Features

feature is programming set up on a website to input and display certain types of content. These types of content are built as features to make it easier and more efficient for you to add and edit these particular types of content.

For example, when you have a news feature, it allows you to add a news post just once, and the website programming will automatically make it appear everywhere news posts are displayed (i.e. on the news page and on the news teaser block on the home page).

If these features are enabled on your site, you will see them as an option when you select Content > Add content from the Admin menu. If you don't see them as an option, and would like to have them enabled, please email webmaster@appstate.edu.

If you are editing content on your site and find that there is no "edit" tab, it is probably a custom content type or feature.

News

The News feature allows you to create news listings for your site. Listings are organized in descending order by date posted, with the most recent listing appearing at the top of the News page. In order to create news, the News feature must be enabled on the website. If you do not currently have the News feature on your site but would like to have it set up, please contact webmaster@appstate.edu.

View a sample of the News page and Latest News block

Create News

To create News, from the admin menu, select Content - Add content. On the Create content page click News.

Title

Enter the Title for your News item.

News feature title bar

Image(s)

Upload a thumbnail image to be displayed with this news item on the news list, page, and block. Use the File browser link to use an image already uploaded to the website. Be sure to input Alternate text for screen readers. Text entered in the image Title field will be displayed as a caption with the image on the news page. Click Choose file to browse to an image and then click the Upload button.

Once an image has been uploaded you can add Alternate Text and Title  details.

  • Alternate Text: This text will be used by screen readers, search engines, or when the image cannot be loaded. See Insert/Edit Image for details on when Alternate Text is required for ADA compliance.
  • Title: The title is used as a tool tip when the user hovers the mouse over the image, and as the caption for the image during the slideshow.

News feature upload image

Body

The Body field is where you will enter all of the content for your new page - text, links, images, etc. The formatting toolbar (also known as the Editor) at the top has a variety of formatting options. See Editor Options for more information.

News feature create body field

Existing Link

Enter the external link (including the initial http://) for this news item if one already exists. Otherwise leave this field blank. 

Categories

Select categories for this news item. Learn more about adding and editing News Categories to the website.

News Categories

Header Image

Upload an image that will display in the header of this page.

Upload Header Image graphic

 Once an image has been uploaded you can add Alternate Text, Title and Caption details.

  • Alternate Text: This text will be used by screen readers, search engines, or when the image cannot be loaded. See Insert/Edit Image for details on when Alternate Text is required for ADA compliance.
  • Title: The title is used as a tool tip when the user hovers the mouse over the image, and as the caption for the image during the slideshow.
  • Caption: The caption will appear with the thumbnail on the news page.

Click the Add another item button to add additional images to the gallery for the News post. Use the drag-and-drop handle to change the order of the images in the News gallery.

 

Authoring Information

The site will automatically log the username and the date/time a new page is created.

Authoring Information

Menu settings

Since the News post is part of a feature and the post will automatically be added to the News page and the Recent News block, there is no need to assign a Menu link title to the News post.

For information on Revision informationAuthoring information, and Publishing options, see their respective instruction pages on this website.

Save

Click the Save button when you have completed entering the News content.

Edit News

There are two ways to edit a News post - by Browsing or via the Content list. See the Edit a Page section on this site for more information.

News Categories

You can manage Categories for News by adding or editing the terms in Taxonomy.

From the Create News page, in the Categories section, click on Manage news categories.

Manage news categories

You can also access News Categories from the Admin menu, select Structure - Taxonomy - News Categories.

To add a category, click +Add term. In the Name field, type the category you would like to add and then click Save.

Calendar

The Calendar feature allows you to diplay public Google calendars on your site. Calendars can be displayed in a variety of formats, including a calendar block format (by week, month or agenda.) You can also combine multiple calendars to be displayed as one calendar. In order to add calendars, the Calendar feature must be enabled on your site. If you do not currently have the Calendar feature on your site but would like to have it set up, please contact webmaster@appstate.edu.

View a sample Calendar page.

Add Calendar

From the Admin menu, select Content - Add content - Calendar.

Enter the name of your calendar in the Title field.

Enter the Calendar ID for this calendar.

To find the Calendar ID, click the drop-down to the right of the calendar name in Google calendar. Click Calendar settings. Find the Calendar Address and you will see the Calendar ID. Copy and paste the Calendar ID into the Calendar ID field.

You may add multiple calendars to be displayed by clicking the Add another item button and entering the Calendar ID.

Select the Calendar View mode for this calendar. 

NOTE: Web Services recommends choosing the Agenda display option for the Calendar View, since this is the most accessible one for users with visual impairments.

You may set a Custom Calendar Title, if desired.

Select any Display Options that you would like to disable.

Click Save.

Embed Calendar

After you have saved the calendar, click on the Edit tab. It will create a node/##, like this: https://sitename.appstate.edu/node/##

Note the number at the end of the URL.

Go to the page where you want the calendar to appear and click the Edit tab. Put your cursor where you want the calendar to appear and type the nid:## within double brackets - for example, see screenshot below. This tells Drupal to embed node 123 on this page.

Node content example

Click Save.

YouTube Videos

The YouTube Video feature allows you to add YouTube video content and display it on your site. In order to add YouTube content, the YouTube Video feature must be enabled on the website. If you do not currently have the YouTube Video feature on your site but would like to have it set up, please contact webmaster@appstate.edu.

View a sample page that includes YouTube video content.

Add YouTube Video Content

From the Admin menu, select Content - Add content - YouTube Video.

Enter a Title for your video. 

Enter the Video ID.

The Video ID is the code at the end of the URL, so for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzZqDYvGHLU, the ID is CzZqDYvGHLU.

Click Save to create the YouTube Video.

Embed YouTube Video

After you have saved the YouTube video, click on the Edit tab. It will create a node/##, like this, https://sitename.appstate.edu/node/##

Note the number at the end of the URL.

Go to the page where you want the video to appear and click the Edit tab. Put your cursor where you want the video to appear and type the nid:## within double brackets - for example, see screenshot below. This tells Drupal to embed node 123 on this page.

Insert a node content screenshot

Click Save.

Profile

The Profile feature allows you to create faculty and/or staff listings for your site. Listings are usually organized in alphabetical order on the page. In order to create profiles, the Profie feature must be enabled on the website. If you do not currently have the Profile feature on your site but would like to have it set up, please contact webmaster@appstate.edu.

Create Profile

To create a Profile, from the admin menu, select Content - Add content. On the Create content page click Profile.

Enter the information for the profile in the fields

Photo

Click on the Browse button to upload a photo for the profile. Images must be less than 2 MB in size.

Type

If categories are enabled, select a Type for the profile.

Biography

The Biography field is where you will enter additional information for your profile listing - text, links, images, etc. The formatting toolbar (also known as the Editor) at the top has a variety of formatting options. See Editor Options for more information.

Save

Click the Save button when you have completed entering the Profile content.

Edit Profile listing

There are two ways to edit a Profile listing - by Browsing or via the Content list. See the Edit a Page section on this site for more information.