Guide to Using Drupal

Creating and maintaining content

Event and workshop listings

To create an event listing, use the Create event option in the navigation menu. This is a custom content type that was created especially for this website — just follow the instructions on the form to create your listing.

Electronic resource listings

To add an electronic resource to the database, use the navigation menu's Create eResource listing option.
» How to add, update, or remove an electronic resource listing

Pages (including guides)

To create a new page or guide document, choose Create page content from the navigation menu in the right-hand column. Select Page as the content type. (At this writing, we aren't using the Story or Wiki Page content type.)

Before you begin adding content, click on the Input format link and choose the Full HTML option. The default input format in Drupal is Filtered HTML, which makes use of a limited number of XHTML elements. Your pages will look better if you choose the Full HTML option, even if you plan to use the WYSIWYG editor.

Tips:

If you're new to creating page content in Drupal, please read chapters 1 and 2 in Using Drupal or attend one of the "libtech" presentations.

When you create a new page, Drupal will assign a URL path. If you would like to set the URL yourself, scroll down to URL path settings and click on the link. Uncheck the "Automatic alias" box and enter the URL that you would like to use.

If you'd like to use images, see this guide about Working with Images.

The Drupal Views feature is a quick way to create dynamically generated pages, such as events listings and listings of electronic resources by subject area.
» Views Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Editing and updating existing content

To edit or update existing content that you own, choose My workspace from the navigation menu in the right-hand column to display a list of all of the pages, stories, and other content items that belong to you. These listings also include options to edit or delete any of the items on your list. You can also use the "Add new item" button to create a new content item.

Note: if you want to edit another author's content, first check with the Administrative User to make sure that you have the appropriate permissions.

Getting help

Troubleshooting problems, including not being able to log into the site, how to restore an older version of a document, and what to do if scripts don't work or if custom layouts break.

Reading list:

Using Drupal: all content authors and editors should read chapters 1 and 2 for basic knowledge of how the Drupal content management system works and how to create content.

Drupal 6 Content Administration: for a deeper look at managing the content on a Drupal site. This book is available at e-Learn Berkeley via the Blu Portal.