How to Delete a Section

There are two different ways to remove a section from the page.  The section can be completely deleted from the system or just removed from the page so that it remains available in the database for assignment to another geode.  Neither of these methods deletes the content within the section, kind of like how you can throw away a picture frame but still keep the pictures inside.

To remove the section from the page but leave it available in the database:
1.  Click on the section geode for the section to be deleted.
2.  Choose "Delete Section - "remove from page".

3.  In the popup, click on "Yes, remove the section" to approve the change.

Note that the page status in the top toolbar now shows a pencil.  The section will be immediately removed from the geode in edit mode, but will still appear on the live site until the page is published. This makes it possible to remove a section and replace it with a new section in the same publishing step.

4.  Publish the page.  Your removed section is still available in the database to be assigned to pages in the future.


To completely delete the section from the system 
1.  Click on the section geode for the section to be deleted.
2.  Choose "Delete - Delete from system"

3.  In the popup, select "Yes, delete the section"

Deletion steps in GeoDocs must be published or approved in workflow, so the section geode will now show a red circle icon indicating that it is marked for deletion.  (This picture shows the yellow label that appears when the geode is moused over without clicking)

4.  Publish the page to complete deletion of the section.  The section is deleted from the page and from the database and will no longer appear as an option when assigning an existing section to a geode.

How to Reorder Sections on a Page

If you want to move a section up or down, higher or lower on a page, you must delete sections from the page to make the geodes available, and then add them  back in the order you want them.  

1. Take note of the section names and types so you can find them (mouse over their geodes)
2. Delete the sections from the PAGE  (not from the system)  that you need to get out of the way
3. Publish the page
4. Assign those sections back in the order you want them.

Change Text Into a Link

The WYSIWYG editor makes it easy to transform text into a link to a web page or to a document with a web address.  For example, here is an introduction to the features of the WYSIWYG editor.

You can create a l ink for an internal page, an internal document, or an external document or web address.

To create a link:

1. Highlight the text where you want to embed the link.
2. Click the icon that looks like a geode, and a popup will appear.

3.  Select your link 

To link to an internal page on your GeoDocs website, from the tab labeled "Internal Page" click through your navigation until the page you want is highlighted.  

To link to an internal document, click the tab marked "Internal Document" and then navigate to highlight the file you want.

To link to an external page or document, click the tab marked "External Item" and paste the address (with http:// or https://) into the field.

4.  Select your target

       None = doesn't assign a property, so goes to the default behavior for your site or browser

       Blank = open link in new window (leaves your site open in the original window)

       Parent = only used in sites that use frames.  You probably won't use this.

       Self = open link in same window (navigate away from your website in the same window)

       Top= like 'parent' this is only used in sites with frames, so you probably won't use it.

5.  Click 'Select Link' at the bottom of the window, and voila, your text is now a link.

How to unlink text:

1. Highlight the text to be unlinked
2. Click on the icon that looks like a globe with a chain link in front.  

Formatting Text with the WYSIWYG Editor

The WYSIWYG editor allows you to format text just like you were working with a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word.

1. Highlight the text you want to change, or position the cursor on the line where you want to begin typing with the formatting.  
2. Click the appropriate buttons for the desired format change.  (Or use keyboard shortcuts in some cases)  

Formatting that can be done with the click of a button: (or with keyboard shortcuts)

• Bold (Ctrl+b)
• Underline (Ctrl + u)
• Italics (Ctrl + i)
• Strikethrough
• Numbers
• Bullets
• Indent
• Quotes
• Align text right, left, center, or justify (align right and left)
• Subscript
• Superscript

To remove formatting, simply highlight the text, and then click the eraser next to the BOLD symbol.  When you mouse over the eraser a text window reads 'remove format'.

The editor does not allow you to change text font, color or size or the background color so that content authors keep the site as consistent looking as possible.  However, there are several pre-loaded formats in your website that will allow you to make formatting changes that are consistent with the rest of the site.

These are found in the dropdown in the editor toolbar.  Your options are 'normal', 'Heading 1' through 'Heading 6', 'formatted', 'address', and 'Normal (DIV)'.  Depending on how your site is styled, these may do something and they may do nothing.  Note: When you view your text inside the WYSIWYG, you'll see it styled the way it is in the dropdown, but it will look different on the page if your page template has these headings configured differently.

Why does GeoDocs work this way?  One great thing about a content management system is that you can take the same piece of content and use it over and over again, and it can change styles to match the page where you're viewing it.  So we use a collection of styles called 'heading 2' or 'h2' instead of "green, bold, and 14 pt font" so that h2 can be a different set of styles on different pages.  This is also useful if you ever want to restyle your site you can just change the settings for all these headings and you don't have to edit every piece of content to match the new look.

Intro to the GeoDocs Text Editor

Most content types in GeoDocs 8 allow you to create rich text with links, images, and more using a 'what you see is what you get' text editor, or 'WYSIWYG' for short.  This article will give you an overall intro to the editor.  Links are provided when more detail is needed on particular features.

You must be a content author or site author within a group in order to open content for editing.  The easiest way to know is to look at your GeoDocs toolbar when you're logged in.  If you see buttons for EDIT, PREVIEW, and LIVE modes, then you are a content or site author in at least one group.

Edit-Preview-Live Buttons in GeoDocs 8

Here is the editor, with buttons labeled.  (Click to enlarge picture)

GeoDocs 8 Content Editor with buttons labeled

Most functions within the editor allow a person with little or no experience with websites to edit content.  It's not too different from working with a word processing program like Microsoft Word.  There are just a few extra functions you might not use in Word because now you're dealing with web content.

