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Managing content

Most of your time in Ektron is spent creating, editing, and performing other activities with contentTypes of content include HTML, XML Smart Forms, forms, polls, surveys, DMS documents, Office documents, multimedia, blogs, Web calendars, discussion boards, assets, and content imported from SharePoint.. Content encompasses all of the articles, news, forms, blogs, discussion forums and even calendars that appear on your website. Authors can conveniently update content directly from the website (after logging in). To access the full functionality, however, users complete tasks within the Workarea.

You can manage Ektron content using 1 or more tools.

Editing content

You can only edit content for which you have permission and in one of the following statuses:

After you sign in, you can access content by a silver access point () or menu () on the Web page, or through the Workarea, or through the Content Dashboard. You can edit content in the following ways:

NOTE: For information about using the Ektron editor, see Editing in Ektron.

Editing content in context on a Web page

When you log in, you can edit content on any Web page that contains an Ektron toolbar with an edit/view switch.

HTML5 CSS3-compliant browserAll browsers are supported EXCEPT for the following versions *and older*: IE 8, Chrome 3 and older, Firefox 3 and older, Safari 3 and older, and Opera 10 and older.s may display the Ektron toolbar if it is enabled in the Workarea. PageBuilder actions are available when you click Design. You can enable or disable the toolbar for any template at Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Template Configuration; check or uncheck boxes in the Enable Toolbar column. See Editing in context on an HTML5 CSS3-compliant browser.

For other browsers (or if the toolbar is disabled), the top of the page displays a PageBuilder menu for performing actions on the page, such as checking in, viewing properties, and placing widgetA mini-application that you place on a Web page using PageBuilder; a widget provides either specific functionality (calculators, search, social bars, and so on) or areas into which you can add content (content blocks, list summaries, collections, and so on).s on the page.

NOTE: For information about how to create a widget, see Creating the “Hello World” widget.

Editing in context on an HTML5 CSS3-compliant browser

Prerequisite 

The Ektron toolbar requires an HTML5 CSS3-compliant browserAll browsers are supported EXCEPT for the following versions *and older*: IE 8, Chrome 3 and older, Firefox 3 and older, Safari 3 and older, and Opera 10 and older.. If you do not have this, see Editing in context on any browser.

The toolbar lets you:

Troubleshooting the toolbar

A JavaScript error occurred on the site and has shut down the JavaScript engine. It is also possible that the access point () or PageBuilder is not implemented on the page.

Solution. If this is a JavaScript issue, activate the test pages in the Min site. If the error does not occur on the test pages, then the issue is with your JavaScript, which you should debug.

Your session may have expired or you may be logged in on another browser. (Need to reset cookie)

Solution. Log out and then log in again. Also, you can set session expiration time in web.config.

<sessionState mode="InProc" 
  stateConnectionString="tcpip=127.0.0.1:42424" 
  sqlConnectionString="data source=127.0.0.1;Trusted_Connection=yes"
  cookieless="false" 
  timeout="20" />

You are probably using Internet Explorer in Browser mode: Internet Explorer 9 Compatibility View.

Solution. Change this with the following steps:

  1. Press F12 in your IE9 browser. A menu bar appears at the bottom of the browser above the tabs.
  2. Set Browser Mode to Internet Explorer 9 (not Compatibility view).
  3. Set the Document Mode to IE9 Standards.
  4. Click X to exit.

You may have errors in your site code, or you may have CSSCascading Style Sheet; sets the look and formatting of a markup language document. Cascading conflicts.

Solution.

  1. Debug your page. If no errors are found, the problem is likely a CSS conflict.
  2. Modify customer CSS. For example, look for “Important!” rules.
  3. Test on test page from min site.
  4. If these measures do not resolve the issue, turn off toolbar at Workarea > Settings > Configurations > Template Configuration.

