can tell which template was used to create a page by viewing the information displayed for the Content Class within the search dialog.
7. Click on the Insert button to create the link.

Linking to a Media File

1. While in the text editor, select the text you want to convert into a link.
2. Click on the Insert/edit link button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Insert/edit link command by right-clicking on the selected text.
3. Click on Connect Asset.
4. Select "Media Files" from the Asset Managers pull-down menu.
5. Click on the Browse Server button.
6. When the Asset Manager window appears, locate and click on the filename of the file to link to.
7. Click on the OK button.
8. Select "Open in New Window (_blank)" from the Target pull-down menu.
9. Click on the Insert button to create the link.

Linking to an E-mail Address

1. While in the text editor, select the text you want to convert into an e-mail link.
2. Click on the Insert/edit link button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Insert/edit link command by right-clicking on the selected text.
3. Enter the full e-mail address, with or without the "mailto:" prefix, into the Link URL field.
4. Click on the Insert button to create the link.
5. If you did not enter the "mailto:" prefix on the link, you will receive a message stating "The URL you entered seems to be an email address, do you want to add the required mailto: prefix?" Click on the OK button to dismiss the dialog.

Removing a Link

1. While in the text editor, select the existing link text.
2. Click on the Unlink button on the editor's toolbar. You can also access the Unlink command by right-clicking on the selected link text.

Notes

• Links to external sites should always open in a new browser window, which is why we select "Open in New Window (_blank)" from the Target pull-down menu when we create the link.
• A good practice when creating external links is to always write the complete address. If you are unsure of the complete address, use your browser to go to the page you wish to link to and copy the address as it is from the address bar, with HTTP-protocol definitions and all.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments.

December 2010

Enabling Cut/Copy/Paste for the Text Editor in Firefox

To protect private information of users, Firefox does not allow unprivileged scripts to invoke the cut/copy/paste commands. Therefore, the corresponding buttons on the text editor toolbar within RedDot CMS will not work in Firefox.

To enable these functions, you must modify your browser preferences.

This method could be prone to user error and, due to a bug, you will not see the changes you've made (although they will take effect).

1. From within Firefox, create a new window or tab.
2. Type "about:config" into the address bar (without the quotes).
3. If you receive a warning message, click on the I'll be careful, I promise! button.
4. Right click in the content section of the browser, and select New > String.
5. Type "capability.policy.policynames" into the "New string value" dialog box (without the quotes).
6. Click OK.
7. Type "allowclipboard" in the "Enter string value" dialog box (without the quotes).
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 with the following additional string name/value pairs:

   Name	Value
   capability.policy.allowclipboard.sites	http://webcontent.ais.psu.edu https://webcontent.ais.psu.edu
   capability.policy.allowclipboard.Clipboard.cutcopy	allAccess
   capability.policy.allowclipboard.Clipboard.paste	allAccess

10. Restart Firefox. The cut/copy/paste buttons should now function.

Note: You should only enable cut/copy/paste on sites that you trust. The reason for this is that you may have a password, credit card information, phone number, or some other sensitive information in your clipboard and you do not want all sites to have access to that.

November 2010

Using Images on the Web, Part II: Taking Screen Shots

This month's tip is a continuation of our series on using images on the Web and is intended to assist content providers (and others) in understanding how to take screen shots. In this tip, we will explore the most basic method of taking a screen shot and give some tips on taking attractive screen shots.

A screen shot (also called a screen capture or screen dump) is an image taken by the computer to record the visible items displayed on the screen. Screen shots can be used to demonstrate a program, a particular problem a user might be having, or generally when display output needs to be shown to others or archived. Capturing a portion of your desktop, including application windows and dialog boxes, can be important when creating software documentation and tutorials.

Taking a screen shot is relatively simple. At the most basic level, you press the Print Screen key on your keyboard to copy the entire screen to the clipboard. For more control, there are specialty programs for taking pictures of your screen; we recommend and use Snagit for this purpose. The trick with screen captures is in making them look good.

Taking a Screen Shot

1. Press the Print Screen key on your keyboard; it may be labeled PrtScn. If you only want to capture the active window and not the entire desktop, then hold the Alt key down while pressing Print Screen.
2. Open an image editing program, such as Microsoft Paint. To do this, click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint.
3. Go to the Edit menu and click Paste, or you can press and hold Ctrl and tap V.
4. Optional: Use your image editor's crop tool to crop out unnecessary portions of the screen shot.
5. Go to the File menu and choose Save As.
6. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the image.
7. Type a file name for the image.
8. Select a file type.
9. Click the Save button.

