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The image below shows the community’s home page. This can be viewed by anyone.  The community’s title and a brief description can be added to the top banner section as well as changing the banner image.  In the featured section, customize your community content by adding themes, information, and events. Below the featured section is an area to provide a map gallery that has been created and curated specifically for your community.

The admin dashboard is where the content and layout of the community can be edited and updated.  This page can only be viewed by accounts with elevated privileges.



Quick Overview of Key Components

Posts and Pages – Where the majority of the community’s content is added and edited.
Media – Where the images and documents used in the community space will be added and stored.
Appearance – Where you customize the look and layout of your community space.
Settings – Where you can edit general community settings and find information for using GeoPlatform installed plugins.
Users – where you view current community members and their roles.

Note: Most of these capabilities require editor access.

When editing the banner section of your community, you can change the background image, the text, and the Call to Action button.

Note: – Only administrators and editors can edit the banner section.

Changing the banner image

1. Log-in to your community site.
2. Click the “Customize” tab on the left side of the top toolbar.
• A toolbar on the left side of the page will open.
3. Select “Header Image”
• The header image section shows the current header image in addition to a list of previously chosen image(s).
4. Choose an image:
• Option 1 – Select an image from the previously uploaded menu. The image in the banner area should have automatically adjusted.
• Option 2 – Select an image from the Media Library. To do this, click the “Add New” button. This will open the media library. From there you can either select an existing image in the library, or add a new one. Once the image is selected, click the “Select and Crop” button at the bottom right. This will take you to another page where you have the option to crop the selected image. Here, you can choose to crop the image or skip that step.
5. Once you have found the image you would like to use, select “Save & Publish” at the top of the left side menu.

Changing the banner text

1. Log-in to your community site.
2. Click the “Customize” tab on the left side of the top toolbar.
• A toolbar on the left side of the page will open.
3. Select “Banner Area”.
• The text window for the banner will open.
4. The text can be edited through the “Visual” editor or the “Text” editor (recommended method). The Visual editor displays the text as it is written in the editor window. The Text editor uses html to display the text. Enter the content you would like to display.
• As the text is entered into the editing window, the text in the banner should be automattically updating.
5. Once finished, click “Save and Publish”.

Using the Call to Action Button

The “Call to Action” button refers to the button on the homepage banner. For example, in the image to the right, this is the “Learn More” button. Take the following steps to edit this item.

1. Log-in to your community site.
2. Click the “Customize” tab on the left side of the top toolbar.
• A toolbar on the left side of the page will open.
3. Select “Banner Area”.
• The banner area window will open.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the Banner Area window, there you will see a “Call to Action” button check box. If you uncheck this box, the button will disappear.
5. Change the “Button Text”. This is what will be shown on the community homepage.
6. Add a “Button URL”. This is where the viewer will be directed to when they click on the button.
7. Once the desired changes have been made, click “Save & Publish” at the top of the Banner Area menu.

The “Call to Action” button should now to updated with the new changes.

Categories – On the community home page there is a featured section showing a variety of cards.  Each card is is known in WordPress as a “category”.  In the categories section, categories can be added, edited, or deleted.  

Note: creating, editing, and deleting featured cards/categories requires Editor access.

Creating Featured Cards

1. Log in to your community site.
2. Click your community’s title on the left side of the top toolbar.
• The dashboard should open.
3. Select “Posts” or “Pages” in the left side menu.
4. Select “Categories” in the left side menu.
• The list of existing categories should now be displayed on the screen. This is where existing categories can be edited or deleted.
5. On the left side of the Categories page, there is an option to add a new one.
6. Enter a title.
7. Add a “Slug” (Optional)
• The slug is what will be added to the end of the URL to make it unique. If you do not enter one, one will be automatically created for you.
8. Add Description (optional).
• The description will show up in the banner area of the categories page. This is a good place to briefly summarize the type of content that the posts and pages listed here contain.
9. Add an Image (optional).
• This is the Featured/Category card image for the community home page. If no image is added, the card will be gray.”
10. Once finished, click “Add New Category”.

