Guide to using Matrix (CMS)

ContentsIntroduction...........................................................................................................................................2

Logging in...............................................................................................................................................2

Toolbar..............................................................................................................................................3

Asset Map..........................................................................................................................................3

Editing Panel......................................................................................................................................3

Using the Asset Map..............................................................................................................................4

Structure of the asset map................................................................................................................4

Sites ..........................................................................................................................................4

Media Folder ............................................................................................................................4

Trash .........................................................................................................................................5

Common asset types..........................................................................................................................5

Asset Status.......................................................................................................................................5

Control buttons..................................................................................................................................6

Tree tabs............................................................................................................................................6

Accessing assets.................................................................................................................................6

My Space...........................................................................................................................................6

Locks..................................................................................................................................................6

Editing a Standard Page contents......................................................................................................6

Renaming an asset – if a company name has changed......................................................................7

Changing an asset’s URL....................................................................................................................8

Moving an asset.....................................................................................................................................8

Cloning an asset.....................................................................................................................................8

Releasing all locks..................................................................................................................................8

HIPO jobs...............................................................................................................................................8

HIPO Herder.......................................................................................................................................9

Glossary...............................................................................................................................................10

Building a new CV site..........................................................................................................................11

Cloning the site................................................................................................................................11

Personalising the site.......................................................................................................................15

Updating custom pages...................................................................................................................16

Uploading images............................................................................................................................17

Uploading PDFs................................................................................................................................19

Updating PDFs.................................................................................................................................22

Updating existing sites.....................................................................................................................23

Introduction Matrix is the Content Management System (CMS) we use to manage and update the marketing side of the HL Group site, HL Markets, Corporate Solutions and the Corporate Scheme websites.

This guide aims to help teach you to use Matrix along with serving as a helpful reference document.

Logging in As a Matrix backend user you will have access to the admin interface to work on and manage pages on site. The interface can be accessed by going to http://www.hl.co.uk/_admin and logging in with the username and password supplied to you.

If you get a ‘Forbidden’ message when you go to the admin or log in URL you’ll need to contact IT Support to get the host file on your computer updated.

Once you’re logged in to the CMS you’ll see any changes which are in progress on the site so what you see may not be a full representation of live. To view the live version of the site either log out of Matrix or use another browser in which you are not logged in.

The admin interface is split in to 3 distinct sections. At the top is the toolbar, on the left is the asset map and on the right is the editing panel.

Toolbar The toolbar contains a search tool along with the HIPO Herder and log out button.

Asset Map The Asset Map is used to manage and navigate around all the assets within Matrix. Each asset that has been added into the system is displayed in the asset map. The order of the assets is within the map are based on the structure of the site you are looking under.

The Asset Map will also show you the Status and Link Type of each asset.

Editing Panel The editing panel is the section where you’ll make all your changes to the assets and its contents will change depending on what you are working on.

Using the Asset Map The most important concept in Matrix to remember is that everything is an asset. Whether it’s a page, image, pdf or form it’ll be an asset.

When a new asset is created, the system will automatically assign it a unique ID to it. This Asset ID can be found next to each asset in the Asset Map.

The Asset Map is used to manage the assets which comprise the website. The Asset Map allows you to navigate your way through a Site and allows you to view the Status of each asset as well as access the editing screens for each asset. The Asset Map also allows you to add, delete, move, clone and link assets.

By default all the levels in Asset Map are collapsed to only show to the top-level assets. If an asset has child assets, a blue paddle icon will be shown on the left of the asset icon. To view child assets you can either click the blue paddle or double click on the asset (doing this again will collapse the level).

Structure of the asset map The top level of the asset map contains the Trash, system management tools, Designs and Media folders and all the Sites we manage on the CMS.

Sites Each site will have two top level directories, the actual site itself which is signified by the Site Icon

and a Folder . You will only have access to the Corporate Vantage site, as per below. Please do not touch any of the other sites, or the Corporate Vantage folder.

Media Folder The media folder is a directory for all the media assets we host. Such as images, PDFs, and other documents.

All media content should be placed within the media folder. Images should not be place directly under a site.

You will need to use this folder when you upload PDFs, company logos and banners. They are all stored under the Coprorate Vantage section of the media folder, as below. Please do not touch any other folder, as this could potentially break something in live.

Trash The Trash stores all assets that have been deleted from the system. Assets can be restored from the trash by moving the asset back out.

The trash is purged from time to time, once this is done the assets are permanently deleted.

If you ever create an unwanted asset you can drag and drop it into this folder.

Common asset types These are the most common asset types you’ll come across on a day to day basis. The top three are the ones you’ll most likely be using most if not all of the time.

Standard Page – Used for general content pages

Image – Used for image files

PDF file – Used for PDF files

Folder

Redirect Asset - Used to create 302 (non-permanent) and 301 (permanent) redirects

Asset Status Each asset in the system will be set to a Status which means whether or not the asset is viewable by the public or whether you can edit it. Clicking on an asset in the asset map will highlight the asset with a colour according to its status.

