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Using the Ballots Module

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:40:11 GMT

The ballots module is an online voting module. It's a great way for organizations to elect office positions,or vote proposals and issues. Here are some facts about the ballots module:

The users or members will have to log in and enter their unique ballot ID in order to vote. The unique ballot ID can be used only once, so no one will be able to vote more than one time.
The unique ballot IDs will be generated and assigned to each user for the selected user group when a ballot is activated.
After a ballot is activated, it is not allowed to edit.
No one but the designated ballot editor can access the report of the voting results.
If a ballot is mailed back to the office, and offline reconciliation is enabled, an admin or the ballot editor can enter the vote online.

The process of using the ballots module:

Create a ballot ---- Activate the ballot --- Send users the Unique Ballot IDs --- Users vote online --- (Offline reconciliation if enabled) --- View the report of voting results.

Uploading a document to a CMS page

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:08:59 GMT

You may want to upload a document to a page on your site for viewing or downloading by your site visitors. Examples of these may include:

A technical white paper
A price list
An image
An informational flyer
An employee handbook
Any document that you do not want to convert to html and put on the site

Documents are generally uploaded as .pdf files but can be .doc or .xls or a file of another type.

To upload a document to your page:

View the page.
Click the Upload Files () icon under More Options.
Browse to the file on your network.
Check Restrict File View if you do *not* want this file to appear for download at the bottom of the page.
- If you check this option, you will need to add a link to the uploaded file within the text of the CMS page. (e.g. "Download the employee handbook")
Click Upload.

View your page and you will see the file you just uploaded at the bottom of the page.

If you checked Restrict File View, you will need to Edit the CMS page and add a link to the uploaded file. (See How to add a relative link on a CMS page)

Generating a Newsletter

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:59:12 GMT

Generating a professional newsletter is quick and easy with Tendenci. The software can automatically pull new site content into a graphically-rich framework to get you started. You then review, edit and send! From the Tendenci console, click Newsletter Generator under the Admin Quick Links section. Choose the User Group to receive the newsletter. Include Jump Links to have an index automatically created at the top of your newsletter. Include or Skip categories of content to be pulled to the newsletter. Choose which Template you would like to use (click the name of the Template to preview it) Click Submit. Click View Email to review the newsletter as it will go out. Close this window when done viewing. Click Edit Email to make changes to the newsletter before sending. Close this window when done editing. Check I Agree and click Accept Software License Agreement after reading the text and agreeing to...

Adding a link that opens a new window

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:17:30 GMT

When you add a link to an external source (another web site), you may want to open that link in a new window.

To add a link that opens a new window:

Add the link to your CMS page as usual. (How to add a link)
In the Add/Edit Link properties box, click the Target tab and choose New Window from the Target dropdown.
Click OK.

Test your link to double-check your work!

Editing my site's Meta Information

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:34:06 GMT

Tendenci software automatically creates Meta information for every page of your site. However, to better optimize your site for search engines you may want to customize the information yourself. To edit a pages Meta Information (This only allows you to make changes to CMS pages, this icon does not appear on non CMS pages ex. Articles): Go to that particular page on your site. Select the icon (under More Options). (Note: To edit the Meta Information on your homepage, click on the ^ icon and then change the CMID at the end of the URL to =1) You will see a page that includes several fields of Meta information such as: Page Title - This will determine what appears on the top bar of a web browser. This is the Page Title that appears on the Tendenci site: Meta Keywords - These are words that are found on the page and would be used to search for the page. *Note if you include words that are not found on the page you can be penalized by...

Using Email Addresses To Groups

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:31:38 GMT

The Tendenci Email to Groups function allows admins to enter a list of email addresses and bind them to a user group.

Note - the email address *must* already be attached to a user in the database for the process to complete!

Create your User Group (see http://support.tendenci.com/en/helpfiles/v/73 for more information on creating user groups)
From the Tendenci Menu click "Manage Users" in the admin only block
Choose option E-1 "E-mail to Groups"
Paste all of the email addresses into the text area
Choose the group you are adding (or removing) the users to from the drop down menu
Choose whether to add or remove the users from the specified group
Press submit - all the email addresses that match up with a user record will be added or removed as specified from the group

Editing a CMS page

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:20:12 GMT

Watch the Help Video below, or scroll down to read our written instructions. The text pages of your web site are actually built on a Content Management System (CMS). This means that all content lives in a database and is displayed like regular text when someone visits the page. The beauty of this is that you can update this text whenever you want! *You must be logged in as a Global (Site) Admin to access the CMS options. Here is a Help File on how to make someone a Global Admin of a site.* To edit a CMS page: Access the page you want to edit. Click the Edit icon (pencil) in the lower right-hand corner of the page. Change the Title if you wish. This will change both the title that shows at the top of the page and the title that shows in the blue bar at the very top of your screen. Since Titles carry weight with the search engines, make your Titles descriptive and smart. Edit the Content in the big box in the middle of...

