In Publisher, web pages derive from content stored and referenced in content items. To create a web page, you create a content item. To change a web page, you edit its content item.
You can create content items in two ways:
Importing a file that you have created elsewhere into Publisher (a file content item).
Creating and Editing Content Items Using Content Item Editor
Content items that you create using the Content Item Editor are built on Data Entry Templates, which define the properties available for creating a content item. When you create or edit a content item from a Data Entry Template, these properties appear in the Content Item Editor as editable fields, such as text boxes, defined selection lists, fields for downloading files, boolean True/False radio buttons, and so forth.
When you have entered or selected values for the properties that make up a content item and saved it in the Content Item Editor, the content item becomes a page on the preview site, with its data structured according to the Data Entry Template and its appearance and format determined by its associated Presentation Template. When you publish the content item, it becomes a page on the web site or an object in the portal Knowledge Directory.
This section discusses how to:
Access the Content Item Editor.
Use the Content Item Editor.
Insert and manage files and images using the Content Item Editor.
For more information on data entry and Presentation Templates, see:
You can access Content Item Editor from a number of places in Publisher, including the following:
Publisher Explorer
Content Submission portlet
Work List Portlet
Most Recently Used Content portlet
Content Items in Workflow portlet
Configure Portlet Wizard
Workflow Assignment page
Published content portlets that enable content creation
This section discusses how to access the Content Item Editor from the Content Submission portlet. For information about accessing Content Item Editor from other Publisher components, see the online help or component-specific documentation in this administrator guide.
Content Submission Portlet
The Content Submission portlet allows users in the Submitter role and above to submit content items to Publisher from a community page. Typically, the portal community manager selects Data Entry Templates for you to choose from, and each Data Entry Template is associated with a portlet. The associated portlet displays content items only after they have been published.
To create a new content item, click the Create icon to the right of the Data Entry Template on which you want to base your content item. This opens the Content Item Editor.
Content Submission Portlet Preferences
It is typically a community manager’s responsibility to select the Data Entry Templates from which users can submit content using the Content Submission portlet. Any user in the Submitter role and above can perform the task.
To select Data Entry Templates:
From the portal community, click My Communities | Edit this Community.
Under Edit Community Settings, click Portlet Preferences.
In the Portlet Preferences area, click the Edit icon next to the Content Submission portlet. This accesses the Content Submission - Community Preferences page in Publisher.
To add a Data Entry Template, click Select Templates.
On the Select Data Entry Templates dialog box, select the templates you want to add.
Click OK to return to the Content Submission - Community Preferences page.
To change the order in which the templates appear in the Content Submission portlet, click the up and down arrows to the right of each template.
Click OK to save your changes.
Using the Content Item Editor
The Content Item Editor consists of an action bar and the following pages:
Properties
Content Notes
Content Versions
Publishing Information
Note:
In the Submitter view of the Content Item Editor, the Content Item Editor is a single page containing editable property fields, with only the Preview button in the action bar, along with the Submit and Cancel buttons.
Action Bar
The action bar at the top of the Content Item Editor consists of a set of buttons that enable you to perform various actions on the content item. The buttons that appear depend on the user’s role and the content item’s checkout, publishing, and workflow status:
Check In: Click to check a content item into Publisher. This saves your changes and stores an incremented version in Publisher. Checking in updated versions allows you to revert to the current version of the item or compare it against other versions. You can also save a content item without checking it in by clicking the Save button.
Check Out: Click to open the content item for editing and create a new version. When the content item is checked out, other users cannot open it for editing. Only Folder Administrators and Administrators can override a checkout.
Undo Checkout: Click to discard your changes, revert to the previous version of the content item, and make the content item available for others to edit.
Preview: Click to preview a content item as it will appear when published to the Web. You can preview a content item while you are creating or editing it in Content Item Editor. The preview option is not available if the content item uses a page component Presentation Template; that is, a Presentation Template that is not set up to publish complete web pages.
Publish: Click to publish the content item to the publishing target set on the Publishing Information page. Publish is available only to users in the Editor role and above, and only if the content item is in a publishable workflow activity or is not subject to workflow.