Note: Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can use the Snipping Tool to take screen shots.

Tips

• Generally, the GIF format works best when saving screen shots of application windows. The JPEG format usually makes screen shots (especially those with text) blurry, blotchy, and discolored.
• If possible, avoid reducing the size of your screen shots if they've already been saved to a paletted format like GIF. Reducing the size of a screen shot can create additional colors in the image, which usually results in a larger GIF file. Usually, you can get a smaller file size by using the full size image and reducing the color depth instead of the dimensions. Cropping out unnecessary elements also helps, especially if they add more colors to the image.
• On Windows systems, the default appearance for title bars includes a gradient color transition. This increases the number of colors in the image and significantly increases the file size. When producing screen shots for the Web, be sure to change the title bar appearance to a solid color, or crop the title bar out of the image.
• Unless your object is to show off wallpaper and wild color schemes, stick with non-exotic colors such as the standard Windows desktop scheme for screen shots. Use a solid color background to facilitate background removal around windows and dialog boxes and to avoid distracting viewers.
• Be consistent in the screen resolution settings of your monitor and the size of the application windows.
• If capturing the mouse pointer is important, then consider using a larger than normal pointer size. Make sure its placement on the screen doesn't obscure important information.
• Clear the capture area of non-essential elements as much as possible to avoid confusion. These things can also be cropped out of the picture during editing, but it can save you time if you avoid capturing excess toolboxes or portions of the desktop in the first place.

If you have any questions or need assistance with taking screen shots, please let us know.

October 2010

Using Images on the Web, Part I: Choosing the Right File Format

Images are one design element that people feel they simply cannot exclude from Web sites. For the most part, images enhance a site when properly utilized; however, when abused, they can detract from an otherwise creative and informative site.

This month's tip is the first in a series intended to assist content providers in understanding how to effectively use images on a Web site. In this tip, we will explore the different types of image formats and give some tips to help select the appropriate file format for an image.

GIF Images

Use GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) files for images that have a small number of colors. GIF files are always reduced to no more than 256 unique colors, and they make very small, fast-loading graphics for the Web. GIF is great for Web buttons, charts or diagrams, cartoon-like drawings, banners, and text headings. GIF is also used for small, compact Web animations. The compression algorithm for GIF files is less complex than for JPEG files, but when used on flat color images and text, it produces very small file sizes.

The GIF format is not suitable for photographic images or images with gradient colors. Because the GIF format has a limited number of colors, gradients and photographs will end up with banding and pixelation when saved as a GIF file.

JPEG Images

Use JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) images for photographs and other images that have millions of colors. It uses a complex compression algorithm that allows you to create smaller graphics by losing some of the quality of the image. This is called a "lossy" compression because some of the image information is lost when the image is compressed.

The JPEG format is not suited to images with text, large blocks of solid color, and simple shapes with crisp edges. This is because when the image is compressed, the text, color, or lines may blur, resulting in an image that is not as sharp as it would be saved in another format.

PNG Images

The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format was developed as an alternative to the GIF format. PNG graphics have a better compression rate than GIF images, which result in smaller images than the same file saved as a GIF. PNG files offer alpha transparency, as well as animation.

PNG images, like GIFs, are not well suited to photographs. It is possible to get around the banding issue that affects photographs saved as GIF files using true colors, but this can result in very large images. The other problem with PNG is that its special features are not well supported by older versions of Internet Explorer.

Questions?

If you have any questions or need assistance in choosing the right image file format for your project, please let us know.

September 2010

Download Item vs. Web Page

Since there are advantages to both, we've left the choice of publishing content to the Web site as a downloadable file or a Web page up to the content providers--as stated on page 16 of our Web Style Guide.

Short Document

Our general guideline is that if content is less than two pages, then it should be published as a Web page rather than a document. That's easier for the users since it will require one less click in order to see the content, does not require the user have specific software in order to view the content, and is fairly easy for the content provider to do.

In order to turn a document into a Web page, follow the normal process for creating a new Web page, copy the content into the text section (unformatted), and re-format the content following our usual guidelines.

