Community Publishing

What's covered

• Create an article
• Update an article
• Unpublish (delete) an article
• Editing tips
• See examples of published articles

 Create an article

1. In the Community Publishing AIR application, click New Document.
2. Select a template, and click OK.
3. In the text box at the top of the authoring window, type a title for the article.
4. Complete the following Document settings:

Skill Level  Choose Beginner or Intermediate/Advanced.

Keywords  Include keywords that the public might use to search for this article. (Separate the keywords with semicolons, commas, or spaces.)

Application  Set the application and versions for the article. Specify the product version number in the Version column. (For multiple versions, use a comma-separated list with the current version first.)

5. In the authoring window, add article content by typing over the template text.
6. When you finish, click Done, and save your changes when prompted. Your article is submitted to the Community Publishing database. To continue editing the article, click Edit Content. You can also close the document at this point, and open it again later from the main application window.
7. If you're ready to publish your document to the web, click Publish.

Tip: If you're viewing an article in the authoring window but you can't edit it, make sure you're in edit mode. To switch from view mode to edit mode, click Edit Content. To switch from edit mode to view mode, click Done.

 Update an article

To update an article you published, follow these steps:

1. Open the document in the Community Publishing AIR application. Click Edit Changes and update the document. Then click Done.
2. Click Publish. In the Publish dialog box, click Update.

 Unpublish (delete) an article

To delete an article you published, follow these steps:

1. Open the document in the Community Publishing AIR application.
2. Click Publish. In the Publish dialog box, click Unpublish.

 Editing tips

Place your cursor in the authoring window; then use the toolbar buttons to add objects to your article. (To work further with an object you added, right-click the object.)

Add an attachment

Click the Attachment button. Browse to the attachment you want to insert. Attachments cannot be larger than 9 MB.

Add an image

Click the Image button. Browse to the image file you want to insert. Images must be in GIF, JPEG, or PNG format.

Add a SWF file

Click the SWF button. Browse to the SWF file you want to insert.

Add links

To create an anchor link, click the Anchor button and type the anchor name. Use alphanumeric characters; do not use spaces.

To add a hyperlink, type the link text; then highlight it and click the Link button. You can link to a URL, an anchor link in the article, or an e-mail address.

To unlink text, retype the text. You can't use the Eraser button to unlink text.

Copy and paste text

You can copy and paste formatted text and links within the Community Publishing authoring application, or from one Community Publishing document to another.

1. Use Shift-Ctrl-C (Windows) or Shift-Command-C (Mac OS) to copy the text.
2. Use Ctrl-V (Windows) or Command-V (Mac OS) to paste the text.
3. Click the Refresh button.

To paste text from an external file (such as a Microsoft Word document), click the Paste Text button; then paste and click OK. You may have to reapply formatting to the pasted text.

Add a table

To add a table, click the Table button. Specify the number of rows and columns.

You perform most table operations by using the context (right-click) menu. First place the cursor in the table; then right-click.

Here are some tips for working with tables:

• Click the Show Blocks button to view dotted borders around formatting tags. The borders can help you manipulate text.
• Don't paste tables from an external file (for example, a Microsoft Word document).
• Don't triple-click or select an entire cell, row, or column. Carefully select only the text in a cell.
• To reorder table rows, first create a new row in the desired position. Then cut and paste content into the cells of the new row.
• Delete or insert only one row at a time.
• Don't use nested tables; the web page won't display them correctly.

Undo and Redo

To undo an editing operation, click the Undo button. To redo an operation, click the Redo button.

See examples of published articles

You can find recently published articles on the Community Publishing index page.