Adobe Contribute Quick
Reference Manual
Muhlenberg College Office of Information
Technology
Last Edit: 18 September 2013
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I. Logging In (pgs 3-4)
II. Editing A Page (pgs 5-12)
A. General Instructions
B. Creating a Table on the Page
C. Inserting an Image
D. Creating Links
1. Link to a Webpage (Muhlenberg or otherwise)
2. Link to a File
3. Link to an Email Address
4. Link to a Draft or Recent Page
E. Section Anchors
III. Editing the Tan Sidebar (pgs 13)
IV. Publishing a File from Your Computer (pg 14)
V. Editing Non-HTML Files (15)
VI. Preview in Browser (16)
VII. Roll Back to Previous Version (17)
VIII. Creating a New Page (pgs 18-19)
IX. LCK Files (pg 20)
X. Cool (Optional) Additions to Your Website (pgs 21-22)
A. Custom Teasers
B. Tickers
C. Slideshows
XI. Contribute Quirks and Troubleshooting (22)
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Logging In
1. At Log-In Screen under "Begin Editing", click "Welcome to Muhlenberg
College"
2. On menu above browser, click the "Connect" button. This will prompt a box to pop up.
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Logging In (Continued)
3. Your username will have been emailed to you by the Webmaster in the same email as the
Contribute Key you used to log in the first time during training.. Your username may not
necessarily be the name that automatically comes up in the box.
4. Your password is your Novell password. It will change every time you change your
Novell password.
5. Check the "Trust This Server" box and click "OK".
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Editing A Page
General Instructions:
1. Editing content in Contribute is very much like editing a document in Word. So if you are
ever stuck with how to do something, try the way you would do it in Word first. Not all of
Contribute's features are the same, however, so if you get stuck email:
[email protected].
2. When you click "Edit" at the top of the page, you will be editing the content in the white area
of the page. To edit the tan sidebar, follow the instructions in Part V. If you need to edit
anything else on the page, please contact [email protected] or the Webmaster.
3. When you are editing content, be careful not to delete the thin blue border that appears as
the "EditMainContent" box. This could cause problems later if the code ever needs to be
edited.
Creating a Table on the Page:
1. Select the page you would like to create a table on and click "Edit Page"
2. Place cursor where you want to add the table. Click the table icon in the menu bar
above the browser.
3. Customize settings for your table and click OK
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Editing a Page (Continued)
4. To add or delete rows or columns from the table, click the "Table Row" or "Table
Column" icons in the menu above the browser.
Inserting an Image:
1. Place cursor where you want the image on the page.
2. Click "Image" icon on menu bar above browser and choose appropriate method (e.g from
computer, from website, etc)
3. Select photo you would like to use.
4. Make any adjustments (size, location, links, etc) by right clicking on image and
selecting appropriate category.
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Editing a Page (Continued)
Creating Links:
Linking to a Webpage (Muhlenberg or otherwise):
1. Select page you want to add an external link to and click Edit Page.
2. Type the text you would like to become a link (i.e. Click Here!, Document name, etc)
where you would like the link to be located.
3. Highlight the text and right click "Insert Link"
4. In the box that pops up, click "Browse to Web Page". You may also specify a section
anchor in the box labeled "Section Anchor" if the page you are linking to has any on it as well
as specify whether or not you would like the link to open in the current window or a new one.
5. Enter the URL for the page you would link to link to in the "Web Address Box" and click
OK
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Editing a Page (Continued)
Linking to a File on Your Computer:
1. Select page you want to add an external link to and click Edit Page.
2. Type the text you would like to become a link (i.e. Click Here!, Document name, etc)
where you would like the link to be located.
3. Highlight the text and click "Insert Link"
4. In the box that pops up, click "File On Computer". You may also specify a section anchor in
the box labeled "Section Anchor" if the page you are linking to has any on it as well as specify
whether or not you would like the link to open in the current window or a new one.
