objectCMS

Designing Your Web Site Layout

With Object CMS at the helm, your entire web site is designed through “Blocks”, which make up each section of the web site, aside from the main content area. Within each block, you add various modules; articles, comments, news, product advertisements, plain text, etc.

A combination of these Blocks makes up your outer template/layout. Blocks can be designated to appear above your main content area, below your main content area (perfect for copyright information), and to each side. You can also set up multiple blocks on one or both sides of your main content area.

We have provided you with a number of default templates available for use within Object CMS. You may also customize your own template with a little knowledge of CSS. Open the CSS file and change the appropriate values to add, delete or edit each block. This is only recommended for users with CSS knowledge.

To edit your Blocks, click the “Blocks” item in the Object CMS Directory Menu. On the left, you will see the following options: “View”, “Synchronization”, “Structure” and “Clean Database”.

Clicking the “View” option will show you a list of all Blocks, followed by the templates that are associated with. Clicking on the name of a Block will display all details for that block, including the name, layout (associated template), module in use, visibility (visible or unvisible), the corresponding text in all chosen languages (for textual Blocks), an optional About section (detailing the use of the block), and whether it is filled or not. To edit any of these values on new or existing Blocks, click the “Edit” button to the right of the Block name.

All Block fields shown in viewing mode can be edited from this section. Be sure to select the type of Module you wish to designate for the Block; Text, Articles, Comments and Locations.

The “Synchronization” option on the Object CMS sub-menu is for synchronizing all new Blocks. Each time you add a Block to a template (see “Adding Blocks to Templates” below), you will need to click the “Synchronization” option to make it appear in the “View” section of Blocks. If there are new Blocks to be added, you will see a list of these new Blocks when you click Synchronization. If there are no new Blocks, clicking synchronization will display the text: “No blocks to add where found ”. The “Structure” displays a list of all templates. Clicking on a template will then display a list of the Block Structure for that template, including the name of each associated Block, it’s visibility status, and whether it is Filled (does or does not contain content). You cannot Edit Blocks or Templates from this window.

“Clean Database” is much like “Synchronization”, but just the opposite. If you have deleted any Blocks, you will need to clean them from the database in order to truly delete them. If there are blocks to be cleaned, clicking the “Clean Database” option will bring up a list of all deleted Blocks. You may click the check-box next to each Block you wish to clean from the database, then click Submit. If there are no Blocks to be cleaned from the database, you will see the following text: “No blocks to remove”.