Posted by Neuroth, Christoph at 2008-05-28 12:40

3 Content

As a member of DEMO-net a personal folder is available to you where you can create and store content. You can access your personal folder by clicking my folder or by clicking your user name on the personal menu. Depending on your user rights, you may also be able to add content to other folders on the site.

3.1 Create content

You can create content in any folder where you have been given permission to do so. If you have permission to add content to a folder, a green border will appear containing the actions you can perform in the current location. To add an item click the add item dropdown menu and select the appropriate item type. The system will then take you to the edit page where you must fill in the fields of the form. Some fields are obligatory and they are marked with a little red dot next to them. To ensure that your page is created, remember to click save at the bottom of the form.

To make sure that all content is easy to locate on the website, it is important to pursue a clear and manageable structure. This is easily done by inputting all content in folders and subfolders.

3.2 Content types

Each type of content you can add is distinct, and you can edit and view it in different ways. On the DEMO-net portal you can add the following types of content:
3.2.1 Event

This is an upcoming event, like a meeting, a conference or a workshop related to the DEMO-net project. Events appear in the event calendar on the right hand side of the portal. The days where events take place are highlighted in blue and when clicking on a highlighted date, the user is taken to a search results page where events taking place that day are listed.

The three first coming events will appear in the upcoming events portlet below the calendar. If you follow the more events link at the bottom of the portlet, you will get a list of more upcoming events as well as a link to past events.

When you view an event, you have the opportunity of adding it to you calendar. You simply click vCal for Windows and Linux operating systems and iCal for Mac OS X. However, please note that depending on the calendar you use, problems can occur when trying to import an event.

When you create an event on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.
* Event start and end date: Enter the start and end date of the event.
* Event location: Enter the place where the event will take place
* Event announcement: This is where you announce the event to other DEMO-net users. When you input the text to announce your event you will have various formatting options available and can add links and pictures.
* Attendees: A list of people attending the event
* Event type: Select the type of event you are creating. If applicable, you can select more than one event type by pressing control while clicking.
* Event URL: If the event has a website, or a page on DEMO-net describing it, enter its URL here.
* Contact name, email and phone: If there is a contact person for the event, enter his/her name and contact details here.
* Related item(s): You can link to other items on the DEMO-net portal by browsing through the portal structure and select the relevant items.
* Allow discussion: If you want other people to be able to comment on the event you can select enabled.

It is important to publish your event as only published events will be shown in the calendar and in the upcoming events portlet. If you do not publish your event, it will remain a public draft and only be visible in the internal calendar which you can access by clicking Management. You may of course want your event to only be visible in the internal calendar, for example in the case of WP meetings, and then you simply leave it a public draft.
3.2.2 File

A file is an external document type, such as a pdf file, a film or sound clip, a spreadsheet, or a compressed file that you would like to upload. When users navigate to your file object, they will be able to download the file you uploaded. However, it should be noted that only users who are logged in on DEMO-net.org will be able to access your file. This is especially important to keep in mind if you link to a file in a published content item. Alternatively, to make your file available to all users, you can insert it as an attachment in a rich document (see section 3.2.8) and then link to the rich document in your published content item.

When you create a file on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.
* File: Browse your hard disk and select the file you want to upload.
* Related item(s): You can link to other items on the DEMO-net portal by browsing through the portal structure and select the relevant items.
* Allow discussion: If you want other people to be able to comment on the file you can select enabled.

Uploaded files should always be in a non modifiable format (for example pdf), except where the document is to be used by others, like templates.
3.2.3 Folder

This is like a folder on a hard drive in that it will store content so that it is easy to find later. However, it has more uses than this. By using the sharing functionality you can allocate different users or user groups different permissions for different folders. In the same way, by using the settings option under add item you can specify what type of content can be added to specific folders. This is useful for creating workspaces with specific purposes where selected members are limited to adding certain types of content.

The folder default display mode is a folder listing. If you want to change the display mode to show a specific page, you can do this through the display tab. Click the display tab and select choose content item as default view at the bottom of the dropdown menu. You will then see the item(s) which can be selected as the folder’s default page. If there are no suitable items you will get a message saying: There are no items in this folder that can be selected as a default view page. Click the view tab to see a folder’s default page.

