Introduction

We have seen a tremendous increase in the use of portal technologies. Portals are collections of what are commonly referred to as "Channels". Channels are intended to carry announcements/news items in a summary format with links to more detailed web pages. Channels come in many different formats, but the predominant ones are the HTML Channel and RSS Channel. HTML Channels, as the name suggests, are formatted using HTML. RSS (Rich Site Summary) Channels are formatted using a standard defined originally by Netscape, but since broadly adopted. For example, the Yahoo portal below has several channels, Message Center, Broadcasts, Portfolios etc. each of which derive their contents from either RSS or HTML channels.

All portals have two important components: the ability for the individual to personalize the content received in the portal and the content itself. We have implemented a Wesleyan specific Channel Creation System, which is described in detail below.

This system will allow non-technical users who use the web to publish accurate, up-to-date information on their websites using templates that allow these channels to conform to the look & feel of their websites.

The Wesleyan Channel Creation System has four central parts to it:

Template Design and Registration: Templates that define the appearance of channels and the items within channels. Defaults are provided.
Channel Creation: Defining a channel, and what templates will be used to format the information within the channel.
Channel Insertion in HTML pages: Making a channel available within a standard html page.
Item creation: Putting information into a channel, and defining when the item should be available.

Once the first three parts are in place, all of the work of keeping a channel current can be accomplished using a web browser.

Overview

Once your channel and channel templates have been created - for most departments this is done by University Communications - you will use the Channel Creation System to maintain the data in your channel. The system is often referred to as Channel Maker. Below are detailed instructions for entering data into Channel Maker and managing the data stored in Channel Maker.

Logging In

To access the Channel Creation System
- login to your portfolio
- In the Employee Portfolio under Tools & Links select Channel Maker
- In other portfolios use the portfolio search function to find the link to Channel Maker
The top of the page will have a menu of tasks you can perform
You will see the channels you have access to. Some may have been created by you, but most will be listed under Owned by others. These are channels created for you - usually by University Communications.

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Adding Items to a Channel

A Channel is simply a shell.
Once a channel and its associated templates are established, the channel is now ready to accept items - this is usually done by University Communications.
Items are the content.
Click on Add next to Items
You will be presented with the following screen

Channels: You are provided with a list of Channels to which you can post items. These will include Channels you created as well as those to which the creator gave you rights to add items. The same item can be posted to multiple channels. You do this by clicking on and high-lighting all the channels to which you want the specific item posted. It is important to note that once the item has been posted to multiple channels, they are independent entries in each channel. Any changes you wish to make has to be done to every item separately.
In the Channel(s) box you will need to enter the name of the Channel that you are adding the item to.
As you type the name of the channel a dropdown will appear with a list of channels to choose from. Choose the channel from the dropdown by high-lighting the channel name. If you don't know the name of your channel press show all located to the right of the channel box. This will create the dropdown containing all of the channels you have access to. You can highlight the channel you are adding the item to.
Note: The same item can be posted to multiple channels. You do this by clicking on and high-lighting all the channels to which you want the specific item posted. It is important to note that once the item has been posted to multiple channels, they are independent entries in each channel. Any changes you wish to make has to be done to every item separately.

After you choose your channel fill in the appropriate data.

Title: The title of the item to be posted (up to 100 characters)

Description: A short description of the item (up to 4000 characters.)

Start Date: The first date that the item should appear. The item can have a start date and end date between which it shows up in the Channel. This is very powerful feature in that you can plan ahead of time and post items that show up in channels in the future. The View Channel option mentioned above gives you a way to preview the channel for the future dates, so you can confirm that it will appear the way you intended it to.

End Date: The last date that the item should appear.

E-Mail username of the item author: Use this if an item is being posted on behalf of someone, This can be optionally inserted as part of the item template and is intended as a point of contact for someone wanting more information about the item. For example, an AA in an academic office may be asked to post an item, but S/he may not have all details related to the issue, so she would put in the e-mail address of a faculty member in this field who is better suited to answer questions.

URL: the complete URL where more detail can be found. You should include the http:// (Either a page you made or a page elsewhere.)

Detailed Description: Only use this option if it has been previously set up for you. Text that contains more detail about the item, formatted according to the item template defined when the channel was created. This information is stored in the channel database.
Here is the filled in screen:

If you add another item in the same channel you can press add another item (if you are done press Submit)

In this example you are adding 2 items to the same channel
Both items are being added to the generic-ofnote Channel
When you click on Submit, the system will inform you of the status of your request.

Modifying an Item

To change the contents of an exiting item you will need to Modify the item in the channel.

Click on Modify next to Items
You will be provided with a box to type in the name of the channel containing the item you want to modify.
In the Choose a Channel box as you type the name of your channel a dropdown will appear with a list of channels to choose from.
If you do not remember the name of your channel press the show all button to the right of the Choose a Channel box. This will list the channels you have access to
Choose the channel you want to add an item to by high-lighting the channel name
Wait for the list of items to be added under the --- Choose One --- dropdown menu
Click on the dropdown to see all items posted in that channel, choose the item you want to modify by high-lighting it

Modify the item by changing the content in the fields.

Make your changes and select Submit.
The system will inform you of the status of your request.

Deleting Items

If you no longer need the item to appear within your channel you have two choices.

You can change use the Modify next to Items to change the End Date to a passed date
--or --
You can delete the item completely from the channel.

To Delete the Item:

Click on Delete next to Items
You will be provided with a box to type in the name of the channel that contains the item you want to delete.
In the Choose a channel box as you type the name of your channel a dropdown will appear with a list of channels to choose from.
If you don't remember the name of your channel you can see a complete list by pressing show all
Choose the channel you want to add an item to by high lighting the channel name
Once you have selected your channel press get channel items
You will see all of the items in your channel.
Select all of the items you wish to delete
Select Submit
The system will inform you of the status of your request.

Previewing & Ordering Items

By default items are displayed in the order they are received.
Items can be reordered when Previewing a channel
Preview your channel by selecting Preview next to Channels
In the Channel Name box as you type the name of the channel you want to Preview/Reorder a dropdown will appear with a list of channels to choose from.
If you don't remember the name of your channel you can see a complete list by pressing show all
Choose the channel you want to add an item to by high lighting the channel name
You can choose a date if needed - be sure to use the format MM/DD/YYYY. If not chosen the date defaults to today.
Choose a sorting option
- you can alphabetize the items by choosing Sort by title- Ascending
- choose sort manually to put the items in your own sort order

You will see the sort order (number) of the items and how the channel will look for the date chosen
notice that all new items are given the number 1, so they appear near the top and compete with any other item already defined as 1
to reorder the items change the numbers in the text boxes - the items will appear in number order
the numbers do not have to be sequential - the items can be 1,3,5,7,9 or 1,2,3,4,5 or 100,200,300,400,500

Press Submit the new ranks at the bottom of the page to reorder items.
You will see the new order of items.
Note: You can not rearrange your item until it has been approved.