Portal Training

for Content Authors

About Portal Training

Course ObjectivesAs a portal content author, you will develop new articles for the Campus Services Portal and modify existing articles to keep them up-to-date and accurate. In this training course you will learn how to create, format and edit an article using the Vignette tools and standards adopted by the Portal Group.

Training FormatShort presentations will be followed by hands-on exercises. Please hold questions until we reach an exercise portion of the course. You will complete five exercises in this training course:

Exercise 1 Navigate the System and Log In Exercise 2 Create a New Article Exercise 3 Explore Article fields Exercise 4 Format an Article Exercise 5 Modify an Article

Portal Architecture

There are 3 portal environments:

Note: We will be conducting our training session today in a special training environment. This training environment is equivalent to the VCM and Preview Sites.

Vignette Content Manager (VCM)

Preview Portal Site Live Portal Site

Portal Architecture | VCM

Location: http://vcm.ais.ucla.edu/AppConsole/

Vignette Content Manager (VCM) is a repository for portal content.

You’ll use VCM to: Create articles Upload images Edit and move articles View articles assigned to a

project or channel

Note: VCM requires a logon ID

Portal Architecture | Preview Site

Use the Preview Site to: View an article before it’s

published to the live site Modify an existing article

directly in the preview environment

Search for unpublished portal articles

Preview Site Features: “Preview” appears in

address bar Pencil icons indicate an

editable region Floating Vignette

Toolbar/view page without icons

Requires logon ID Location: http://preview.ais.ucla.edu/portal/site/UCLA

Preview Portal Site contains portal content that is under development.

Portal Architecture | Live Portal

Use the Live Site to: View published articles Test for broken links Verify your article has been

published Search UCLA websites and

portal pages

Note: You cannot edit the live site

directly Live doesn’t mirror Preview “Map” in URL

Location: http://map.ais.ucla.edu/portal/site/UCLA

Live Portal SiteAccess the live portal site from the UCLA Gateway pages, including the homepage (www.ucla.edu). Click on the Campus Services link.

Exercise 1 | Navigate & Log In

Navigate the System and Log In

About this Exercise

In this exercise you’ll navigate to the VCM and Preview Sites, test your logon ID and password, and create “favorites” in IE to allow you to easily navigate to the VCM and Preview Sites throughout the subsequent exercises.

Exercise Instructions: Portal Training Exercise handout, pages 2 and 3

Allocated Time: 10 minutes

Portal Architecture

Two Basic Portal Page Formats:

Landing Page Article

Portal Anatomy | Landing Page

1) Left Navigation (dynamic)2) Breadcrumb (dynamic)3) Visual Title (CM)4) Pre-text Area (CM)5) Teasers (Authors)6) Post-text Area (CM)

Portal Anatomy | Article

Published Article

View of article page on live portal

Title Summary Body Contact Info Related Links

Portal Anatomy | Article

Published View Edit Mode

View of article page on live portal Article details in Preview or VCM sites

Article Views

Exercise 2 | Create a New Article

Create a New Article

About this Exercise

In exercise 2, you’ll navigate to VCM. Locate the Training “project,” then create and save a new article.

Exercise Instructions: Portal Training Exercises handout, pages 4 and 5

Allocated Time: 10 minutes

Format your content in Edit Mode.

eWebEditPro is an authoring tool used to format copy

Portal Article| Edit Mode

Important Fields: Title Body Contact Related Links

Note: Keyword field Comments field

Exercise 3 | Explore Article Fields

Explore Article Fields

About this Exercise

In this exercise you’ll learn about the article fields as they appear in Edit Mode and the eWebEditPro toolbar buttons.

Exercise Instructions: Portal Training Exercises handout, page 6

Allocated Time: 10 minutes

Article | Field Names & Descriptions

eWebEditPro

Article | Additional Features

Menu Tabs (top) Channels Versions Status: Lock and Unlock

Action Buttons (bottom-right) Ok Cancel Apply Help

Please close the article, click Logout, and close the browser.

Exercise 4 | Format an Article

Format an Article

About this Exercise

Find your article on the preview site. Import text and reformat it using eWebEditPro.

Exercise Instructions: Portal Training Exercises handout, pages 7 - 8

Allocated Time: 30 minutes

10 min. Break

Writing for the Portal

Understand the needs of the reader Identify the main message and key tasks Write as if you are speaking to a person in your target

audience Use meaningful titles, subheads and lead-ins Be consistent Optimize the search engine Track and update your articles Follow the Writing Style Guide and other approved standards

Portal Article | Reader View

Headings and subheadings Numbered (ordered) lists Bulleted (unordered) lists Bold-face lead-ins Tables Related information

Writing for the WebHelp your reader scan the article and perform tasks by making important information stand out.

Organize content with:

Writing Style Guide Highlights

Do not use slashes (/) in titles. Avoid using and/or. Format times and phone numbers (e.g., 6 p.m. not 6:00PM and

(310) 206-2256). Some university terms receive special treatment (e.g.,

“campuswide,” “systemwide” and “universitywide” do not have spaces).

Spell out an acronym after the first use in body copy (e.g., “A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study at UCLA opens…”).

Place a single space between sentences.

Writing Style Guide

The Portal Toolkit provides standards, samples and tips, including:

Writing for the Web Editing Checklist Grammar and Punctuation

Rules Graphic Standards University Terms Templates Training Materials

Location: Preview Site UCLA Home / Portal Toolkit

Portal Features

Article ID Feedback Printer-Friendly Version

Exercise 5 | Modify an Article

About this ExerciseThe article you’ve been formatting is a real article in the Buying section of the live site.

Use the search box to find the article on the live site, recreate the related links, copy the contact information and channel the article.

Hint: Enter Article ID 1001793 into the search box.

Exercise Instructions: Portal Training Exercises handout, page 11

Allocated Time: 20 minutes

Article Review & Publication

Workflow

Author Develop new article & related information Confirm accuracy with subject matter expert Notify local editor that article is ready for review & approval

Local Editor/Content Supervisor/Content Manager Review & edit text Ensure compliance with standard templates, style guide & policies Check for broken links Approve and notify Campus Editor that article is ready for publication

Campus Editor (AIS Portal Team) Proofread content against portal standards Check links and technical components Publish content to live site.

Resources & Support

Need Help Logging In?For account and Vignette access questions, contactJoseph Huang, AIS Portal Team Technical Expert | jhuang@ais.ucla.edu | x69327Skip Kastrick, AIS Portal Team Technical Expert | skastrick@ais.ucla.edu | x53096

eWebEditProIf you have trouble installing eWebEditPro, contact your department’s technical support unit. Portal Toolkit (currently being revised)

Writing for the Portal Editor’s Checklist Graphic Standards Instructional Materials

For Vignette service requests and questions, contact the AIS Portal Team Content Editors (aisportaleditor@ais.ucla.edu):

Kirsten Gabbe, kgabbe@ais.ucla.edu Sim Grewall, sgrewall@ais.ucla.edu | x61478Quyen Hoang, qhoang@ais.ucla.edu | x45111

Contact your Content Manager for information about your workgroup and next steps.

Portal Training Summary

In this training session you’ve:

Navigated Vignette Components Tested your logon ID and password Created a new article Imported text into Vignette Formatted an article using eWebEditPro Modified an article to comply with Style Guide

Question & AnswerSession