Editing in context on any browser

When you choose File > Edit from the PageBuilder menu, you see the widgetA mini-application that you place on a Web page using PageBuilder; a widget provides either specific functionality (calculators, search, social bars, and so on) or areas into which you can add content (content blocks, list summaries, collections, and so on). components on your page. In addition to modifying content, you can add or modify the widget placement. You can edit the content using the access point (), and modify the widget properties by clicking Edit (). Menu options vary depending on the content’s status, your permissions, and so on. For information about editing the PageBuilder page, see Creating Web pages with PageBuilder. To learn about editor details, see Editing in Ektron.

You can modify the access point menu's appearance by editing the ek_UserMenuType element of the siteroot/web.config file. By default, ek_UserMenuType is set to 2.

  • 2. drop-down Interface. No borders; drop-down menu appears when user clicks the access point.

  • 1. Classic Interface. Colored borders and menus always appear; menu options appear as icons in the top row.

    NOTE: If you use this interface, the page layout is not depicted accurately because of the fixed toolbars.

    System administrators can modify toolbar buttons by editing the C:\Program Files(x86)\Ektron\CMS400vxx\workarea\ContentDesigner\configurations
    \InterfaceEditInContext.aspx     file. Also, the content block server control’s Suppresswrappertags property must be set to false.

  • 0. Hover Interface. Colored border appears when user hovers mouse over area; menu appears when user right clicks mouse inside border. This interface has 2 display options: vertical (shown) and horizontal. To change:
    1. Open the siteroot/web.config file.
    2. Find ek_MenuDisplayType.
    3. Change its value:
      • 0 (zero) = horizontal
      • 1 = vertical

Editing content in the Workarea

In the Workarea, you can edit all types of content (HTML content, HTML forms, XML Smart Forms, and so on), add information about content (summaryA short description that supplements a content item's title on a Web page. Content authors compose a summary when creating or editing content. Server controls and widgets can display a content title and summary to attract readers to the full story. Summaries can include images and text formatting., metadataInformation about a content item, such as its title and language. Some types of metadata are [Searchable.] Can be found by the search. [Meta tag.] Resides in a content’s source code, helping search engines find it. [HTML tag.] Information about content used by a Web browser. [Content tags.] Keywords that can be assigned to content and library items. * Simple Dublin Core. 15 standard fields that cover useful information about content., and so on), and edit, check in, submit, and publish content.

  1. From the Workarea, click Content and go to the folder that contains content you want to edit.

    NOTE: If you do not know the folder location, search for content using Action > Search from the root folder.

  2. Click the content you want to edit. The View Content screen appears.
  3. Click Edit. The editor appears. To learn about editor details, see Editing in Ektron.

    You also can edit via the View Contents of Folder screen's context menu. Click the triangle () next to the content item, and choose Edit from the menu. The editor appears.

Editing from the Content Dashboard

Prerequisite

The Content Dashboard requires an HTML5 CSS3-compliant browserAll browsers are supported EXCEPT for the following versions *and older*: IE 8, Chrome 3 and older, Firefox 3 and older, Safari 3 and older, and Opera 10 and older.. You must also enable the toolbar, for any template you want to use, by checking the boxes in the Enable Toolbar column at Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Template Configuration.

You can access content from the Content Dashboard. When you find the content you want to edit, click Edit. See Managing content for more information. To learn about editor details, see Editing in Ektron.

Managing content from the Content Dashboard

Prerequisite 

The Content Dashboard requires an HTML5 CSS3-compliant browserAll browsers are supported EXCEPT for the following versions *and older*: IE 8, Chrome 3 and older, Firefox 3 and older, Safari 3 and older, and Opera 10 and older.. If you do not have this, see Managing content from the Smart Desktop. You must also enable the toolbar for any template by checking boxes in the Enable Toolbar column at Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Template Configuration.

On the website, open the Ektron app launcher and click Dashboard.

The Content Dashboard appears. By default, you see content that you last edited.

IMPORTANT: The Content Dashboard shows Published content only. Content that has been checked in but not published does not appear. Use the Workarea to edit unpublished content.

The My Content tab (shown below) displays content that you created or last edited. To search for all content, click the All Content tab.

NOTE: The Language field may display the Locale ID instead of the name of the language. Locale ID Assigned by Microsoft shows all Language codes.