Longer Document

We gave no specific guidelines related to longer documents, so it's up to the provider.

Items to Consider

• The length of the document: If the document is long, then it's more understandable that a provider would want to publish the content as a downloadable file rather than as a Web page because of the necessary re-formatting. If the document will not need to be frequently updated, then it is worth considering publishing the document as a Web page. The re-formatting would only need to be done once, and the information would be displayed conveniently for our users.
• Source of document: If the document is from another source, then it might be best to publish the document as a downloadable file, especially if it's unknown how often the document may be updated. Note: Remember, when updating a document that already resides on the site, be sure that the name of the document file is identical to what is already on the site (using our standard naming conventions).
• Style of document: If the document is a piece of information that needs to be downloaded and used as a file by the users of our site, then it should be placed on the site as downloadable file since that's the best format for our users.

If you have any questions, let us know.

August 2010

Paragraph Breaks vs. Line Breaks

The RedDot text editor supports two ways to start a new paragraph or line of text within the editor:

Paragraph Breaks

A paragraph break is used to start a new paragraph below the existing text. In a bulleted or numbered list, this ends one bullet or number and begins another. Press the ENTER key to insert a paragraph break. To end a bulleted or numbered list, press the ENTER key twice.

Here is an example of using paragraph breaks:

This is my first line of text. I wish to insert a paragraph break here.

This is my second line of text.

Here is the resulting HTML that gets generated:

<p>This is my first line of text. I wish to insert a paragraph break here.</p>
<p>This is my second line of text.</p>

Line Breaks

A line break is used to start a new line of text immediately below the existing text. In a bulleted or numbered list, this forces subsequent text to appear on a new line but doesn't begin a new bullet or number. Press the ENTER key while holding the SHIFT key to insert a line break.

Here is an example of using line breaks.

This is my first line of text. I wish to insert a line break here.
This is my second line of text.

Here is the resulting HTML that gets generated:

<p>This is my first line of text. I wish to insert a line break here.<br />
This is my second line of text.</p>

For more information, please see the W3Schools entries for the <p> and <br> HTML tags.

July 2010

Making the News, AIS Style

Content providers have a couple of options to place news information on the AIS Web site:

Service Area News

Content providers of service areas can create news stories (or announcements) that appear on the service area home page, as well as in the AIS News box on the right side of every page on the site via the component called the "News Slider."

The News Slider will need to be added to the service home page by the W&CS (Web and Communications Services) team, not by the content provider. Once the component has been added, the provider can then add news stories whenever he or she should would like. 

The component remains on the site even when there are no active news stories; therefore, the News Slider is best for service areas that have the need for frequent news announcements, not the occasional or one-time announcement.

See Data Warehouse for an example of news created within a service area.

AIS News

An AIS news story appears on the right side of every page of our site, ensuring high visibility for any announcement, and it's the perfect place to promote a new service, highlight significant changes, or bring attention to special events and training opportunities.

These announcements are published by W&CS, not the content provider (except in cases when a News Slider has already been added to a service area); e-mail W&CS if you have an idea for a story for AIS News.

Appearance Schedule

RedDot allows content providers to schedule the date and time of when the stories will appear and be removed from the site. This appearance schedule ensures that the news information is visible only when the provider wants it to be and gives the provider flexibility related to when the content is prepared for publication.

June 2010

Content Contact and Support Contact Information

On each page on the AIS Web site, two different types of contact information can be listed by the content provider. One is required, and the second is optional.

Content Contact

A contact for content-related questions from Web site visitors is required on every page on the site. This contact can be the content provider for that section or any other group or individual who is knowledgeable about the content on the page and is designated to answer questions that a site visitor might have.

Support Contact

A contact for support-related questions from Web site visitors is optional on every page on the site. This contact is primarily used for systems and services so that a site visitor knows who they can contact if they need support. The support contact could be the AIS Support Center or any other group or individual that can provide support.

Adding or Changing Contact Information for a Page

To add or change the contact information for a page:

1. Open the foundation page by clicking on the Open Page red dot.
2. Click on the Edit Elements via Form red dot.
3. Fill in the Content Contact Name and Content Contact E-mail fields. For instance, a page owned by Document Imaging might list "Document Imaging" as the content contact name and "imaging@psu.edu" as the content contact e-mail address.
4. Optionally fill in the Support Contact Name and Support Contact E-mail fields if on a service page or if otherwise deemed necessary. For instance, if support should be handled by the AIS Support Center, put "AIS Support" as the support contact name and "ais-support@psu.edu" as the support contact e-mail address.
5. Click on the OK button to save your changes and close the edit elements form.
6. Click on the Close Page red dot.
7. Submit the page to workflow when finished.

