Content Management Systems

Content Management Systems (CMS) let you add and manage web page content remotely, without having to access and publish via WebPlus.

Content is article-based; articles can be created, categorized, edited, reordered, and deleted. When you create your CMS, you decide who is able to view, create, rate, and comment on articles.

Optional: You can fully integrate CMS content into your website by including articles in your site navigation. When a link is clicked, the corresponding article opens inside a document frame on your web page. See Adding article links to site navigation, below.

Add a CMS to the Smart Objects Library

1. At the bottom of the My Smart Objects Library pane, click New...

2. In the Create Smart Object dialog, click CMS.

3. Click OK.

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Create a CMS

1. In the Styles pane on the right:

• Type a name for the CMS.

• Adjust the appearance of the CMS text (text colour, font style and size, and border colour and thickness).
  
  The Preview pane updates as you make your changes.

2. Optional: To prevent others from embedding your CMS object into their websites, type your domain URL into the Filter Offsite text box.

3. Select your time zone from the drop-down list.

4. Click Create.
   
   Your CMS is listed in the Smart Objects Library.

To edit your CMS

1. Select it in the Smart Objects Library pane, and click Edit.

2. Make your changes and click Save.

To delete your CMS

• Select it in the Smart Objects Library pane, and click Delete.

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Administer your CMS

There are two ways to administer your CMS:

• From Webplus, via the Smart Objects Library.

• From your CMS web page, via a web browser. To use this method, you must have already added your CMS to a web page or to your site navigation.

• You can link your CMS to an Access Control smart object group, and allow group members to post to and administer the CMS. For details on setting up an access control group see the associated Help topic.

To administer your CMS from WebPlus:

1. Log in to Serif Web Resources.

2. Select your CMS in the Smart Objects Library, and then click Manage.

3. In the Manage {CMS} dialog, click Administer CMS.

4. In the CMS Administration Login dialog, type your username and password and click Login.

To administer your CMS from a web browser:

1. Open your CMS web page in a browser window.

2. Click Administer.
   
   

3. In the CMS Administration Login dialog, type your username and password and click Login.

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Manage your CMS

Managing your CMS involves creating categories; creating, editing, and ordering articles; deciding who can access articles and how they can access them; and setting the look and feel of the user interface.

Managing categories

In the Manage {CMS name} window, select Categories.

• To add a new category, type the category name in the text box and click Add New.

• To edit a category name, click Edit, make your changes, and then click Update.

• To delete a category, select its check box and click Delete.  

Managing articles

In the Manage {CMS name} window, select Articles.

To add a new article:

1. Click New.

2. Type a title for your new article and select a category from the list on the right.

3. Type the article content into the main window. To format the text, use the toolbar controls.
   
   

4. Set the following options as required:

5. Tags: (Optional, but recommended) Categorize your article, and allow site visitors to search for similar articles of interest, by typing tag keywords into this box. For a list of suggested tags, click the suggest link.

6. Article Poster: Select your user name from the drop-down list. This will display beneath the article. If you have linked your CMS to an access control group, the group members will display in this list.  (For details on setting up access control, see the associated Help topic.)

• Article Visibility: Use this to control who is allowed to view the article.
  
  Choose from Public (all site visitors), Logged In Users (users who are logged in to an access control object associated with your web site), or Editors Only (users belonging to the access control group to which you have given administration rights).
  
  Tip: Selecting the Editors Only option lets you save an unfinished article and return to it later. Once you have finished the article, you can change the visibility to Public or Logged In Users.

• Allow Trackbacks: Select this check box if you want to allow other web users to reference and link their own articles to yours. (References are listed as comments under your article.)

• User Ratings: You can let all site viewers, or only logged in users, rate your article out of 5. (Ratings display beneath the article.)

• Comments: Use this to control who is allowed to comment on the article. (Comments display beneath the article.)

5. To add the new article and return to the Manage {CMS} dialog, click Save.
   
   You’ll see your new article listed.

To edit an article:

• Select an article in the list and click Edit, make your changes, and then click Save.

To delete an article:

• Select an article in the list and click Delete.  

To delete article comments:

1. Select an article in the list and click Comments.  

2. To delete a comment, select it and click Delete.
   
   - or -
   
   To clear all comments, click Clear.

Managing navigation

• To hide the default CMS navigation tree from site visitors, select the Hide navigation check box.  
  
  You will need to provide an alternative method to access articles, by including them in your site navigation. See Add article links to site navigation.

• To show the information associated with an article (who posted it and when, tags, etc.), select the Show info lines check box.

• To reorder articles, click their respective Move up and Move down buttons.

Managing permissions

• To allow other users to administer the CMS, select an access control group from the Editors Group drop-down list.
  
  (For details on setting up an access control group see the associated Help topic.)

Managing themes

To change the appearance of your CMS:

• Choose a predesigned theme from the Visual Style drop-down list.
  
  - or -

• Type the URL of your alternative style sheet.

Note: This must be an absolute URL, which is the complete Internet address where the style sheet is located.

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Add your CMS to a web page

1. Open the site page on which you want to insert your CMS object.
   
   (This page must be included in your main site navigation.)
   
   

2. Log into Serif Web Resources, select your CMS in the Smart Objects Library.
   
   

3. Click Insert.

4. To insert the CMS at default size, position the cursor where you want the object to appear on the page, then click the mouse.
   
   - or -
   
   Click and drag on your page to set the size of the CMS object.

5. Preview your site in a web browser.
   
   To navigate through CMS categories and articles, click the links in the default CMS navigation tree.
   
   
    

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Add article links to site navigation

To add CMS article to your site navigation, you need to:

1. Hide the default CMS navigation. (See Managing navigation, above.)

2. Insert a document frame in which to display the article content.

3. Insert a custom navigation bar in which to display the article titles.

To insert a document frame:

1. Open the site page on which you want to insert your CMS object.
   
   (This page must be included in your main site navigation.)
   
   

2. On the Web Objects toolbar, click the Framed Document Tool, then click and drag to add a frame to your page.

3. In the Framed Document dialog:

4. In the left Framed Document tree, select Smart Object.

5. On the right, under Frame Contents Information, click the None button.

6. In the Smart Objects Library, select your CMS object and click Select.
   
   .
   
   The Frame Contents Information now displays the CMS name.
   
   

7. Click OK.
   
   The document frame displays on your page.
   
   

To insert a custom navigation bar:

1. On the Web Objects toolbar, click Insert Navigation Bar.  

2. In the Navigation Bar Settings dialog, choose a navigation bar type.

3. On the Navigation Type tab, click Custom, and then click Add Link.

4. In the Hyperlinks dialog:

5. In the left Hyperlinks tree, select Smart Object.

6. On the right, under Smart Object Information, click the None button.

7. In the Smart Objects Library, select your CMS object. and click Select.
   
   
   
   The Smart Object Information now displays the CMS name.

8. In the drop-down list, select Add feed items as children of link.
   
   

9. In the Target Window or Frame drop-down list, select Document Frame and then select the frame you created in the previous section from the adjacent list.
   
   

10. In the Title box, type a name for your CMS hyperlink— this is the name that will display on your custom navigation bar.
    
    

11. Click OK.

5. Back in the Navigation Bar Settings dialog, your new link displays in the navigation tree.
    

6. Delete all of the other links in the tree. To do this, select each link in turn and click Delete Link.
   
   

7. Click OK.

6. On your page, drag your custom navigation bar into position above your document frame.

• Remember to leave enough space for your article links to display.

7. Preview your site in a web browser.

8. To navigate through categories and articles, click the links in the navigation bar. Article content then displays in the document frame.
   
   

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