You can view results in:

The action bar that you see depends on your permissions.

If a content item's metadata has an image, it shows as the item's thumbnail. For example:

Results are added 10 at a time. If you scroll beyond the first 10 results, another 10 results are added until all results are shown.

NOTE: If no results appear when you open Content Dashboard, then you either have no content that was "Last edited" by you, or your search is not functioning. Try the All Content tab to see if anything appears there.
If not, check your search's crawl status: Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Search > Status. If the search is not set up, contact your Ektron administrator.

Filtering content

IMPORTANT: Content Dashboard filters are supported by Solr search. If you are using another search provider, results appear but filtering capabilities do not. See Also: Using Solr search.

If you have a lot of content to sort and sift, use the Filters panel to narrow your search by opening the tabs and clicking filters.

Each filter displays the number of content items to which it is assigned.

A filter is a property with a specific value. If you choose a filter, the search results refresh, and you only see content to which the filter applies. For example, the content's last editor is John Wang. If you choose that filter (by clicking inside its check box), the screen refreshes, and only content last edited by John Wang appears.

If you choose several filters, content only appears if it satisfies all filters and the search term(s).

If you choose a folder or taxonomy category, content within it and any of the child folders/categories appears.

Upon choosing a filter, the screen refreshes. If a content property can only have one value, it no longer appears in the filters display. For example, a content item only has one folder. So, if you choose the Solutions folder, the filters display hides all other folders. The filters display also hides unapplied editors. On the other hand, more than one tag or taxonomy category can be applied to content. So, they continue to appear after you choose one of them.

If you want to add a hidden filter, remove the applied filters, and all available filters reappear.

If an item has an arrow (), use it to expand the item tree for further refinement. For example, if you open the MainSite folder path, its subfolders appear, Content and Pages.

You can choose several filters to refine search results. The following example shows results that meet these criteria:

  • My Content
  • are assigned to the Support taxonomy
  • belong to the Pages folder path
  • language is English

Selected filters are checked in the filters panel and appear under the search bar. To remove a filter, click X on the filter under the search bar. If you do, the results automatically update.

Saving filtered searches

If you often filter content in the same way, you can save a set of search filters on a tab. Whenever you click the tab, the filters are applied, and content that satisfies those filters appears.

  1. Specify filters by which you want to narrow search results. See Filtering content.
  2. Click Save on the right of the tab bar. The Save Content Topic screen appears, showing the selected filters.

  3. Enter a name for the filtered search and click Save. The new tab appears on the tab bar.

Sorting content

You can sort search results by Most Relevant, Date Modified, or Title by selecting an option from the following menu.

If you sort by Most Relevant, content that needs to be checked in (or otherwise acted on) is displayed ahead of content that does not.

Managing content from the Workarea

The Workarea is a central location where you can perform most tasks for managing your website. The Workarea is similar to Microsoft Outlook in its ability to manage email, calendars, tasks, and so on.

IMPORTANT: If you are using Internet Explorer 11, set the following parameters to ensure optimum functionality.
1. Press Alt/X to display the Internet Explorer Tools menu.
2. Choose Compatibility View Settings.
3. Uncheck Display intranet sites in Compatibility View.

If you are using Internet Explorer 10, set the following parameters to ensure optimum functionality.
1. Press F12. A settings menu bar appears at the bottom of the browser above the tabs.
2. Set Browser Mode to IE 10 (not Compatibility view).
3. Set Documentation Mode to Standards.
4. Click X to exit.

NOTE: To access the Workarea, you must be logged in to your Ektron website.

Workarea quick reference

Workarea tabs

The Workarea has 6 tabs in the upper left corner. Use them to access all other pages.

The following list shows the Workarea's main pages.

Workarea style sheets

The Workarea uses 2 primary style sheets:

  • Ektron.workarea.css. The primary CSS file for the Workarea. It replaces the previous Ektron version’s global.css file.
  • Ektron.workarea.ie.css is used for Internet Explorer browsers, and generally targeted at IE7 or less. It includes overrides for some CSS rules in Ektron.workarea.css that get around IE CSS bugs or deficiencies.

