User Guides: Organisations

Welcome

This user guide has been produced to help you make the most of the Let’s Work Together (LWT) Regional Learning and Skills website.  The guide takes you through the core features of the site; it covers:

Overview.
What is an Organisation?  Your privileges.
File Management - Upload, Quotas & Download
Creating and managing an account: registration, login and passwords.
Navigating around the site, searches and breadcrumbs.
Creating and managing content: types of content you can create: Jobs, Courses and Events.
    Includes: Formatting content, and attaching documents.
Managing user responses.

Overview

The Let’s Work Together website has been produced to allow anyone working or with an interest in the voluntary and community sector in the region, to find or share useful information with others in the sector.  It contains information and developments which will be of interest to the North East Voluntary and Community Sector.
The site has several features, pages, stories, news items, an events calendar,  a discussion forum, and sections for displaying information about jobs and also courses. Site content is  organised by section.
Th basic ‘content types’ which can be displayed are:

Course
A course listing, containing information about course details and an email address to send/ receive enquiries.

Event
An event is a story which can be given a start and end date, thus appearing in the events calendar.

Forum topic
A topic for discussion in the forums.

Job
A job listing contains job details and an email address to which enquiries can be received/ sent.
 
Page
A static page, like a contact page or an about page, use a page.

Story
Stories are articles in their simplest form: they have a title, a teaser and a body, but can be extended by other modules. The teaser is part of the body too. Stories may be used as a personal blog or for news articles.

The type of content you can either create or view depends upon the type of user you are, this is defined as your ‘User Role’.  
The user roles are: Administrator, Partner, Organisation, Authenticated User and Anonymous User.  Registering an account on the site automated but the role assigned to a user can only be set by a ‘LWT administrator’

What is an Organisation?  Your privileges.
Organisation: This role is set aside for Community and/ or Voluntary organisations etc.
These can access and view all levels of the site; they can add courses, jobs & events but not stories and pages.  Creating and managing these content types is covered later.

So this means that an organisation can:
create postings for jobs,
create postings for courses .. attach documents to both
create event listings which will appear in the event calendar
view and contribute to topics in the online ‘Forum’
directly contact other users recognised by the website
send direct feedback to LWT
manage their own profile

File Management - Upload, Quotas & Download
User quotas.  Each organisation is given a quota of 10mb for file upload.  The site is not intended for file storage.  We strongly recommend that create a back-up folder of anything you submit to the site. Upload is based upon the system recognising the type of file, known as the ‘mime type’. Unsupported mime types will not be able to be uploaded.
As a recognised user on the system you will be able to access and download content published by other users.
Other user roles:
Administrator - This role is reserved for LWT/ Regional staff you appoint thus.  This role allows for access to and modification all site content except the ‘taxonomies’ - the underlying core site modules/  PHP code.  An administrator can set roles for organisations and individual users.  They have access to all ‘Logs’ on site use.  
They can create, review, edit and delete all content types (‘pages’, ‘stories’, ‘jobs’, ‘courses’ and ‘events’).
Authenticated user - This role is defined as individual users with an interest in the sector.  They can access all posted content and reply to jobs and courses, but can not add content themselves.
Anonymous user - can view the site but not respond to posts, jobs, courses or events.  These users are simply those who come to the site and browse.  Anyone who in effect has not as yet registered on the site.

Creating and managing an account.

Registration
At the top right of the screen there is the login section ..
Below the login button is a link; ‘Create new account’, selecting this takes you to a section to an automated account creation section.  
To register you need to select and enter a user name and a valid current email address.  
After submitting the 'create new account' button, an email will be sent to the email address you supplied, with instructions as to how to log on.
It is important to note that the password provided is temporary and for reasons of security will expire 24 hours after issue.  You must therefore complete your registration within 24 hours.
Included in the email you receive will be further instructions plus a direct link to go to the profile section and to complete your profile and set your password.  We advise you make this memorable and that it contain a mixture of numbers, lower and uppercase letters.
You can also change your profile details at any time.
Once your account is created you will be recognised on the system as an ‘authenticated user’. By default all new accounts are set to the ‘Authenticated’ user role described previously.

Log in
Enter the Username you selected plus the password you have chosen for yourself and click ‘Log in’.  You will now see a menus like this Fig. B giving you various options.  Selecting the ‘my account’ option  takes you back to the section where you can change your password and other profile details.  ‘Contact settings’; is selected by default, this allows other LWT site users contact you via email.  Note that you email will not be visible to them.  If you de-select this then they will be unable to contact you, LWT Administrators will still, however be able to do so.

The option to log out is also contained here.
NOTE: It is very important to LOG OUT at the end of every session, to make sure nobody else can use your account.

