This section will help you learn and use the Issue Management administration system. Since The Internet Publishing System is a customized set of applications, no two sites or administration systems are the same. As a result, the references and language included in this Editor Help section may appear somewhat generalized.
iProduction wants to do everything possible to assist you in learning about your new publishing system. If you cannot find the answers you seek from these Editor Help sections, click the Contact Developer link on your Admin site, complete the appropriate form, and submit your contact request. Your request will be sent directly to the appropriate developer, and you will receive the support you need as quickly as possible.
Below is the table of contents for Issue Management Editor Help. Click on any text link to view editor help on that specific topic.
Publications and Breaking News
Regenerate Breaking News Stories
The iProduction Internet Publishing System administers editorial content separately from other types of site content. The Issue Management administration system is designed specifically to manage editorial content.
Other types of site content, such as subscription sign-up pages, marketing promotions, staff contact information, or advertising rate information, are operated using the Content Management administration system.
Issue Management administers two types of editorial content: Publication and Breaking News. Publication content includes the individual stories, photos, illustrations, captions, and other content assets that comprise the complete issue of a publication. In similar fashion, Breaking News administers the content of very important or time-sensitive stories that are produced between issues. Publication content is “generated” all at once by the system when you publish an issue. Breaking News stories are generated and published in small groups or individually whenever you choose to do so.
The Issue Management administration system was designed around the basic story-creation workflow of typical Web publishing operations:
1) Write and load unedited stories into the system
2) Edit stories and assign story attributes and imaging
3) Save edited stories
4) Proof edited stories
5) Publish the finished issue
The iProduction Internet Publishing System enables you to edit each individual story from start to finish. Or, you can organize your editorial workflow into tasks, and then perform each editorial task on groups or “batches” of stories until the entire process is complete.
For example, you might first load a batch of unedited stories into the system, then go back and edit the entire batch, then proof the entire batch before publishing. Many editors will use the batch method on their Publication issues, but will edit individual Breaking News stories through to completion as writers submit the stories.
(Administration Home > Issue Management >
Publication > New Issue)
The New Issue page enables you to specify the volume number or description, the issue number or description, the issue release date, and the issue date line.
The iProduction Internet Publishing System allows you to describe your volumes and issues alphanumerically or by name. Most editors use ascending numbers to describe their volumes and issues. However, any set of characters, up to 100 characters in length, can be used. The system uses the volume and issue fields you assign to create the Universal Resource Locator (URL) that fixes a web address on each volume.
The release date is the day that your issue becomes active on the system and is published for immediate use by your readers. The release date also initiates other system functions, such as adding story content to the search database.
The date line is the actual date that is placed within your home page and story pages. Remember to key-in your date line in the format you want to appear on your site. Many editors choose to spell-out the date line, as in Wednesday, January 1, 2003, rather than an abbreviated format, such as 01/01/03.
The New Issue administration page will appear with a set of recommended attributes already in place. The recommended attributes are normally the same as your last saved attribute set, except that the issue number is one higher. If you are satisfied with the attributes you see, click Save. Otherwise, overwrite the recommended attributes with your preferred attributes and click Save. After you save your new issue, a listing for that issue will appear the next time you view the List Issue administration page.
Note: Browsers generally “cache” Web pages
in order to save download time. However, caching can prevent your browser from
showing you fresh edits. You may need
to click the Refresh or Reload button on your browser after you
make issue or story edits. This action
will instruct the server to retrieve and display the most current pages within
your system. If you still do not see
the revisions you expect, hold down the Shift key while you click Refresh or
Reload. Your revisions will then be viewable.
(Administration Home > Issue Management > Publication)
The List Issues page reveals all the issues in your current volume, enabling you to administer any individual issue. (Note: The content area of this page will appear blank until you create new issues.)
In List Issues, you can view, edit, or delete any issue. This page also shows you the volume-issue description, the release date, and the date line for each issue. The date line is the actual date that is placed within the home and story pages. The release date is the day that your issue became active on the system and was published for immediate use by your readers. The release date also indicates when the story content was added to the search database.
Volumes and issues can be described alphanumerically or by name. It is recommended that you use numeric values unless you have a specific reason to name your issues.
By clicking the View link for any issue, you can see the issue home page as your readers do. Click the Edit link and you will access the Edit Issue page. Click Delete and you will receive an “Are you sure?” response page that includes “Yes” and “No” buttons.
Clicking “Yes” will permanently delete the issue from the system. Copies of all issues are preserved in iProduction’s backup system, enabling iProduction system administrators to restore any issues or individual web pages that are deleted by mistake.
Clicking “No” will preserve the issue and return you to the Edit Issue page. Click “Refresh” or “Reload” on your browser to view a revised List Issue page following any deletion.
Click the Edit link on any issue listed on the List Issue page to view a complete list of stories for that issue. You may then view, edit, or delete any story in that issue.
