Basic Training Guide

Owned by Melissa Chavira
Last updated: Aug 10, 2023
6 min read

Table of Contents

Purpose & How to Use This Guide

This guide will provide an overview of the essentials of Cascade CMS, including navigating through the CMS and creating/managing content. It is designed to be read chronologically and then used for reference.

Register for the Cascade 101: Basic Training course in TrainingCentral and work through the training modules. You will be added to the practice.nmsu.edu site (in the CMS) as a sandbox to test your knowledge as you work through the training modules and basic training guide. After you have received your certificate of completion by passing the verification quiz, you can complete the Cascade User Request form. Once this quiz has been submitted and reviewed your access will be granted, usually within 48 hours upon receipt of the form submission.

Completing basic training only gains you access to regular CMS websites and does not apply to speciality sites like the NewsBlog or the People Site. In order to get access to the People site you will need to contact webcomm@nmsu.edu to request access.

Overview

Cascade CMS is a web-based content management system offered and managed by Marketing, Web and Brand Management team part of Marketing & Communications. It provides an easy resource for creating branded websites, consistent with NMSU’s central branding efforts.

Resources

Log into Cascade CMS

  1. Using a web browser, go to https://cascade.nmsu.edu.

  2. Cascade CMS is integrated with SSO. If you have successfully logged into the NMSU network, you will see your Cascade CMS Dashboard.

The Dashboard

Cascade’s Dashboard is the first screen you see when you successfully log in. It is a one-stop place for the management of your content, with movable widgets to set your own personal favorites.

Get to Know Cascade’s Interface

The Cascade CMS interface is composed of the top menu bar, the asset tree, and the workspace.

Menu Bar

  1. Home button (Cascade logo): Takes you to the site dashboard.

  2. Site dropdown: Select your site from this dropdown menu. Type a site name to filter the menu when multiple sites are available.

  3. Add Content: Used to create new content on your site.

  4. Site Content: Displays assets of the current site.

  5. Manage Site: An administrative menu to manage all the settings for the current site.

  6. My Content: Quickly access all of the content you're responsible for.

  7. Search Bar: Used to perform searches within the Cascade CMS content repository.

  8. User Profile: Access your account settings.

  9. System Menu: The system menu is the focal point for administrator-oriented tasks.

Site Content / Asset Tree

The asset tree on the left displays a hierarchical view of the folders and files that make up your site's content.

The asset tree is collapsible by the < icon to the right of the Site Content label. You can expand each folder to display content and assets by using > icon to the right of the folder name.

Workspace

The right pane of the screen, your Workspace, will display whatever you are working on. It will display the contents of a folder or a preview of an asset you've selected in the Site Content tree.

  1. Current Folder: The location of the workspace you are viewing.

  2. Breadcrumb / File Path: This displays the file path of the workspace and content asset you are working on. This displays the unique path segments of your site URL.

  3. Order: Used to create the order of content assets. You can re-order content assets by dragging and dropping them in the desired order.

  4. Type: Displays the type of content asset.

  5. Last Modified: Provides a record of when the content assets was last modified including the timestamp and Cascade user.

Select a Site

To view or edit one of the sites you have access to, select it from the SITE dropdown menu, also known as the Site Selector.

  1. Click on SITE: Go to a Site.

  2. Click on your site's name from the drop-down menu.

You can type a site name in the Site Selector’s search bar to filter the list of menu options.

 

Navigate your site content

The asset tree on the left displays a hierarchical view of the folders and files that make up your site's content.

  • Click on the folder icon or name to show the contents of the folder. Click again to collapse its contents.

  • Select a folder by hovering over the asset name and clicking on the arrow > that appears to the right. The contents of that folder will display in the Workspace on the right-hand side.

For more information, see Interface

Upload an image

  • In the Site Content tree on the left, click on the images folder. or a subfolder within the images folder.

  • Click on Add Content.

  • Inside the Add Content menu, select Upload a File.

  • Drag and drop an image from somewhere on your computer into the browser window, or choose one from your computer.

  • Fill in the Alternative Text.

    • Tip: The purpose of Alternative Text is to provide a description of the contents of an image file, and provide text for visitors who can't see images in their browsers.

  • Click Preview Draft. After previewing the draft, click Submit to make these changes permanent.

  • Publish the image.

Upload a PDF File

  • In the Site Content tree on the left, select the folder where you would like upload the PDF file to.

  • Click on Add Content.

  • Inside the Add Content menu, select Upload a File.

  • Drag and drop your PDF file from somewhere on your computer into the browser window, or choose one from your computer. The File Name will automatically populate with the file name previously given to the file.

  • Click Preview Draft. After previewing the draft, click Submit to make these changes permanent.

  • Publish the PDF.

Replace Files (images, PDF, etc.)

  • Find the file inside Cascade and click Edit.

  • Drop or choose the new file from your computer.

  • Click Preview Draft. After previewing the draft, click Submit to replace your original file.

  • Publish the file.