WYSIWYG Icons

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:05:23 GMT

Here's a quick rundown of the different WYSIWYG Editor icons. To view an icon name on your screen, roll your mouse over the icon and wait a second for the mouseover text to appear. (You must actually be in Edit mode on a page to see the rollovers.) Source -- toggles between HTML source code and the WYSIWYG view Preview -- shows full document in WYSIWYG format but does not apply style sheet formatting Templates -- applies a set of formatting to a blank page. Use this before adding content as it replaces all page content with the template coding. This is an easy wasy to add a video or audio file to your page. Cut, copy and paste Paste as plain text -- pastes copied text from another location and strips all formatting codes. This is the cleanest way to add new content to your site. Paste from Word -- pastes copied text from another location and retains many of...

Uploading a file or document

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:58:06 GMT

From the main console go to the Files link under Other Tendenci Modules.
Now hit Add a File (search will allow you to search and view files that have been uploaded)

Please browse for the file so that it is listed in the field and hit upload.
(Important: DO NOT use spaces or caps in file names.)

Then you can have a choice to upload another file or go back to the index.

Kinds of Files to upload to Tendenci

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:49:41 GMT

You can upload a variety of different file to your website by using the Files module or the WYSIWYG editor. We have web friendly files just as we have web friendly fonts so always remember that simple is best. From the WYSIWIG editor: Please read our help file on adding images to cms pages 1. Images can be uploaded and inserted by clicking the mountain icon. Acceptable image formats are .jpeg and .gif and need to be set at 72 dpi 2. Flash files can be uploaded and inserted by clicking the Flash Logo. Acceptable flash formats are .swf 3. From the files module: • Go to http://support.tendenci.com/en/files • Click Add File • Or click Search to find existing files For more information please read our help file on uploading files to the files module Acceptable files include: 1. Audio files - Acceptable audio formats are .mp3 2. PowerPoint presentations - Acceptable Power Point formats are .ppt 3. Word documents -...

Editing /adding Functional Title fields in the Users Module

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:56:46 GMT

The functional title field allows the Administrators on the site to create a drop down menu for their members or users to select the most appropriate functional title. Examples of functional titles are: CEO, CFO, President, Vice President, Consultant, Manager, Legal, etc. To edit and add Functional Titles: From the Tendenci console - Select Other Tendenci Modules. From the drop-down list choose Functional Titles. If you would like to add a new functional title, click the Add a functional title. 4. If you would like to Edit an existing functional title - select the Search for Functional Titles under the Functional Title Options. 5.From here find the functional title you would like to edit and select the A definition of Functional Title fields: Function Title Name - this is the field that appears in the drop down menu for the member or user to select from. Functional Title Code - this would be utilized if your company was using a numerical...

Adding a link in a CMS page

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:47:27 GMT

Adding text links within your site content will accomplish two things: make it easier for your site visitors to follow their interests when moving around your site -- and -- enhance your search engine positioning by adding context links of interest. You can link words, phrases or graphics in your page. *You must be logged in as a Global Admin to access the CMS options.* To link to a page outside of your own site (absolute link): Open a separate browser window and find the page you want to link to. Copy the URL. Return to your original window. View the CMS page where the link will be and click Edit. Select the word, phrase or graphic to be linked. Click the Insert Hyperlink tool in the WYSIWYG Editor. Paste in the copied URL, including the http://. Set the type to http:// To have the system launch a new window when this link is clicked, click the Target tab in the dialog box and choose New Window from the Target dropdown. Click OK to...

Adding / Posting articles

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:52:10 GMT

Posting Articles to your site is a great way to keep your visitors informed of new ideas, trends and information. Articles not only keep the content of your site fresh and exciting, they also provide validation for your organization image, automatically pull to the newsletters and boost your ranking in the Search Engines. All Site Users have the ability to post Articles to your site. As a checkpoint, each Article must be activated by a Site Admin before displaying on the site. This allows you a measure of control while still supporting distributed authoring of information. To post an Article: From the News section of your site, choose Add from the horizontal menu at the top. Enter your Article title in the Headline field. The Headline you input will have a dramatic affect on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The Headline will appear as the title of the Article page and therefore carry more weight with the search engines. Use terms that will get picked up! ...

Cleaning up the formatting on my CMS page and in the WYSIWYG

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:50:58 GMT

If you paste into the CMS form from Word, the formatting from that file will go into your CMS page. To delete that formatting:

Highlight the text you want to format
Click the paintbrush in the WYSIWIG editor. It will say Remove Format” when you hover the mouse over the eraser.
This will clean up the majority of your HTML and text will now be restored to the best possible default and you can edit from there.