At the top of the Edit Issue administration page is a link showing the volume and issue descriptions. Click on this link to view the issue home page as your readers see it. You can view and edit the issue Release Date and Date Line as well.
If you change either the Release Date or the Date Line, you will need to regenerate the issue to implement your changes. To regenerate the issue, click the Regenerate Current Issue link included along the top or bottom navigation bars. The regeneration process is comprehensive and may require several minutes to complete.
The Edit Issue administration page also enables you to add a new story or batch of stories to the issue. Clicking New Story brings you to the Edit Story administration page. Clicking Add Batch brings you to the Batch Loader administration page.
(Administration Home > Issue Management > Publication
> Edit > New Story)
or,
(Administration Home > Issue Management > News > New Story)
The Edit Story administration page provides the story content and attribute fields needed to create and publish a new story. Story content normally refers to headlines, subheads, bylines, body copy, captions, photos, illustrations and the like. Story attributes include story order, category, section, type, and other settings that determine how the publishing system handles the content you enter.
The various attributes available for your stories are determined during the system set-up process. As a result, the Edit Story administration page varies from site to site. However, many components are commonly used in most systems. These components include:
Title – This Title field serves as your story headline. It also appears in the colored bar at the extreme top of your browser window when you view the story page. Search sites such as Yahoo!, Excite, and Lycos will often parse Title content as a means to index web pages. For this reason, many editors include likely searching key words in the Title field. This tactic can help new readers find your stories. The Title field is required by the system, so you must enter a headline in this text field in order to publish the story.
Snippet – Snippets are story abstracts that generally appear underneath the headlines on site index pages. Snippets also enable you to reveal story “abstracts” to the public while reserving full story content for subscribers only. Simply enter or paste-in your snippet content into the text area. This is not a required field.
Byline – Enter the writer’s name. This is not a required field.
Byline Credit – Enter the originating publication name or copyright holder. This is not a required field.
Home Page Story Order – Controls the top-to-bottom order in which your stories appear on your home page. This attribute varies from publication to publication. You should learn to control this attribute during your initial system training process. Contact your iProduction representative for additional assistance. This is not a required field. The system will use publish time and date to determine story order if nothing is entered into this field.
Index Page Story Order - Controls the top-to-bottom order in which your stories appear on your section index page. You should also learn to control this attribute during your initial system training process. This is not a required field. The system will use publish time and date to determine story order if nothing is entered into this field.
Section – Controls which section of your publication the story will appear in. Simply select the appropriate section.
Type – Controls whether the story is associated with an issue, or if it is breaking news. Simply select the appropriate story type.
Subtitle – Simply enter your subtitle copy into the text box.
Story Body – Enter your story body copy into the text area. Since the Internet Publishing System understands HTML placed within text areas, you can include tables, graphs, links, email addresses, or other useful markup within the story body.
The Internet Publishing System provides a handy “copy-and-paste” method for writers who prefer to create stories using their favorite word processing application. To use this method, keep both the story document (within a word processor application such as Word) and an Internet browser (pointed to the appropriate Edit Story page) open on your computer’s desktop. When finished with the story, “copy-and-paste” the completed story from the word processor directly into the body copy area Edit Story page. Key-in the necessary story attributes, such as headline, byline, section, or story type, then submit the story to the system using the “Save” button on the Edit Story page. Some writers will not key-in any story attributes, but will leave that task to the editor.
Make sure that you do not inadvertently paste-in formatting, such as underlines, indents or bullets, from your word processor into the Edit Story page. Browsers may not be able to interpret formatting that was designed for word processors. It is recommended that you paste-in clean, unformatted copy. Then, use the HTML editor provided in the system to add any needed formatting.
The Internet Publishing System also assists editors who prefer to receive story files from writers, make their edits in a word processor, and paste the finished stories into the Edit Story page open on an Internet browser. Or, if the writer or editor prefers, the complete story can be keyed directly into the system via browser without using a word processor at all.
Image Area – This is a separate group of story attributes that enable you to manage the photos, illustrations, or other Web graphics you want to include within your story. More than one image area may be included in your Edit Story administration page. The total number of image areas available for each story is determined during your system set-up. Images are not required within your stories. Simply leave the image area blank if you do not want to include any images.
Image Caption – This text area enables you to enter or paste-in caption copy associated with an image you want to place within a story.
Image File Name – This text area enables you to assign a name to the .gif or .jpg image you want to place within your story. You must assign a name to the image; the system will not automatically recognize the image name as it is on the drive or disk on your computer. However, you may enter the same name as on your computer. When you assign your image name, use letters and numbers only. Use an underscore or hyphen instead of a space. The system will not work with images that contain spaces in the name. You must also include the .gif or .jpg extension.
