PrensaLibre : User Manual

User Manual

Introduction

PrensaLibre is a system for editing and publishing any type of Web site whose contents change either continuously, periodically, or a combination of both. In principle it is designed to publish electronic newspapers and magazines, and even utilizes some of the same terminology used in the publishing industry. In addition to creating your HTML documents PrensaLibre also offers services that can help enhance the delivery of your publication, such as generating text bulletins for delivery by electronic mail, allowing mobile access to your publication (cellular telephone or PDA) using WAP support, as well as the generation of syndication services using RSS technology.

This document will provide you with a brief summary of the nomenclature used in PrensaLibre and a description of how to use the program.

Nomenclature

Newspaper: A newspaper is the contents and index pages that are entered and posted in real time according to arrive at the Virtual Writing, until the moment the News and the Press Notes are planned.
Magazine: A magazine is the contents that are entered and edited during a period of time predetermined by the publisher, after which the entire collection is posted. Until this moment have planned Articles of Analysis, Columns and Sections and, finally, Bulletins and Summaries RSS.
Article: The article is the smallest coherent unit of content in a PrensaLibre-driven publication. An article is a single block of information that is identified with a date and an author's name, and can be as long or as short as required. Certain types of articles are subdivided further by providing for content summaries. When called up for review, the entire body of the article is displayed at one time.
News: These are articles that can be entered and posted in real time, outside of the logic of the publication. Examples of a news article could include important announcements, software updates, new published books, film reviews, et cetera.
Analysis: These are articles that are entered and updated during a period of time predetermined by the publisher, which are then posted at one time, and do not have a a common subject or author. Examples of analysis articles include commentaries, general editorials, and so forth.
Section: These are articles that are entered and updated during a period of time predetermined by the publisher, which are then posted at one time, and have a common subject and one or more authors. Examples of sections include news, sports, business, et cetera.
Column: These are articles that are entered and updated during a period of time predetermined by the publisher, which are then posted at one time, and have a single author and one or more subjects. Examples of columns include editorials, advice columns, television highlights, daily horiscope, et cetera.
Press Note: Similar to a news article, a press note is real time content generally only found on the publication's main cover page. These notes complement the daily main objective of the Web site and are usually about the publication itself.

Entrance to the PrensaLibre system:

You enter the PrensaLibre system by pointing your user agent to the URL of the management script (such as http://yourwebsite/cgi-bin/manager.cgi). You will then be asked for your user name and password, which are generated by the system administrator. Program entry is currently handled using Basic Authentication, though this may change in the near future.

The first thing that a new user must do is to change his password to something which does not have any meaning or cannot be easily guessed and is known only to that user.

User Options:

The interface used for administering the publication is based on a single menu where the user can choose the action they wish to execute. The actions a user is allowed to select are determined by their permissions, which the administrator may specify in either the Add User or the Edit User screens. In order to execute an action the user selects that option from the list and presses the execute button. The list of actions available in PrensaLibre is as follows:

Change Password

This option allows a user to change their own password. A user password is not visible to any other user, including the administrator, so it cannot be recovered if forgotten. If this should happen the administrator must create a new password and send it to the user by whatever secure means is necessary.

Enter a news article

This option allows the user to enter a news item that will be published immediately. Once executed the user is presented with a form containing the following fields:

Title: This field contains the title of the news article, will will appear in the cover page as well as the news page. Since this field is displayed as a hyperlink (<a href = "url">title</a>) the use of HTML formatting tags in the title is not recommended, with the possible exception of the bold () or italic () tags.
Content: This field is used as a very brief introduction to the news article. It can appear in both the cover page and the news article page, and is used in the WAP service index page, so the web author should pay close attention to what appears in this field. Note that finishing this field with a line feed tag ( or ) is prohibited.
Content2: This field is used for the main body of the news article, and can be as long or short as desired. It is only displayed on the news article page. HTML formatting tags are allowed.
Subject: The subject field should adequately describe the contents of the news article. This field is currently not used but it is important to describe the contents well as it will be used in the article search function when it is implemented.

Once the fields are filled the user presses the send button.

Edit a news article

This option present the user with a list of all the news articles available on the server along with their identifier. The user can mark an article then press one of the following buttons:

Erase: Deletes the article from the news database.
Edit: Displays a screen similar to the Add Article screen with the fields prefilled with the contents of the article. After making the necessary changes the user presses the send button to save those changes.

