Contribute Tutorials and FAQs

Content

• How can I make my site more user friendly?

Deleting

• How do I delete a link?
• How do I delete an entire page or document?

Errors

• Network resource cannot be found (occurs when opening a document in MS Office)
• Contribute.exe - Entry Point not Found
• Error 1904... flash.ocx failed to register

Links

• How do I link to another Web page?
• How do I link to specific section of a Web page?
• How do I link to a .pdf, .doc., or .xls file?

Styles

• What are styles?
• How do I apply styles in Contribute?

Tables

• What is a table?
• How do I create a table in Contribute?
• What are the recommended table settings?

Other Questions and Tutorials

• What are the advantages of upgrading from Contribute 2 to Contribute 3?
• How do I open Contribute after installation?
• Are we still using valenciacc.edu address?
• How do I create a link to another page on my site?
• Why can't I edit the navigation bar or any "SSI" files?
• May I put links to Web sites other than Valencia?
• How do I create anchors so I can link to different areas on a page?
• Can I upload files to my Web site?
• How do I create a new page and link to the new page?
• I created a new page, and now I can't find it. Where did it go? (Choose...)
• I am getting the message: "You can't edit this page now because John Doe is currently editing it. Please contact your administrator for assistance." What do I do?
• When I open Contribute, it always asks if I want to replace this connection. What should I do?
• Working with tables.
• Why can't I edit a form in Contribute?
• Why can't I link to a file I've uploaded for the site?
• How can I create slideshows or albums of pictures for my site?

Links

How do I link to another Web page?

1. Go into edit mode
2. Highlight the text that you want to convert into a hyperlink
3. Select the 'Link' button (located near the top)
4. Choose 'Browse to Web Page...'
5. Select the page you want to link to, and click 'OK'

How do I link to specific section of a Web page?
In order to link to a specific point on a Web page, you must first create a section anchor.

1. Go into edit mode
2. Point your cursor to the page location where you want the section anchor to reside
3. Select 'Insert' (located at the top)
4. Choose 'Section Anchor'
5. Give the section an easy to remember name and click 'OK'

1. Go into edit mode
2. Highlight the text that you want to convert into a hyperlink
3. Select the 'Link' button near the top
4. Select 'Browse to Web Page...'
5. Browse to the page that the anchor is on
6. Open the 'Advanced' menu (located near the bottom of the Insert Link window)
7. Choose the section name from the 'Section anchor' dropdown (and keep 'Target frame: Default')
8. Click 'OK'

How do I link to a .pdf, .doc., or .xls file?

1. Go into edit mode
2. Highlight the text that you want to convert into a hyperlink
3. Select the 'Link' button near the top
4. Select 'File on My Computer...'
5. Browse to the file that you have saved locally, then click 'Select'
6. Click 'OK'
7. When you publish the page, your file will be uploaded to the web server, and people will be able to download the file from your web site

• View a video tutorial that shows how to create a link to a document

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Styles

What are styles?

• Styles allow you to apply colors and fonts in a way that is consistent across the Valencia site
• View a page with some sample styles applied with Contribute
• For more in-depth styles and colors, visit this Valencia Style Page

How do I apply styles in Contribute?

1. Go into edit mode
2. Highlight the text or page element that you want to style
3. Select the style you want from the dropdown menu in the upper left hand corner of Contribute (the menu is located beneath the 'Publish' button)

• View a video tutorial that shows how to apply styles to your site

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Tables

What is a table?

• A table allows you to organize information into rows and columns
• View a few sample tables that were made using Contribute

• View the video tutorial to learn how to add tables to your site

• border thickness = 0
• specific width = 582
• cell padding = 5
• cell spacing = 2

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Deleting

How do I delete a link?

1. Go into edit mode
2. Highlight the text of the link that you would like to delete
3. Press the Backspace key

1. Navigate to the page or document that you would like to delete
2. Click File (located in the upper left hand corner of the Contribute window)
3. Click Actions > Delete Page

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Content

How can I make my site more user friendly?
Usability studies have shown that people tend to scan web pages, picking out individual words or phrases, rather than reading them. Therefore, in order to make your site easy for visitors to use, follow these guidelines:

• Be succinct. Web surfers tend to forage for bits of information, so provide them with the content they are looking for in a short, simple way.
• Structure pages with two levels of headlines. Use descriptive H3 headers, and headBlack class subheaders to describe the content of blocks of text.
• Use bulleted lists to present information in easily scannable lines of text.
• Use hyperlinks to split up long information into anchored sections or multiple pages.
• Use whitespace. Don't be afraid to space things out so that users can easily distinguish between the elements of the page. Trying to cram too much content into the viewable area can make it more difficult to comprehend.

