The following elements will appear on every node entity type. The order of the elements can be changed using the Field Manager, but the elements themselves can not be removed.

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title field

1. Title Field

This field will display the title of the node. This is a required field, as indicated by the asterisk next to the label.

The Title field is a required field. This field is also used to help automatically generate the URL path for the node.

Common Elements - Body Field

2. Body Field

This is the the default area to enter your text content and embed media and links. 

  • Show summary in full view checkbox
    • This component is only found with the Body field.  It is intended to help with the handling of teaser/summary text but is not really used.  You can ignore it.
  • Disable rich-text link
    • OSU Drupal 6 uses the TinyMCE text editor for rich text editing, but for those who prefer to use HTML, this text editor can be disabled for the node by clicking on this link.
    • Once the link is clicked the text on it will change to Enable rich-text.  To turn rich-text editing back on, click the link.
Common Elements - Text Format

3. Text Format Fieldset

These options control the type of input that is used in the text editor.  This is actually an important security feature, that often confuses new users.

  • Filtered HTML option
    • This is the default input format setting.  It works for all basic text content development.  All roles can access this option.
  • Full HTML option
    • If you will be embedding images or using inline CSS styles you will want to use this option, otherwise your images won't position as you want them to and any inline CSS styles you may apply will be stripped out.  All roles can access this option.
Common Elements - Menu Settings Toggled

4. Menu Settings Fieldset

You can add your content to any menu within your site via the fields in this fieldset.

When the checkbox is clicked, all of the menu settings are made available.

  • Menu link title field
    • If you wish to create a menu item, you must give it a title.  The title can be the same as the title of the node, or it can be different, if you wish.
  • Description field
    • Provides a brief description of the menu item that will display as hover text when a user hovers over the menu link.
  • Parent item field
    • This is where you "attach" your node to a menu.  It's a very long list with some special syntax.  Items that are surrounded by arrow characters (<  >) are the actual menu names and are sorted alphabetically.  Items that display dashes ( - ) are menu items within that particular menu.  The more dashes you see, the deeper the item is in the menu structure.
  • Weight field
    • This is how you order items in a menu.  The default ordering is alphanumeric.  If you do not want your items sorted alphanumerically, apply a weight.  The lower the number, the higher it will rise in the menu order.

If you are working on a site that makes use of Organic Groups, you will most likely use the Book Outline feature instead of Menu Settings.

 

Common Elements - URL Path Settings

5. URL Path Settings

The URL Path Settings panel contains configurations to handle the construction of the URL of your node.

By default, the Generate automatic URL alias checkbox is checked. Web Services recommends leaving this setting alone as there are some automatic tools in place that build out logical, search engine friendly web addresses.

Common Elements - Book Page Settings

6. Book Outline Fieldset

The components within this fieldset are used with content types that are included into a Book structure.  More in-depth information regarding this component can be found in the Books section.

Common Elements - Revision Information Log

7. Revision Information Fieldset

The components within the Revision information fieldset are used to track revisions.  Book pages and Webforms are configured to automatically track revisions. Your site's Architect can configure this to happen automatically with other content types, if desired.

  • Create new revision checkbox
    • If you would like to save a revision of this particular node, check this box.
    • Note that, under normal conditions, if you wanted to repeatedly save revisions on this node, you would have to check this box each time.  Your administrator can configure the content type so that revision tracking is automatic.
  • Log message field
    • This field allows you to leave a brief message regarding the changes that were made in this revision.
Common Elements - Authoring Information

8. Authoring Information Fieldset

This fieldset contains information about the original author and post date of the content.

  • Authored by field
    • The name of the first person who submits this node will be automatically entered in this field.  If a node is to change ownership, a new person's name may be entered in here.
  • Authored on field
    • A date stamp of the first date this node is submitted will automatically be put here once the node is saved.
Common Elements - Publishing Options

9. Publishing Options Fieldset

This fieldset contains options related to the publication of your node.

  • Published checkbox
    • If checked, the world can see your content.
    • If unchecked, only users who are logged in to the site will be able to see your content.
      • Note that unpublished items will not appear in menus, even if you have a menu setting.  To locate unpublished content, go to the Content List at Admin menu > Content management > Content.
  • Promoted to front page checkbox
    • This feature does not often apply to our OSU Drupal 7 installation unless you are using the Feature Story or Highlights content type and blocks used in the OSU Standard theme.
  • Sticky at top of lists checkbox
    • This option does not often apply to our OSU Drupal 7 installation.  It is intended to keep posts at the top of a list.