Enter an analysis article

Users with the correct permissions are presented with the option to enter a new analysis article, which will be stored in the database until the administrator selects the Publish a new issue option. Once activated a screen will appear asking for the following information:

Title: This field contains the title of the analysis article, will will appear in the cover page as well as the analysis page. Since this field is displayed as a hyperlink (<a href = "url">title</a>) the use of HTML formatting tags in the title is not recommended, with the possible exception of the bold () or italic () tags.
Subtitle: The content of this field is not used, but it appears here to maintain compatibility with the column format. You are recommended to use this field anyway.
Summary: The contents of this field will only be displayed on the analysis cover page. The user is advised to make the article summary brief, usually not more than three lines of text. Note that finishing this field with a line feed tag ( or ) is prohibited.
Content: This field will contain the body of the analysis article itself, and may be as long or as short as required. HTML tags are allowed.
Subject: The subject field should adequately describe the contents of the analysis article. This field is currently not used but it is important to describe the contents well as it will be used in the article search function when it is implemented.

Once all the fields are filled the user presses the send button to place the article in the que awaiting publication.

Edit an analysis article

This option displays a listing of all the analysis articles awaiting publication for which the user has permission to edit. The user can mark an article then press one of the following buttons:

Erase: Deletes the article from the analysis database.
Edit: Displays a screen similar to the Add Article screen with the fields prefilled with the contents of the article. After making the necessary changes the user presses the send button to save those changes.

Enter article for column: Name of Column

Users with the correct permissions are given the option to enter a new article for the column they are proprietor of. The contents of this article will be stored in the database until the administrator selects the Publish a new issue option. Once activated a screen will appear asking for the following information:

Title: This field contains the title of the article, will will appear in the cover page as well as the article page. Since this field is displayed as a hyperlink (<a href = "url">title</a>) the use of HTML formatting tags in the title is not recommended, with the possible exception of the bold () or italic () tags.
Subtitle: The content of this field on its own line in the article page, so finishing this field with a line feed tag ( or ) is prohibited.
Summary: This field will only appear on the cover page so the web author must carefully weigh the importance of its contents. It should not exceed three lines of text, and finishing this field with a line feed tag ( or ) is prohibited.
Content: This field will contain the body of the article itself, and may be as long or as short as required. HTML tags are allowed.
Subject: The subject field should adequately describe the contents of the article, moreso than in other article types because each column already has a general subject. This field is currently not used but it is important to describe the contents well as it will be used in the article search function when it is implemented.

Once all the fields are filled the user presses the send button to place the article in the que awaiting publication.

Edit article for column: Name of Column

This option displays a listing of all the articles in a column awaiting publication for which the user has permission to edit. The user can mark an article then press one of the following buttons:

Erase: Deletes the article from the column database.
Edit: Displays a screen similar to the Add Article screen with the fields prefilled with the contents of the article. After making the necessary changes the user presses the send button to save those changes.

Upload image

This option allows the user to upload an image file to the server for use by any article from all sections of the publication. All images are uploaded to the same directory. When this option is selected a form will appear with the following fields:

Local filename: Enter the name of the file on the local computer that is to be uploaded. Use the filename syntax native to the operating system of the client (i.e., MSDOS filenames take the form C:\DIRECTORY\FILENAME.EXT and under UNIX filenames take the form /dir/dir/filename.ext . As an alternative the user may press the explore or browse button and use the browser's file selection mechanism to select the desired file.
Web filename: Enter the name of the uploaded file as it will appear on the webserver, which may or may not be the same as the local filename. This filename will be the one to use when being referenced by any article in the publication. Users should try to make filenames both short and meaningful if it is possible.

Once the send button is pressed the image will be uploaded to the server and stored in the images directory, and a note on how the image should be referenced by an article will be presented.

View image

This option allows the user to view a complete list of all the image files in the server's image directory. Filenames are presented as hyperlinks so the file may be previewed in the browser. To use any image in an article it is only necessary to copy the filename and paste it into the image tag in the article.

Erase image

This option allows the user to delete an image file from the server. When activated a list of image filenames is presented, and all that is required to delete the file is to mark the correct filename and click the erase button. The deletion will be confirmed before being performed. Note that there is no way to recover from this operation, so if a file is deleted by accident it can only be restored by uploading it again.

