While editing any of the news/blog theme pages in Cascade CMS, you can select the Two Column layout to activate a sidebar to include additional visual elements to add emphasis to important information. The layout of any page can be changed at anytime.
The contents of this article apply to the new news / blog theme 4v1.0.
Table of Contents
Features of a Sidebar Row
Each sidebar row is organized into groups and includes options to easily arrange the order of your content.
Each group includes the following options:
Count Indicator - A count indicator is provided for each group. In the example above the count indicator is showing that the row depicted is number 1 of 4 total rows.
Group Preview - When a group is collapsed, the group preview will provide a notation what sidebar type is selected. In the example above, the type is “empty” meaning no sidebar type has been selected.
Expand/Collapse - Click to expand or collapse the content of a group.
Drag - Drag and Drop a row to a new location.
Move to Top/Move to Bottom - The arrow pointing up will move the row or column to the top of the group in the count. The arrow pointing down will move the row or column to bottom of the group in the count.
Move Up/Move Down - Move the row or column up or down one position.
Add New Group - Add a new sidebar row.
Remove - Removes a sidebar row.
Sidebar Row Types
You can customize the sidebars on any page by type and order. It is recommended that you are consistent with the sidebar presentation choices.
Categories
Categories are a helpful tool that you can use to organize the presentation of your content in pages and other content feeds. There are a total of seven categories available to choose from:
Events
Community
Students
Faculty
Teaching
Research
Service & Outreach
NMSU Life
When you select the category sidebar type, the list of categories are automatically generated and will include a count of articles that are tagged with each category.
How to Add an Category Type in a Sidebar Row
Under the Type dropdown, select Category.
Use the arrows for the sidebar row group to set a display order.
Category lists are maintained as a Metadata Set. View more information on editing the category list metadata.
Related Posts
Related Posts are automatically generated and will include a list of the last 5 posts with the same category. Related posts will display in descending order and will include the article thumbnail image and title.
How to Add a Related Posts Type in a Sidebar Row
Under the Type dropdown, select Related Posts.
Use the arrows for the sidebar row group to set a display order.
Social Media
Social media sidebar rows are dependent on blocks. Social media blocks include a group of three platform icons that link to platform pages. You can choose to highlight an official departmental social media accounts that relate to the article or use the blocks to promote individual social media accounts for the article author. You can create as many social media blocks as you’d like.
How to Add a Social Media Type in a Sidebar Row
Under the Type dropdown, select Social Media.
Under the Contact or Social Media Block option, click Choose Block to select the desired social media block
Use the arrows for the sidebar row group to set a display order.
You must create a social media block before you can add it to a sidebar row.
How to Create a Social Media Block
Look for a red plus sign in the topmost header area of the page, and click on Add Content.
Inside the Add Content menu, select Add Contact or Social Media Block from the dropdown menu.
Select Social Media.
Fill in the XHTML/Data Definition Block Name and Title.
For each platform row:
Choose a platform value from the name dropdown menu.
Enter the full web address in the Link text field
Click Preview Draft (blue button at the top of the screen). After previewing the draft, click Submit to save these changes to the CMS.
Social Media blocks are automatically placed inside the “social-media” folder in the site asset tree.
Contact
Contact sidebar rows are dependent on blocks. Content blocks include fields for name, title, phone number and a email button. You can choose to highlight an official departmental contact information that relates to the article or use a block to provide contact information for the article author. You can create as many contact blocks as you’d like.
How to Add a Contact Type in a Sidebar Row
Under the Type dropdown, select Contact.
Under the Contact or Social Media Block option, click Choose Block to select the desired contact block
Use the arrows for the sidebar row group to set a display order.
You must create a contact block before you can add it to a sidebar row.
How to Create a Contact Block
Look for a red plus sign in the topmost header area of the page, and click on Add Content.
Inside the Add Content menu, select Add Contact or Social Media Block from the dropdown menu.
Select Contact.
Fill in the XHTML/Data Definition Block Name and Title.
Include contact details for name, title, phone and email. Only the Name field is required.
Click Preview Draft (blue button at the top of the screen). After previewing the draft, click Submit to save these changes to the CMS.
Contact blocks are automatically placed inside the “News Contacts” folder in the site asset tree.
Custom
Custom sidebar rows can be used to include additional content to any page. Each custom sidebar row includes the option to include a heading and includes a full WYSIWYG editor. Please be aware that the content placed inside a custom sidebar row will be sized at around 33% of full width of the page.
How to Add a Custom Type in a Sidebar Row
Under the Type dropdown, select Custom.
Include a Heading and your content using the WYSIWYG editor.
Use the arrows for the sidebar row group to set a display order.
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