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Creating Middle Column Features

Using the url for admin is this one... https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/uk/servlet/Mir make sure you've read the introduction UkMirIntroduction.

Step-by-Step

Introduction

Features should now be made from scratch. UkFeaturesHowTo for ideas of writing features. In the past they were 'promoting' from an article on the newswire this isn't currently a good way to do it.

Getting Started

From the 'start page' in the Add/Edit box click on New Article

You should now be on a page where can edit an article or do almost whatever you want to do with it. Remember to tick the Published box (top right) otherwise the article won't show up

Article Type

Use the drop-down box to select Feature (see also Regional Feature UkMirAdminTutorialRegional ).

Tick Boxes: Topic, Region, Action

All that apply it will end up on each Topic/Region/Action front page.

Remember if it is a feature with Regions ticked it will end up on their home page. Has the IMC involved been consulted?

Tick Box: HTML

If you don't tick it, yours will be a simple text. You hit the return (enter) key, and mir will understand that you want to write in another line, like any text editor.

If you tick it, you are telling the machine that yours in an html thing. So when you hit the return key, mir will not fully understand that you want to write in another line, you will to tell it! HTML looks better is more veritile and doesn't take too long to learn. Have a look at the tutorial: ImcUkBasicHTMLTute

Abstract

The summary.

Shows up in the front page if is on a middle column; as a header on a wire article.

Content

The main body.

Shows up when you click on 'read more' if is on a middle column; as body of article of wire posts.

Internal comment

Does not show up on the website it's only visible in admin side. Use for notes about changes to the article. If you hide an article, in theory you should always explain why you did so in that space. If you hid the article, this space will be filled by default by your login name, the action you performed with it and the time of the action.

Finished

Hit the insert or save button.

Mir knows the article info now. To encourage it to get round to making your new and changed pages on the 'start page' in the Generate Manually box hit the Generate all new button.

As explained in UkMirIntroduction first it makes the page that appears on kosmos then it gets copied to www.indymedia.org.uk This can take time. Patience...

Some Hints

I was working for ages and I lost everything...

IMPORTANT: as you are doing all these ticks and all those html tags, bear in mind that you connection may run out: If you don't click on any button that makes an action and refreshes the page for about 20-30 minutes, then next time you do that, mir will take you to the login page and you will have lost all your work. So, either make sure you update (click save, then go back to page...) every 15-20 minutes or so, or better still, work on a text editor and go to the admin page with a clear idea of what you are going to do. Spending 20 minutes in a feature without saving it from time to time is a bit dangerous.

Working with others

If you wish to work on a feature that others have created or worked on before then one should use irc and let people know on #uk channel just in case someone else wants to work on the article. Also advice and help can be had on irc. Visit http://irc.indymedia.org

Links

Links to webpages and imgages on uk indymedia from features should not contain website domain but a leading / , eg just

/en/2003/07/274448.html

They start with the leading / rather than the site url. This is only for stuff on the uk site.

example:

<a href="/en/2003/07/274448.html">link</a> 
NOT
<a href="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/07/274448.html">link</a>

and

<img src="/images/2003/11/280793.jpg" alt="description" />
NOT
<img src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/images/2003/11/280793.jpg" alt="description" />

Not using the url will mean link will go to the same site the viewer is using. So if you are looking at the article on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/ a link to /en/2003/07/274448.html looks on www.indymedia.org.uk but if you are on http://publish.indymedia.org.uk it will look on there.

In the future it will help if MIR has multiple mirrors and one may be down. eg http://uk.indymedia.org , http://www.indymedia.org.uk (ahimsa2) or http://www2.indymedia.org.uk (second mirror not on ahimsa2)

Images

Use the UkMirImageUploadHOWTO to get a picture to link in the html or use in the images list... explaination to expand

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-- SpaceBunny - 19 Jul 2003 Page started
-- WikiKes - 29 Nov 2003 refactored with added info from AnaPena UkFeaturesForDummies (03 Nov 2003) and SocieteLibre UkMirAdminTutorialRegional
-- WikiKes - 23 Dec 2004 - removed how to 'promote newswire articles' info as we don't and it was confusing