Almost Everything you always wanted to know about digital assets But were afraid to ask J CMS Training Session 1
Topics we ll cover 1. What is a digital asset? 2. How do I add digital assets to my page? 3. Naming digital assets 4. The Alt Tag & Search Engine Optimization (SEO 5. Adding vs. replacing/updating an asset 6. The Digital Asset Manager 7. How can I delete my assets? 8. How do I organize my assets? 9. Images
Editor I m using I m using the RadAjax Editor I ve tied all of them, this seems the best to me. You can check to see what you re using on your My Page
1. What is a Digital Asset?
What is a digital asset? O Any type of file that s inserted (images) or linked to (PDF) from a web page, including: O PDFs O Word or Powerpoint files O Images O These documents reside in the Digital Assets Manager area O Each individual asset is given an ID number (automatic) and a name (chosen by the user) O The ID can be viewed in code view: O They can be searched by their ID number or their name
What is a digital asset? O Files shouldn t be STORED on the website O every file up there could be accessed by someone by searching our site O replace when they are outdated, delete when they are no longer needed O files should be stored on your computer/department server, etc. O Files shouldn t be HUGE in size O Files should never have personal student information or any type of confidential data O Files should follow the Mohawk College brand (colours, logo usage, general look and feel) Contact Joe or Katherine if you have a question about branding, asset size, etc.
2. How do I add digital assets to my page?
How do I add a digital asset? O Digital assets can be added: O from a web page (in edit mode) O to the Digital Asset Manager O You can: O insert a NEW asset O insert an EXISTING asset O REPLACE an existing asset
Inserting a NEW digital asset on a web page O Login to the site, go to the page you want to add the file to and click the edit button O Select/highlight the text or image you want to link to: O Using the tool bar: O Click on the Insert Digital Assets button:
Inserting a NEW digital asset on a web page 1. Click on the Add tab
Inserting a NEW digital asset on a web page 2. Complete the Required fields:
Inserting a NEW digital asset on a web page 3. Browse to the file on your computer: 4. Click Insert :
Inserting an EXISTING digital asset on a web page O Follow the steps above, but stay in the Browse tab O Browse through the folders to look for a file O Or, try the Search you will be looking by keyword (This will depend on the file using those keywords why it s important to use them when naming!)
Inserting an EXISTING digital asset on a web page In Browse view, you will see a preview if the file is an image, and the Properties of the file on the right side
Inserting an EXISTING digital asset on a web page O When you have located the file you want, click Insert O You have the option to open it in a new window (may be used on occasion, but typically not) O You can also modify the Alt Tag at this point
3. Naming Digital Assets
Naming Digital Assets Best practices for naming digital assets O O O O O O O O keep characters lowercase use keywords (e.g. course-registration-tips ) that people would use to search for the document use (hyphen) to separate keywords no need to add the file extension (e.g..pdf), the system will do that for you add a date code somewhere on your document to help you determine the version don t add dates/terms/years to the file name if this will be a long term document (e.g. registration-form-fall-2012.pdf) keep in mind that this is what the document will be called users may save this for future reference
Naming Digital Assets Best practices for naming digital assets O asset names can be changed O Keep in mind that this will break external links to the file. This may or may not be important check with Katherine or Joe before you do this. O if the file is a critical one (e.g.. Transcript request) and we don t want the link to be broken until Google finds the new file (may take a few days) Joe or Katherine can add a redirect check with us first. J
4. The Alt Tag and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The Importance of Alt tags O Alt tags are alternative text, displayed when the image cannot be rendered O Also used by "screen reader" software (accessibility feature) O Keywords help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) O E.g. file name is course-registrationtips.pdf, Alt tag is Course Registration Tips
Linking Text and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) O The text on a web page that links to a digital asset (or any web page or site) should also be keyword rich O Search Engines (e.g. Google) look at many factors on the page to determine page ranking, including text links O Instead of just using Click here use: O View the Student Jobs Registration Form
5. Adding vs. Updating/ Replacing an Asset
Adding VS. Updating When to add O Completely new file or image When to replace O The file is already on the site, you are just updating it O E.g. Spring 2012 Registration Guide is up, you need to replace with Summer 2012 Registration Guide O File name should not have the date/year/semester, etc.
