Editing with Journalmaker
Editing complex web sites is easy with Journalmaker. It's all done with templates. Users can interrelate static or rarely changing information pages with the dynamic content of articles and interactive forms. Everything is controlled by the editor, and technical support is readily available. UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGY
Layout
The master layout of the site is chosen at the time your publication is created. This is an important choice, as modification gets more difficult as your archive of special features grows. (Automated features like the article database are easily changed to a new layout, but "extras" that may have been created with a specific layout in mind need more planning if a major layout change is desired.)
Journalmaker can accommodate a wide range of layouts, including those characteristic of major national publications - examples - and those used by some of our guest publications.
Navigation
Navigation is Journalmaker's greatest strength. Unlike FTP-based "code and load" editing, all Journalmaker pages are created within the context of the publication. So your pages never get "misplaced" or duplicated or overwritten... There is no separate "working copy" on a desktop computer, so you can edit your publication where you are, not where you wish you were; all you need is an Internet connection and a modern browser.
Each page is in fact an element in a complex database that maintains all the interrelations among pages and their visible components. In turn all components are database entries that point to their stored contents. So the publication is highly abstracted, and editing the content is different from editing the layout or the structure of the publication.
This highly refined navigation goes right down to individual page components, which can have "jump links" to move within a complex page. This is all managed by point and click, with the occasional typing of a label or a URL.
A link component lets you copy and paste links to resources outside your publication, too. Finally, of course, if you want to do so, you can turn on HTML for a text component and embed links in text in the conventional manner.
Each page is in fact an element in a complex database that maintains all the interrelations among pages and their visible components. In turn all components are database entries that point to their stored contents. So the publication is highly abstracted, and editing the content is different from editing the layout or the structure of the publication.
This highly refined navigation goes right down to individual page components, which can have "jump links" to move within a complex page. This is all managed by point and click, with the occasional typing of a label or a URL.
A link component lets you copy and paste links to resources outside your publication, too. Finally, of course, if you want to do so, you can turn on HTML for a text component and embed links in text in the conventional manner.
Contents
PAGES. Pages are composed of "components" that may contain text, graphics, links... Arrange your page by adding components and "pushing" them up, down, left, right, etc. Journalmaker supports (a)"general purpose" pages with free-form content and (b)articles in structured lists.
TEXT. Add or edit text by typing or by copy and paste. Build pages from one or many text components. Each block can be plain text or it may contain HTML; just tell Journalmaker which it is and the system will handle the formatting.
GRAPHICS. To add a graphic, just add a graphic component and then browse your disk to upload a JPEG, GIF or PNG graphic. The system automatically manages the placement and sizing of the graphic on your page. Deleting or replacing graphic is just a matter of point and click.
LINKS. To add a link, just copy the URL from a web page. Now paste it into a link component and type a label.
CONTAINERS. A powerful feature of the page layout manager is the ability to group components in containers. A container can include text, graphics or other visible elements. Moving the container around the page causes all the elements to move together while maintaining their position within the container.
ARTICLES, STORIES... All pages - including the special case called articles are laid out using the same easy component system. You can group articles (stories, reports, case studies...) into lists.
SECTIONS. You can assign articles to sections (e.g., Sports, Politics, Dog Grooming...). Readers can approach the topic by date, or they can search for keywords.
EDITIONS. You can create a periodical format by creating editions (day, week, month...). This reduces the number of pages displayed in lists and keeps your site fresh.
BLOG POSTS. You can post to your blog from within the editing suite or by signing in as a user. You can grant posting and commenting privileges to your readers.
TEXT. Add or edit text by typing or by copy and paste. Build pages from one or many text components. Each block can be plain text or it may contain HTML; just tell Journalmaker which it is and the system will handle the formatting.
GRAPHICS. To add a graphic, just add a graphic component and then browse your disk to upload a JPEG, GIF or PNG graphic. The system automatically manages the placement and sizing of the graphic on your page. Deleting or replacing graphic is just a matter of point and click.
LINKS. To add a link, just copy the URL from a web page. Now paste it into a link component and type a label.
CONTAINERS. A powerful feature of the page layout manager is the ability to group components in containers. A container can include text, graphics or other visible elements. Moving the container around the page causes all the elements to move together while maintaining their position within the container.
ARTICLES, STORIES... All pages - including the special case called articles are laid out using the same easy component system. You can group articles (stories, reports, case studies...) into lists.
SECTIONS. You can assign articles to sections (e.g., Sports, Politics, Dog Grooming...). Readers can approach the topic by date, or they can search for keywords.
EDITIONS. You can create a periodical format by creating editions (day, week, month...). This reduces the number of pages displayed in lists and keeps your site fresh.
BLOG POSTS. You can post to your blog from within the editing suite or by signing in as a user. You can grant posting and commenting privileges to your readers.