Drupal how-tos

Create new stories in the "News" tab under the "Content" section (see blue admin Tools menu).

  • Select “Content” from the blue admin Tools menu
    • Do not select “Add Page” to create a news article
  • Select the “News” tab
  • Select “Add news article”
  • “Create News Article” fields to fill out:
    • Title (headline), *required
    • Article Date
    • Author
    • News Excerpt (short summary/teaser that appears on archive/list of all news releases)
    • External News Link (use for links to other websites)
    • Image: Used as thumbnail in news archive and news blocks
      • Crop = 1472 x 1012 pixels
      • You can upload in advance or change/add later
    • Photographer
    • Tags (optional; list of News tags available on blue admin Tools menu)
      • Tags are unique to your site and can be used to filter/display events in display blocks, or export to a feed.
      • This is a predictive text field. Start typing the tag into the field and select the correct tag from the choices that autopopulate. 
        • NOTE: Typos or new terms will create a new tag.
  • Expand the “Schedule options” section to set date and time for publication (optional)
    • Scheduled publish times must be at least five minutes into the future.
  • Select “Save” to create the article page
    • This does not publish the article unless you checked the “Published” box 
  • Proceed to the “Add or Edit Article Content” steps

  • Select “Content” from the blue admin Tools menu
    • Do not select “Add Page” to create a news article
  • Select the “News” tab
  • Open a template or similar page from the list of existing articles
  • Select the “Clone” tab at the top of the article and confirm
  • Select the “Edit” tab and replace the Title field with the new article headline
  • Expand the “Data” section (click on the triangle) and complete/edit the fields as needed.
    • IMPORTANT: This info displays publicly in other news blocks, including the full story archive/list.
    • Article Date
    • Author name (leave blank if using the override in “News Article Hero with Details” block)
    • News Excerpt (short summary appears on archive/list of all stories)
    • External News Link (if adding a link to another website)
    • Image (optional) is used for thumbnail in archive list and homepage featured news/cards
      • Crop = 1472 x 1012 pixels
      • You can add/change the default image later
    • Photographer name (leave blank if using the override in “News Article Hero with Details” block)
    • Tags (optional; list of News tags available on blue admin Tools menu)
      • Do not create a new tag
      • Start typing the tag name into the predictive text field and select the correct tag from the predictive text choices that autopopulate
      • Use a comma to add multiple tags
  • Expand the “Schedule options” section to set date and time for publication (optional)
  • Do NOT select “Published” if you scheduled a future publication date/time
  • Select “Save”
    • Be sure to complete this step, then reopen to edit the body copy
    • This does not publish the article

Proceed to the “Add or Edit Article Content” steps

  • Select the “Edit” tab on the article page 
  • If you want to add sections to organize a lot of blocks (not required):
    • Select “Add section” button under Section 1
    • Click through a couple screens, leaving info as is. Administrative label is optional.
  • Select “Add block” button in a section to add content using theme component blocks
    • “Body Content” block allows formatted text, charts, “Aside” box, inline photos
  • Editing component blocks
    • Click on the pencil icon located at the top right of the block you want to edit
    • Select “Configure”
    • Select “Update” after editing or adding content (bottom left button) to add/update the block
  • Select the “Save” button (above the article headline) to save page changes

Options available in the top block (headline/page title)

  • Edit the “News Article Hero with Details” block at the top of the story content section to:
    • Add a subhead
    • Change the byline style (attribution)
    • Add an article hero photo (crop = 1277 x 719 pixels)
    • Display a headline different than the page name

How to make the article go live (two options)

  • Immediately: Select the “Published” box and then “Save”
  • Scheduled (must be at least 5 minutes into the future): Complete the “Schedule Publication section” and select “Save”
    • Do NOT select “Published” if you scheduled a future publication date/time

Adding photos in the content section

  • Place cursor in the body content location you want the photo to appear
  • Click on the photo icon in the toolbar
  • Select and insert the photo
  • Click once on the photo for a toolbar with options to add a cutline, set the size/location, or make it clickable

'Aside' box

See examples and best practices

  • After placing the story body content, place the cursor where you want the Aside box to appear
  • Click “Aside” in the text editor toolbar
  • Type or paste text into the Aside box
  • Remember header hierarchy if you style the text
  • Photos in Aside
    • Will be resized automatically, no need to upload additional versions
    • Once the photo is placed, click on it once for a toolbar to choose image style/location (best: align center w/break), add a caption (short), and/or add a link

Pull quote

  • Place cursor in the quote text and select the quote mark icon in the text editor toolbar. It will style the entire paragraph, so add a return for content you don’t wish to include.

