Division of Student Affairs

The Online Editor Tool: Edit: MainContent

Web pages that have a lot of text aren't always engaging for the reader. You want to encourage people to read through your pages -- not skip over the important things. That's why we often use hyperlinks, colored boxes and text formatting elements to draw people in. By using these elements, you will gain more readers and keep people on your pages longer. To create these elements on a test page, you'll need to spend a few minutes reviewing the most popular tools on the Edit:MainContent screen.

When editing pages on the Student Affairs Web site, the Edit:MainContent tool is where you will spend most of your time. It features a variety of options you can use to format text, add hyperlinks and upload photos to your pages. To view this window, find an existing page on your site that you wish to edit. Make sure you are logged in by clicking on the [Site Login] button at the top left-hand corner of your screen. After you are logged in, click on the link to Edit:MainContent, located on the bottom left of your screen.

Fig. 2 Click for enlarged view

When using the Online Editor Tool (OET), a typical page will feature some red descriptive text at the top of your page, followed by three rows of toolbars and a blank page. Let's pay particular attention to the places where you'll be adding text and making formatting changes. (See Fig. 2)

Since you are viewing an existing page, the Title of your page will already appear in the text box near the top. If you want to change the title, highlight the text with your mouse, then type the new title inside the text box. The Page Title always appears in a specified template color, just below the top navigation bar.

Buttons for Formatting Text and Text Boxes

Just below the Title text box, you will see three rows of tools. These are the same tools that are used in many Microsoft applications, including Word and Excel. For now, let's concentrate on some of the more popular buttons you will be using.

	Clean up, or reformat text, from a Microsoft Word file using the "Format Stripper" tool.
	Create a link on your web page using the "Hyperlink" button.
	Add a horizontal rule, or hairline on your page, using "Horizontal Rule."
	Place a photo on your page using "Image Manager."
	Add a link to a PDF with the "Document Manager" button.
	Select the "foreground color" button when you want to change your text color to red and feature a "Warning" message on your page. This should only be used for one or two lines of text, and should not be used for highlighting entire paragraphs or pages of text.
	Select the "Numbered List" or "Bulleted List" button when you want to highlight a list on your page.
	Increase the size or color of a headline with the "Headline Style" button.