Adding an image to a CMS page

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:19:28 GMT

To add an image to a page on your site,from the WYSIWYG editor, click the Insert image button To choose an image that you have already uploaded, click Browse Server under image info. Then select your file. To upload a new file, choose upload at the top. Under upload select Browse to find your file. Once chosen, click Send it to the Server then click 'OK. A preview of your image will show up on the top right of the screen. Make any changes to Alignment, Border, Size (changing the width will automatically adjust the height accordingly), in the fields at the bottom and hit Insert. Once your image is in place, you can double click it to update these settings. How does the image properties dialog box work? Alternative Text: Add text here that describes the image. When a cursor is placed over the image this text will come up. FYI - use keywords as much as possible. It is good for search engines. Width and Height: Width and Height can be adjusted. Be careful...

Adding external calendar events to the consolidated view of the calendar

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:43:41 GMT

Scenario: you have one or more partner sites that are not hosted by Schipul, but you want their calendar events to show on your calendar event consolidated monthly view (http://www.YOURDOMAINHERE.com/en/cev/CMON). To add the external calendar events to the consolidated monthly view on your site, all you need to do is two steps: 1) Put the external events in a xml file. 2) Add the xml link to the oconns. Step 1. Create a xml file Your partner site has to create a xml file. The root element of xml file must have the name CalendarEvents. Each child of the CalendarEvents represents an event that has 6 children - title, url, startdatetime, enddatetime, location and city. The first four nodes of an event - title, url, startdatetime, enddatetime - are required. An example of xml file with three events <?xml version=1.0 encoding=iso-8859-1?> <CalendarEvents> <event> <title>Operations Conference and Exhibit</title> ...

How to personally address newsletters

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:13:02 GMT

When you send a Newsletter through the Tendenci software, each email is sent individually to each person. No cc's or bcc's needed. Each person gets a newsletter personally addressed and sent to them.

The opening of the newsletter defaults to: Hello [firstname],

When the emails are generated, the user's first name is placed in the email for a personalized address: Hello Mary,

To turn off this reflex, edit the email and replace [firstname] with a generic address such as: Hello guys, or Hello team members,

Setting permission levels for a user

Thu, 13 May 2010 19:59:20 GMT

You have the ability to assign different permission rights to certain Users for various modules in your system without giving them Administrative rights to the rest of the site. To do this, you will use Permissions.

To change the Permissions level for a user:

Search for the User.
Click the Edit Permissions () in the "More Options" dropdown menu to the right of the edit link in their user record.
Select a Permissions Level for this user for the different modules that are available.

Read Only
- can view all active pages regardless of the allow view checkboxes
Editor
- can add pages
- can view all pages (as long as status =1...status detail can be anything)
- can edit or delete any page
- when adding or editing they can set the title, content, category, subcategory, allow view checkboxes, allow edit checkboxes, log page views, email a friend, rate this, contact form, help file, allow comments
- they do *not* have access to syndicate, user group permissions, status, statusdetail, owner, or alternate editors
Administrator
- gives the User full admin rights to all pages

Click Submit when you are done to save these changes.

**You can also assign rights to an entire User Group in one step by Viewing the User Group and clicking Admin: Edit Security Permissions for Group Members. This is a one-time application of the permission selected. In other words, new users added to this group will *not* inherit these permissions. Individual records can be adjusted using the procedure above.

Editing the formula for adding shipping to a catalog

Thu, 13 May 2010 17:12:36 GMT

You would use the shipping option if you were using the catalogs to function as a shopping cart on the site.

**Note - while the catalog module is similar to online shopping carts, it was originally created as a true online catalog.**

You are able to insert a formula on the back end (in site reflexes) in order to assign a shipping price for the items you are selling through the catalog module.

In order to set up the formula for shipping price on your site (this may require creating complex formulas):

Within the Catalogs module, click "Settings" (/en/settings/catalogs/)
Scroll down to "Shipping Weight Cost Formula" (/en/settings/catalogs/#catalogsshippingweightcostformula)
You will need to write out a coherent working formula equation
Finally select the Change button to save your changes

There are a variety of ways to write the shipping formulas - review some shipping formulas.

Preparing a file for a member import

Tue, 04 May 2010 13:58:00 GMT

Before you can import a group of members into Tendenci, you must format your data into our existing data format.

Go to http://www.yourdomain.com/en/memberships/upload/formats/ to download a Member Import Template.

To prepare a .csv file:
1. Open or import your data file into Excel.
2. Copy and paste the data that you will be importing into the Template CSV.

3.Do a find (CTRL+F) for blank cells and replace with one push of the space bar.

4. Delete the header or title rows in your spreadsheet. Max of 2000 records.

4. Save as a .csv file.

Note: If the .csv file has more than 2000 records (rows), it may timeout (not completely import).

Note: Membership types must be entered as the number that corresponds with the membership type, not the name. Do a find (CTRL+F) for each type and replace with the number from /en/memberships/types/search.asp

Then use the Member Import utlity to import the file. See How to import members into Tendenci for more information.