When you create a folder on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.

3.2.4 Image

This is an image such as a .gif or .jpeg file and it can range from pictures to drawings and even charts.

When you create an image on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.
* Image: Browse the hard disk of your computer and select the image you want to upload.
* Related item(s): You can link to other items on the DEMO-net portal by browsing through the portal structure and select the relevant items.
* Allow discussion: If you want other people to be able to comment on the image you can select enabled.

3.2.5 Link

This is a link to another item, which may be internal or external to the DEMO-net website. It may be useful to create special folders where all links to interesting resources are listed.

When you create a link on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.
* URL: Insert the URL of the website you want to link to.
* Related item(s): You can link to other items on the DEMO-net portal by browsing through the portal structure and select the relevant items.
* Allow discussion: If you want other people to be able to comment on the link you can select enabled.

3.2.6 Message board

Message board provides a tool for communication between members of the DEMO-net network. With message boards you can start discussions and keep track of what has been said in those discussions. Please note, though, that it does not offer ‘real-time’ communication.

When creating a message board you will need to fill in the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.

The default state of any message board is visible but not published which means that it is visible to logged in members only. Once you have saved your message board, you can add one or more forums by clicking add forum on the item menu. When creating a forum you will be presented with the same fields as above and on top you will be able to check the Display Portraits box which will enable the display of member portraits. You can start multiple conversations within a forum, and when clicking on a forum you will see a list of the conversations related to that forum. Again, you need to be aware of the state of the item. The default state of a forum is free for all which means that members as well as external users can contribute to the discussion. The state can be changed by clicking the state drop down menu where you can choose to make the forum moderated (every comment must be accepted/rejected by an appointed moderator), private (only members with rights to the parent folder can participate) or for logged in DEMO-net members only.

You can access a conversation by clicking on its name in the list, and if you want to participate, you must reply to a comment. Posts are chronologically ordered, but the structure of a conversation is hierarchical which is illustrated by comments being indented. When adding a comment, you must consider the hierarchy and consciously select which post you want to reply to.

A comment can be retracted at any time, and you must submit the retraction for moderation. In a non-moderated forum, the default moderator will be a manager with rights to the parent folder or the creator of the discussion forum.
3.2.7 News item

This is a document which will be shown in the news portlet and which will describe or announce something that is happening right now or that has just happened. It could for example be a press release or a call for papers. All published news items will automatically be shown in the News portlet on the right hand side of the portal below Events. They will be listed in date order and the portlet will hold a maximum of five items at a time. In this way, new items will push out older items which in turn will transfer to older news once they are more than six months old. If you follow the more news link at the bottom of the portlet, you will see a list of all available news items as well as a link to older news.

Published news items should be of global interest, for example, a call for papers or a new publication, and news that only concern DEMO-net members should be otherwise distributed.-

When you create a news item on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the news header which will be shown throughout the site. It is important to use a header that is clear, easy to understand and which conveys the content of the news item to the reader.
* Description: This is a short description that will appear in the news listing when you open the main news section on DEMO-net and in search results.
* Body text: The complete news announcement.
* Image: Images will be shown in the news listing and in the news item itself.
* Image caption: If you put in an image, you need to insert a caption describing the image.
* Related item(s): You can link to other items on the DEMO-net portal by browsing through the portal structure and select the relevant items.
* Allow discussion: If you want other people to be able to comment on the news item you can select enabled.

3.2.8 Rich document

This is an item that presents some static information to the user and which can contain rich text, images and attachments. This is the most common type of content added and most closely represents a typical web page. You can use rich document for almost anything, for example front pages of projects, home folders and workspaces. When you create a rich document on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.
* Body text: This is where you put in the information you want to present. If you use Kupu content editor, you can even edit your text in Open Office or Word and then copy and paste it in the document.
* Upload document: If you have your document as a file on your computer, you can upload it instead of typing the contents into the body text field. Click the upload button, browse your hard disk and select the appropriate file. The content of the uploaded file will replace any content already in the body text field.
* Display images download box: If you tick this box, a list of uploaded images will be presented at the bottom of the document to allow them to be easily downloaded. You add an image by clicking image management controls below.
* Display attachment download box: If you tick this box, a list of uploaded attachments will be presented at the bottom of the document to allow them to be easily downloaded. You add an attachment by clicking attachment management controls below.
* Related item(s): You can link to other items on the DEMO-net portal by browsing through the portal structure and select the relevant items.
* Allow discussion: If you want other people to be able to comment on the document you can select enabled.

