Editing Manual

Editing Manual

This documentation is a training resource for university staff and faculty authorized to manage content on ITS Drupal websites. Following these workflows helps maintain a consistent digital identity, meet institutional usability standards, and keep information accurate for campus and public audiences.

ITS Drupal sites running the HighFive2 (V2) theme use a Paragraphs-based architecture. You can assemble, reorder, and configure modular content blocks without writing HTML or using separate layout tools. Individual guides below provide step-by-step instructions; this page summarizes what each guide covers and how the pieces fit together.

Note: Faculty Webpages use a condensed toolset based on the V2 theme. Not every option or setting described here will apply to those sites.

Getting started

Before editing content, log in with your NetID, NetPassword, and Duo. See Logging In for the full authentication workflow, troubleshooting, and how to confirm you have an editor role on your subdomain.

Daily editing workflows and content management

These guides cover tasks you will perform regularly while building and maintaining your department site.

  • Content Overview: Explains each content type available on your site (Page, News, Event, People, and specialized types). Selecting the correct type ensures proper fields, menu behavior, and inclusion in automated listings.

  • Linking: How to create reliable internal and external links in the rich text editor and in Paragraph button fields. Covers entity autocomplete, Media Library document links, accessibility requirements for link text, and periodic checks for broken external URLs.

  • Publishing and Unpublishing: Describes our direct Published/Unpublished visibility model (there is no separate draft state). Learn to keep work hidden during development, publish safely when content is approved, unpublish seasonal pages without deleting them, and control visibility of individual Paragraph blocks.

  • Revisions: Your safety net for content history. Track who changed a page and when, preview past versions, revert after mistakes, and use revision log messages so colleagues understand each save.

  • Site Media Library: How images, PDFs, audio, and video are stored centrally, tagged with alt text, and reused across pages. Explains media entity types and why updating a file in the library updates every reference on the site.

  • Deleting: When to delete versus unpublish, how node deletion differs from Media Library deletion, and what to expect with search engines after content is removed.

  • Directory Profiles: How faculty and staff directory listings work as a View of People content, and how to complete the Profile, Grouping, and Bio tabs.

Site structure, settings, and support topics

  • Menus & Subpages: Add pages to the main navigation, nest subpages, respect the seven-item top-level limit, reorder menus under Structure, and understand how menu placement affects URL aliases.

  • URL Aliases & Redirects: Readable URLs, manual alias rules, automatic 301 redirects when paths change, and requesting short vanity links for print campaigns without breaking menu logic.

  • Site Information & Social Media: The Site Settings node for header, footer, menu colors, contact information, and social icon placement.

  • Webforms: How ITS builds forms, how you publish them with a Webform Container, and how to review or export submissions.

  • Google Analytics: What analytics reports show and how to request dashboard access for your subdomain.

  • Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 Level AA expectations for editors—alt text, headings, links, and media—and links to campus accessibility resources.

  • CAS Protected Pages: When a published page should be readable only by authenticated MSU users or a narrower campus group.

  • FAQs & Common Issues: Quick answers for permissions, search engine removal, menu links, and accessibility reminders.

Core architecture and structural concepts

You do not need to configure the items below to edit a page, but they explain why certain workflows exist and help when content does not appear where you expect.

  • Drupal CMS: High-level overview of how Drupal stores text and layout in a database, assembles pages dynamically, and separates nodes from Media Library assets.

  • Nodes: The structural foundation of content—every page, profile, and article is a node with a permanent ID, metadata, and fields defined by its content type.

  • Paragraphs: Modular blocks (text, accordions, grids, CTAs) stacked on Page nodes. Covers adding, reordering, removing, and unpublishing individual components.

  • Taxonomy: Vocabularies and terms that categorize News, Events, and People so automated feeds, directories, and filters display the right material.

  • Views: How automated news lists, event calendars, and staff directories query published content—and a troubleshooting checklist when new items do not appear.

Administrative support

The goal of this manual is to streamline publishing and reduce technical friction. When you follow established workflows, departmental information stays accurate, accessible, and compliant with university and federal standards.

For login access, new webforms, vanity URLs, analytics, or site configuration you cannot change yourself, contact your site administrator or submit a ticket to the IT Service Desk. Guides in this manual are updated as the platform and policies evolve.