Using widely accepted style sheet classes and class attributes, you can modify the Workarea, including colors, spacing, fonts, and so on. Also, if you later upgrade or re-install Ektron, you can reuse this file and retain your changes.

NOTE: Several language-specific images are used at the top of the Workarea. They reside in the language folders and always start with the word “Workarea” and end with “_top.” These images are 467 pixels wide by 77 pixels high. Their width can change but the height cannot. There are approximately six images in each language folder. An Adobe Photoshop file, Workarea_top.psd, can be found under \Workarea\images\English folder. You can modify these images as needed.

Accessing the Workarea

To access the Workarea, log into your website and click Workarea. The Smart Desktop is the default tab.

NOTE: The Application Setup screen lets you determine the initial screen that appears when you access the Workarea. See also: Modifying setup information.

The Smart Desktop contains useful information that pertains to you. You may personalize this page by adding, moving or deleting Workarea widgets. See also: Managing content from the Smart Desktop

Closing the Workarea

There are 2 ways to close the Workarea.

  • Log out of the Website from a Logout link on the Web page or the Logout button ().
  • Using the Windows Close button () in the upper right corner of the browser. If you do this, you remain logged in to the website.

Managing content from the Smart Desktop

To personalize your Smart Desktop, you choose and arrange widgetA mini-application that you place on a Web page using PageBuilder; a widget provides either specific functionality (calculators, search, social bars, and so on) or areas into which you can add content (content blocks, list summaries, collections, and so on).s that pertain to your work. To access the Smart Desktop, click the Desktop tab in the Workarea.

The default Smart Desktop displays several widgets with information about your website. You can create new tabs on a Smart Desktop to add, move, delete, and organize widgets by subject. Each tab consists of 1 or more columns, which you can create to further arrange widgets on a tab. The following screen has 2 columns.

Smart Desktop widgets are stored in a widget tray. Drag and drop widgets from the tray to any tab and column on the Smart Desktop.

Enabling Smart Desktop widgets

Prerequisite

You are a member of the Administrators group.

You must complete this procedure before administrators can create a default Smart Desktop.

  1. Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Personalizations > Widget Space.
  2. Click Edit () next to UserSmartDesktop.
  3. Select widgets that users can place on their Smart Desktop.
  4. Click Click here to save widget space.

Setting the default Smart Desktop

The following procedure shows how an administrator creates a default Smart Desktop consisting of a unique arrangement of widgets, tabs, and columns. The default desktop becomes every user's Smart Desktop until modified by the user. A user can reset the Smart Desktop to the default setting by running the Reset Widgets command (see Restoring tabs and widgets).

NOTE: If you change the default Smart Desktop, that action does not affect existing users' desktops. Those desktops are set to default settings only if the user runs the Reset Widgets command.

  1. Go to Workarea > Desktop.
  2. Choose Options () > Edit Default Widgets on the right side of the Smart Desktop. A confirmation dialog box appears.

  3. Click OK.
  4. Arrange the Smart Desktop with widgets, tabs, and columns that you want to be the default. See also: Adding a widget to the Smart Desktop, Adding a tab to the Smart Desktop, Adding a column
  5. Choose Options () > Done.

Adding Smart Desktop widgets

Smart Desktop widgets are located in the Web server's workarea\widgets folder. You can also make Personalization and PageBuilder widgets available to the Smart Desktop.

IMPORTANT: Some Personalization and PageBuilder widgets may not work properly on the Smart Desktop. Test them before notifying users.

Prerequisite

You can access the Ektron Web server's file system.

  1. On the Web server, copy desired widget files from the siteroot\widgets folder to the siteroot\Workarea\Widgets folder. Be sure to copy all widget-related files and folders. The following image shows all Calendar widget folders (with their files inside).

  2. Click Workarea > Settings> Configuration > Personalizations > Widgets.
  3. Click Synchronize Widgets....

  4. At the prompt, click OK.
  5. Go to Workarea > Settings > Personalizations > Widget Space.
  6. Click Edit () next to UserSmartDesktop.
  7. Select the new widget (you may have to scroll down to see it).
  8. Click Click here to save widget space.
  9. Users many now add the widget to the Smart Desktop. See Adding a widget to the Smart Desktop.