If you have any questions, let us know.

May 2010

Microsoft Office File Formats

A common way to place content on the AIS Web site is by placing content within a Microsoft Office file that can then be downloaded by users, most likely a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file. It's not fair, however, to assume that all users have upgraded to Office 2007. Many, in fact, continue to use Office 2003 or earlier versions of Office.

As we have stated in our Web Style Guide, please do not save the files in Word 2007 format. When using Word 2007, use the "Save As" option of "Word 97-2003 Document" to save the file on your computer before uploading the file to the Web site. This will ensure that the document is compatible with earlier versions of Office.

In other words:

• Save Word files as .doc, not .docx
• Save Excel files as .xls, not .xlsx
• Save PowerPoint files as .ppt, not .pptx

Even when posting files to the Intranet, use the older naming conventions. While all work computers might have access to Office 2007, files may, at times, need to be viewed through personal computers that do not have the upgraded software.

April 2010

Changing the Order of Components on a Page

A full Web page in RedDot may be composed of one or more smaller pages--we call these additional pages "components." Examples of components that can be included are Links Areas, Media File Download Organizers or Media File Download Items, and Text Areas.

One great advantage of having this "componentized" structure within our CMS is the ease of which those components can be rearranged on the page without the need to recode the page. In other words, it makes it easier for content providers to organize their content.

To change the order in which components appear on a page, do the following:

1. Open the foundation page by clicking on the Open Page red dot.
2. Click on the Manage Components red dot.
3. Click on Edit Page Order.
4. Select the page (component) from the list to be moved and use the up and down arrows (on the left) to move the page up or down in the list. Do this for each component you wish to reorder.
5. Click on the OK button to save your changes and return to the page.
6. Click on the Close Page red dot.

Note: Changes to the order components appear on a page do not go through the normal Content Workflow process but, instead, go through Structural Workflow. For more information about how Structural Workflow works, please refer to our previous tip covering Structural Workflow.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments.

March 2010

Working with Links, Part IV: Contextual Links in Text

Links are an important part of our Web site, so they must be done in a way that best serves our readers.

If I may quote our own Web Style Guide, links must be "understandable when read out of context of body text," which means that links need to be contextual in nature.

Contextual Links

A contextual link is when the words linked accurately describe the page being linked to.

Examples include:

• For more information on links, please see our Web Style Guide.
• If you have any questions, contact Web & Communications Services.

In both cases, the words linked ("Web Style Guide" and "contact Web & Communication Services") give a clear indication of what is being linked to.

Non-Contextual Links

A non-contextual link is when the words being linked do not give a clear indication of what page is being linked to.

Examples include:

• For more information on links, click here.
• For more information on links, go to http://ais.its.psu.edu/support/styleguide.asp.
• If you have any questions, send us an e-mail at ais-webmaster@psu.edu.

In all three examples, the words linked ("here", "http://ais.its.psu.edu/support/styleguide.asp", and "ais-webmaster@psu.edu") do not give a clear indication what page is being linked to. Even though information about the link may be discernable from surrounding information, it's not clear what is being linked to by the link alone.

Why Use Contextual Links

• Web Accessibility: Individuals with certain disabilities use assistive devices to read links on a Web site, and for the links to be understood, they need to be contextual in nature. Words such as "here" and Web addresses (rather than Web site names) will not be helpful when read by an assistive device; however, phrases such as "Web Style Guide" will be.
• Style: The modern Web site user expects links to be contextual in nature, including e-mail addresses. That's the industry standard. Anything else immediately dates the site--it makes it look like a 1990s Web site.

February 2010

Working with Links, Part III: External Links vs. Internal Links

This month's tip is a continuation of our series on how links to pages within RedDot CMS work, and it focuses on the process used for linking to a page on another Web site (external link) vs. linking to a page on the AIS Web site (internal link) when linking to pages within RedDot using one of the Links Area templates.