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Errors

Network resource cannot be found
If a network resource error error occurs when opening a Microsoft Office document:

1. Close any open instances of MS Office or Contribute
2. Download the Contribute installer (Macromedia_Contribute_3.msi), and save in a place on your computer that is easily accessible
3. Open any document in MS Office - when the error prompt is displayed, browse to the installer you downloaded in the previous step
4. Click OK

Contribute.exe - Entry Point not Found
This error can be resolved by replacing the psapi.dll file found in C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Contribute 3 with the psapi.dll found in C:\WINDOWS\system32. If you need help with this process, contact Jeff at x5529 or jdanser@valenciacc.edu.

If you receive this error during installation, you can click 'OK' and proceed, and Contribute should work normally - until the next MS Office Update goes out (at which time you will likely receive a Network resource cannot be found error).

If you uninstall Flash Paper from your machine, it should allow you to use Contribute without receiving 'Network resource' errors in the future. If you want to continue using Flash Paper, you will have to follow the instructions for resolving the 'Network resource' error each time an MS Office Update is applied to your machine.

1. Click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (on WinXP)
2. Find 'Macromedia Flash Paper' and click Change/Remove > click OK (remove all components)

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1. What are the advantages of upgrading from Contribute 2 to Contribute 3?
Integrated image editing gives you the ability to crop, resize, and make other minor edits to images without leaving Contribute.

Improved CSS rendering uses the Dreamweaver MX 2004 CSS rendering engine to display CSS-based layouts and designs more accurately.

CSS-based Style pop-up menu has a built-in preview that displays all available styles.

Draft review process enables you to send drafts to other users for review before publishing and track the status of your drafts and drafts sent for review.

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2. How do I open Contribute after installation?
A Contribute key will be emailed to you by the Web administrator. Copy the key to your desktop and double-click it to open the software instead of the contribute program icons. This will ensure that you are logging in to the correct area every time. Be sure to remember your password or keep it in a safe place.

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3. Are we still using valenciacc.edu address?
No, this address is old and we are currently phasing it out of the Web site. Our new address is valenciacc.edu. If you see the old address on any page, replace it with the new address or use a relative link (example: /east/advising/aboutus.asp).

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5. How do I create a link to another page on my site?
To create a link to another page on your site, follow these steps:

1. Select the text you would like to be the link.
2. Click the "Link" button at the top of the screen.
3. Select the "Browse to Web page" option.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. In the pop-up dialog box, click the "Browse" button.
   
5. In the next pop-up dialog box, you browse to the page you want to link. Choose Web page that you would like to link to and click OK in the dialog box.

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6. Why can't I edit the navigation bar or any "SSI" files?
We have set up contribute to have limited access to certain file types such as "SSI" files. The navbar is a SSI file or Server Side Include file. Please contact your web administrator to add new links to the navbar.

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7. May I put links to Web sites other than Valencia?
Yes. You may put links to Web sites other than Valencia. However, you must be sure the link opens a new window. You can do this by setting the links "target frame" to New Window. This is located in the link dialog under the "Advanced" tab.

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8. How do I create anchors so I can link to different areas on a page?
You can create anchors in two simple steps. First you must create the anchor, then you can create a link to it.

Detailed steps...
Place your cursor in the place on your page where you would like to insert the anchor. In the "Insert" menu, select the "Section Anchor..." option. You will be prompted to name your anchor. After you name your anchor select the text you would like to link to this new anchor, click the "Link" button and select "Browse to Page..." option. In the dialog select the page with your new anchor and in the "Advanced" tab you will see the "Section anchor" drop down menu. Select your anchor name in the drop down menu and click "OK".

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9. Can I upload files to my Web site?
Yes. You can upload almost any file to your Web site. (i.e. MSWord, MSExcel, MSPower Point, Acrobat PDF)

To add files to your site. Create the text that will link to your file. Highlight the text and click the "Link" button located in the middle of the toolbar at the top. Select "File on My Computer" and in the dialog you can browse your computer to find the file you wish to upload to your Web site. After you select the file click OK.

