A how-to guide to posting to this site, making pdf’s, and other fun things.
To log in to the site: Log in to the site by clicking “log in” under the “Admin” banner on the right-hand column. The log in name is “indyclass” and the password has been distributed on our listserv. You will then have the option of either navigating the site through the admin “dashboard”, or you can keep looking through the site as you normally would, except now there will be the word “edit” next to the titles of posts and pages. If you click “edit”, you’ll be taken to the dashboard. Here, you can make changes to pages and posts (through the tab “manage”), or you can write new ones (through the tab “write”.)
To post a reading: A) To access the editing dashboard — Option 1: While navigating the site, click on the “readings” page and then click the “edit” link near the title. You must be logged in to do this. Option 2: Sign in to the site and go directly to the dashboard, then click the “Manage” tab, select “Pages” under that, and then select the page “Readings.” With the two options, you’ll end up at the same place, i.e. at the dashboard, with ”Readings” page available for editing. It basically looks like you’re editing an email.
B) To actually post a reading: At the top right-hand side of the text you’re editing, you will see “Add media.” Hover your mouse over the icons to the right, and select the icon for “Add media”, if you’re trying to attach a word document, pdf or web page document. A box will pop up. Exciting!
In this box, you’ll be prompted to upload a file from your computer. Click “Browse”, select the file from your computer, and then click “upload file.” It will get uploaded (whee!) and then all you have to do is give it a new name if you want (like, “Barlow article” or “click here” or “this how-to is amazing”), and then click “Insert into post.”
If you don’t insert it into the post, it won’t appear on the readings page, but it will still be stored in the “Gallery/Media Library” for other people to access when they’re inserting media on other pages.
To do other stuff on the site: Basically, fool around on the dashboard till you figure stuff out. It’s usually easier that way than me trying to explain it clumsily here. And more fun for you.
To make a .pdf file: Pdf files are the best type to post, as they are more compressed and manageable than word documents. You can make .pdfs out of scanned documents by using the scanners in the McGill cybertheque (downstairs near the Tim Hortons in the McLennan-Redpath Library). Open the Adobe Professional program. At the top left, click the drop down arrow for “Create pdf” and select “From scanner.” You’ll then get a prompt to start scanning your stuff. After you scan one page, you can either click “Scan complete” or you can click “Scan more pages” to keep appending pages to your pdf document. At the end, the program automatically rotates all your pages. If you want to crop out white space, you can click on “Document” (it’s on the toolbar at the very top), click “Crop” and then start changing the margins — which you can ask to have applied to just one page or to all of them. And voila!
If anyone else has handy tips and tricks, don’t hesitate to post them here!!
