Most people will already have a PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed on their computer. In which case clicking on the link on the page will automatically either download the PDF or open it in their web browser for viewing.

If you dont have this then you can download the appropriate version for your computer here:

Get Acrobat Reader

First Login

You will need a login: (username and password) to access the authoring features of the website.

The Administrator will be contacting the representatives of various village organisations with login and tutorial information.

If you haven't been sent a login for the Allerton Villages Website then you can apply via the contact form.

The Login Form

Go to either the homepage of this website, or this FAQ page.

Use the login form, located on the bottom right, to login.

You will be presented with a page allowing you to create articles for your section of the website. You may have other options, if relevant, such as a file uploader facility.

The User Menu

A User Menu will appear, once logged in, at the top left hand side of the page. This gives you useful context sensitive options.

Here is a picture to help:

‘Your Details’ gives you access to your account details.
‘Submit an Article’ lets you create and submit articles for your section.
'Submit a Weblink’ lets you submit a link to another website.
‘Logout’ lets you logout and returns you to the home page.

The Editor Window

• The quickest way to create an article is to compose your text in Word or similar and then cut and paste it into the editing box.
• Then: Select your heading, by clicking on it, and then choose Heading1 or Heading2 from the Format box above. This will format your heading as a large heading, Heading1, or a subheading, Heading2.
  Now select and format the main text as ‘Paragraph’ from the Format menu.
  You can then further format it with bullets, bold, alignment etc, from the top menu icons, very similar to that found in any word processing program.
• Caution: avoid using all capitals in headings if possible (as the convention is this represents shouting) and dont use underlining (this is reserved as the convention for clickable links and can cause confusion).

Adding Images

If you want to insert images, then use the button at the bottom (not the one at the top) to browse for a suitable image. (If you want to add a new one, then please contact me and I will add it to the library.)
The Image Library: accessed from within the article editing form. I will be adding more images to this, in the various categories. Requests and contributions are welcome.

First Image LIbrary View

Second Image LIbrary View

Content entered, final submission options

Choose Sections

Choose your section and category from the drop down (you will have been supplied with these, along with your login details).
Leave ‘show on frontpage’ set to ‘no’. Leave ‘author alias’ blank for now.

Choose Date

Choose a date for your article to begin displaying on the website. This will usually be today’s date, but you may wish to set an article up in advance if, for example, you are going to be on holiday.
You can also choose a date when your article should expire, this can be never for basic information, or the day after an event for dated events.

Search Engines

Then, enter a brief description and a few keywords pertaining to your article’s content. This is to help search engines categorise the article.

Finally

Finally, click on the ‘Save’ button, found on the top right. This will submit your article for review and publishing on the website.

Detail View of the Date PIcker popup

We are adding new categories and images to the library all the time. However, it is quite likely that you will want new images added. If you are not confident about optimising images yourself, then please do contact us with requests. We will be very happy to either add your images for you, or to source new ones for you. (Tutorials on image optimisation to follow soon).

Login

Login with the supplied username and password, via the login form, bottom right, on either the front page, or the calendar page of the website.

You will be taken to the editing page (see above FAQs for more details). Choose 'Add Event to Calendar' from the User Menu (top left), or choose 'Calendar' from the top menu. (NB: the User Menu is always magically available ONLY while you are logged on)

Next

Move your mouse over the date where you wish to enter an event and you will see a plus sign appear. Click on that to add your event.

A popup window will appear, with 2 tabs, each with various boxes to complete.

Tab1: Common

• Enter the subject
• Select your category
• Enter details in the main text box, and add an image if desired. Careful here to only add optimised images (see above FAQs on this topic).
• Enter location of event
• Enter any contact information for the event
• Finally, enter any additional information.

Tab2: Calendar

Choose the duration of your event, options for both dates and times, or all day etc. Also choose any repeats for the event.

Then, choose 'Save' on the top right to create your event.

Don't forget to logout when finished!

You do this while you are logged on with your username and password.
Click on the calendar event you wish to amend and wait for the editing window to appear.
You will see a small editing icon near to the top right. See the image below: the red arrow shows this icon.
You should then see a grey pop up box with additional editing options.