Site maintenance and posting instructions

Things to update and edit

Your own research posts (web pages describing your research, projects, etc. in some detail):

  • Click the “Posts” tab in the left sidebar to view the list of all existing posts
  • Click “Add New” to start a new research post, or a a previously started post from the list
  • Please, don’t proliferate the number of unfinished draft posts and delete the ones you abandoned
  • Please, don’t publish posts until they are finished
  • Maintain at least one post in the categories <your name> and <your research field>
  • Write as many research posts as you wish (the more the better), and as often as you wish
  • These posts are owned by <your username>

The common “Research Area” post:

  • Appears when the “Research” menu is clicked on the website’s top menu
  • Should extremely concisely mention your research interests, accomplishments, etc. – at the right place and in the right context
  • The purpose of the page is to present an overall research image of the Center
  • Edit sporadically, only when necessary to make sure you are represented (accurately)

The common “Publications” and “Presentation” posts:

  • Appear when the “Publications” or “Presentations” are clicked on the website’s top menu
  • Should include your published papers/books/etc…  and talks/seminars/posters respectively
  • Edit when changes occur, or once a year

The common “Members” post:

  • Appears when the “Members” menu is clicked on the website’s top menu
  • Should include your correct contact information, picture and student/postdoc list
  • Edit sporadically, only when necessary

The “About” post and its sub-posts:

  • These posts contain general information about the center and useful links
  • The “About” and “Sponsors” posts list funding sources that you may wish to edit
  • The “Nearby Events” post lists places other than GMU where our students/postdocs could hear talks, visit, etc.
  • The “Students” post contains other stuff of interest to students, or about our students.
  • The “Web resources” post contains links to general education books, articles, internet pages, etc. in our fields

Other content of common interest:

  • The “News”, “Featured works” and “Sponsors” boxes on the website’s front page
  • May be non-editable by non-administrators (will be looking into this issue)
  • Events… You are welcome to invite speakers, organize events and announce them on the website. Use the event manager by clicking “Events” in the left sidebar, and then “Add event”. Set the dates, time, speaker name, title, etc., type the abstract in the large text edit field. Do not edit the  “Events” post!

General rules:

  • It is solely your responsibility to maintain any piece of information about you
  • The website is complicated, so the administrators will not have time to help you
  • The person to ask for help is Scott Joy, sjoy@gmu.edu (Planetary Hall 363B).  He has designed both the SPACS and our CQS websites, and should be able to give you tutorials or help you edit content.
  • Please keep things tidy.
  • The administrators (Predrag and Indu) reserve the right to fix “messups”.
  • Notify the administrators of any “messups” that require fixing.

 

Editing posts

 Type text in the large editor field:

  • Use the “Visual view” (default) to have standardized page formatting.
  • Open the “kitchen sink” to have more editing options (an icon in the top row, or alt+shift+z).
  • Set heading for section titles, justify paragraphs, etc.
  • Pressing enter starts a new paragraph, use shift+enter to insert blank lines.

Insert pictures, etc. by clicking the “Upload/Insert” button above (opens a drag-and-drop dialog):

  • For large pictures across the page, prepare jpg or png in 1024×512 resolution or so (aspect ratio ~2×1).
  • Set the picture title, size, etc. in the dialog.
  • Don’t upload the same picture more than once: when inserting a picture in the post, or setting a featured image (see below), first check if you can find it in the “media library” in the dialog…

Set the post properties:

  • Enter the post title in the long field below the “Edit Post” above.
  • Select “Simple page” in the “Publish” sidebar (or else, visitors will be invited to leave comments on the site).
  • Select <your name> as the primary category in the “Publish” sidebar.
  • Enter any desired search tags in the right sidebar.
  • Change the “permalink” if desired – the “web address” at which your post will be visible to the external world.

Select the post categories:

  • <your name> category
  • <your research field> category
  • Do not select any other categories, except perhaps Slider (see below)!

To see the results, click “Save Draft” or “Update” in the right sidebar, then click “Preview” – a new browser window or tab will open…

  • Do update/save before leaving the editor or logging out.
  • You can logout and continue working on your post later.
  • Do not “publish” until all is absolutely done!

One or two of your most representative research posts should be featured in the front-page slide show. If this post is one of them, then:

  • Set a “featured image” in the appropriate right sidebar (a high-resolution jpg or png with aspect ratio ~2×1).
  • Type in an excerpt (a short advertising text or html that describes the featured image).
  • Select the Slider category in the category list.
  • Select the “Place in slider” in the “Publish” sidebar.

When completely done:

  • Click “Publish” in the “Publish” sidebar. Your post will become publicly visible on the website.

Notes on this user interface:

  • Some user interface elements may not be visible by default (such as the post excerpt): click the “Screen Options” button at the top of the screen…

 

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