Submit for Approval: Click to access the Submit for Approval page, where you can select workflow options and submit the content item to workflow. This button appears only if the content item is new and in a folder that has workflow attached. Clicking this button saves the content item (a message prompts you to accept the save) if you have not saved it already. Clicking Finish on the Submit for Approval page checks the content item into Publisher if you have not done so already.
If the content item has already been submitted to workflow, the Approve, Reject, Transfer, and Assignment Details buttons appear instead.
Note:
In the Submitter view of the Content Item Editor, a Submit button appears in the upper right-hand corner of the editor instead of the Submit for Approval button. When the user clicks this button, the content item is automatically submitted to the first workflow activity in the workflow definition. The user does not see the Submit for Approval page.
Approve: Click to access the Approve page, where you can approve the content item and move it to the next workflow activity. Clicking this button saves the content item (a message prompts you to accept the save) if you have not saved it already. Clicking Finish on the Approve page checks the content item into Publisher if you have not done so already.
Reject: Click to access the Reject page, where you can approve the content item and send it back to the previous workflow activity. Clicking this button saves the content item (a message prompts you to accept the save) if you have not saved it already. Clicking Finish on the Reject page checks the content item into Publisher if you have not done so already.
Transfer: Click to access the Transfer page, where you can transfer or delegate the workflow activity for the content item to another user. This button is only available if the workflow definition allows transfers or delegation. Clicking this button saves the content item (a message prompts you to accept the save) if you have not saved it already. Clicking Finish on the Transfer page checks the content item into Publisher if you have not done so already.
Assignment Detail: Click to access the Workflow Assignments page, where you can view details about the workflow assignment for the content item, along with its workflow history.
The Properties page in the Content Item Editor consists of a set of editable fields, based on the associated Data Entry Template. The values that you enter on this page constitute the content item’s published content.
For more detailed instructions on using the features associated with these properties, see the online help.
Content Notes Page
The Content Notes page enables you to enter non-published information about the content item. Any note you enter is accessible through Content Item Editor, but does not appear in the published content item, is not included in the metadata for the content item, and is not searchable through Publisher. Only users in the Contributor role and above can access this page.
Content Versions Page
The Content Versions page displays each version of the current content item, including the version number, check-in date, user who saved the version, and the version comments entered by the user. If you are creating a new content item, no versions appear. Only users in the Contributor role and above can access this page.
The current version appears at the top of the list and is marked “Active Version.”
The following actions are available:
Compare: To review the differences between versions, select the versions you want to compare and click Compare. The Version Comparison page displays the content item properties for each version and highlights any differences.
Restore: To revert the content item stored in Publisher to a previous version, select the appropriate version and click Restore. You must have the content item checked out to restore a previous version.
Version Events: To display the events for a selected version of the content item, click the Version Events icon to the right of the version. The events are displayed in the Version Events area at the bottom of the page. Events that are listed here include workflow activities or prior publication history. For each event, the page displays the date, associated user, event type, and event description.
View archived version in Content Item Editor: To view a previous version of the content item, click on the version number. This opens another Content Item Editor window that displays the property values in that version. Within that editor window, you can also click Preview to preview that version.
You cannot edit or publish archived versions. To publish a previous version of a content item, you must first restore it. The Publish button in the action bar applies only to the active version of the content item.
Publishing Information Page
Only users in the Editor role and above can access this page.
The Publishing Information page displays the content item’s Data Entry Template, associated Presentation Template, and associated portlet, along with the following:
Publishable: Indicates whether or not the content item can be published as a stand-alone page. Some content items must be referenced by other published content items.
Publishing Name: Displays the file name that will be created on the publishing target when the item is published.
Only Publishing Name can be modified from this page. You must configure the other items through Publisher Explorer.
The Action Bar in the Publishing Information group box consists of a set of buttons that enable you to perform the following publishing actions for the content item:
Directory: click to access the Publish to Knowledge Directory page, where you can create a link to the published content item in the portal Knowledge Directory.
