KB User's Guide - SitePref Tab - Customizing Your Site's Look and Feel

You must have full user permissions for your space to perform these steps.

Admins with access to the SitePref tab may modify the Front Page of their Internal and External Live Sites.

KB Site Components

Key elements of a KB Site are identified in the screen shot below. Most can be customized as needed.

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    Content Modules

    There are three delivered KB Content Modules:

    1. News and Announcements - Displays news content.
    2. Top Documents of the Week - Displays documents most recently viewed.
    3. Most Recently Updated Docs - Displays documents most recently edited and set to the status of Active.

    Modify a Delivered Content Module

    You may update the name of a delivered Content Module by navigating to the SitePref > Content Modules link > Content Modules screen. Put your cursor in the Module name field and update to something more relevant to your users. In the image below, a red arrow is pointing to and editable field. You may enter text that is more user specific, for example: "Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences News". Be sure to click on the Update button on the bottom of the screen to save your work.


    Create a Custom Content Module

    To create a Custom Content Module, go to the SitePref > Content Modules link on the left navigation bar. This will lead you to the Content Modules screen.


    You can set the following attributes for your Custom Content Module:

    • Module name - You may give a name to a delivered field. Example, for the delivered News Content Module in the image above, the module may be named "News This Week in the Department of Classics". This field is required.
    • Internal - Check this box if you want the Content Module available on the Internal Live site.
    • External - Check this box if you want the Content Module available on the External Live site.
    • FullView - Check this box if you would like your Content Module to appear when viewing on a full desktop/ laptop screen view.
    • MobileView - Check this box if you would like your Content Module to appear when viewing on mobile devices.
    • Order - Select what order the Content Modules will appear on your site. Please remember we start with 0, 1, 2.
    • Limit of number of items to display - The dropdown list appears in the delivered Content Modules only and defaults to 20 items.
    • DocID(s) /URL - this field appears when creating a Custom Content Module. Enter one or a comma delimited string of document IDs. You may also enter a URL here.
    • Add button - Please be sure to click this button to Add the your Custom Content Module. If you only click on the Update button on the bottom of the screen, your new Content Module will not be added.

    Example: In the image below, you will see two Custom Content Modules and a delivered Content Module :


    1. Display the Content of a single KB document - "Move to Production and Meetings" shows an embedded Google Calendar whose code/content resides on a single KB document.
    2. Display a custom list of docs in the sequence of your choosing - Meteor Data lists three specific documents selected by the Admin.
    3. Most Recently Updated Documents is a delivered Content Module.

    Display Content of a Single KB Document

    Create a KB document with the content (e.g. images, links, tables, Google Calendar Code) you want displayed in your Custom Content Module. Enter that single document ID number in the DocID(s)/URL field to display the body of that document. In the image below, the document ID 36843 is circled in red.

    • The document must be in the Status of Active.
    • The document SiteAccess must  be set the appropriate KB Site. (In the example above, the "Calendar" should only be seen by Internal Staff and the Content Module will only appear on the Internal site. Therefore, the SiteAccess of your KB document should be set to Internal).
    • We recommend you select the Search Priority of Exclude from search, especially if you think your users may be confused should they discover this content.
    • Finally, click on the Update button at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

    Display Custom List of Documents

    You may display a specific list of documents in the order of your choosing. In the Doc ID(s)/URL field, place a comma delimited list of the documents your would like displayed. In the image below, you will see three comma delimited document IDs for the Custom Module called, "Meteor Data".

    • The documents listed must be in the Status of Active.
    • The document Site Access of each document must  be set the appropriate KB Site. (In the example above, the "Meteor Data" can be displayed internally, and externally. Therefore, the Site Access of these KB documents should be set to Internal and External).
    • Finally, click on the Update button at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

    Content Modules: Expand and/or Collapse

    After creating Content Modules that best suit your KB site, you will see a downward pointing arrow/ chevron in the right corner. This arrow indicates that the Content Module is collapsible and then expandable. The KB will remember what you choose to collapse/expand and remember the next time you visit your Live site.

    • Note: The downward pointing arrows/ chevrons are readable by those accessing the KB via a screen reader (by means of the keyboard, specifically the space bar.)

      A Quick Analogy about Side Modules and their Side Module links

      For you visual thinkers, imagine when you create a Side Module, that you are creating a "container" in which you will place Side Module Link(s).

      Example: you may create a Side Module called "Media Outlets"

      ...inside which you will have Side Module Links to "BBC Mundo", "CNN", "NPR", "Tech World" and "Wired".

      Side Modules

      Navigation: SitePref tab > Side Modules > Side Modules screen.

      The image below shows a blank Side Module waiting to be customized. Note the positional options in the aptly named Position field's menu. The image below shows a blank Module field circled in red and also shows all the options available. These options will be further illustrated below.

      You may define as many Side Modules as you would like. After you enable the specifics of your Custom Side Module, click the Add button. Should you only click the Update button, your custom Side Module will not be saved. *The Update button saves edits to existing Side Modules*.

      Module name

      The name of your Side Module. The name you enter here will be displayed to users if the module position is Menu Bar Dropdown - Under Search, Side Left or Side Right. For the other positions, the module name will only be referenced by admins working on this page in the KB Admin Tools.

      If you are choosing one of the other module positions, such as Link Bar - Between Logo and Search, it is recommended you set the name to something simply like "Link Bar" for easy reference.

      Position

      The position you choose has a significant impact on the layout of your KB site. Below are descriptions of each position option.

      Visibility Settings

      Side Module Links

      Navigation: SitePref tab > Side Module Links > Side Module Links screen. The image below shows a blank Side Module Link waiting to be customized. Note the red arrow leads to the names of existing Side Modules. This image shows "References" as the Module name. the aptly named Position field's menu. The image below shows a blank Module field circled in red and also shows all the options available. These options will be further illustrated below.


      | KB User's Guide - SitePref Tab |

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