Linking to an External URL (External Link)

1. If it is not open already, open the Links Area component by clicking on the Open Links Area red dot.
2. Click on the red dot beside the link to be managed. (For information on how to create new links in a Links Area template, please see the Links Area section of the RedDot CMS User Guide.)
3. Click on Assign URL.
4. Enter the full URL, including the "http://" or "https://" portion of the URL.
5. Click on the OK button to save your changes and return to the page.
6. Click on the red dot beside the link again.
7. Click on Edit Target.
8. Enter "_blank" in the User-Defined field (with no quotes).
9. Click on the OK button to save your changes and return to the page.
10. Click on the Close Links Area red dot to save your changes.

Linking to an Existing Page (Internal Link)

1. If it is not open already, open the Links Area component by clicking on the Open Links Area red dot.
2. Click on the red dot beside the link to be managed. (For information on how to create new links in a Links Area template, please see the Links Area section of the RedDot CMS User Guide.)
3. Click on Reference Page.
4. When the Page Search dialog appears, enter the criteria to locate the page you wish to reference (i.e., the Headline or Page ID).
5. Click on Start to search for the page.
6. When the Search Results list appears, click on the Headline of the page you wish to reference.
7. Click on the Close Links Area red dot to save your changes.

Notes

• Links to external sites should always open in a new browser window, which is why we assign "_blank" to the User-Defined field on the Edit Target screen.
• Changes to links do not go through the normal Content Workflow process and instead go through Structural Workflow. For more information about how Structural Workflow works, please refer to our previous tip covering Structural Workflow.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments.

January 2010

Editing an Existing Table

Tables are a common way to display content on the AIS Web site, so this month's tip focuses on how to edit an existing table within RedDot CMS. How to insert a new table will be included in a future tip.

It's important to remember that all formatting and style associated with a table is determined by the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), which has been programmed into RedDot; in other words, the style and formatting have been predetermined and pre-programmed, ensuring a consistent look of finished tables and making it easier for content providers (since they don't have to format tables themselves).

With that in mind, here are a few points to remember when editing an existing table within RedDot:

• Do not attempt to move the existing table, change the size of the table, or re-format the table in any way.
• Use arrow keys or a mouse to navigate from cell to cell; do not use the "tab" or "return" keys.
• Hit "shift" and "return" at the same time to add a second row of content within a single cell; do not simply hit "return."
• Enter text against the left side of the cell wall--do not leave a blank space between the cell wall and the text being entered.
• Use the text editor to add a new row or column.
• Use the text editor to delete a row or column; do not just delete the content.
• Do not center or justify text within an individual cell, row, or column.

Notes

• At this point, the text editor looks different in different browsers, so if you have any questions about using the text editor on your computer to add or delete rows within an existing table, let us know.
• The width of columns and cells change automatically based on the size of the text. Do not be alarmed if this happens to you while updating a table; the finished table will look fine on the Web site.

December 2009

Working with Links, Part II: Connect Existing Page vs. Reference Page

This month's tip is a continuation of our series on how links to pages within RedDot CMS work, and it will focus on the difference between Connect Existing Page and Reference Page when linking to pages within RedDot.

What's the Difference?

• Connect Existing Page: When using this option, you are creating a "copy" of the page that you are connecting to. If you mistakenly use this option to connect to a foundation page (meaning a complete page, not a component on a page), then you run the risk of causing publication errors.
• Reference Page: When using this option, a "link" to the already existing page is created, rather than creating another copy of the page.

Which One Should You Use?

• Use Connect Existing Page:
  • If you wish to connect to an already existing page component (for example, a Media File Download Item, Links Area, or a Text Area).
  • If you're working within a News Slider and wish to connect a news article to multiple News Sliders.
  • If you wish to connect a Media File Download Item to multiple Media File Download Organizers.
  • If you wish to connect a Frequently Asked Questions Item to multiple Frequently Asked Questions Organizers.
• Use Reference Page:
  • If you wish to link to an existing foundation page (complete page, not a component).
  • When working with the links inside of a Links Area (Public or Intranet) component.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please let us know.

November 2009

Working with Links, Part I: Structural Workflow

This month's tip is the first in a series intended to assist content providers in understanding how links to pages work within RedDot CMS. In this tip, we talk specifically about how actions for a link go through a "structural" workflow process rather than the normal workflow process that content changes go through.

