Faq's About CMS Ektron Web Publishing Program
 
1. What is url to edit my departmental web pages?
The url is http://cms.dickinson.edu/
 
2. Do you have any step by step tutorials on using this new program?
Yes, click here for a CMS Ektron tutorial. If you still have questions or problems please contact the helpdesk x1000 or email helpdesk@dickinson.edu
 
3. Will there be any training on using CMS Ektron?
Yes, watch for workshops here & in CLIQ within the Gateway.
 
4. What browsers work best using this program to edit web pages?
Internet Explorer for PC computers. Mozilla Firefox for MAC computers.
 
5. Do I need a program installed on my computer to start editing the web site?
No, this program works within the browser.
 
6. What does CMS stand for?
Content Management System
 
7. Where are the files, such as images, pdf & word documents found in CMS Ektron?
Once you are logged into CMS Ektron program you will find them in the Library area with in your folder.
Note: Files must be uploaded one at a time. At this time an entire folder of files can not be loaded into Ektron.
 
8. Where are the web pages found in CMS Ektron?
The web pages or html pages are stored in the Content area.
 
9. When I add a item to the Library area it doesn't appear in the list, why?
If you click back on the Library, then click on your folder, then that the item has been added to it acts like a refresh & now you should be able to find your file.
 
10. How do I make a brand new web page?
First be sure you are in the Content area, click on New, Smart Form, then click on Standard Content Form. This will open up a new page for you to start editing.
Details on Form Types for Web Pages
  • Standard Content Form– This should be used 90% of the time and allows for just about any type of page required.
  • Multi-Section Form – should be used in place of standard content form ONLY if the content has clearly defined sections, for example in an FAQ page.
  • Staff Form – for non-academic departments, to generate a staff page.
  • Image Gallery Form - Available by request if you do no have it under New - email helpdesk@dickinson.edu
In addition, these 2 special smart forms, are created when a department homepage is set up and the details can be edited:
Contact Information – this info appears on the department’s home page, this form cannot be viewed by looking at the alias, but instead must be viewed on the department’s home page.
Welcome Message – this info appears on the department’s home page, this form cannot be viewed by looking at the alias, but instead must be viewed on the department’s home page.
 
11. What does each Status letter mean?
  • O = Currently being edited, not checked in, others cannot edit
  • I =  Checked in for others to edit, but not published
  • A = Approved & published to the web site
12. How to I view my web page after I have made my changes?
Click on the Preview icon, then a broswer window opens to the updated page. It will then open a new browser window to view the page. If you are not set up as an approver, you will not have a Publish button, but a Submit button; once you've submitted - the changes will need to be approved before you can see them using the Alias button.
 
13. How can I find if the page has been edited, by whom, published & when?
Click on the Properties tab to find out the details & status of the page.
 
14. After I Publish my web page, when will the changes be live?
This is a over night job that runs to process the pages, so you will see the updates the next day.
 
15. If I hit enter when typing text it double spaces, how do you single space between lines of text?
Hold down the Shift key & hit the Enter key to single space between lines of text.
NOTE: To remove a double space between 2 lines of text, place your cursor at the end of the top line, then hit the Delete key on the keyboard. It will then move that line and move the text below it up to be directly under it. If it moves that line directly beside it, then hit Shift+Enter.
 
16. How do I paste text with only the text & not the format/style?
After you copy the text, right mouse click inside the content text area & choose Paste as Plain Text.
 
17. Where can I find the Blog area to add the News & Events for our department?
It is found in the same folder as the Content folder & this folder icon has red coloring on the top of it.
 
18. What are the sizes of Images in the areas of a web page?
  • You may have one main text area image which is no larger than 685 pixels wide without using a sidebar.
  • If you use a sidebar, your main text image should be no larger than 450 pixels wide.
  • All sidebar images should be no larger than 225 pixels wide.
  • Banner images should be 120 pixels high x 685 pixels wide.
TIP: If you click on the plus sign to add another image, but then do not actually add an image you will get a Server Error. The blank image area must then be removed. If you have a large image you must first make it smaller & do any cropping in another program first. Then whatever pixel sizes the image shows after inserting on Ektron put those sizes in the fields for width & height. Click here for a Microsoft Picture Manager tutorial to edit images on PC's. For Mac's try Preview, iPhoto or Graphics Converter to edit images.
 
19. I want to add a table, what are some tips?
When you are creating a table in the CMS Ektron, you will need to use a particular style so that the text displays properly. There is a sample table you can use that makes this a little easier. In the CMS Ektron workarea, go to the "sample layouts" folder and select the item "table sample." Highlight the text and copy it. Then go to your page, open it for editing and paste into the page. Once the table is in your edit area, you can right-click to modify it by adding or deleting rows and columns. You should not use the paragraph tag for the text because of the extra spacing it adds.
 
20. If a user on campus has a personal web site what program should be used to update or create their web site?
The supported program for personal web sites will continue to be Dreamweaver or Contribute & tutorials can be found here. This is the web site that is located on the W drive (automatically mapped on PC computers) & the url would be http://users.dickinson.edu/~username.
 
21. I want to create a slide show on Flickr and copy and paste the link to one of our department web page, but where do I do that?
That code needs to be added via HTML editing. Please send a request by email to the helpdesk@dickinson.edu with the code that Flickr provided you to put into your web site. It should most likely have a bunch of code between tags that look like this <embed> </embed>.
 
22. My homepage needs changed & I can't seem to be able to?
 The Welcome Message & Contact Information details can be changed by editing those files found in the Content folder.
The Welcome Message is an optional block for you to add a bit of customized text to your department home page. This text will display below the official college text which appears on that page. If you do not wish to add a customized message, please leave this blank. (Do not delete this.)
The Contact Information is the block that appears on your home page. It should be filled out with accurate information so that your home page has the latest contact information for your department or office. (Do not delete this.)
The staff page is a listing of all the folks in your department, which optionally can contain contact information for each individual. (Note: This is different than a faculty list which is created automatically for academic departments)
At this time all other homepage designs changes are handled by Office of Marketing & Communications. We ask that any changes be sent by a email request to helpdesk@dickinson.edu with all the specific details.
 
23. How many navigation tabs can a departmental site have?
At this time the limit is four rows. This will give 16 possible links. These are the navigation tabs which can only be edited by the Office of Marketing & Communications staff. Send an email to the helpdesk@dickinson.edu for a workorder to be placed with all details. The changes will them be done by Office of Marketing & Communications staff.
 
24. How do I delete images from Ektron?
Click on the Library tab, then select your folder, you should then see your images. Click on the image you want to delete to then find a red circle with a minus in it, click on that circle to find another window where you then click on.
 
25. How do you name files and what type of files to use in Ektron?
Click here for guidelines.
 
26. I have alot of data & I think a web page that has table in it would work best and wondered if you had any suggestions on where to start?
The multi-section smart form with the anchor links box checked, would make a good use of that form. This can be found under New, Smart Form, Multi-Section Smart form.
 
27. On the left side of the text little dots appear and even when I delete them they are on the webpage, should I be concerned about them?
These dots are an Ektron editing guide to show you where paragraph breaks are in your page code. You can turn those off by clicking on the paragraph symbol next to the "apply style" drop down box on the editing tools bar.