Administrating Contribute-Enabled Sites in Dreamweaver

Again, because we're assuming the role of Wally the webmaster, our next step is to enable Contribute compatibility for our Dorknozzle website. When that's done, we'll want to set roles and delegate permissions for specific users (namely Ada, Cammy, and Tina) of the Dorknozzle site. To enable Contribute compatibility for the Dorknozzle site, follow these instructions:

1.	Assuming that Dreamweaver is open, select the Manage Sites option from the Site menu. The Manage Sites dialog appears.
2.	Choose the Dorknozzle site from the list and click Edit. The Site Definition for Dorknozzle dialog appears.
3.	Select the Contribute category and select the Enable Contribute Compatibility check box. Dreamweaver displays two read-only labels (Rollback and CPS), the Site Root URL text box, and the Administer Site in Contribute button.
4.	Enter the name of the URL for your organization's website in the Site Root URL text box. For Dorknozzle, that URL is http://www.dorknozzle.info. Obviously, yours will be different. NOTE In our Dorknozzle scenario, the Local computer is represented as each individual developer's personal folder on their computer while the Remote folder is the physical location of the Dorknozzle files on the network (assuming that the web server is accessible on the network). For Contribute purposes, however, we enter the Site Root URL or, more specifically, the URL outside users use to view the Dorknozzle site (http://www.dorknozzle.info).
5.	Click Test to force Dreamweaver to check connectivity. Once Dreamweaver connects to the Contribute site, a message appears similar to Figure 13.2. Figure 13.2. Test the connection to the Site Root URL. If Dreamweaver can connect, it displays a message indicating such.

With the Site Root URL in place, we're technically finishedalthough we've yet to delegate permissions for Contribute users. Before we do that, let's review the location of our files and the architecture we're dealing with here. You can follow along by reviewing the diagram in Figure 13.3.

Figure 13.3. The Contribute architecture varies depending on your role in the organization.

As you can see from Figure 13.3, the Local root folder for each Dreamweaver user differs depending on where they want their local files stored. Because the remote files are located on the web server, accessible on the network to all developers (Wally, Dave, and Pat), they'll all enter the same value in the Remote Folder text box in the Remote Info screen. Finally, all external users, including our three content contributors, will access the site by its domain name or Site Root URL.

Before we delegate roles and permissions for our three Contribute users, let's review the Contribute administration integration in Dreamweaver. To launch the Contribute Site Administrator, click the Administer Site in Contribute button located just below the Site Root URL text box in the Contribute screen. Dreamweaver launches a dialog similar to the one in Figure 13.4, asking for two things.

Figure 13.4. Contribute Administration allows you to determine what happens when users press Enter: choose between a line break and a paragraph break. It also allows you to set yourself as the site's administrator.

First and foremost, the dialog exposes two radio buttons allowing you to determine whether the Enter key, when pressed, renders a line break or a paragraph break in Contribute:

• Standard word processing: Select this option if you want to treat the Enter key the way it works in word processors. Whenever a user presses Enter, the cursor is brought down to the next line.

• Dreamweaver-style editing: Select this option if you want the Enter key to be treated the same way it works in Dreamweaver, as a <p> tag addition. Users must know to press Shift+Enter to go to the next line.

Let's assume that our content contributors are total novices, so we'll choose the Standard Word Processing option. Dreamweaver then asks if you want to become the website's Contribute Administrator. Because we do, click Yes. The Administer Website dialog appears, similar to Figure 13.5.

Figure 13.5. The Administer Website dialog allows you to create roles, edit existing roles, send connection keys, and set an administrator password.

As you can see from Figure 13.5, the dialog is divided into the following categories:

• Users and Roles

• Administration

• Publishing Services

• Web Server

• Rollbacks

• New Pages

• Compatibility

To gain a firm understanding of each category, let's discuss each in more detail, beginning with creating new users and roles.

Defining Users and Roles

The driving force behind the Site Administration dialog is the Users and Roles screen shown in Figure 13.5. Use this screen to create new Contribute roles, edit properties for existing roles, and add new users to a role by sending them a connection key file (discussed later in the chapter). Roles are divided into the following three categories:

• Administrator: The Administrator has unrestricted access to the site within Dreamweaver and Contribute. The Administrator sets roles, settings for roles, and gives access to Contribute users. The Administrator can also edit and publish content freely using both Dreamweaver and Contribute.

  NOTE

  You are not limited to assigning only a single Administrator. Rather, you can add as many Administrators as you wish.

  
  

• Publisher: Users defined as Publishers have permission to modify and publish content from within Contribute. However, Administrators can edit settings for the Publisher role such that they can only insert images and edit and publish text, essentially preventing Publishers from rearranging the overall look of the site using Contribute.