Schedule: click to access the Publishing Schedule page, where you can view the most recent scheduled publication date, create a new publication or expiration schedule, or edit the current schedule.
Set to Expire: click to set the content item to expire immediately. Publisher deletes the published content files—including any files contained in the item’s image or file properties—from the publishing target and the search index. Expired content remains in the Publisher directory but is unavailable for publishing unless you undo the expiration.
Undo Expiration: click if the content item has been set to expire and you want to republish the item. Undoing expiration publishes the item to the publishing target.
Inserting and Managing Files and Images Using Content Item Editor
You can upload files into a content item if the Data Entry Template for the content item includes the File property type. If you have enabled the WebDAV WebEdit feature on your local computer, you can also edit uploaded files directly from Content Item Editor, in the file’s native editor.
You can upload image files to a content item if the Data Entry Template for the content item includes the Image or Long Text property types.
This section discusses how to:
Upload files into content items using Content Item Editor.
Edit files using Content Item Editor.
Upload and edit image files using Content Item Editor.
Manage image files.
Publish referenced files and images.
Uploading Files into Content Items Using Content Item Editor
To upload a file using the File property type in Content Item Editor:
In the File property group box, click Upload.
In the dialog box that opens, enter the file name or browse for the file and select it.
Click OK.
Editing Files Using Content Item Editor
If you have inserted a file into a content item using Content Item Editor, you can edit that file in either of two ways:
Download the file to your desktop and edit it using the editor of your choice:
In the File property group box, click Download.
Follow the directions in the dialog box that opens to initiate the download and select the destination.
Edit and save the file locally, using the editor of your choice.
Return to the Content Item Editor and upload the edited file.
Click Save.
Use WebEdit to edit the file in place, using the editor of your choice:
In the File property group box, click WebEdit.
The file opens in the editor it was last edited with; edit the item.
Save the file.
Return to the Content Item Editor.
Click Save.
Note:
You must have enabled WebEdit for your client to use this feature. You must also use Internet Explorer 5 or higher.
Uploading and Editing Image Files Using Content Item Editor
You can upload an image file to a content item using Content Item Editor if the content item’s Data Entry Template includes the Image property type or the Long Text property type.
To upload an image file to a content item with the Image property type:
In the Image property group box, click Upload.
In the dialog box that opens, enter the file name or browse for the file and select it.
Click OK. The file name appears in the group box, and the image file is saved to the same Publisher folder as the content item.
If you want to change the size of the image, enter new pixel values in the Width and Height fields. Click Get Size to update the Width and Height fields with the original file’s values. The Presentation Template must use the appropriate tags to use the Width and Height attributes to format the image in the published content item.
To upload an image file to a content item using the Rich Text Editor with the Long Text property type:
In the formatting toolbar for the Long Text property, click the Image Options icon or click the down arrow next to the Image Options icon to view the drop-down list, from which you select Upload Image.
In the dialog box that opens, enter the file name or browse for the file and select it.
Click OK. The image appears in the Long Text property edit box, and a thumbnail of the image appears in the selection box at the bottom of the drop-down list.
Once you have uploaded an image file using the formatting toolbar in the Long Text property, the image file is saved in the same Publisher folder as the content item. If the content item is associated with a published content portlet, the image file is saved in the Images subfolder in the portlet folder. Every image saved in the content item’s folder or Images subfolder appears as a thumbnail in the selection box at the bottom of the drop-down list, where it is available for insertion into the text box.
The Image Options drop-down list (which is also accessible if you right-click on an image in the text box) also provides the following options:
Link to Image | Web: click to insert an image from outside Publisher into the text box without storing the image in Publisher; you enter a url to provide the link to the web site where the image is stored.
Link to Image | Select Image: click to insert an image from any folder in Publisher that you have access to. You select the image using the Select Image dialog box.
Edit Image: select an image in the Long Text property box and click Edit Image to open the Edit Image dialog box where you can modify the image attributes.