Add user

Users with the correct permissions are presented with the option to add a new user to the PrensaLibre system. Activating this option will result in a form with the following fields:

Login name: This is the code used to log into the PrensaLibre system. It should be kept short, typically 3 to 8 characters, and not including any special characters.
User name: This is the complete name of the user. It will in the company/signature of articles.
Password: This is the user password required to enter the system. It can containt letters and numbers but no special characters. The first thing a user should do when entering the PrensaLibre system is to change the supplied password with one that is known only to themselves. The password is impossible to recover unless key backup is activated. The user is asked to repeat the password to insure it is entered correctly.
E-mail address: This field contains the e-mail address of the user. It appears in the signature line as a hyperlink.
Permissions: This field allows the administrator to specify which portions of PrensaLibre the user is allowed to access. More information on Permissions and User Functions can be found in this document.
Owner of column: If the user is the owner of a column the administrator can specify that column in this field.

Once all the necessary fields are filled the administrator presses the send button to add the user to the database.

Edit user

Once activated the administrator is presented with a list of all users on the system. When a user is selected a second screen is displayed that is similar to the add user screen. The administrator can make whatever changes are necessary to the user account from this screen, pressing the send button to commit the changes. Press the delete button to remove the user from the system.

Add a Column or Section

This option allows the administrator to add a new column or section to the publication, using the following fields:

Column code: Each column or section of the publication is identified by a three character code which is entered here by the administrator. This code will also become the name of the directory where the article data will be stored.
Column name: This is the name of the column or section as it will be displayed in the publication.
Column icon: If there is an identifying graphic for this column or section then enter the filename of that file as it will be found on the server.
Section?: If this is to be a section of the publication, rather than a column, the administrator indicates this by marking this field. Remember: a column has a single user and a section can have multiple users.

Erase a Column or Section

This option presents the administrator with a list of all the columns and sections available on the system. Select the listing to be deleted and press the erase button to remove it from the system.

Update cover pages

This option forces a regeneration of all the cover pages on the publication. You use this function when the page layout has changed in either the main cover page, the news page, analysis page, column, section, or press notes pages.

Update all contents

This option is similar to the previous one, except it also updates all the content pages that are stored in the publication.

Status of next issue

With this option the administrator can check the status of the next issue of the publication. A list will be displayed showing the articles that have been entered and are still pending review. Using this option is an excellent means for the editor to check the content and formatting to see if they comply to publication standards, and to make corrections if required.

Publish the next issue

This option allows the administrator to publish the articles that are stored in the system. A screen will be displayed with a listing of all the articles available to publish giving you the option of either editing or deleting an article prior to publication.

Publish a new issue

This option updates all pending content and generates all the cover pages, in addition to the bulletin page that is distributed by e-mail to a distribution list. This action is irreversible so it is important not to execute it by mistake.

Logout

This option is currently included as a placeholder only, as PrensaLibre relies on Basic Authentication for access. In the future the software will utilize a different authentication scheme.

Permissions and User Functions

PrensaLibre uses a series of permissions that allow users to access to certain areas of the system according to their responsibilities. These permissions are set in either the Add User or Edit User screens. All users are allowed to change their own password.

No Permissions: A user with no permissions cannot modify any of the contents of the publication, but is allowed to view the published images and view the status of the next issue. This is useful for guest accounts.
Enter News: A user with this permission level set will be able to enter a news article, edit or delete a news article they have entered, an upload images. If this permission is revoked a user will no longer be allowed to edit an article they have entered.
Edit News: A user who receives this permission is allowed to modify or delete any news article entered by any other user, useful for correcting typographical errors and defamation or copyright issues.
Enter Analysis: This permission level allows a user to enter, edit, and delete analysis articles, and upload the images they require.
Owner of Column: This permission marks a user as contributor to either a section or column, allowing them to enter and edit those articles and upload images.
Publisher: This permission identifies a user as the publisher or director of the publication, allowing them to edite or erase any article, and enter or erase images. The publisher has the ability to update all the content pages as well as the cover pages.
Administrator: A user marked as an administrator is allowed to add or remove users from the system, and edit their permissions.

Prens@Libre