The Omni Update CMS

To get started, make sure your images and documents are named and formatted property.

All content in the Omni Update CMS is named with lower case letters with words separated by hyphens, for example:  name-of-document-or-image.pdf.   No capital letters, special characters, or spaces are allowed. 

For images:

1. Ensure your images are the correct size for your intended use.  If you're not sure, you can find sizing information through the image snippets and components or in this guide.  All images, regardless of their dimensions, should be 72 dpi.   It is helpful if you add the dimensions of the image to the filename.  Then you won't be confused if you decide to use the image in a different place.
2. In the blue navigation bar at the top of the page, click on Content, Pages.
3. Then click on the blue house icon at the top left of the list that opens.
4. Go to _images
5. Scroll down and click on the appropriate folder for you project.  This is generally the same path to the one you follow for your pages, but it is within the "Images" folder.
6. Select the "Upload" button (at the top of the page next to the "New" button).
7. In the window that pops up, select the green "Add" button. select the image you've prepared, and click the blue "Open" button in the lower right corner.  You can add several images at one time.
8. When you've chosen all of your images, click the blue "Start Upload" button. 

For pdfs:

1. Documents must be in pdf format.  This allows us to meet accessibility and compliance goals.
2. In the blue navigation bar at the top of the page, click on Content, Pages.
3. Then click on the blue house icon at the top left of the list that opens.
4. Go to _documents
5. Scroll down and click on the appropriate folder for you project.  This is generally the same path to the one you follow for your pages, but it is within the "-documents" folder.
6. Select the "Upload" button (at the top of the page next to the "New" button).
7. In the window that pops up, select the green "Add" button. select the pdf you've prepared, and click the blue "Open" button in the lower right corner.  You can add several pdfs at one time.
8. When you've chosen all of your documents, click the blue "Start Upload" button. 

To add pdfs:

1. Pdfs will appear on your page through links in the text.
2. Highlight the text that will create the link.
3. Select the link icon in the toolbar.  A window opens to help  you choose the link.
4. Use the search tool to navigate to your pdf.
5. Instead of showing the traditional link path, the linked document will show up as a Dependency Tag  - pairs of curly brackets,  with the letter F and a number in between like {{F1234567}}.  Dependency tags help keep your document linked even if pages move within the CMS.
6. "Text to display" is the text you highlighted on the page.
7. In the "Target" dropdown, choose "Open in a New Window".
8. There's no need to change the "Title" or "Class" fields.
9. Click the blue "OK" button to save your link.

To add images:

For most images, you can use the image component to make the process easy.

1. Place your cursor where you want the image to appear on the page.
2. Click on the component icon in the toolbar at the top of the page.
3. Choose Image- Inline, then click the blue "Insert" button.
4. Choose the size from the dropdown menu.
5. Choose the alignment
6. Under image, click the image icon on the eight to browse to your image (note the message that indicates the appropriate image size).
7. Navigate to your image folder, select your image, then click the blue "Insert" button.
8. Rather than a url to your image, you will see a Dependency Tag - pairs of curly brackets,  with the letter F and a number in between like {{F1234567}}.  Dependency tags help keep your image linked even if pages move within the CMS.
9. Provide a concise description of what the image shows.
10. Enter a caption (optional)
11. If you want the image to open a link, provide it in the Image Link box.  If that links goes to another site or to a pdf on our site, check the Target:  Open in a new browser tab/window box.
12. Click on the blue "Save" button.
13. If you need to adjust your image, click on the lower left side of the image box, click on the pencil icon, and make any necessary changes.  Note - editing images or other components works best in the Chrome browser.

Replacing existing content means your links will still work, and anyone who has bookmarked your material, will always find the latest version.  If you recreate the document each time, links break and users can become confused by multiple versions.

To replace content:

Navigate to the appropriate document or image folder:  _documents, (your section's folder).

Note the name of the old document

Click upload, browse for your new document, but do not hit upload yet.

First, hover over the area to the right of your new document.  An option to rename your document will appear.  

Rename the new document to the exact same name as the previous version.

The CMS will show a red error message indicating the name is already taken.

Click on the box to replace the old version.

Now, click save to upload the new document.

Three main tools will add interest and organization to a page: components, snippets, and assets.

Snippets and Components - are tools that provide built-in formatting, but you need to provide a bit of content for them to be complete..  For snippets, you fill out a table of information.  For components, you'll fill out a form.

To use:  

1. Place your cursor where you want the item to appear on the page. Click on the snippet or component symbol in the toolbar, and choose the format from the dropdown list.  If you already know which one you want, you can find it quickly by adding a key word from the name in the filter box.
2. Once you've highlighted the item you want, click the blue "Insert" button in the lower right hand corner of the Select a Snippet or Select a Component box.  Snippets will look something like a table on your page; components will look like a form.  
3. Fill out the table or form as indicated.
4. Save the page to see the asset in its proper format.

If you find yourself using the same snippet or component three or more times, with the same information each time, contact ITServiceDesk@montgomerycollege and request a custom asset.  That way, if information in the asset changes, you won't have to remember to change it in multiple locations.  Just let Web Services know about the change, and the asset will update everywhere it is located.

Assets - If you find yourself entering the exact same information in a component or snippet more than three times, you may need an asset.  An asset is a content  block you can use over and over.  If you need to update the asset, the edit can be made in one place, and it will transfer to all of the pages where the asset is used.  File a Web Services Request if you need an asset.

To use: 

1. Place your cursor where you want the asset to appear on the page. Click on the asset symbol in the toolbar, and choose the asset from the dropdown list.  If you already know which one you want, you can find it quickly by adding a key word from the name in the filter box.
2. Once you've highlighted the asset you want, click the blue "Insert" button in the lower right hand corner of the Select Asset box.  The asset will look something like this on your page:
3. Click save to see the asset in its proper format.

Assets, snippets, and components, marked with an SB or Sidebar are meant to be used in the right hand sidebar of a page.

Most of the time, the navigation menu, that black box in the upper right hand side of the page, will take care of itself.

Occasionally, you may want to remove some items or put them in a different order.

To edit a standard navigation menu**:

1. In the blue menu bar at the top of the Omni Update CMS, click on Content, then pages.  Navigate to the folder that holds your documents
2. One of your documents is called "_nav.inc."  That contains the information for your navigation menu.
3. Click to open the file.  You'll see a document with a list of links.  The links match items in your navigation menu.
4. Edit the list as you would a normal document - cut and paste to change the order, highlight and delete to remove items.
5. Save and publish the _nav.inc file when you are finished making changes.

** If your navigation menu has subsections and/or dropdown menus within it, these instructions do not apply.   Contact Web Services for help with your menu.

First, check with Web Services to see if your page requires a template.  Some types of pages like Departments, Programs, Learning Centers begin with a unified look.  You can still add pages, but you may need a little help getting them started.

If your page does not require a template, you're ready to add a page to your section (the content within your folder):

1. In the blue menu bar, click Content, then pages.  Navigate to the folder that contains your pages, and open that folder.
2. Click on the green button "New"
3. Choose "New Page"
4. Enter a one to three word page title that concisely describes the page's content.  
5. In the description box, add a sentence or two that tells users what the page offers.  Use keywords.  This is the description users will see when they search for your page.
6. Filename - give your page a name.  It's often the same as the title.  This name will appear in your list of files and must be lower case text, with words separated by hyphens.
7. Save your choices by clicking on the blue "Create" button on the template you just filled in.