Live When an asset is Live, it will be publicly available for viewing on the site.

Under construction When an asset is first created, it has a Status of Under Construction. This usually means that the content is still being added to the asset. An asset with this Status can only be seen by Matrix users whilst logged in to the System. Assets that are Under Construction will not appear as part of the content of public site. Assets may also be under construction if they have been taking down off the website.

Safe edit This status allows editors to make changes to a Live asset without the changes being seen by the public until the asset is made live again. It allows us to make changes freely without affecting the live site.

Pending Approval and Safe Edit Pending Approval These statuses are part of the workflow to go live. Once you’ve finished editing the page and it has been tested the asset can be placed in to one of these statuses to go live.

Control buttons At the top right of the Asset Map are four buttons that allow you to control the map.

- Refresh all assets – Will update refresh all the assets in the map showing any assets that have been added by another user or remove any which have been deleted

- Restore to root folder and - Collapse all – These essentially perform the same function and will collapse the whole tree.

- Show Status Colours – Clicking this button will highlight all the assets with the colour that reflects their Asset Status.

Tree tabs Within the Asset Map there are two different Asset Tree views that you can use. These views allow you to navigate to different parts of the system within the Asset Map at the same time.

You can also double click the tab to open the asset map in a new window.

Accessing assets

My Space At the top of the asset map is a tab called My Space. The “My Details” in Myspace is a section which allows you to update your password and release all your locks.

Locks Before you can make changes to an asset you firstly need to Acquire the locks. Acquiring locks will allow you to edit the content and stop anyone else editing it at the same time.

The button to Acquire Locks will show at the top left of the editing panel and will show Release Locks when you’ve already got locks.

Editing a Standard Page contents When you add certain assets in Matrix (such as a Standard Page), a Page Content and a Content DIV are created by default, these assets are known as dependent assets. The Page Contents cannot exist without its parent asset and it cannot be moved, cloned or linked to another asset.

In Matrix, the main attributes of the page are defined at the parent level, the structure of the page content is defined at the Page Content level, and the actual content of a page is created within the Content DIVS.

The structure of the asset is defined under the Page Contents by adding divisions. The content of the asset will be added into these divisions. By default, a division is created when the Page Contents asset is created; these divisions can be viewed and edited on the Edit Contents screen of the asset. Divisions are the most common way to enter content.

A division on the Edit Contents screen:

Divisions can take the form of different content types:

Code: This content type allows you to enter and format HTML, Javascript.

Nest Content: The Nest Content option allows you to nest content from other assets in to this division. You can find out more in the Nesting content section.

Renaming an asset – if a company name has changedWithin the Details screen of an asset, Acquire Locks. Once the locks have been acquired you’ll have two inputs, one for Page Name and one for Page Short Name. Just update both these fields with the new name. This will only update the name you see in CMS and the breadcrumb.

The page name in the navigation of the site is based on the name of the asset.

Remember the web path will not update when updating the name of the asset.

Changing an asset’s URL An asset’s URL can be updated once it has been created. This can be done via the Web Paths screen of an asset. This will only change the web path of the homepage, if you want to replace the web path for the rest of the site this has to be changed in the metadata.

Changing the web path of a live asset is not covered under safe edit, it will go straight into live.

Moving an asset To move an asset, left click on the icon of the asset in the Asset Map. When you move your mouse in the Asset Map, a black line will follow the mouse cursor. To move the asset in between two assets in the Asset Map, place the line in between them. To move the asset as a child of another asset, place the box around the parent asset.

Once you have placed the line where you would like to move the asset, left click and select Move Here.

If you are moving the asset within the same directory it’ll move straight away. If you are moving the asset to a different directory it’ll a HIPO job will created.

Cloning an asset To clone an asset, left click on the icon of the asset in the Asset Map. When you move your mouse in the Asset Map, a black line will follow the mouse cursor. To move the asset in between two assets in the Asset Map, place the line in between them. To move the asset as a child of another asset, place the box around the parent asset.

Once you have placed the line where you would like to move the asset, left click and select Clone Here.

This will create a HIPO job asking you to confirm. The HIPO job will give you the option to change the name of the asset.

Releasing all locks Sometimes it’s easier to release all your locks rather than having to find a single asset to release them. To release all your locks click the My Space tab at the top of the Asset Map and select My Details. At the bottom of the screen is an option to release all your locks.

HIPO jobs Performing certain actions within Matrix will create a HIPO (Highly Intensive Processing Object) Job. It is usually created when multiple objects need to change in order to complete an action. Actions such as Acquiring locks, moving/cloning assets and changing web paths will create a HIPO. You’ll know when a HIPO has been created as a progress box will appear on your screen:

You may find from time to time that one of your HIPO jobs may stall. This can be for various reasons (may be because you have accidentally closed the window or your connection to the system has timed out). You’ll be notified you have a stalled HIPO with this pop-up:

It is important that you resume the HIPO as the server will still be trying to process it. This can be done via the HIPO Herder.