Tables

  • Copy/paste (or build) the table in text editor
  • Click somewhere in the table to see the pop-up menu of options and styles
  • Click on “Styles” and select your preferred layout styles (IA State 2022 will incorporate the theme)
  • IMPORTANT FOR DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY (see more about accessible tables)
    • Highlight the top header row and choose the “Header row” option in the row menu.
      • If using the theme, make sure the text is not bold so it will be appear as reverse type in the red.
    • There should not be any empty cells in the table
    • Avoid merging cells

Erase formats applied to text

  • Highlight the text and click the “Remove Format” icon (Tx) on the text editor toolbar

Copy/place plain (unformatted) text 

  • This will strip out the junk code, but also removes links, bullets, text treatments (bold/italics), and hard returns at the end of a paragraph
  • Highlight and copy text, then use the combo of key commands (below) to paste the text into the content editor section of the Drupal block:
    • Macs: Command + Shift + V
    • PCs: Control + Shift + V

Smart (curly) quotes

  • Option + ] produces an opening single curly quote ( ‘ )
  • Option + Shift + ] produces a closing single curly quote ( ’ )
  • Option + [ produces an opening double curly quote ( “ )
  • Option + Shift + [ produces a closing double curly quote ( ” )

En dash and em dash

  • Switch to source code in the text editor box to change
    • —    ( — ) AP’s preferred dash style; be sure to include a space on both sides of the em dash
    • –     ( – )

Sizing, styles, block specifics

Image specifications for all theme component blocks are in the web style guide (PDF)

  • Crop and size your photos before uploading (do not exceed 2 MB)
  • Save as a JPG with 50% image quality
  • Use 1472 x 1012 pixels as your default photo crop
    • No need to upload multiple sizes/versions -- this image will automatically resize and work well in nearly all places if the main focus of the photo is mostly centered. The outside edges of the image may be slightly clipped in some blocks (ex: homepage thumbnail).

News blocks and their image crop sizes

  • News Article Hero
    • 1277 x 719 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio)
  • News Featured (homepage)
    • 1244 x 830 (3:2 aspect ratio)
  • News List (archive page)
    • 608 x 404 (3:2 aspect ratio)
  • News Card (homepage)
    • 688 x 688 (square)

Uploading photos and graphics

  • Select either the “Files” tab on the blue admin menu, or the “Media” tab under “Content”
  • Select “Add media” green button for a single item, or “Upload media in bulk” button for multiple files
  • Adding one media item
    • Select the file type – most common will be “Image” or “Video (remote)”
    • Name (this is displayed in the full list of files under the “Media” tab); can copy/paste the name of the file in this field
    • Optional: Tags and Categories (anything you type will be added as a tag/category)
    • Select the “Choose File” button to find the file on your computer
    • Add Alt text (short description written as a complete sentence appropriate for being read aloud by a screen reader)
    • Select “Save”
  • Uploading in bulk
    • Drag or select files to upload
    • Select “Submit”
    • For bulk uploads, you must add the alt text individually after uploading. Find each file on the full Media list and select “Edit” (far right column) to add or change information.

Adding the “Video” block to a story page

  • Select “Add a Block” and choose the “Video” block from the Media category
  • Title field is required
  • Put the YouTube or Vimeo link in the “Add Video” field and select “Add”
    • Use the video’s webpage URL or “Share” link
    • Do not use the embed code
  • Select “Save and insert”
  • “Wallpaper” (optional): Replaces default thumbnail image
    • Upload a 1472 x 844 pixels photo
  • Caption is optional (plain text, so you can’t include links or apply text styles)

Video thumbnails (Wallpaper)

  • Replaces default thumbnail image
  • Crop and upload a 1472 x 844 pixels photo

Theme blocks with video options

  • Choose “discard changes” if you want to exit out of a story without saving any changes
  • You can revert to a previous version of the story via the “Revisions” tab
    • Every saved version is available
  • Check mobile view
    • Placing multiple photos/asides in the story text may not be user-friendly
  • An optional subhead is available in the News Hero block
  • Avoid italics (accessibility)
  • Create “sections” to organize blocks on a story page

Training video