Obtaining ‘Organisation’ status
This must be set manually by a LWT administrator, to request this status, click on ‘Contact’

A dialogue box will appear, automatically entering who you are and your email.  By default all fields are required; you will need to add a subject and your message, e.g.  I am person-x from organisation-y.  We are based in Tees Valley and provide services for .. We wish to acquire ‘Organisation’ status.  Regards ..”.  By default the contact form categorises your message  as an ‘Organisation Account request’.  
Once received an LWT administrator will update your status to ‘Organisation’.

Passwords
If you forget your password you can contact the administrator to request a new one by selecting the ‘Request new password’ option Fig. A.  You must enter either your username or email address.  A new password will then be emailed directly to you.

Navigating the site: searches and breadcrumbs.

The site is arranged by categories and sections.  There are 6 main sections: About Us, Learning & Skills, Partners, Information Resources and Jobs.  There is also a tab to open the discussion ‘Forum’.  Each section also has its own ‘sub menu’ which is revealed on the left of the screen, which contains links to other stories.  As discussed earlier there is a ‘user menu’ at the top right of the screen, below this there is an ‘event’ menu, with links to the 12 most forthcoming events listed under the events calendar.  Selecting one of the slinks takes you directly top the ‘event calendar’ as does selecting the relevant link from the ‘user’ menu.
The main centre area of the screen is for actual articles and other content.
The home page displays the main welcome plus links to other significant articles.
Along the top bar to the left, there are three additional links.  
Contact Us, provides a quicklink through which to send an email to LWT (as discussed earlier).  
Site Map: provides a quick view with active links of all the main site content by section.
User guide: provides a link to the latest user guides.

Searching site content:
There are two types of searches.
A persistent site search field ‘Quick search’ is included within the main navigation bar at the top.  This will search all referenced articles within the site.  Enter the topic you wish to search for. e.g. ‘LSC’ and click on the search button.  Your results will be displayed.
The ‘Advanced search’ link accessed within the search section, allows a more specific search, where search criteria to be narrowed.
For example, it allows you to search for a specific phrase within an article, within a particular section.  Or alternatively to limit the search to content listed as ‘Jobs’.

Note: the search relies upon the information held by the site database, and the expressions and categorisation specified by the content author(s).
So if an article does not contain the expression you are looking for, the search will not be able to find it.  Also it can not search attachments uploaded with an article.

Breadcrumbs
Located at the top of the main content area, these provide you with a quick reference as to where you are within the site hierarchy.

Creating and managing content
Selecting the ‘Create content’ link in the ‘User’ menu provides you with options to create the following content types: Jobs, Courses and Events.  Selecting a link takes you to a form which you will need to complete, input items - know as fields - marked with a red star are compulsory fields.

Jobs

Job title: as it will appear in the jobs section as a title and also a link to the full post.
The fact it is a job you are creating is set by default so that the position will be offered within the job section.
Email address.  For those wishing to enquire about a job.  This field is required to specify a person to whom email enquiries can be sent.  Note: the applicant however is not tied to this method of reply if the organisation also provides an alternative way of communication.
Offering organisation: details for who is offering the Job.
Closing date for applications.  This needs to be entered in ‘dd/mm/yyyy’ format, e.g. 6th September 2007 needs to be entered, 06/09/2007. Applications will be accepted up to and including this date.
Details of Position: This text field is for adding the main body of the job post as it will appear in the expanded information.  It is to be used to provide details about the job, e.g. a short synopsis of duties involved, full-time, part-time etc. and also any alternative ways by which users can receive further information: e.g. telephone, fax, address of the offering organisation.   This field has the option to be set to ‘rich text’ allowing for word processor style formatting.  See below.
File Attachments: this allows for files to be attached to the post for download by users.  Typically these will be, application packs, further information documents and application forms from the offering organisation.  Upon selected the file attachment field provides a browse option for the user to locate the file; e.g. a pdf on their local computer.

Rich Text - text formatting.  
Selecting ‘rich text’ allows for word processor style formatting.
Text can be typed directly and formatted.  Formatting options include: bold, italic and underline type style applied, paragraph style set to range left, centred, range right, bulleted or numbered lists created, and a horizontal page divider inserted.

NOTE: Pasting from the internet: the text input field supports full HTML.  Whilst useful for advanced users this can cause problems if you ‘cut and paste’ information from an existing web page, as the process usually copies all of the HTML formatting.  To avoid the strange result you will subsequently get we recommend you use the following process for any content you wish to include from the web.
Cut and paste into a text editor capable of ‘plain text’, e.g Notepad on a PC or Textedit on a Mac, both come free by default.  Set formatting to plain text and then copy the text again.  Paste it directly into the LWT edit window with rich text disabled.  Finally turn on rich text and format the content.  The process is very simple and will save you a great deal of time.
Preview; before the job post is actually published it can previewed.

Upon submission a job will be added to the ‘Jobs’ section.
The key post details are now visible; including job title, offering organisation, closing date and a ‘teaser’ of the body content.  Upon selecting the post the full details will be displayed.  The ‘Request Further Information’ option allows authenticated users to respond to the post and download any attachments.

