News Articles

The following steps will accomplish creating a News Article.

Select Article from the Group Actions options.

Screenshot of selecting "Article" from the "Group Actions" menu.

The edit form will open. Complete the form as follows:

Screenshot of the Article Title form.

Headlines

  1. Title - Main Headline
  2. Short Title  - A shorter headline version
  3. Sub Title – Subtitle

Success Stories need to be either the longer primary headline limits or the shorter primary headline limits to avoid wrapping:

  • Longer Primary Headline
    • Primary Headline:  25 characters max (including spaces)
    • Secondary Headline:  32 characters max (including spaces)
  • Shorter Primary Headline
    • Primary Headline:  20 characters max (including spaces)
    • Secondary Headline:  50 characters max (including spaces)

Thumbnail Image - not required

Author

Enter the name of the author to be displayed in the right column.

Body

A screenshot of the drupal text editor showing two rows of buttons and a text field

The Body field is where the content for the main section of your article is entered. A standard within a group should be communicated to all group editors to ensure consistency. See Common Mistakes to Avoid for text and terminology guidelines. When referring to students, do not include their name without their written permission; rather, use ‘a sophomore English major.’

If pasting content from a software program select the Paste as plain text icon to paste into. Update formatting where needed and add hyperlinks.

To view a larger workspace you can click either:

1.    Click the Maximize icon to see the window as a full screen.
2.    Lengthen the area by dragging the resize corner down.

The functions of the icons shown in rows 1 and 2, from left to right, are listed on the Basic Editing page.

To add a YouTube or Vimeo video in the body simply select the Embed Media icon and add your embed code in the window provided. In order for the video to be responsive, the height and width will have to be changed from the default pixel settings to 100% (include the % sign).

See the Images page for directions on how to add an image into the body.

Media

Screenshot of the "Media" tab.

Feature Photo

To be uploaded a featured image must meet these specifications:

  • Files must be less than 100 MB.
  • Allowed file types: png gif jpg jpeg.
  • Images must be larger than 1500px x 600px.

To add an image:

  1. Select the Choose File button in the Media box.
  2. Locate and select the image on your computer.
  3. Click Upload.
  4. Move the crosshairs to the focal point of the image
  5. Enter Alternate Text and Title Text. The title text will be displayed in the lower left corner of the image.

Photo Gallery

Add Additional Photos if you want a slide show effect at the top of the article.

Tags

Screenshot of the "Tags" menu.

List the taxonomy (i.e. the college, school, department, focus of article) that the group uses to filter the news feed. If a title contains a comma it should have quotes added to it. For example: Financial Aid, Housing, “College of Education, Health and Human Services.” Select Add another item to add more than one title tag. 

Featured Video

To add a video when there is not a feature image click Select, choose the Web tab and enter the YouTube or Vimeo URL in the field provided.

Featured News

To promote a story to the home page, select Promoted to front page from the Publishing option tab located along the right side of the page.  This selection or lack of selection will affect news feeds.

Group Audience

Screenshot of the "Group Audiences" tab.

The group you are signed in to with be selected. If that is the correct group the content should be added to then changes are not necessary. If it is not the correct group, select the correct group using the node ID for the group.

Other Groups 

This field, only available to administrators, is provided to add the content to a group that you are not a member of. If more than one additional group is required, select the Add another item button to add more.

Save your work!

If you do not select the Save button, your content will not be saved when you leave the page.