HIPO Herder The HIPO Herder allows you to manage your HIPO Jobs and can be accessed by clicking the HIPO

herder icon , located on the top right hand corner of the screen. The HIPO Herder screen is shown in the figure below.

To resume a HIPO, acquire locks and click the play button next to the HIPO job.

Once you’ve finished in the HIPO Herder it’s important to remember to release your locks so others can access it.

Glossary HIPO - A HIPO (Highly Intensive Processing Object) is a system process Matrix runs for tasks such as acquiring locks, move and cloning assets.

Locks – Locks allow one person to edit an asset without anyone else editing the same asset at the same time.

Nested content – Nesting content allows you to take the content of another asset in the system and display it inside the current page.

Type 1, Type 2 - Assets have two link types, Type 1 and Type 2. These link types signify whether the asset should or should not appear in any menus on the site. Type 1 will appear in menus and Type 2 will not.

Building a new CV site

Cloning the site

In order to build a new CV site you need to clone an old one. Make sure the old one you clone is the same type of scheme as the one you want to build e.g. flex benefits clone a flex benefits site. Choose a CV site to clone, make sure it has the new carousel banner.

Firstly clone the homepage. To clone the homepage click on the page symbol next to the homepage of the site you want to clone, let go of the cursor.

Move the mouse down to position the page in between two other sites.

Click the cursor and select ‘Clone here’.

This box will pop up, you need to select ‘(Optionally) Change the name of the cloned assets’ to the name of the scheme you are building, then click next.

The scheme should now have appeared in the asset tree. You now need to make sure you clone all pages to the new site. Below you can see different levels of pages, you need to clone all of them.

You can highlight multiple assets but only one layer at a time. Drag the cursor over one layer to select one later. Then click anywhere on the highlighted area and drag the pages down to where you want them to be, let go of the cursor as you drag.

Layer 1 Layer 2

Layer 3 (SIPP) - most have a layer three underneath Layer 4 (SIPP) – only some assets have a layer 4

Click on the asset they should sit under and select ‘Clone here’ in the same way as the homepage, the same box will pop up however this time you do not need to change the name. Click next and allow time for them to be cloned, once they are cloned they will appear in the asset tree.

Repeat this process with every layer for every asset until the site is built.

Personalising the siteFirstly you need to set the metadata, left click on the homepage and select metadata

Acquire the locks and update the appropriate fields as per site request. Make sure everything you update you also tick cascade so that it applies the change to every page underneath it (the whole site).

You will also need to add the logo and banner here at this stage. See the correct section.

When you are happy with your changes press ‘Commit’ in the bottom right hand corner to apply the changes.

Updating custom pagesThere are 4 custom pages – homepage, My company benefits, SIPP and FAQs. These are the only ones you can amend.

To amend one of these pages, left click on the asset you want to update and press edit contents. Then acquire the locks and make the appropriate amendments. Once your amendments have been made press commit. You will then be able to see this change on the page in safe edit. All the content on the page is written in HTML, see HTML guide.

Uploading imagesTo upload a logo or banner, select the right folder in the ‘Corporate Vantage’ folder which is in the ‘Media Folder’. Right click and select ‘New Child’ ‘Files’ ‘Image’

Give the image a title and press ‘Browse’ to select the correct image. Make sure the file size isn’t too big, and make sure the file name is all lower case, without any spaces in it, if you need a space use a dash. Press commit.

You will then have to set this to ‘Approve’ and press commit.

Then ‘Make live’ and press commit

You should always put images live as you upload them otherwise they get forgotten and the site will go live without the images.

Uploading PDFsTo upload a PDF for a new scheme, you will firstly need to add a new folder for the relevant scheme. Go to the PDF folder in the ‘Corporate Vantage’ folder, in the ‘Media Folder’, left click ‘New child’ ‘Folder’. Name the folder the appropriate name and press commit.

Left click on the new folder and select ‘New child’ ‘Files’ ‘PDF File’

Name the PDF in the ‘Title’ field and upload the file by clicking ‘Browse…’. Make sure there are no capitals or spaces in the file name, if you need a space use a dash. Press commit.

You will then have to set this to ‘Approve’ and press commit.

Then ‘Make live’ and press commit

Updating PDFsIf a PDF is already live and you want to replace it you will need to upload the new PDF straight into live.

Left click on the PDF you want to update and press details.

Acquire the locks, press ‘Browse..’ and upload the new PDF. Make sure the PDF you are uploading has exactly the same file name as the old PDF; otherwise it will break the link. Press commit and it will be updated immediately.

Updating existing sitesWhen you update an existing site you will firstly need to put it into safe edit. Left click on the homepage asset and select ‘Details’

Then select ‘Safe edit’ and tick cascade (to put all the children asset into safe edit as well). Then press commit.

You are now free to make changes in safe edit.