Further notes on ‘File Attachments’:  
Allows you to browse for a file on your local network or system.  Attachments can be made to ‘jobs’, courses’ and ‘events’.  Once selected, this attachment can be uploaded to the database and attached to your Job.  
Practical application would be the attaching of a full job description, course description and application forms.
When published attachments appear as a link which can be downloaded by authenticated users.  Multiple attachments are possible, providing they do not exceed the users quota.
File types allowed to be attached include: PDF, (word) Doc files and image file: jpg, gif, png, and tif.  
The total list of allowable file extensions is: jpg jpeg gif png txt html doc xls pdf ppt pps odt ods odp

Courses
Add a course listing, you can fill in the course details and specify an email address to receive enquiries.  (The submission form is similar to the Job form).

NOTE: a ‘course’ is different from an ‘event, they are categorised as different document types by the database.  Therefore some of the required fields - appears to overlap but is required to make sure a course is correctly added to both the ‘course’ section and the ‘event calendar’.

Upon selection the ‘Submit Course’ option provides a form with the following fields:

Start and end date; day, month, year, time.
Course Title: this will appear as the link to the post.
Categories: By default set to ‘courses’.
Offering organisation: details for who is offering the course.
Email address for enquiries: this field is required to specify a person to whom email enquiries can be sent.  Note: the applicant however is not tied to this method of reply if the organisation also provides an alternative way of communication, in the details section..
Closing Date for application: specifies the date of the course and the closing date is set to the day prior to this.
Places Available: in instances where there are a limited number of places.  An optional field.
Details of course: This text field is for adding the main body of the course as it will appear in the expanded information.  It is to be used to provide details about the course, e.g. costs, level of accreditation etc. and also any alternative ways by which users can receive further information: e.g. telephone, fax, address of the offering organisation.  This field has the option to be set to ‘rich text’ allowing for word processor style formatting.
File Attachments: this allows for files to be attached to the post for download by users.  Typically these will be, application packs, further information documents and application forms from the offering organisation.  Upon selected the file attachment field provides a browse option for the user to locate the file; e.g. pdf on their local computer.

Preview; before the post is actually published it can previewed.
Submit.  Upon submission a course will be added to the Learning & Skills section and, to the event calendar  .. since it is also added to the latter it will appear as a shortcut link on the residual ‘Event Calendar’ synopsis menu.

Upon submission the key post details are visible; including offering organisation, event date, closing date and number of places.  Upon selecting the post the full details will be displayed.  The ‘Request Further Information’ option allows authenticated users to respond to the post and download any attachments.

Event
An event is a story/ article which can be given a start and end date, thus appearing in the events calendar. It is for publishing details about events, which, by their nature, are simpler and require less information to be provided than a ‘course’.  
The fields are:
Start and end date; day, month, year, time.
Title: this will appear as the link to the post.
Body: details about the event.
File attachments: further documents can be attached to an event for download by authenticated users.

Note: If the start date is not the same as the end date of the event (e.g. the event is ongoing over a number of months) we request that you add specific event details as separate listings.  For example, if you have three ‘drop in’ events on different days; the 3rd & 21st of July and the 14th September, please do not put your start date as 03/07/2007 and the end as 14/09/2007.  Instead add separate event listings for each event and add details of the others in the further information section.   Thank you.

Event Calendar
The ‘event calendar’ provides a calendar view of forthcoming events in the sector/ region.
Posts added as an event are added directly to the ‘Event Calendar’ as ‘events’.  
The ‘Event Calendar’ allows for content it contains to be filtered; e.g. an authenticated user can select to view only courses or events.
You can choose from several options when viewing the calendar:
.. week | day | table | list | view all ..

Managing user responses.
Authenticated users will be able to access the content you publish, download attachments and respond to any courses or jobs that you post.  Only authenticated users will be able to access this.
The system is web based and you will receive details from potential applicants.
For both a job and a course it will contain: their name, email address as statutory information and optionally their mobile and/or other telephone number plus any further details they have provided.

For events, authenticated users are able to post you comments about the event you are promoting.  This will contain their name, subject line and any comments they have made.

Quick Menu Options:
Latest News: displays all posts categorised as ‘news stories’.  These posts can be selected, viewed, edited and their usage tracked.
Home:  displays the homepage for editing its content.
Create Content: gives access to create new content for the site with the options of ‘jobs’, ‘courses’ and ‘events’.

Event Calendar: displays the event calendar with the option to edit content.

Feedback: gives the option to send feedback to the site administrator.  This therefore is actually for authenticated users & organisations to send feedback to LWT.
Recent posts: provides a quick way to view the most recent posts to the site.  It displays the type, e.g. course, title of the post, the author, replies and the date of the last reply.  Both the post and the author can be selected directly and be viewed.

Site Map: provides a categorised view of the core site content.

July 2007. version 1 revision1