Customizing the Smart Desktop

An end user can do the following when customizing a Smart Desktop:

Adding a widget to the Smart Desktop

Prerequisite

Smart Desktop widgets have been enabled. See also: Enabling Smart Desktop widgets

  1. Go to the Workarea > Desktop.
  2. Click the Toggle widget tray arrow, located in the upper right corner of the Smart Desktop (circled).

  3. The widget tray appears, containing widgets you can drag and drop to your Smart Desktop. Use the left arrow () or right arrow () buttons to see more widgets.
  4. To choose a widget, drag it from the tray and drop it into the Smart Desktop panel.

After placing a widget on the Smart Desktop, you may drag it to any desktop location.

Adding a tab to the Smart Desktop

Tabs help you organize your Smart Desktop. You may add or remove tabs. For example, you create an eCommerceAs of Ektron version 9.10, Ektron has discontinued new development on its eCommerce module. If you have a license to eCommerce, you will continue to receive support, but if you need to upgrade, contact your account manager for options. tab on which to drop orders widgets. To add a tab:

  1. Choose Options () > Add Tab. The Add Tab dialog window appears.

  2. Enter a Tab Label. For example, eCommerce.
  3. Click OK. The new tab appears at the top of the Smart Desktop.

Adding a column

You can divide a Smart Desktop tab into columns This capability helps you arrange widgets on the tab.

NOTE: Two columns are created for each new tab by default.

To add a column to a Smart Desktop tab, choose Options () > Add Column.

Deleting a column

  1. Click the toggle widget tray button (circled) to show the widget tray and columns.

  2. Click Remove Column () (circled) inside the column you wish to delete.

Restoring tabs and widgets

A user can restore the Smart Desktop to the default widget and tab set.

WARNING! This action removes all tabs and widgets you have modified on your Smart Desktop. After you restore, the default tabs and widgets appear.

  1. Click the Options button on the right side of the Smart Desktop.
  2. Click Reset Widgets.

  3. A dialog appears. Click OK.

Standard Desktop Widgets

The following list describes the standard Smart Desktop widgets. See also: Adding Smart Desktop widgets

Controlling available fonts

As an administrator, you can add, edit, and delete fonts to and from the Ektron application. By adding fonts, you are allowing the content contributors to use them when creating content. Administrators can also edit the name of a font, and delete a font from the system.

Minimizing the number of available fonts makes the website look more uniform. The following figure shows the Font Manager screen.

NOTE: Only members of the Administrator User Group can view, add, or edit fonts.

Adding fonts

  1. From the Workarea, choose Settings > Configuration > Fonts.
  2. Click Add Font. The Add Font screen appears.

  3. Enter the font name or family into the text field; (Kristen ITC in this example).
  4. Click Save.

    The new font is available to use when adding or editing content if the Application Setup screen’s Enable Font Buttons field is checked. See also: Modifying setup information

Viewing fonts

When viewing fonts, you can also edit or delete them.

  1. From the Workarea, choose Settings > Configuration > Fonts.
  2. Click the font you want to view.The view font screen appears.

Editing fonts

When you edit a font, the font or family name is changed. Editing does not change any fonts in existing content.

  1. From the Workarea, choose Settings > Configuration > Fonts.
  2. Click the font you want to edit. The view font screen appears.
  3. Click Edit. The Edit Font screen appears.
  4. Edit the font name or family in the text field specified.
  5. When finished, click Update.

Deleting fonts

By deleting a font from the system, you are taking away the content contributors’ use of that font in their content.

  1. From the Workarea, choose Settings > Configuration > Fonts.
  2. Click the font you want to delete. The view font screen appears.
  3. Click Delete ().
  4. Click OK. The screen is refreshed, and the updated fonts table appears.

NOTE: When you delete a font from Ektron, you do not delete it from your computer.

Additional topics about managing content

The following topics explain managing types of content in Ektron.

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