5. Click the "Browse" icon and choose the file you wish to publish.
6. Click "Ok"
****Note: Changing the file you linked to on your computer will not change the version on
the internet. You will need to follow: Publishing A File From Your Computer or repeat these
steps to do that.***
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Editing a Page (Continued)
Linking to an Email Address:
1. Select page you want to add an external link to and click Edit Page.
2. Type the text you would like to become a link (ie Click Here!, Document name, etc)
where you would like the link to be located.
3. Highlight the text and click "Insert Link"
4. In the box that pops up, click "Email"
5. Enter destination email address in box labeled "email".
6. Click "OK"
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Editing a Page (Continued)
Creating Links (Continued):
Linking to a Draft or Recent Page:
***This is particularly useful when you're working with multiple pages and have recently
viewed the page you want to link to in Contribute or are linking to a page you've recently
created***
1. Select page you want to add an external link to and click Edit Page.
2. Type the text you would like to become a link (ie Click Here!, Document name, etc)
where you would like the link to be located.
3. Highlight the text and click "Insert Link"
4. In the box that pops up, click "Drafts and Recent Pages"
5. Select the page you would like from the list in the white box in the center of the link box
that pops up. You may also specify a section anchor in the box labeled "Section Anchor" if the
page you are linking to has any on it as well as specify whether or not you would like the link
to open in the current window or a new one.
6. Click "OK"
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Editing a Page (Continued)
Section Anchors:
Section Anchors are useful when dealing with pages with lots of information such as
references or course descriptions. They allow you to specify where exactly on a page you
would like the link to jump, thus allowing viewers to get the information they want
immediately instead of having to scroll through information they may not need.
To Insert a Section Anchor:
1. Select page you want to add a section anchor to and click "Edit Page".
2. Place cursor where on section of page you would like to create section anchor (usually
before a heading of some sort)
3. In the main Contribute bar in the top left corner click Insert Section Anchor
4. Name your section anchor in the box that pops up. Short, but still identifiable works well
here.
5. A flag will appear where you placed your cursor signifying the presence of a section
anchor.
To Link to a Section Anchor:
**Note: You must complete the previous section before starting this one**
1. Select page you want to create a link to a section anchor on and click "Edit Page"
2. Type text that you would like to appear as a link where you would like the link to be.
3. Highlight the text. Right click and choose "Insert link"
4. Click "browse to web page".
5. Insert URL of link into the URL box.
6. At the bottom of dialog box, click "Advanced options" to expand box with new menu.
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Editing a Page (Continued)
7. Select appropriate section anchor from drop down menu in "Section Anchor" box
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Editing the Tan Sidebar
Going to a page and clicking the “Edit Page” button in Contribute will only allow you to edit
that which would normally be seen in the white section of the website. Within the tan sidebar
there are two types of sections that can be edited: department links and related links.
Department links are usually the top section of adepartment’s tan sidebar and are the same
from page to page within a department. This section is best used for
navigational links. Related Links are specific to each page and are best used for navigation
within a particular subsection of your website. In order to edit the tan sidebar you will need to
do the following:
1. If you would like to edit Department links, go to the department homepage. If you
would like to edit Related links, go to the page on which the related links you
would like to edit are located.
2. Click “Choose” in the top right corner of the browser frame.
3. In the box that pops up click “Inc”. If you are editing department links, click the
dept_links.html file. If you are editing related links, click the related_links.html file.
These file names may not be exactly the same, but they will be similar.
4. A plain white page with links will open. Click “Edit Page” in the top left corner of the
browser frame and edit page as if it were any other.
5. When finished, click “Publish”
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Publishing a File from Your Computer
From within Contribute you may publish a non-html file from your computer using the
following steps:
1. In the top left hand corner of the program click File  Publish File from My
Computer.