All image files in the content items Publisher folder appear as thumbnails in the drop-down list. Insert in the text box by clicking on the thumbnail.
Managing Image Files
When you use the Upload Image options in the Long Text property in Content Item Editor to insert image files directly into a content item, the image files are stored as file content items in the same folder as the content item itself—or, in the case of published content portlets, in an Images subfolder in the portlet folder—both in the Publisher directory and in the web server directory. You might prefer, like most web designers, to store your image files separately from the HTML files on the web server; to do so, import the image file as a file content item through Publisher Explorer and place it in the directory of your choice, with a publishing target of your choice. You can then insert the image file into a content item by using the Item property or the Link to Image | Select Image option in the Long Text box’s formatting bar in Content Item Editor.
The way you upload or refer to files and images in a content item determines how these files and images are published to the web server. Consider the following:
Any image that you upload using the Upload Image options in the Long Text property in Content Item Editor is saved in Publisher as a file content item and will automatically be published to the web server when you publish the content item, unless you are a Contributor or Submitter creating a content item through a published content portlet. When users in these non-publishing roles upload an image file this way, the image file is not published automatically with the content item; it must be published separately. Since all images uploaded in this way are stored in the Images subfolder of the portlet folder, a user in a publishing role can create a regular publishing schedule for the subfolder to publish all images submitted by non-publishing users.
A file stored in a File or Image property in the content item will be published with the content item if the Presentation Template references it using the proper pcs tags.
If your content item uses the Item or List property types to refer to file content items, you must publish those file content items separately or include the items in the Presentation Template’s Related Items to Publish list.
Uploading and Managing File Content Items
File content items are files that are created outside of Publisher and that you upload from a local or network drive to Publisher. You can manage file content items in Publisher and publish them to your publishing target through Publisher, without having to use the Content Item Editor.
This section discusses how to:
Upload file content items.
Edit and manage file content items using WebDAV.
Uploading File Content Items
There are two ways of uploading file content items to Publisher:
Uploading the file in Publisher Explorer using the New | File Content Item command. When you’ve uploaded the file, it is saved in the Publisher directory as a content item.
Uploading the file using the Map a Web Folder feature of the WebDAV client. This method enables you to upload any number of files to the Publisher directory simply by dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting in Windows Explorer.
Note:
Images that you upload using the Rich Text Controls in a Long Text box in Content Item Editor are also saved to the Publisher directory as file content items.
The content item that the system creates when a file is uploaded includes the following properties (unless it is an image file):
File: the value is the uploaded file.
Title
Description
For image files, the content item includes the following properties
Image: the value is the uploaded image file.
Alt: the value entered is used as mouse-over or “tooltip” text, or as text to replace the image if the web browser is set for low-bandwidth or accessible browsing.
Title
Description
Image Preview
The Title, Description, and Alt properties have no values when the system creates the content items, but you can enter values.
Once the file is uploaded, you can treat the file content item just like any other content item, in terms of workflow and publishing.
Editing and Managing File Content Items Using WebDAV
If you have installed the WebDAV client and enabled the WebEdit and Map a Web Folder features, you can edit and manage file content items by doing the following:
Using the WebEdit button in the File property in Content Item Editor to open the file in its native editor, where you can edit it.
Using the Map a Web Folder feature to open the file from Windows Explorer in its native editor.
Using the Map a Web Folder feature to copy, move, rename, or delete a file content item using Windows Explorer.
For more information about using WebDAV, see Using WebDAV.
Copying, Moving, Renaming, and Deleting Content Items
You can copy, move, rename, and delete content items in Publisher Explorer, just as you do with any Publisher component. Note the following considerations, however, when performing these functions on content items:
If you delete a content item that has been published, set the content item to expire first so that the published content is removed from the portal. If you do not expire published content items, users will still be able to access them.
You can move a content item to a different folder without breaking references to other content items, Data Entry Templates, or Presentation Templates.
When you rename a content item, the system automatically updates any references to that content item in Data Entry Templates and other content items. If there are any named references to the content item in Presentation Templates, however, you must update them manually.
