What is a block?

Sometimes there can be a lot of confusing jargon associated with Content Management Systems. We have tried to keep this to a minimum but there are a still a few here and there in Caravel.

Adding blocks to a column

A block is your basic container, every bit of content and every application that you put on a page becomes a block. When you add a new document to a page it becomes a block that contains that document. When you add a new feature like a RSS Reader, it gets added in a block.

The block menus allow you to
delete, edit, and style a block

This makes certain operations that you do much simpler because everything you need to do can be done from the block menu. If you want to get rid of anything on your page, you just click the trash icon and delete its block. If you want to apply styles to anything on your page you can just click on the palette icon and apply styles to its block. If there is an edit mode for your content or feature, just click on the pencil icon from the block menu to edit it.

Tip:  You can retrieve a deleted block by dragging it out of the Trash sidebar
Tip:  You can move a block to another page by dragging it to the Block Clipboard sidebar, navigating to the destination page, and dragging the block from the Block Clipboard to the desired location.
Tip:  When dragging a block from the Block Clipboard, if you hold down the Control key, a copy of the block remains in the Block Clipboard.  This is handy when you want to copy a block to multiple different pages.
Tip:  To give a block a Titlebar, from the Block Options menu, choose Block Settings and type in your block title.  You can then choose from different titlebar styles from the Block Template dropdown menu.

The editor keeps acting oddly and losing my changes, whats happening?

Removing all formatting can help

Sometimes when you have put so much formatting in a document it starts to overlap and interact in unfortunate ways. You may change a font from one size to another and find that nothing changes since the formatting is messed up. Our suggestion for dealing with this is to select the area that is not working correctly and click on the "Remove Formatting" button, the eraser icon. This removes all formatting and you may need to redo your font sizes and colors, but it almost always solves the problem.

How do I add content?

Adding a new document

To add content onto your site just move your mouse to the plus icon on any column. A menu will appear and one of the options will be "New Document". When you click on this, a WYSIWYG HTML Editor will appear. It works very similar to the way a word proccessor works and adding text and images is quite easy. When you are done editing, make sure to name your file, and optionally give it a title and author, and then save it. Your document is now visible as a block in the column.

Uploading Files
Caravel also allows you to upload files from your local hard drive.  From the Add Block menu, choose Upload File, and locate the file you wish to upload.  Caravel will automatically recognize most common web file formats (ie. .jpg, .gif, .png, .mov, .rtf, .htm, .swf, .mp3, .m4a, .mp4).  Files that are not normally visible on the web (ie. .ppt, .doc, .pdf) will be displayed as links, which are either downloaded or displayed by a browser plugin.

Displaying Content You've Already Uploaded
Sometimes the content you want to display has already been uploaded into Caravel.  In this case, from the Add Block menu, choose Open File or Open Folder.  The Open File command displays a single file in a new block, while the Open Folder command displays the contents of a Folder, typically as links, buttons or entire files.  The Folder Viewer is a very powerful feature and once you've mastered it, you're ready to tap into some of the more powerful capabilities of Caravel.

Tip:  You can add multiple files, folders, even nested folders using the Java Uploader in the File Manager
Advanced Tip:  You can simplify site maintenance for non-technical users by creating an "upload dashboard" using Caravel's Public Uploader and Public Uploader Rapid Edition.  These tools allow you to upload multiple files to multiple destinations with a single click, and define custom dropdown menus with common destinations (ie. for submitting committee minutes to various committtees). To add a Public Uploader block, choose Add Block/Add Feature and Click the Admin Tools Link.

How do I add a row or a column?
 

Adding a row or a column using the row menu

We'll start with how to add a row. Every page will always have at least one row on it, because the last row can never be deleted. So, to add a new row all you need to do is move your mouse cursor to the plus icon on a current row and you will see three options. The second one is 'Add Row'. Click this and a row will be added after the current row.

Adding a column is very similar. Find the row that you want to add a coulmn to and move your mouse cursor to the plus icon. Click on 'Add Column' and a column is added to that row.

Tip:  Each row can have its own width and justification
Tip:  Rows can be fixed or variable width.  This is determined by using pixels (fixed) or percent (variable) when setting the row width
Tip:  You can set the width for all rows on a page simultaneously by choosing Row Widths and clicking the All Rows radio button.