2. Select the file you wish to publish.
3. The “Publish New Page” box will appear. Here you can rename the file if you
wish. Choose the folder in which you’d like the file to be published and click
“Publish”
***Note: When choosing whether or not to save something as a PDF, consider how you
would like it to be used. If it is something someone is likely to fill out and return to you
electronically, use a Word Document. For almost all other applications, a PDF is the best
choice, especially if you intend for the document to be printed.***
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Editing Non-HTML Files
In order to edit non-HTML files, you must set preferences in Contribute. Setting file
editor preferences will allow you to edit in external applications and publish within
Contribute. In order to set these preferences, do the following:
1. In the top left corner of the program click Edit  Preferences  File Editors
2. You will be presented with a list of file extensions on the left. Choose a file
extension and change the external program you wish to edit it with on the right.
3. If you would like to add a file extension, click the plus sign and type in the
appropriate extension.
4. Select the added file extension and click the plus sign on the right side to add an
external editor and click “OK”
5. Select the non-html file you want to edit by clicking the “Choose” button in the
top right hand corner of the browser frame.
6. Select the file in your directory and click “OK”. The screen will display the
following: “This file cannot be displayed in the Contribute web browser. You may
be able to edit this type of file with another application.”
7. In the top left corner of the program, click File  Actions  Edit Page
Source in External Application
8. Edit, save, and close the file in the external application.
9. Click “Publish” in Contribute.
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Preview in Browser
Before you publish a page, you can preview the page in a browser. Sometimes the visual
appearance of a page appears to be different in Contribute and a browser. It is always a good
idea to preview the page before you publish it. If there is a major difference or something
appears to be wrong, do not publish it and email [email protected] with your concerns.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Go to File > Preview in Browser or F12
A message box will appear. Click Ok.
Your default browser will open and a unpublished version of the page will appear
Feel free to close the browser. The browser will have no impact on your edited page in
Contribute.
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Roll Back Page
You can use the Roll Back feature to revert to a previous version of any published page.
PLEASE USE THIS COMMAND WISELY AND INFREQEUENTLY
1.
2.
3.
4.
Browse to the page (or enter the url) that you would like to roll back
Go to File > Actions > Roll Back to Previous Version…
The “Roll Back Page” page dialog appears (as shown in image below)
Select a previous version of the published page from the list of available pages (Note:
You will only be able to roll back up to three previously published versions of the
webpage)
Once you click the Roll Back button, you will not be able to undo the command
and roll forward.
A preview of the page will appear once you click on the version.
5. If the page you selected is the one you want to publish, click the roll back button
6. The previously published page you select will then be published
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Creating a New Page
1. Find a page with a similar template as your department. It is recommended that you use
your department's home page.
2. In the top left corner of the browser section of Contribute, click the button that says
"New…" next to "Edit Page". This will prompt a box to pop up.
3. In the left section of the box, highlight "Copy of Current Page".
4. In the bottom right part of the box, locate "Page Title" box. Enter your desired name of the
page. This is the text that will appear at the end of the URL. Example: If you enter "test" into
this box, the page's URL will end with "test.html". Click "OK".
5. Delete content previously on page. Be careful not to delete the thin blue border that
surrounds the content as this may cause problems in the future.
6. Enter new content & format as desired.
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Creating a New Page (Continued)
7. If you are ready to publish (make the page live so all on the internet can see), click "Publish"
in the top left of the browser section of the screen and skip to Step 9. If you are not ready to
publish, click "Save for Later". This will save the page in the top left "Pages" box in
Contribute. When you log into Contribute next time, you can continue editing the page by
double clicking on it in this frame.
8. "Send for Review". If you would like to send a page to someone to review before making
it live, you can click the "Send for Review" button in the top left corner of the browser
frame. Follow the prompts for entering a recipient and a temporary link to the page you are
creating will be sent to the person you specified. You must still choose to either "Save for
Later" or "Publish" if you wish for your work to be saved.
9. If you select "Publish", the first will say "No visitors will be able to access the page
without linking to it. Do you want to continue without linking the page?" Click "Yes", you
can link to this page from others later using the instructions in "Creating Links".