Your file will be available for download for users that visit your site.

If you need to edit this file. Edit the file on your computer and save it as the exact same file name. Repeat the upload process and you will overwrite the old file.

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10. How do I create a new page and link to the new page?
To create a new page follow these steps:

• Select "New Page" button
• In the New Page dialog window select "Copy of Current Page" from the list on the left side and then enter the title of the new page in the Page Title field on the bottom right.

• Contribute will open this page copy in edit mode. You must select all the content and delete it to start your page fresh. It is advisible to leave items that are normally used on every page such as the page heading and "TOP" links.

After you have finished creating your new page, you must publish it. After you hit the publish button, you will be warned that users will not be able to view this page without a link to it. So after this page is published we can create this link as described below.

You will also be prompted to verify the file name and location you would like to save this new page. Make sure there are no spaces in your file names. This is necessary to make sure your files are compatible with all browsers. It is recommended that you use underscores, hyphens or capital letters to divide words within your file names.

To create a link within the content of any of your web pages follow these steps:

* If you require a link on you local navigation bar please call your administrator.

• Open the page you would like to link from
• Select the text you would like to link
• Click the "Link" button and select "Drafts and Recent Pages..." option

• In the Insert Link dialog window, choose your new page from the list on the left and click OK

• Your link should change appearance to the usual link style
• You should always double check your link by publishing your page and testing the link in Contribute or another Web browser

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11. I created a new page, and now I can't find it. Where did it go? (Choose...)

If you have created a new page, closed Contribute, came back the next day to work on it, but couldn't find it, here is how to find it.

• Select the "Choose..." button at the top right of the screen.

This will open a dialog that will show you all the web files from the back end, or a folder view of your Web site files. To open your page, simply double click any of the files.

Remember: Not all files are editable with Contribute. Files that end with the extension SSI (Server Side Includes) are not available for editing with Contribute. Contact your Web administrator to edit these files for you.

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12. I am getting the message: "You can't edit this page now because John Doe is currently editing it. Please contact your administrator for assistance." What do I do?

Follow these steps:

• Contact the person listed as the current editor.

• Ask him if he actually is currently editing that page. If he is not currently editing that page, request that he do one of two things:

  • "Publish" or "Cancel" the draft of that page.

In Contribute, files are checked out and checked in. When a file is checked out, it is locked to all other Contribute users. The reason for this is so your edits are not overwritten by the other user.

Also, the file appears as a "Draft" in the "Pages" column on the left side of the screen. To continue editing this file, simply click on this draft. Then click "Publish" or "Cancel" to check the file in. This will make the file available for editing to other Contribute users.

Note: It is possible have a file checked out after closing the software. Please be careful to check all your files back in if you share editing responsibilities with other users.

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13. When I open Contribute, it always asks if I want to replace this connection. What should I do?

Always select "Yes" when you see this. This will activate the connection assigned to the key you just clicked on.

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14. Working with tables.

To insert a table, first click the table button. You will be prompted to enter how many rows and columns you want. It is good practice to have about 5 pixels of "padding." Padding is the distance from the table lines to the beggining of the text. Cell "spacing" is the thickness of the table lines. Leave this set to zero. After you finish your table and enter all the data, you can make modifications to the table by right-clicking inside the table. If you want to modify only a part of the table, click and drag your mouse over the cells you want to modify, and then right-click to open a context menu. Select "Table Properties" to make your modifications. Watch the tutorial for more on this.

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15. Why can't I edit a form in Contribute?

All changes to forms are done by the Web Services Department. If you have a form on one of your pages that needs modification, or if you need a new form, please submit a Web Development Request.

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16. Why can't I link to a file I've uploaded for the site?

1. Upload a file to your site using Contribute
2. Create a link to the file you uploaded
3. Publish your site
4. Immediately edit the published page to correct the URL, or no one will be able to access your file.
5. Right click on the link to the file to Edit the Link Properties
   
   
   
6. Enter the full path of the URL in the link to correctly link to the file. The full path will start with "http://www.valenciacc.edu"
   
   
   

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17. How can I create slideshows or albums of pictures for my site?

Valencia recommends using Google's Picasa Web Albums for creating slideshows or albums to post on your site. Please see the How to use Picasa Web Albums Guide for details on setting up your Web Album and how to post it to your site.

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Need Help?
If your question wasn't answered above, please contact the Contribute admin for more assistance.

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