Adding VS. Updating/Replacing O Why is this important? O Adding new files every time a document has a change results in many OLD and OUTDATED files up on the site O This old files can come up in searches, people visiting the site may not realize they are looking at outdated information O Makes maintenance easier and maintains the URL O Notes can be made in the description area to help communicate details/last updated
Updating/replacing a Digital Asset from a web page O Login to the site, go to the page you want to add the file to and click the edit button O Select/highlight the text or image you want to link to: O Using the tool bar: O Click on the Insert Digital Assets button:
Updating/replacing a Digital Asset from a web page The Insert Asset window will come up. Browse to the updated file. Click insert
6. Digital Asset Manager
Digital Asset Manager O (If you don t have access to this area, let Katherine or Joe know) O You can add, search and organize your assets O Depending on what folder(s) you have access to, you may only see one folder here
Digital Asset Manager O Login to the site, hover over the System icon in the top CMS menu O Look for Digital Asset Manager, click it
Digital Asset Manager O Add Asset add a new asset O Add Multiple Assets adding several at the same time (not covered in this presentation contact Joe or Katherine for a demo) O Search for an asset using Keyword Search (keyword would have to be IN the file name or description another reason to use effective keywords) O Can search via the Asset s ID (must know the number) O Can view ALL assets in a particular folder
Digital Asset Manager O Adding a new assets from this view is the same as when you add it from a web page: Save and add handy if you re adding a few at a time
Digital Asset Manager viewing search results O When you search via the keyword search, or by viewing the contents of a folder, you will see:
Digital Asset Manager viewing search results O You can view a thumbnail helpful if you re looking for an image:
Digital Asset Manager viewing search results O Will also show you the number of pages the asset is used on (or 0 if it s not used), the folder and if it s active O Can also click Unused Assets Only to just view those not currently being used O Helpful when you want to delete old assets!
Detailed Asset View O All information about the asset can be viewed here O Updating the asset is as simple as Re- Uploading it O Can change the folder O View the History O View the Usage
Asset History O Every time an asset is updated a version of the asset is saved O Can be viewed:
Is the asset being used? O Visible in the Asset Detail View by clicking on the Usage tab:
7. Deleting Assets
Deleting Unused/Old Assets Two ways to delete: 1. When viewing the asset in Detail view
Deleting Unused/Old Assets Two ways to delete: 2 When viewing search results. The select column allows you to choose one or many at a time. Use the delete button at the bottom to delete what you ve selected.
Deleting Unused/Old Assets NOTE the system will not allow you to delete assets that are currently being used. O If you know an asset is old/needs to be deleted but the system is telling you it s being used, you must first find the page it s on, remove the link, then delete it.
8. Organizing Assets
Organizing Your Assets O In the Digital Asset Manager you can create folders to organize your files O Can be used or organize: O different types of files (e.g. PDFs, Images) O files for sub sections of your site (e.g.. coop program description PDFs vs. interview and resume resources) O date-specific files e.g. Athletics team headshots for 2012, for 2011
Folders O O O O The Digital Assets Manager organizes assets into folders Each area of the site (e.g. International, Admissions, Co-op) should have it s own folder Within your area s folder you can create subfolders to help organize files NOTE folders should also use the same naming structure (lowercase, hyphens, keywords) Many folders don t follow this yet we re working on this over the summer
Organizing Your Assets O To view, edit remove or add a folder, click on Manage Folders O Choose the Parent folder you want to examine:
Organizing Your Assets O You can then add a folder O Delete unused folders Click the delete checkbox, then click Save
Organizing Your Assets O Adding a Folder: give it a name, select the proper Parent and click Save
Organizing Your Assets O Renaming a Folder: change the name and click Save
Organizing Your Assets O Moving a Folder: change the Parent folder and click Save (you need permission to edit the new folder to do this)
9. A bit about images
Adding Images O When adding images, be sure that you don t STRETCH or SHRINK the image O may distort it O can result in a HUGE image being shrunk down causes the page to load slower O Images need to be saved to the correct size BEFORE being added to the site O Contact Joe or Katherine for help with this O Images can be set to LINK to other assets, e.g.. PDF, ask Joe or Katherine for a demo