10. The second box asks you to enter the filename for the new page. This is the name that will
appear at the end of the Muhlenberg URL discussed before. Contribute defaults to
the title you entered in the "Page Title" box in Step 4. Typically, it is easier to stick with this,
but you may change it if you'd like. Click the "Choose" box to choose the directory in which
you'd like to store the file. Example: If you are creating a new faculty page, you would want to
save it in the "Faculty" folder of your department's website.
11. Click "OK". If you have not disabled it, a congratulations box will appear after your page
has been published.
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.LCK Files
Sometimes when you go to a webpage to edit it, Contribute will show a yellow bar under the
URL box that says "You can't edit this page because X is currently editing it. Please contact
<Webmaster> for assistance." Contribute has created a "lock (.lck) file" to ensure that two
people cannot edit a page at the same time. Occasionally, these files stick around even though
they are no longer needed. If you've recently requested work on the page in question or know
there is a good chance someone else is actually editing that page, contact them. If they aren't,
follow these steps to remove the lock page.
1. Add .LCK to the end of the URL in the Contribute brower frame.
2. In the top left of the Contribute program, Click FileActionsDelete Page.
3. You will receive several prompts asking if you sure you wish to delete the page, click yes
for them all.
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Cool (Optional) Additions to Your Website
Custom Teasers:
Custom Teasers allow you to post special announcements on your website in an eye catching
and convenient way. The Custom Teaser will show up as a red box overlapping the tan
sidebar and white main content area. If you would like your website to have a Custom Teaser,
email [email protected] with a link to the page you would like the teaser to appear on
and what content you would like to be in it initially. After that, unless you have the Teaser
deactivated, you can do the following to edit its content:
1. Go the page with the Custom Teaser you would like to edit.
2. At the top right corner of the browser frame, click “Choose”  Inc 
CustomTeaser.html
3. A plain white page with the Teaser content will appear. Click “Edit Page” at the
top left corner of the browser frame and edit content as you would any other page.
4. When finished, click “Publish” and your new Teaser will appear.
Tickers:
Tickers allow you to put scrolling announcements/information on your website. To put one on
your site initially email [email protected] with a link to the page you want the ticker
on and the content to put in it initially. After that follow these steps to edit your ticker content:
1. You will need to set Contribute to edit .txt files in an external application of your
choosing using the instructions in “Editing Non-HTML Files”.
2. Go to the page that contains the ticker and click “Choose” in the top right corner
of the browser frame. Click on the file named “tickercontent.txt” (or similar).
3. In the top left hand corner of the program click File  Actions  Edit in
External Application
4. Edit file, save, and close. Click “Publish” in Contribute.
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Cool (Optional) Additions to Your Website (Continued)
Slideshows:
Slideshows allow you to place multiple photos on your website in a manner that is both
visually appealing and efficient in its use of space. While you cannot add the slideshow to your
website yourself, there are a few things you will need to do in order for it to be created. First,
select the images you would like to have in your slideshow. Place copies of them in a folder.
Rename the photos with numbers in the order you would like them to appear in the slideshow.
If you would like them to have a title or caption, create a Word document with that
information. Then send an email with a link to the page you would
like the slideshow added to, the folder of images, and Word document (if applicable) to
[email protected] and your slideshow will be created as soon as possible.
Contribute Quirks & Troubleshooting
Problem: Hitting Enter inserts too much space
Solution: Press Shift + Enter instead of just enter
Problem: Clicking in the Edit Main Content space highlights all of the text on page
Solution: Keep double clicking within the text until the cursor appears
Problem: A Yellow Bar that says “You can’t edit this page now because X is
currently editing it. Please contact Phedra Fishbein for assistance.”
Solution: Add .LCK to the end of the URL in the address bar and hit “Enter”. Then go to
FileActionsDelete page. Click “OK” through the prompts and you will be able to edit
the page.
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