The following actions for a link in RedDot follow a "structural" workflow process:

• Connect Existing Page
• Reference Page
• Reference Link
• Assign URL
• Edit Dynamic Link Order
• Edit Page Order
• Disconnect Following Page
• Remove Items from List

Structural Workflow Process--Structural Changes

Structural changes are most commonly found when working with page components, a page component created with the Links Area template, and news articles. They affect the way the site or page is structured and are, therefore, subject to the structural workflow process.

How Structural Workflow Works

When a content provider makes a structural change, such as creating a link in a Links Area to reference another RedDot page, the change will not go into the content provider's "drafts" but will be published to the live site during the next scheduled publication cycle. Be assured; however, that the Web team receives notification of structural changes and will work with the content provider if they are concerned about the change(s) made.

Normal Workflow Process--Content Changes

We're all familiar with the normal (content) workflow process, but we'll take this opportunity to review. A content provider opens an area to be edited, and after the changes have been saved, the page is automatically placed in his/her "drafts." The page remains in drafts, where no one else can make any changes to that page, until the content provider submits the page to workflow. Once submitted to workflow, the Writer/Editor then reviews the page and either approves or rejects the changes; if the changes are approved, those changes will then get published to the live site during the next scheduled publication cycle.

Questions

If you would like further clarification on this topic, please let us know.

We'll give additional tips on links, such as the difference between Connect Existing Page and Reference Page, in coming months.

October 2009

Naming Download Items

Content providers have included myriad downloadable files (media files) on our Web site over the years (including, but not limited to, Word files, PDF files, and Excel files) since media files are often easier for content providers to maintain and are a convenient format for our Web site visitors. Managing such a large number of files, however, can be a difficult task for the administrators of a Content Management System (CMS), such as RedDot. That's why we created Web standards related to media file names when we launched the redesigned Web site. Following the standards will make it much easier to manage the files on the site.

Naming Conventions

• Media file names must start with the abbreviated service name followed by a short description of the file.
  • If other media files have already been included in your section, use the previously determined abbreviated service name (such as easy for Easy Re-Engineering or paws for PAWS).
  • If the abbreviated service name has not yet been created (or you can't find it), then ask us for the appropriate service name abbreviation for your section.
• No capital letters, spaces (use an underscore to separate words), or symbols can be used.
• File names should be as short as possible while still being descriptive enough to be understood.
• Do not use a numbering system in file names (U. Ed. #, dates, etc.) unless there are multiple versions of the same files (i.e., Features List 2, Features List 3) or the same file from different dates/years (i.e., Annual Reports).

Examples of Correct File Names

• elion_faq.pdf
• easy_proj_status_aug_09.pdf
• paws_info.doc

Examples of Incorrect File Names

• eLion_Frequently_Asked_Questions.pdf
• august09_proj_status_easy_reengineering.pdf
• PAWS general information.doc

Notes

• The file must be named properly on the content provider's computer before uploading to the site; the file name cannot be changed once uploaded to RedDot.
• If named incorrectly, the file name will be re-named by the workflow editor or returned to the content provider to be re-named.
• The instructions are also included in the Media Files section of the Web Style Guide.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments.

September 2009

Assigning a File Name to a Page

Setting a file name on a page within RedDot CMS (Content Management System) is important because the file name of the published page will become part of the URL for that page. If a file name is not assigned by the content provider, then RedDot will automatically generate a file name that has no meaning, which will result in awkward, illogical Web addresses that will confuse our visitors.

To assign a file name to a page, perform the following steps:

1. Open the page (either a page just created or an existing page that you want to edit) by clicking on the Open Page red dot.
2. From the page menu at the top, click on Properties.
3. Fill in the File Name field with the file name for the published page; the file name should not include capital letters, spaces (use an underscore instead), symbols, or an extension (.asp, .html, etc.). (For example, if the name of the page is RedDot CMS Tip of the Month, the file name should be something like reddot_tips. It's short, simple, and descriptive.)
4. Click on the OK button to save your changes and return to the page.

Notes

• The file name should be added only to the main page, not to any components. In other words, if you create a page with 10 components, there will only be one file name--on the page that houses the components. We sometimes call this the foundation page. Remember, the file name creates a Web address; you don't need a Web address for part of a page (a component), only the page itself.
• If you change the file name of a page with an existing file name, the change will not require the page to be submitted to workflow, and the page will not be listed in your drafts. The change will be published to the site during the next scheduled publication cycle.

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