Client Instructions: CMS Overview

CMS Overview

CMS Access

To access the SilverStripe CMS, you need a username and password. Usernames and passwords can only be given by the site's administrator. If you don't have a username or password, let me know.

Changing your CMS Password

1. Log in to the CMS.
2. Click on your name in the top left corner.
3. Click on the Change Password link.
4. Enter your new password into both boxes.
5. Then, select the Save button.

Navigation tabs

The Navigation Tabs (found on the far left the page when you are viewing the CMS) allow you to navigate to the main sections of the SilverStripe CMS. Here, you can choose to manage pages or files and images, run reports or manage security, adjust site settings and access help. Some modules and options add additional navigation tabs.

When a section is selected, the CMS navigation buttons will usually become smaller to accommodate the center edit/display area. If you are unsure which button is which when they are at this size, hover over the icons with your cursor/mouse to see the name appear.

Specific tabs may change depending on what modules are installed. However, the following tabs are part of a typical SilverStripe installation:

Pages

This is usually the default area you see when logging into the CMS. The Pages section enables you to access and edit the content of the pages (if multi-page) of your website or different sections of your single-page website.  Depending on your website build or package, you can also change the order of pages, remove pages and add new ones. 

Files

This section allows you to add or delete files and to synchronize your view with the actual files on the server. You can also organize your files into folders.

Reports

This section shows reports for your site such as, pages with broken links or pages with no content. What you see in this section will depend on which version of SilverStripe you are running and what features we have added.

Settings

The settings section of the content management system is where all "global" settings for the website can be modified. These settings include management of the website logo, tagline, default header image, and social media links, and optional footer text. The settings section is not accessible in all builds.

Help

Help provides direct access to your user help. This is the site you are looking at right now!

SiteTree Management

This privilege is dependent on your website package or build.

Image of page status identifiers

The Tree Management area shows by default  (unless you are no longer in the Pages section of the CMS) and displays the Site Tree in a hierarchical format. The page you are working on will be shown on the right, in the Page Management area.

Click on the page in the tree you want to work in to open the Page Management view (see below) for that page.

Depending on your build, you also can also add new pages/sections by selecting Add new from the Pages menu. While there may be a variety of page or section types visible, some will be ghosted out to indicate they are not available. Also, some pages or sections can only exist as children of (beneath in the site tree) other pages. (One example of this is "team pages," as they can only be created beneath a "team holder" page type.)

Page status is also indicated in this view:

• Pages that show Modified are published pages that have been changed since they were last published.
• Those marked Draft are pages that have not yet been published.
• All other pages are published/unchanged.

Rearrange your page hierarchy using drag-and-drop by selecting the icon next to each page name and dragging it where you want it within the site tree. The level of indention will indicate whether it is being moved to a top-level or child page of another section/page.

• Some pages can only exist as child pages of other page types (like Team Pages) and must be moved as a group by selecting the parent "holder" page type. Sections with child pages/sections are indicated with arrows to the left of the name. Moving the parent page will move all child pages  beneath it.
• The page type is indicated by hovering over the page name.
• Once a page or section is moved, use Batch actions to publish the changes. (Batch actions allows you to publish, unpublish, archive (delete), or restore multiple pages at once.)

You can search the site tree or change the way the site tree is displayed. Access these options in the bar above the Pages menu and Page Management area.

Page Management

Once a page is selected from the Site Tree menu, the Page Management area opens and shows various editable information:

• page name
• navigation label (label in the menu),
• URL
• general content

The text and image content of each page is edited through the TinyMCE WYSIWYG editor, which behaves in a similar fashion to a word processing application. More advanced users can also select to edit the page's html directly.

Publishing Bar

The Publishing bar on the bottom of the page allows you to save, delete, publish (make publicly available), unpublish or preview your work (published or draft versions). The options for previewing the draft or the published site are shown on the bottom left of the page when in preview mode.

 Source: Adapted from SilverStripe