Create a Global Forum Announcement

There may be announcements you want to broadcast to the global forums on the CPS-VO.


 		 Begin by selecting "Announce on Forums" in the "Collaborate" menu at the top of the CPS-VO home page.

 		 You will be taken to a form where you can add the Title and Content of your announcement, select Vocabularies to tag it, and select which forums the announcement will post to.

Optionally, add a slideshow image if you want your event to be added to a group spotlight slideshow. Click the "Browse" button to navigate to the image on your computer then click the "Upload" button to submit the image. It should show as a thumbnail if successfully uploaded.

The dimensions of the image should be 320x230 pixels. Leave 47 pixels at the bottom for the slide title. Also leave 45 pixels on each side (making a 230 pixel square "sweet spot"). This will allow for the image to be cropped nicely in the set of icons beneath the spotlight.

 
Use the area with the gray menu below the image browser to set:
  • Notifications: set whether members will be notified when you post or edit your announcement.
  • Groups: This tab will be disabled for Global Forum Announcements.
  • URL path settings: Optionally specify an alternative URL by which this node can be accessed. For example, type "about" when writing an about page. Use a relative path and don't add a trailing slash or the URL alias won't work.

 
Optionally, set a date and time that your post will be archived and disappear from the CPS-VO homepage using the "Sunset" feature.

Click the "Save" button to submit your announcement.
Your announcement will then post in the forums you selected, as well as appearing on the CPS-VO homepage (if you are a trusted user). Announcements can be found via the "Announcements" link under the "Browse" tab in the global menu at the top of the CPS-VO home page.


About Publishing Options

  • Publish: Uncheck this option if you don't wish for this content to appear on the VO yet. Useful for saving drafts of content that requires editing before going live/published.
  • Publicize to Entire VO: Selecting this option will place this post on the VO homepage. Exercise caution when using this option.
  • Publicize on Group Homepage: This option will place your post on your group's homepage in the corresponding section (Recent News, Upcoming Events, etc…)
  • Archive: Clicking the archive checkbox hides this content from global and group home pages. However, the content will still be accessible in other areas of the site. Unchecking the archive checkbox allows this content to display on global and group home pages.
    • Sunrise: Setting a sunrise date will de-archive this content at the set date and time (midnight is the default if a time is not set). The content will then display on global and group home pages.
    • Sunset: Setting a sunset date will automatically archive this content at the set date and time (midnight is the default if a time is not set). The content will no longer display on global and group home pages after the sunset date/time, but will still be accessible in other areas of the site.
  • Display in Slideshow: Will place this post, along with its image (or video), in a slideshow. Must be used with either Publicize to Entire VO or Publicize on Group Homepage options.
  • Pin to Top of Lists: This option will make this post appear at the top of content listings, regardless of any other settings. Useful for denoting important content or content that has a "call to action" associated with it.