Creating co-author sections and items


    A Web designer uses co-author sections to organize the editable content into major groups, and to specify the individual items, or content containers, within each group. Examples of editable items a Web designer can create include headlines, images and articles for a news site, or product names, photos, descriptions and prices for a catalog site. The designer then links the section to a template, which specifies the layout of the items on the page--each item is placed into an editable region of the template. A single item can be used in multiple templates.

    When the Web designer creates a section, a section folder appears in the site window. This folder contains a section.aglsec file (used to manage the items and link to the preview page), as well as separate pages, stories, and templates folders.

    Co-author section in the site window
    Co-author section in the site window

To create a co-author section and co-author items:

  1. Create a new site or open an existing site.
  2. Choose Special > Create Co-Author Section, and then enter a Section Title in the section.aglsec window that appears.
  3. Select Name under the Item Name column. When you select an item, it appears in the editable fields at the bottom of the list.
  4. In the editable fields, enter the Item Name and the Display Name, choose the Format Type for the selected item and, if necessary, specify the height of the item in the Co-Author Editor. (The Display Name is the name that appears next to the editable field in the Co-Author Editor.)
  5. Tip Match the Item Name to the corresponding Region name in the template file to which you'll link the section. Matching the names ensures that the stories populate the templates correctly. (See Creating a page template.)

  6. Click the Create New Item icon, and then for each item you want to add to the section, repeat step 2, selecting the newly created item.
  7. Choose the sort order for the Co-Author Editor Stories list from the Sort menu:
    • By Creation Date sorts the stories list in the order the items were created.
    • By Data Item sorts the stories list in the order of the specified data item.
  8. From the List Item menu, specify the field that you want to appear in the stories list of the Co-Author Editor. (The Sort order and List Item field do not necessarily need to match. For example, you can view product names (List Item) in the stories list, and then sort them by their prices (Data Item).)
  9. In the Preview Page field, specify the page that you want to appear in the Preview tab of the Co-Author Editor. You must create and save the page file before you can specify it.
  10. The co-author section.aglsec file used to create and manage sections.
    The co-author section.aglsec file used to create and manage sections.