Adding a New Post or Page

1. Log in to your community site.
2. Click your community’s title on the left side of the top toolbar.
• The dashboard should open.
3. Select “Posts” or “Pages” in the left side menu.
4. Click “Add New”
5. Enter a title.
• This will create the permalink for the post or page. To change the link, click the “Edit” button to the right of it.
6. In the large text box below, add content.
• When adding content, the text can be edited through the “Visual” editor or the “Text” editor (recommended method). The Visual editor displays the text as it is written in the editor window. The Text editor uses html to display the text. Refer to the “Editing Text” section for helpful tips using the Text editor.
7. Add content to the “Banner Area Custom Content” section. (Optional)
• Any content added here will be displayed in the top banner of the post or page.
8. Add a Featured Image (optional). In the Featured Image section at the bottom of the right side menu, click “Set featured image”.
• This image will appear next to the page item when/if it is listed in a category.
9. Select an image from the Media Library or add a new one in the “Upload Files” tab.
10. Once you have found an image, select “Set featured image” in the bottom right corner.
11. Once finished, click the blue “Publish” button on the right side of the page. If you are not done but would like to save what you have so far, click “Save Draft”.

Attaching a Post or Page to Categories

1. Log in to your community site.
2. Click your community’s title on the left side of the top toolbar.
• The dashboard should open.
3. Select “Posts” or “Pages” in the left side menu.
4. Find and select the post or page you would like to add to a category.
5. Click “Edit”.
6. On the right side of the screen, find the “Categories” section.
7. Check the box next to the category(s) you would like to add the post or page to.
• A post or page can be added to more than one category.
8. Click “Update”.
• The post or page has now been added to the category.

Editing Text – Using the Visual or WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor can be tricky at times. If the posts are not turning out how you intended, try using the “text editor”. Click the “Text” tab at the top right of the editing box. This will show the HTML formating of the post.

• Surround each section in the appropriate tags. Sections can range from one character to multiple paragraphs.
For Example – If you wanted to Italicize the whole sentence and underline one word, in the “text” editor it would look like this.
<em>If you wanted to Italicize the whole sentence and <u>underline</u> one word, in the “text” editor it would look like this.</em>
• Tags
• Bold = <strong>text</strong>
• Italicized = <em>text</em>
• Underlined = <u>text</u>
• Tab = <ul>text</ul>
• bullet point = <li>text</li>
• Paragraph = <p>text</p>
• Line Break = <br> (This one does not require a closing tag.)
• Font Size = <font size=”number“>text</font>
• Note – Any words in orange can be changed.

Text Tips

• To create larger gaps between lines, add more line breaks (<br>)
• Use the “Preview Changes” button to view new changes before saving them.
• If you would like to add media, click where on the page you would like it to go, and click “Add Media”.
  

At the bottom of your community home page there is space to add your community’s customized map gallery. To learn how, follow the directions below.

Adding a Map Gallery

1. Using the GeoPlatform Map Manager (https://maps.geoplatform.gov/maps), find the gallery that you would like to add to your community.
2. Click on the gallery name to open that gallery’s page.
3. Copy the ending code in the URL for the gallery (e.g. https://maps.geoplatform.gov/galleries/ff53207cc8d08e02033c7286004b5a22).
4. Go to your community space.
5. Log in.
6. Click the “Customize” tab in the top toolbar.
7. Click “GeoPlatform Controls” in the left side toolbar.
8. Scroll down to the bottom of the “GeoPlatform Controls” section to the part where it says “Map Gallery Link”. In the text bar, enter “https://ual.geoplatform.gov/api/galleries/” and paste the ending code from the map gallery at the end (“https://ual.geoplatform.gov/api/galleries/” + your gallery end code)
Example:
Map Gallery URL:
https://maps.geoplatform.gov/galleries/ff53207cc8d08e02033c7286004b5a22 Text in Map Gallery Link Section:
https://ual.geoplatform.gov/api/galleries/ff53207cc8d08e02033c7286004b5a22


9. Once you have set the URL click “Publish” at the top.

The media library is where the items such as images, documents, and videos are stored for the community space.

Searching through the Media library

• The media can be displayed by either just the thumbnail images (default) ()  or listed with more information ().
• Media can be filtered by either type of item or date added.