Here are some of the things you can do with the WYSIWYG editor (click to go to instructions):

Most common or easy to use functions

• Format text - bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, numbers, bullets, indent, quotes, justify right/left/center, subscript, superscript, and title formatting.  (and remove formatting) 
• Insert picture
• Create links - embed a link within a word or phrase
• Copy, paste, or cut text
• Copy text from a file, or specifically Microsoft Word (strips out formatting)
• Check spelling or find and replace words

Advanced users (may require some knowledge of HTML)

• Edit the HTML directly
• Use HTML templates
• Insert tables, lines, symbols, and page breaks
• Create anchor

How to Remove Content from a Dynamic Section

Dynamic sections display content based on the properties the section is searching for.  For example, a calendar list section might display all events with the topic "Training".  This article shows how to make content stop showing in a particular section, but still keep the content in the database.  If you want to delete the content altogether, that's something different.

To remove content from a dynamic section you must change the content's properties.  First, we need to understand what properties the section is looking for.
Log in
Turn on Edit Mode (top toolbar)
Left-click the section geode, and choose 'View Section Properties'.

Look at all three tabs.  Find which properties are driving the section.  The most common is Topics, but it could also be start/end date or another parameter.  Close the popup.

Now, on the geode of the content you want to remove, click and choose 'Check Out'.  Click 'Okay' in the popup.
Click the geode again and choose 'View Content Properties'.  Change the property or properties that are causing the content to display in the section.  Click Save.

How to Delete Content from a Static Section - GeoDocs 8

You must be a site author to delete content from a section.

How to delete content from a section:

1. Log in
2. Turn on Edit Mode (top toolbar)
3. Left-click on the geode for the content you want to delete.  Choose 'Check Out', then click Okay in the popup window that appears.  The page will refresh, showing a lock next to the content geode.  
4. Choose 'Delete Content' - 'Remove from Section'.  
5. In the popup, click 'Yes, remove the content'
6. Publish the page or submit to workflow (Page menu)

How to delete content from the system:

1. Log in
2. Turn on Edit Mode (top toolbar)
3. Left-click on the geode for the content you want to delete.  Choose 'Check Out', then click Okay in the popup window that appears.  The page will refresh, showing a lock next to the content geode.  
4. Choose 'Delete Content' - 'Delete from System'.  
5. In the popup, click 'Yes, delete the content' (The page will refresh with a red icon next to the content showing it's marked for deletion)
6. Publish the page or submit to workflow (Page menu)

How to undo delete:

1. Make sure content is checked out
2. Select 'Delete Content' - 'Undo Delete Content'.  The page will refresh with the content in a checked-out state.

How to Delete a Page

You must be a site author in the group that owns the page.

1. Log in and navigate to the page to be deleted.  (Page < Open is a fast way to do this)
2. Turn on EDIT mode in the top toolbar.
3. In the toolbar, select Page < Delete
4. Are you sure?  Click Yes.  The page will reload and the status icon in the toolbar will now include a red circle.  The page is not yet deleted, it is just marked for deletion.  
5. Publish the page (Page < Publish) or send it to workflow (Page < Workflow < Submit)
• If you have workflow, the page still must be 'Approved' and then it will delete and no longer appear on your site.  

Upon publishing or approving the page, the page will refresh and you will see either a page error or a 404, or be redirected somewhere, depending on how your site is configured.

Changing Page Properties - GeoDocs 8

There are many reasons you may want to change a page's properties.   You want to move a page, or change the title, or switch to a different template.  That's all in the Page Properties.  You must have the role of 'site author' in the group that owns the page in order to change page properties or publish the page.  If your site uses workflow you may also need to be a workflow approver to complete this process.

1. Log in 
2. Click the PAGE button in the toolbar, then select 'View Page Properties' in the dropdown menu.  A popup will appear, with information organized on three tabs.  
3. Make the property change (more detail below)
4. Click SAVE.  The popup will close.
5. Go back to the PAGE button in the toolbar and in the dropdown menu, either click 'Publish' if you don't have workflow, or 'Workflow < Submit' if you do have workflow.  (an approver will then need to go to the page menu and select "Workflow < Approve")

Page Menu in GeoDocs without Workflow

Where to change the properties?

First tab: Describe this page

• Change the page title - on the first tab, type in the new name.  
• Change the page name that appears in menus - change the page 'caption' on the first tab.
• Make a page private or public - check or uncheck the 'Public' box.  If the box is unchecked (non-public) then only users in the owning group can see it and only when they're logged in.
• Turn off or inactivate a page - uncheck or check the 'Active' box.  Inactive pages can only be seen by site authors while logged in and if they're a member of the group that owns the page.  
• Change page description - the 'Meta Data' field may feed the page's HTML description.  This depends on how the page template is designed.
• Change metadata for search engine optimization (SEO) - Again, the 'Meta Data' field on the first tab. 

Second tab: Where does the page belong on this site?

• Move a page to a new location in the sitemap - select the middle tab and simply highlight the page that you want this page to go UNDER.  

Third tab: Images

• Change the banner image on a page.  (Not all templates are designed to do this.)  - use the link selector tool to choose a new document (image) for the banner.  Note that only files cropped at exactly the right dimensions will work, not just any image in the system.

Page Properties Pop-up Window - click to enlarge

Page Structure in GeoDocs

GeoDocs uses three levels of structure on a page:

1. PAGE - the page properties include which template to apply, the name of the page, and where it should be located in the site.  Only site authors can change page properties, or delete or create pages.
2. SECTIONS and MENUS - these are like frames for content and links.  Only site authors can add or remove sections/menus or make changes to their properties.
3. CONTENT - text, links, calendar entries, etc. And sometimes documents.  Document authors can create, delete, or change properties of file-based content.  Content authors can create, delete, and change content of any kind.  

Related posts:
Create a page
Add sections to a page
Add menus to a page