Creating and Managing Pages
Creating and Managing PagesThis section contains guides to creating and managing content pages in Drupal. Please see the Editing Page Content section for details on how to create and edit page content using CKEditor, the popular What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) text editor, which on some sites is packaged as the GT Editor. Additional content editing topics can be found in our All About Blocks section and our Photos and Videos section.
Whenever you create content, please be sure to follow proper accessibility practices. The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts has posted a helpful Accessibility Online Course and a Web Accessibility Primer for quick reference.
Drupal Page Creation and Management Sub-Topics
Adding a Page [Drupal 10]
Adding a Page [Drupal 10]Process for Adding a Page
- After logging in to your website, you will see a black menu bar across the top (if you do not see a black menu bar, contact your site administrator for assistance).
- Select the Content menu, then Add content. You will see a list of different types of content that you can add. If your site is using the official Georgia Tech theme, then you should choose Basic page unless you know you want to add a special type of content.
- Type your page title into the Title field.
- Look to the right of the body content for URL ALIAS settings. If your site has the option, you can either check the "Generate automatic URL alias" box, or type in your own. To create your own, you should use the page title, or some variation of it. This will be used in the page’s URL. Always use lowercase letters and dashes between words. Aliases must start with a forward slash (/) and can contain forward slashes to place a page underneath a parent page, but should never end with a forward slash. Please note that in Drupal 10, breadcrumbs are based on the URL Alias, not the menu page! If you want breadcrumbs to work correctly, your URL aliases must be created with the same tree structure as your main menu.
- To have the page show up in your website menu, go to MENU SETTINGS and check the "Provide a Menu Link" box. The "Menu link title" field will automatically populate with your page title. You can change it if you'd like. Next, decide what menu you want this page added to, by selecting it from the "Parent Item" drop-down list. If you want this page to be a main menu item in the gold bar, select, "Main navigation."
- Select the Save button, and you’re done.
Adding Content to the Page
- You can now scroll back up the page and start adding content, or you can return to it later, by locating the page in the Content List.
- Learn how to add content to a Multipurpose page in this tutorial [add link].
Drafts, Publishing, and Revisions
Drafts, Publishing, and RevisionsAbout Drafts and Revisions
If your site has Revisioning installed and turned on (a standard feature for Drupal Express sites), then the following concepts will apply:
- After you have created or edited a page or block, it is saved as a draft.
- Every time you make a change to a page or block and save it, you create a new revision.
- In order to see your new content on your website, you must publish it.
The great thing about revisions is that you can compare versions and even revert back to an earlier version.
Viewing, Editing, Comparing, and Deleting Revisions
- Navigate to the page you want to publish. Select the "Revisions" tab at the top of the page.
- The last version of your page will be the first one on the list. If you have not yet published it, it will be highlighted in pink with the words, "In Draft/Pending Publication" in the "Status" column next to it.
- Select the date link to view your draft. Now you can edit the latest version, compare it to the version that is currently published, delete it, or publish it.
Publishing Drafts
- Navigate to your draft by following the steps above, OR, if you have just saved your page, the "Publish" button should appear at the top of the page.
- Select the "Publish" button.
- Select the "Publish" button to confirm that, yes, you really do want to make this revision go live.
Unpublishing Revisions
- Select on the "Revisions" tab at the top of the page.
- Select on the date of the draft/revision you want to unpublish in the Revision table, which will probably be the most recent revision at the top, and will say, "Current Revision (Published)" in the Status column next to it.
- Above the Revision table, select the "Unpublish Current Revision" link
- On the next page, select the "Unpublish" button to confirm that you do indeed want to unpublish this page.
- Select the save button.
Drupal 7 Page Layouts and Content Types
Drupal 7 Page Layouts and Content TypesBasic Content Types (Built Into Drupal)
Basic Page
A web page has unique content that should usually have a link from the main menu (the top, gold menu in the new design). A page may contain documents, images, or just regular text. Use basic pages for your static content, such as an 'About us' page.
Block
A block usually looks like a box, contains text or images, and can be shown on one or many pages. You often see a block floating on either the right or left side of a page. The GT Theme offers a number of preset block layouts and block styles.
Georgia Tech Custom Page Layouts
If your site is using the GT Theme, and has had the custom GT Content Types page layouts module installed, you will also have three additional ways to organize content on your pages. Every field (such as a row of blocks) that comes with each of these layouts is optional, so you can pick and choose just what you need for a particular page.
Horizontal landing page
This layout is most often used for homepages.
It allows up to four horizontal rows of blocks to be added below the main body text.
Vertical landing page
This layout is often used to show related content to whatever is at the top of the page.
It creates two vertical columns for blocks that can be added below the main body text.
Multipurpose page
Your Swiss army knife of page layouts, this layout works well for breaking up content-heavy pages into separate sections.
It provides three separate fields for body text, each with:
- a horizontal block row beneath it, and
- a sidebar beside it.
Switching Layouts
If you need to change from one layout to another, it is best to engage your website developer / administrator, as this process requires special privileges on many Drupal sites, and even on sites where a content editor can switch layout types, there is a risk of losing your content if you don't do the conversion properly.
Adding a Page [Drupal 7]
Adding a Page [Drupal 7]Process for Adding a Page
- After logging in to your website, you will see a black menu bar across the top (if you do not see a black menu bar, contact your site administrator for assistance).
- Select the Content menu, then Add content. You will see a list of different types of content that you can add. If your site is using the custom GT Content Types, and you are adding a top-level (AKA landing) page, we recommend that you choose Multipurpose page, as this will give you the most options for formatting and layout. If your site is not using GT Content Types, or if you are creating an inside page that doesn't need a lot of special formatting, you should choose Basic page.
- Type your page title into the Title field.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the page and select URL Path Settings. If your site has the option, you can either check the "Automatic Alias" box, or type in your own. To create your own, you should use the page title, or some variation of it. This will be used in the page’s URL. Always use lowercase letters and dashes between words. Do not end your alias with a “/”
- To add breadcrumb links and/or to have the page show up in your website menu, go to Menu Settings. Check the "Provide a Menu Link" box. The Menu Link Title field will automatically populate with your page title. You can change it if you'd like. Next, decide what menu you want this page added to, by selecting it from the "Parent Item" drop-down list. If you want this page to be a main menu item in the gold bar, select, "Main Menu."
- Select the Save button, and you’re done.
Adding Content to the Page
- You can now scroll back up the page and start adding content, or you can return to it later, by locating the page in the Content List.
- Learn how to add content to a Multipurpose page in this tutorial [add link].