Learning path: editor #

This path is for anyone who will write and publish content with Exponential, and the first path for every learner. It is built only from existing help pages. Each step names the pages to read, one thing to practice on your study installation, and a check you can answer before you move on.

You need a study installation and an account with editing rights. The administrator account of your own study site is fine to start; project 9 later shows you what a real editor sees.

Contents #

1. Before you start
2. The steps
3. Going further
4. Where the path leads next

Before you start #

• Install a site: Your first site: three ways.
• Know the difference between the administration (where you work) and the site (what visitors see), and between a draft and a published version (Getting started).

The steps #

Step 1: Sign in and look around (1 hour) #

• Read: Getting started, Logging into the Editor, A tour of the administration.
• Practice: sign in, open each tab your role shows, sign out.
• Check: can you say what Content structure and Media hold, and where your drafts are listed?

Step 2: Create and edit content (2 hours) #

• Read: Creating and editing content.
• Practice: create a folder and two articles inside it; edit one title; store a draft and finish it later.
• Check: what is the difference between Send for publishing, Store draft and exit and Discard draft?

Step 3: Images and files (1 hour) #

• Read: Media and uploads, How do I insert an image in the online editor?.
• Practice: upload two images to the media library and place one in an article.
• Check: where does an uploaded image live in the content tree?

Step 4: Publishing, versions and the trash (1 hour) #

• Read: Publishing, versions and the trash, How do I find and finish my drafts?.
• Practice: edit an article three times, then compare versions; remove an article and restore it from the trash.
• Check: why can you always go back to an earlier version?

Step 5: Find content (30 minutes) #

• Read: Searching, How do I find content?.
• Practice: use the quick search, the advanced search with a class, and the content finder with a node number.
• Check: name two reasons why an item you know exists may not appear in your search.

Step 6: Translations (1 hour) #

• Read: Languages, How do I translate content?.
• Practice: if your site has a second language, translate one article. If it has only one, note the step and come back after project 5.
• Check: what is the main language of an item?

Step 7: Pages built with blocks (2 hours) #

• Read: The layouts editor, How do I build a page with layouts?.
• Practice: create a layout, add a Title and a Rich text block, save a draft, then publish.
• Check: what decides on which pages a layout is used? (A mapping, also called a rule.)

Step 8: Work faster (30 minutes) #

• Read: Keyboard shortcuts, Your account and signing in.
• Practice: use three shortcuts in one editing session.

Going further #

Where the path leads next #

• Study projects for this path: 2, 4, 5 and the capstone.
• With a trainer: Editors 101, then Editors 201 and Exponential Layouts.
• Next path: administrator or designer.

Related pages #

• Choosing a learning path
• Your first hour in the administration
• Student checklists
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.