Terminology

Any new page created within the CMS, either a parent or child page, will request a title and name.  The title will automatically be displayed at the top of the page and be used as the title of the link whenever the page is added to a left navigation.  The left navigation name can be changed within page properties later.

The page name will automatically be created to match the page title if nothing else is entered, but it should only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens.   The page name will be added to the end of the existing URL for the location of the page to create the final URL.  For example, if the page is created with the name “TSC” as child page of a parent page who’s URL is www.bgsu.edu/offices/its, the child page will have the final URL of www.bgsu.edu/offices/its/tsc.

Pages within the CMS not only are used to develop actual websites, but also to build the structure of the site.  Any page can have a child page, even if the page is a child itself.  When looking through the websites list, any page with list of pages indented under it is a parent page and the indented pages are its children.

Each page has a specific URL based on its name and all of that page’s children inherit that URL before their own name in their final URL.  For example, if a parent page has the name “ITS” and has a full URL of www.bgsu.edu/offices/its on the web, a child page created for the ITS page with the name “TSC” will be located at www.bgsu.edu/offices/its/tsc.

Parent pages also contain a left navigation that consists of their child pages.

Templates are outlines of websites used to quickly create the basic structure of a new page.  All new pages within the CMS will be created using a template.  Not only does the template add a good deal of static content, it also automatically creates things such as the left navigation bar which stay up to date with the list of subpages that exist on a page.

The CMS contains an area specifically built to maintain media files like pictures, audio, and video.  This area allows you to upload a new media file and include some information about the media for searching and indexing later.  The DAM is the only place to add new media before linking it within a website later.  The DAM is broken up in much the same way as websites are, with folders for each site or area. 

New pages created using templates contain drop zones to allow the user to add content.  Drop zones are boxes with dashed lines around them where content can be added via a component.   Not every component can be used in every drop zone, but double clicking on a drop zone will list the components that can be added to zone in question.  Some zones may be static to just the page you are working on while others are labeled as inheriting, which means that the content added to that zone will be inherited by any child pages created within this page.

Components are tools that can be added to a page to add content.  Components can only be added to drop zone within a template.  Components are split into three categories.  General Components are basic types of content like text, pictures or link.  BGSU Components are custom components built to handle advanced content like social media or videos.  BGSU Columns are specific components for splitting drop zones into multiple columns to create a horizontal layout.

For a better idea on what each component does, visit the component page.

Versions are a tool within the sidekick for creating different saved states of a page.  By saving a new version of a page within the tool, you are able to go back to the page exactly as it existed before the change.  Versions are automatically created whenever the page is activated.

When a website is activated, the changes that have been made within the CMS are published and the live site is updated to match those changes.  When a page is deactivated, the page is removed from the live website all together.  Both of these processes will generally take place as a result of a workflow.

Within the editing interface the sidekick is a small window that contains tools and properties of the page you are on.  The sidekick allows you to drop a component into a drop zone as well as move, copy, or delete a page. 

Workflow is a tool within the CMS that allows different users to work on different parts of the website based on the position and skill level.  Workflows are used to pass pages to others for approval or assistance and can also be automated to activate a page once a set of criteria is met.  For example, the standard web updates are handled by an employee who finishes the needed changes to a page before using a workflow to pass the updates to his supervisor for approval.  Once the supervisor approves the changes, the page is automatically activated.