Draft Document subject to revision- Text in Red requires clarification
Newsnet is published using software called Joomla. This allows the contribution of articles by multiple authors. You can submit an article to Newsnet via the Editor page. The purpose of this document is to assist new authors in using the Editor page.
The Submit Article link can be found under the Speaker’s Corner item and will take you to the Editor Page.
note: This link is only available to registered editors, if it is missing, try logging out and back in again. If it is still not visible you should contact the site editors.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to simply upload your Word document or PDF for publication. Instead you have to submit your article via the Editor tool which you will be taken to when you click on the link. This will ensure that your document will integrate into the site properly
Editor Page
This page contains most of the usual formatting tools that you would expect in a word processor as well as a few special widgets required for Newsnet. It is probably easiest to write the bulk of your text in your usual word processor and then save it as plain text (.txt). This will remove any formatting such as Bold or underlining. You can cut and paste your text into the blank text area of the page.
Do not be tempted to press the save button at this stage, this submits the article and so should only be clicked when you have finished your first draft and are ready have it published in the Article Test area. This is a private area of the site will display your work as it will appear to site visitors and will allow you to proof read and edit it.
note: Clicking the return character in the editor spaces sentences two lines apart. To achieve a single line the click the edit HTML source icon. This will bring up a small window which lets you edit the HTML mark up codes directly and allow you to insert a tag where the new single line is required.
If you are unhappy poking around the raw code, you might find it easier to go back to the original .txt file make the change and then cut and paste all over again.
Create a ‘read more’ cut off
Place the cursor at the point you wish the article introduction to end ( i.e. all articles have a paragraph or two introduction beneath which is a ‘read more’ link) then simply click the 
button at the bottom of the editor.
This will ‘cut off’ any text following the ‘Read More’ line in the published article. You will see a red wavy line across the page at the point where you place the cut off.
note: There is a quirk in joomla that places extra spaces beneath the ‘read more’ link when an article is saved – just remove them after the save and has been published in the test area.
Add an image
Images should be uploaded to the Newsnet image library and should not be overly large, about 500 pixels wide should be big enough. If your image is too large it can be edited using the ‘Open With … paint’ option when on your PC or ‘Open with Preview on the Mac. Click on the text where you would like the picture to appear and then click on the 
button below the text area. This will open a dialog box which will allow you to use the Browse button to find them on your computer. Click Start Upload to copy the image to the library Once stored on the image library they can be added to the article by clicking on the desired image. This automatically enters the location into image URL field. Then click on the Insert button and your image will appear in your document.
Edit Image
The image positioning and size (left, right etc) can be set by clicking the Insert/Edit image button
, which located just to the right of the Anchor icon on the Toolbar and then selecting the Appearance tab. This image has been aligned to the right of the text, the width has been set to 350 pixels. The Constrain proportions box is ticked to prevent distortion. You can fine tune the alignment by setting the space around the image. In this case it has be set to 5. all round. You can also resize by clicking the image and then dragging the bottom right corner “resize handle” (a small white square) towards or away from the centre of the image. This will also maintain the images aspect ratio.
note: Another quirk in Joomla leaves images with a border when added and viewed for the first time. To remove the border click on the image, go to the Appearance tab and simply click inside one of the dimension fields. Do not alter but simply update. Then save the article – the border will have disappeared.
Adding Hyperlinks
Highlight the text and click on the link icon (looks like a chain)
then simply paste the url into the etxt field. This icon and it’s “unlink” companion are only available when you have some text highlighted
note: Full URL’s can be pasted into your article and will be rendered links automatically.
Multi-Media files
Youtube videos can be added using the following tags http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ……{ /youtube} , between which will be placed the youtube value which is that part that appears after the equals sign on a youtube url.
Unfortunately there is currently no way for an author to upload an mp3 file. We will look into making this feature available in future. If you must add an mp3 file then contact the editor.
Publishing
Below the text entry area you will find the Publishing Area with a Drop down list box labeled Section:. This specifies which section of the site your article will be published and should be set to “Dummy”. This means your article will be published in the “Article Test” section.
No articles should be published into any of the public areas until you have first published into the Article Test area and previewed your work. If you click on the save button a dialog box will pop up thanking you for your submission. Shortly afterwards your draft article will appear in Article Test area.
To edit the article click on the edit Article icon 
to the right of the Print and email icons.
When you are happy with the general flow of an article then add some formatting as required, bold text, italics, quotes etc and preview again.
Only after you are happy with the look of the article in the Article Test area should you publish it into the public section (politics, economy, sport etc). You should also ensure that the article appears as you expect in the public area. Don’t forget to click the JComments ON button which is located in the center of the Button bar below the main text editor. This allows your readers to comment on and discuss your article.
If in doubt then simply ask one of the team to preview your work by adding the capitalised word PREVIEW to the front of your headline. When it has been previewed then the person who previewed will simply remove the word from the headline and the article can be published. If the previewer is unsure then contact the editors at contact-at-newsnetscotland.com – and replace the ‘-at-‘ with @.