OverviewTBD - Under construction This page provides some instructions for some of the more common tasks necessary to manage a Google Site. ORG-specificThe organization (ORG) has deployed this service in the following specific manner to address our requirements. TBD - no special requirements thus far. Getting StartedPrerequisitesIf permissions for this service are restricted such that only specified individuals or groups can access the content, then you must have a Google Account and must be logged into the account to access the content. Refer to User Help -> Accounts for help with account options. TBD Initial SetupCreatingPermissionsManager TasksTBD ManagingIf you're managing a Google SIte, it's either because you created the site, or someone asked you to manage the site. Permissions - Owner vs. EditorThere are three fundamental permissions for a Google Site: View, Edit, and Owner. To determine your permissions, click on the 'Share' button in the upper right of the editing menu and look for your individual account or for your groups in which your a member.
Sign on to perform tasksYou must first be signed on to a site in order to perform any editing or management tasks. Here's how to sign on:
When signed in to a Google Site with Edit/Manage privileges, there are 4 basic controls: To add a new page to the site.
Editing PagesEdit a Google Site page by entering edit mode, and for most activities using the Editing Tool bar and menus Google provides. In addition, the toolbar has an <HTML> button which allows the direct editing of HTML (note there are limitations, for example JavaScript can't be directly added in the HTML pane). This section will grow into a collection of tips for editing specific elements in a page. Here are some 3rd party resources for guidance on working with Google Sites: Enter Edit modeIt's usually just one button click away...but if this is your first time to edit a page, here's how:
Adding ContentTyping in new content works just fine. WARNING - Copy-Paste content from anywhere can get you into a world of mess with formatting. 2 tips to address this:
Links - Create, Edit, CheckHere's how to create links. Note, the link dialog box is a bit confusing:
Email links mailto:bob@fake.com can be enhanced with a relevant subject line by using this format mailto:bob@fake.com?subject=Web-inquiry-demo When you are in page edit mode click on the link and you'll see some controls beneath it to Go to link (to check if it works), Change and Remove. Note, however, that sometimes
there's a quirk that prevents you from checking a newly created a link, if you encounter this, the work around it to:
TablesA table can be added to a page using the the 'Table' menu commands. This is useful to implement and edit fairly straight forward tables. To implement table features beyond the basics (merging rows or columns, adjusting borders, etc.), you'll need to edit the table in HTML mode. Here are some links to helpful resources:
Drive Files and FoldersYour Google Drive contents can be added into Google Sites.
Links to Files or FoldersA simple way to access a file or folder from a Google Site page is to make a link to the item.
Here's an example link to a document. Embed FoldersThe contents of a Google Drive folder can be presented in a gadget area within a Google Site page by following these steps:
Viewers of the website see the gadget and the contents each viewer sees is specific to their permissions - all, some, or none of the contents will be visible. Appearing will be the name of each file/folder as well as a description for the item. Example: If a viewer has edit permissions for the folder, the bottom of the gadget includes a link Open <folder name> so so they can click and open the entire folder, other users have access to the individual sub-folders and files by clicking on them in the gadget. To provide this page view to all users, the editor can also add an additional link beneath the folder gadget such as: Open Sample Folder Note the description fields aren't visible in standard Drive screens, since they appear in these Google Site gadgets, it's useful to add a few words to describe the folder or file. There are two ways to do this:
Embed FilesFiles stored in Drive can also be embedded into webpages as gadgets. In this regard, there are two types of files, with different embedding tools. Google native format files - including Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, and Drawing.
Sample embedded Google Document Notes:
You can either embed the actual document, which is visible according to it's sharing permissions, or you can use the 'Publish to the web' feature which creates shapshot (perhaps auto-updated) that can be linked to or embedded, and this published version is publicly visible. For more information on this topic refer to Google Drive Help: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/183965 and https://support.google.com/drive/answer/37579 All other non-Google format files - TBD Inserting Google ItemsThe Sites editor provides convenient tools for embedding Google items using the 'Insert -> Google' menu area. While many are straight forward to use, some may be tricky, so here are some comments. CalendarsThe Insert Calendar tool is handy, however if you are embedding a multi-calendar view there's no way to make the 'calendar selector' top right drop down list appear. To get this feature you must use a different approach:
ChartsThe 'Insert Chart' tool can embed Charts from Google Spreadsheets. You may select from the charts which already exist in the spreadsheet or build a chart from scratch. If you're an editor of the spreadsheet, I recommend that you build the chart in the spreadsheet so it looks as close as possible to what you'd like to use in the website, and then go to Sites and perform 'Insert -> Chart' and do any final tuning. Note you have the choice of embedding either
If you chose to build a chart from scratch within sites, beware that the chart is susceptible to breaking easily. Since the data ranges are embedded in the site gadget, any rearranging of the cell locations in the spreadsheet (adding columns or rows etc.) will put the site chart ranges out of alignment and alter/break your chart. Excel Users: If your source file is Excel, and you have prepared charts there, when the file gets uploaded & converted into Google Spreadsheet, the charts are preserved, however only standard formatting will be retained as Google spreadsheet doesn't provide as many options. But with this in mind they still can be used, first perform the upload into Drive. Then from Google Sites use 'Insert -> Chart' and use the gadget's 'Edit Chart' dialog to clean up the chart formatting as desired. This works for the first upload. But if you continuing working in Excel rather than in the Google Spreadsheet, each time you upload a new Excel version, you'll need to edit the site to use charts from the new file. GroupsThe insert Group tool works for consumer Google Groups (with an address ...@googlegroups.com), but not for Groups within a Google Apps domain. To embed groups that are within a Google Apps domain, there's a different gadget to use. (it is available at / or is it called TBD), OR you can copy the group gadget from another place where we are using it. Then in the gadget settings page, change the fields for your group. Link to User HelpThere's more info about Sites on our User-Help/Sites page. Learn MoreHere are some links to Google Help and Learning for this service:
Additional Google Apps help and learning resources are listed on our Google Apps Help page. |
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