3.2.9 Smart folder:

Smart Folders contain documents grouped together based on search criteria that you define instead of their physical location. Computer file systems are rigid: a file can only be in one folder inside a hierarchy of other folders on your disk. Smart Folders fundamentally change the way you organize your content because now a file can literally be in two folders (or many) at once without duplicating or moving the underlying file. As an example, check out the events and news smart folders located in the navigation portlet.

Only members with manager rights can create smart folders. Select smart folder in the add item dropdown menu and fill in the fields on the edit page. You set your search criteria and click save to initiate the search. Click the view tab and you will see the results of your search in the shape of a smart folder.

When you create a smart folder on DEMO-net, the edit page will present the following fields:

* Title: This is the item’s title which will be shown throughout the site (for example at the top of the page, in the search interface, in the title of the browser and so on).
* Description: This is a short summary of the content, usually about 20 words to introduce the document and provide a teaser for the remainder of the document. This is useful for pages that show summaries of documents, such as search results and folder contents.
* Limit search results: You can check this box to limit the number of items displayed to whatever number is input in the field below Number of items
* Number of items: The number input here will decide how many items are displayed on a page. If the field is left blank, all items will be shown on the page.
* Display as table: Check this box if you want to display the items in a table
* Table columns: Here you select which fields to display when Display as Table is checked

When you create a smart folder the criteria page will present the following fields:

* Add new search criteria: Here you select the field name and the criteria type to define your search. You can add several search criteria but only one at a time.
* Set sort order: Here you select in which order you want the items to appear in the smart folder

3.2.10 Wiki page:

A Wiki page is an efficient method for collaborative document editing, and the aim is to create a wiki-based knowledge pool to which all DEMO-net members can contribute. Members can edit existing pages as well as add new pages, and others can then continue to work on these pages. Vandalism is prevented through an un-editable document history. This means that if anyone vandalises the current version of a document, it is easy to restore a previous version and subsequently ban the user. An added bonus is that the discussions likely to accompany collaborative document editing have the potential to deepen the mutual understanding of different research communities within eParticipation.

3.3 Edit content

You can edit content on the pages where you have permission. These pages will be headed by a green border and the edit tab will be visible. Different item types will have different editing options and these are explained in detail above in sections 3.2 Content Types.

3.4 Creating links within content items

As mentioned above you can create links to webpages and websites by selecting link under the add item dropdown menu. These links will exist in the structure as separate content items in their own right.

In addition, you can link to these as well as to files and other resources inside a document. When you are located on the document in which you want to add a link, switch to the edit page and in the green border above the body text you will see different icons representing the editing options available. Among these you will find the icons for internal and external links. You can highlight a piece of the text, click the internal or external link icon, and then insert your link in which case the link is accessed by clicking this text. Alternatively, you can click the internal or external link icon and insert the link, in which case the system will automatically put in the name of the link.

You also have the opportunity of linking to resources and content via the images, attachments and related item(s) options on the edit page as described under section 3.2: Content types.

3.5 View content

By default, content in a folder is displayed in the order it was added. If you want to change the order of the different items, you can do this by selecting the Content tab. In the order column on the right hand side of the content table, you simply click the up or down arrow next to the item you want to move. Keep clicking the arrow until the item is in the right place. The content view tab also allows the user to perform a number of tasks. On the left hand side is a checkbox, and at the bottom you will find a series of actions: rename, cut, copy, delete and change state. These functions are all self-explanatory, and you can apply them to multiple objects at once by selecting several checkboxes.

3.6 Publish content

You can publish content in my folder and in folders where you share ownership or where you have manager rights. You publish content by clicking the state dropdown menu and selecting publish. You will notice that the state tab changes to state: published.