RedDot Documentation

Introduction

What is RedDot?

RedDot is a content management system (CMS) utilized to enter and update information on UAlbany web pages. This tool allows the UAlbany community to maintain their websites without the use or knowledge of HTML and web editing software like Dreamweaver. RedDot is accessed from a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Web pages are created and edited within the RedDot system using a text editor that is similar to Microsoft Word. Once pages are updated in RedDot they are published to the UAlbany web server.

Terminology

Red dots: The colored round symbols used in the RedDot system to signify the state of different editable areas of the page. There are different red dots to open, close and edit a web page. See below for a description of the various types of red dots that may appear on the web page you are working on.

Open the page for editingClose the page and save changesOpen images and text for editing

Open a section that contains multiple linksThe page cannot be opened because it is being edited by another user. Hover over the red dot to display the User ID of the editor.

Page piece: A section of a whole web page. In RedDot web pages are made up of several page pieces. For example, the text in the center may be considered a "page piece" and the contact information in the right column may also be a "page piece". A collection of these "page pieces" make up a whole web page. You will be able to add or change these pieces of content by clicking on red dots that appear on the page. Page pieces can also be "re-used" on new pages so they do not have to be recreated on each new page of the site. See below for examples of page pieces.

Child page: A subpage that resides in a level below another page, referred to as the Parent page. In the left navigation example below, the Parent page is About the School and the Child pages are Office of the Dean, Mission, Vision, Values and School at a Glance.

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Child Pages

Parent Page

RedDot Documentation

Foundation page: The basis for all other page pieces. Opening the Foundation page will allow the user to add new RedDot page pieces as well as edit existing page pieces that are on the web page. The Foundation red dot is usually located under the Minerva symbol on UAlbany RedDot pages. See the "Open Page" red dot in the example below.

Page ID: The unique number assigned by RedDot to each page piece. The Page ID is listed in brackets next to the red dot for that page piece. In the example above the Page ID is [19945]. This number can be used to search for page pieces for future use.

Publish: How a web page gets transferred from RedDot to the UAlbany web server. Creating and editing pages in RedDot takes place on a separate RedDot server. Changes made in RedDot will not be live on the UAlbany website until they are published from the RedDot server to the UAlbany web server.

Logging In

1. Open a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox 2. Go to https://reddot.albany.edu/3. You will see a log in box. See example at right.4. In the User name field enter your Net ID5. In the Password field enter the temporary password that was provided.

RedDot passwords are case sensitive6. Click the Start button or hit the Enter key on your keyboard

Note: If you forgot your password contact the ITS Help Desk at http://www.albany.edu/its/help-request.html

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RedDot Documentation

Interface

Start page: After logging in to RedDot the SmartEdit Start Page will be displayed. The Start page provides a way to navigate to the website that will be edited.

SmartEdit: SmartEdit is where most of the work will be done to create and edit web pages. The pages in SmartEdit contain the red dot symbols and descriptive text for each section of the web page. It resembles what the finished web page will look like in a web browser.

In SmartEdit mode there is a secondary menu of icons on the right side of the page that provide alternative ways to Search and access the Asset Manager. In addition, there are icons on the bottom right of the page that allow the user to switch between editing and form mode as well as previewing the page in a browser.

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RedDot Documentation

Homepage: The Homepage displays summary information about page pieces in your website. The Homepage can be checked to see if there are any pages saved as a Draft or waiting for Release for publishing.

Asset Manager: Images, documents and any other media assets used on web pages are stored in the Asset Manager in RedDot. Files that that are already in the Asset Manager can be selected for use in web pages and new files can be uploaded to it.

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RedDot Documentation

Tasks: The Tasks menu allows the editor to check the status of pages in the workflow. Pages that have not been released will not be published.

Search: Search allows the editor to search for existing RedDot page pieces. Page pieces can be searched using different criteria such as Headline, Page ID and Modification date.

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RedDot Documentation

Text Editor: The Text Editor is where text-based content can be edited and formatted. The interface is similar to Microsoft Word.

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