I don't know HTML. Can I still add content to my site?

Knowing HTML is not a requirement,
but it is a bonus

Yes. The HTML editor that Caravel uses does not require any HTML knowledge to accomplish most tasks. Just about any standard content can be made with this editor. Having said that, a basic knowledge of HTML and CSS will definitely help you out. If you want to start doing really complicated layouts and designs with flashy content knowing these will eventually be needed.

Tip:  Clicking the HTML button in the editor brings up a window containing the text and underlying HTML code for the current block.  This can be useful for both learning HTML and troubleshooting layout problems.

Tip:  Caravel will convert RTF files to HTML automatically as you upload them into your site.  This is enormously useful if most of your content is in MS Word format.

How Do I Log In?

Depending on how your site has been set up, there are three common ways to log into a Caravel site:

1) A login block.  In this situation, the login form is embedded right in the layout.  Just enter your userID and password and click the Login button
2) A login button.  Particularly on older sites, there may be a login button in the lower right corner of the screen.  Click it to log in.
3) A login page.  On more recent Caravel installations, you can type /login.php at the end of any page URL and you'll get a login page.

Tip:  When you use a Login block, you have the option of redirecting the user to another page when they log in.  This can be handy for directing them to Members page with links to members only content.

I want to make my column smaller but it won't let me, is there anything I can do?

The minimum width has been reached

Occasionally you will want to make a column smaller and it will not allow you to. It will flash the message 'Minimum Width'. The reason it does this is because the browser refuses to make the column smaller either due to an image with a set width or a long line of text with no spaces or a long string of   (non-breaking spaces). There are several ways of getting around this problem. If it is an image you can remove the block with the image that won't get smaller, fix the width, and then add the image back. If the problem is text you can insert spaces into the line of text which will allow it to wrap onto multiple lines, if it's non-breaking spaces you can usually find and delete them using the HTML view in the WYSIWYG editor. 

Tip:  A related problem is when a row becomes wider than its defined width.  The fixes are pretty similar--find the offending block and either scale down the picture, eliminate the  's, or long strings of unbroken text.
Tip:  Caravel now offers picture editing tools that allow you to scale and crop images right in your browser.  You can access these tools from any picture block, or from the File Manager, just double-click on the image you want to resize.  It's very handy for fixing oversized images.

How do I move a block?

Dragging a block to its new location

To move a block, move your cursor over its title bar. The cursor icon should change to a crosshair. Now just click and drag the block to where you want it to be moved to. A thick dotted orange line will appear where the block is going to move to. Once this line appears just release your mouse button and the block is moved instantly.

Tip:  You can move a block to a different page by dragging it into the Block Clipboard sidebar, navigating to the destination page and dragging the block to the desired location.
Tip:  If you hold down the Control key while dragging the block out of the Block Clipboard, a copy of the block remains in the Block Clipboard.  This is handy when you need to copy the same block to multiple pages.

How do I resize a row or a column?
 

Resizing a row

This is one of the easiest layout changes you can do with Caravel. To resize a row simply move your mouse cursor to either the far left or far right of a row. A vertical orange line should appear and your cursor should change. Simply click and drag to resize the row.

Resizing a column

Resizing a column is quite similar. Just move your mouse to a columns inner border and once again a vertical orange line should appear and your cursor should change. Drag and release to resize the row.

Tip:  You can specify an exact width for a row or column in pixels or percent by choosing Row Widths or Column Widths from the Row's Add menu.

Where do I start?  What can Caravel do?

A good place to start is this tutorial Caravel Orientation Tutorial or reading some of these FAQs and tutorials. This will also give you a pretty good idea what Caravel can and can't do. Once you have taken a look at the documentation we suggest you just experiment. Don't be afraid to play around with your site. Add content, add some styles, and just have fun. Once you have done this then you are ready to start designing your first site. For some examples of what type of sites are possible check out one of these sites:

http://berkeyavenue.org
http://mennochaplains.mennonite.net
http://unionproject.org
http://mountainstates.mennonite.net
http://www.adnetonline.org
http://edenmennonite.org
http://www.goshen.edu/its/Welcome