Upload Image – This link provides you with a way to transfer image files from a drive or disk on your computer up to an image directory within your publishing system for use within your stories. Click the Upload Image link and a small pop-up window will launch. Click the Browse button, navigate on your computer to the image you wish to upload, assign an image name, and click the Upload button. The image will be copied to an image directory on your system.
Shoulder Box Area – This is a separate group of fields that enable you to create shoulder boxes that will appear alongside your stories. Editors use shoulder boxes to add editorial value to stories. Examples include links to related stories or columns, links to recommended sites, and links to related government or industry data. Several shoulder box areas are generally included on Edit Story administration pages. The total number of shoulder box areas available for each story is determined during your system set-up.
Shoulder Title –
This is the description or “headline” for the shoulder box you are
creating. Simply enter your title in
the text area.
Shoulder Image – This
text area enables you to place an image within your shoulder box. Enter the image name in the text area using
letters and numbers only. Use an
underscore or hyphen instead of a space.
The system will not work with images that contain any spaces in the
name. You must also include the .gif or
.jpg extension. Images are not required
within your shoulder boxes. Simply
leave the image area blank if you do not want to include any images.
Upload Image – This link provides you with a way to transfer image files from a drive or disk on your computer up to an image directory within your publishing system for use within your shoulder boxes. Click the Upload Image link and a small pop-up window will launch. Click the Browse button, navigate on your computer to the image you wish to upload, assign a name to the image, and click the Upload button. The image will be copied to an image directory on your system. Images are not required within your shoulder boxes.
Shoulder Text – This text box enables you to enter a free form “snippet” of content within the shoulder box. This is not a required field.
Shoulder Link+Text –
These text boxes enable you to enter the web links and short descriptions
within your shoulder box. Enter the URL
for your link in the first box, and the description in the second. Include the entire web address in the text
box, beginning with http://.
(Administration Home > Issue Management > Publication > Edit {The issue} > Edit {The story})
Editing an existing story is just like creating a new story; only the content is already entered into the system. Simply make your changes, click save, and proof your finished story page. When you are satisfied with your proof, click back to the Administration home page and regenerate.
When you have completed your Edit Story page, click the Save button at the top or bottom of the page to preserve your work. When you click the Save button, your story is 1) added to the editorial database, 2) added to the search database, and 3) saved as an HTML page in the appropriate directory.
After saving, you will be presented with a page that notifies you of a successful save and which contains a headline link for proofing your story. Click that link to view your story “in template” as your readers will. If you spot a mistake that you would like to correct, click the List Issue or List Stories link in the navigation bar at the top of your page. This link will return you to the list of story headlines. Click the story you want to edit, make the changes on the Edit Story page, click Save, and proof as before.
(Administration Home > Issue Management >
Publication > List Issues)
The Internet Publishing System™ enables batch loading from desktop publishing (DTP) applications such as QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign. Editors may be able to save time by exporting completed issues from these DTP applications and loading the content into the system as a batch.
Batch loading issues requires that additional components be set-up within the Internet Publishing System™. In addition, extensions that convert the DTP content and layout must be acquired.
(Administration Home > News > Regenerate Stories)
The Breaking News stories you edit and save are not available for your readers to view until you “regenerate” your stories. When you regenerate, you update your index pages (such as your site home page or your section home pages) to include the headlines and snippets from your Breaking News stories. When these index pages are updated through regeneration, your readers have a means to access your Breaking News stories. Regeneration also places old Breaking News stories in the archive section of your site.
To regenerate Breaking News stories, simply click the Regenerate link along the top navigation bar of the List Stories page in the Breaking News. The system will automatically update your site index pages to include your Breaking News stories. This process can take several minutes, especially if you have created many Breaking News stories. The system will return a notification web page to your browser when regeneration is complete.
(Administration Home > Issue Management > Publication > List Issues > Post an Issue)
The stories you edit and save for a new current issue are not available for your readers to view until you “Post” the issue to your web site. When you post an issue, you are actually updating your index pages (such as your site home page or your section home pages) to include the headlines and snippets from the stories in your new issue. When these index pages are updated, your readers have a means to access your new issue. Posting also places the old issue in the archive section of your site.
To post your issue, simply click the Post Current Issue link along the top navigation bar of the current Edit Issue page. The system will automatically update your site index pages to include all the stories in your current issue. This process can take several minutes, especially if your current issue contains many stories. The system will return a notification web page to your browser when posting is complete.
From time to time, you may choose to revise your site templates. After you revise a site template, any Breaking News stories and new issues you create will be published using the revised templates. However, your old stories and issues will remain in the old template until you regenerate them.
To regenerate, simply click the Regenerate link along the top navigation bar of the List Stories page. The system will overwrite your old stories and issues and create new ones using the revised template. This process can take several minutes. The system will return a notification web page to your browser when regeneration is complete.
Since regeneration is part of a broader site revision process, editors will not normally regenerate stories or issues without help from iProduction staff. It is advisable to contact your iProduction representative before you regenerate stories or issues.