Adding Media

1. Go to the Media Library.
• Click your community’s title on the left side of the top tool bar and select “Media” on the left side menu in the dashboard.
2. Click “Add New” at the top of the page.
3. Drag and drop files into the dashed “Drop files here” box or look up the files through the “Select Files” button.
• If the file size is too large to upload and an error message is shown at the bottom of the media page, contact the GeoPlatform service desk for more help (servicedesk@geoplatform.gov).
4. Once the files have been added, they should appear in the Media Library.

Using Media

There are two easy ways to use items in the media library throughout your community space.

• When adding media in a text box click the “Add Media” button () above the text box, or;
• Use the item’s URL. When files are added to the media library, each item is assigned a unique URL. To find the URL, select the item in the media library and look a the details to the right of the item.

Both the main menu in the top right corner of your community home page and the right side menu on posts and pages can be edited to fit your community needs.

Editing the Main Menu

The main menu is broken down into different sections, all of which can be edited. To edit the main menu, follow the instructions below.

1. Log in to your community.
2. Click the community name on the left side of the top tool bar. This will open the admin dashboard.
3. On the left side menu, click “Appearance”.
4. Under “Appearance”, select “Menus”.

5. The main menu is broken down into different sections (see the image to the right).
   
   1 = “Header Menu – Left Column”
   2 = “Header Menu – Center Column”
   3 = “Header Menu – Right Column 1”
   4 = “Header Menu – Right Column 2”
6. In the “select a menu to edit:” section, click the drop down menu to select the section you would like to edit or create a new menu (by click the “Create a New Menu” button).
7. The “Menu Structure” should now be updated with the content of the selected section.
• This is where current content can be edited or deleted, and new content can be added.
8. To edit or delete current content click the dropdown arrow next to the item you would like to change.
9. To add new content, select the items you would like to add from the menu to the left of the “Menu Structure” section. Then click “Add to Menu”.
10. Once you have finished Adding, Editing, or Deleting the items in this section of the menu, click “Save Menu”.

Editing the Right Side Menu

The right side menu is located on posts and pages on the right side of the page below the news section. This menu is made up of widgets. Follow the instructions below to learn how to create, edit, or delete items on the menu.

1. Log in to your community space.
2. Click your community name on the left side of the top toolbar. This will open the admin dashboard.
3. On the left side menu, click “Appearance”.
4. Under “Appearance”, select “Widgets”.
Here you will see that the Widgets page has been broken down into two parts. On the left side is a list of available widgets. On the right side is the “Side Widget” section, this is where the Right Side Menu can be changed.
5. To add new widgets to the menu, either drag and drop them into the “Sidebar Widget” section or click on the available widget and then click “Add Widget”.
6. To remove widgets from the sidebar menu, either drag and drop the widget in to the “Available Widgets” are, or click the drop down arrow on the widget in the sidebar menu section and click “delete”.
7. To edit widgets that are currently in the sidebar section, click the the drop down menu on the widget and the editing box will open.
8. As you add and edit widgets, make sure to click the blue “Save” button as you go.

User Roles Users are sorted into a variety of different roles, some of the basic differences are listed below:

• Administrator – Someone with access to administration features on a single site. This role is generally prohibited and not for public use.
• Editor – Someone who can both manage and publish their own and others posts. This role is for Community Leads.
• Author – Someone who can only publish and manage their own posts.
• Contributor – Someone with the ability to write and manage their own posts, but not publish them.
• Subscriber– Someone who can only manage their own profile.

For more details about each of the 5 roles, see the chart below:

Adding Users Follow the steps below to onboard new community members.

1. The new community member needs to go to the community’s homepage and sign in using the link on the community page.
2. The Community Lead emails the GeoPlatform Service desk (servicedesk@geoplatfom.gov) to request adding another community member. The email should to include the following:
• The new member’s first and last name
• The new member’s email address
• The new member’s role (editor, author, or contributor)
• If the new member is an editor, then also include a copy of the signed Rules of Behavior documents
• Rules of Behavior and Access Policy
• Rules of Behavior for Privileged Accounts
3. The service desk will grant the specified role to the new user and notify the new user and the Community Lead when finished.

For more information, visit the getting started page.