SERC > SERC Content Management System > Module Editing Page

Module Editing Page

screen shot of top of module_pages

This page acts as the main gateway to editing each of the web pages in the module. It provides links for viewing, deleting and (most usefully) editing each page. Pages are identified by title, url and a unique number (this is mostly for internal use).

About 'Dev' and Live' Pages

Each module has two independent sets of pages: the development ('dev') pages and the live pages. The dev pages are password-protected, behind the scenes pages that hold your ongoing work. The live pages are those viewable by the world at large. Even after a dev page is 'finished' and made live, a separate dev version remains. Edits can be made on this dev version without disrupting the live site. Normally you'll edit only the dev version of a page, changing the live version only through the process of replacing it wholesale with the dev version. The dev pages have urls identical to their live counterparts with the addition of a /dev appended to the front. So if http://serc.carleton.edu /fun.html is a live page, then http://serc.carleton.edu /dev/fun.html is its dev twin.

By default dev pages are password-protected. There is a simple link which will toggle the password protection off (and back on), if you want to allow someone a 'peek' at the dev page without having to get them an account and access.

By default only the dev pages in the module are listed. The "Enable Editing of Live Pages" link temporarily displays both the dev and live pages for the module so you can get at the live ones. You should rarely need to edit the live pages directly. One common scenario where it might be necessary is when you're in the midst of reworking a page in the dev area and discover a typo on the live page that needs a quick fix.

screen shot of bottom of module_pages

The "Replace" option allows you to make your entire module live--use it with caution. It replaces existing live pages with duplicates of their dev counterparts, creating new live pages.

Making your dev pages live in this way won't automatically delete live pages for which no dev counterpart exists: if, for example, you've consolidated several dev pages into one. You can delete the defunct live pages manually but keep in mind you might be breaking someone's bookmarks in the process. Something to consider before you reorganize.

Next we find a button for creating a new blank page. You can choose an appropriate page template (more about these later) or just leave it to the default which is usually set correctly for a given module. Once you've got a blank page to work with you can start editing.


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