• Writer: Users defined as writers have limited access. In fact, writers can modify only text. Rather than publishing the text when they're finished making changes, they send drafts to either Administrators or Publishers for review. The Publisher or Administrator then can decide to either publish or reject the changes.

Other options in this screen include the ability to edit settings for an existing role, create a new role, remove existing roles, and send connection keys. Although we can live with the existing roles, let's edit the Publisher role such that they can't insert their own images into a web page. We'll assume that the company's design is set in stone and, as such, we do not want to allow anyone to make changes to it. To edit settings for the Publisher role, simply select the Publisher role from the list and click the Edit Role Settings button. The Edit Publisher Settings for Dorknozzle dialog appears, similar to Figure 13.6.

Figure 13.6. Use the Edit Role Settings dialog to configure particular options for an existing role.

The Edit Role Settings dialog is divided into the following categories:

• General: Use the General screen, shown in Figure 13.6, as a way to enable or disable the role's ability to publish content to the live site. You can also create a text-based description of what the role can and can't do and also set the default home page (maybe a directory in the main site) for users of that role. For our purposes, we'll leave the options as they are.

• Folder/File Access: Use the options shown in Figure 13.7 to set specific folders that users can edit. Because we want users to be able to edit all HTML files, we'll leave the options as they are. By default, Dreamweaver doesn't allow users to delete files even if they have permission to do so. If you want to allow users to delete files, simply enable the Allow Users to Delete Files They Have Permission to Edit check box.

  Figure 13.7. Use the Folder/File Access screen to enable only specific folders in the site root and to allow users permission to delete files.

  
  
  

• Editing: Use the options shown in Figure 13.8 to set how users interact with the development environment in Contribute. Options include editing restrictions, including the addition of images, paragraph spacing properties similar to the ones set when the Administration screen first opened, and miscellaneous editing options including accessibility and third-party options. Because our company is strict about the overall look of the website, we'll want to restrict the Publisher role so that it can only make text edits and format changes. You can do that by selecting the Only Allow Text Editing and Formatting radio button.

  Figure 13.8. Use options in the Editing screen to set how users interact with editing features in Contribute.

  
  
  

• Styles and Fonts: Use the options in this screen to set what kind of styles users can apply to elements within pages in Contribute. For instance, we can set preferences that restrict the addition of styles to those contained in the styles.css file located in the root of our Dorknozzle directory. To do this, enable the Show Only CSS Styles Included in This CSS File radio button and browse to the CSS file located in the root of the Dorknozzle directory. Also disable the Allow Users to Apply Fonts and Sizes, the Allow Users to Apply Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, and Fixed Width Styles, and the Allow Users to Apply Font and Background Color check boxes. Setting these properties forces users to implement styles in the styles.css file as set by the marketing department (and perhaps as outlined in a corporate style guide of some sort). The result of the changes made to this screen resemble those in Figure 13.9.

  Figure 13.9. Use options in the Styles and Fonts screen to set what kind of style properties can be applied to pages in Contribute.

  
  
  

• New Pages: Use the powerful options in this screen to dictate how users can create new pages. For instance, you may or may not want to allow users to create new pages. If you do, enable the check boxes and also decide whether or not to use Dreamweaver templates (discussed in Chapter 15, "Working with Templates") or if you decide not to use templates, make a specific page or set of pages available to them when they open the New Document dialog. If you want to restrict the creation of new pages, disable all check boxes in this screen. Because our content editors will simply be making changes to existing pages, we'll disable all these options. The result looks similar to Figure 13.10.

  Figure 13.10. Use options in the New Pages screen to restrict or allow the creation of new pages in Contribute.

  
  
  

• File Placement: The File Placement screen (shown in Figure 13.11) exposes properties that allow you to configure how users add styles, images, Microsoft files, PDF files, and so on to existing documents. You can cap the size of pages to which users try to linkwhich is an excellent way of preventing users from linking to pages that are inaccessible because of the sheer size of the page. For our purposes, we'll leave this screen as is.

  Figure 13.11. Use properties in the File Placement screen to limit the types of files added to pages in Contribute. You can also use this screen to cap the size of pages linked to from existing pages.

  
  
  

• Shared Assets: Use the list in this screen (shown in Figure 13.12) to add, edit existing, and remove shared asset allocation for the site. For instance, your company might make a Flash file available for use on all company web pages. If that's the case, you'll want to add that shared asset to the list in this screen so that users in this role can add that asset to their pages. Again, we'll leave this screen as is.

  Figure 13.12. Use the list in the Shared Assets screen to share assets across roles.

  
  
  

• New Images: Use the options in the New Images screen (shown in Figure 13.1) to set default options exposed when images are added to pages in the site. You can set a cap (in KB) on images inserted to pages. Because we've prevented users from adding images to pages in this site, these options are disabled.

When you finish configuring options for the Publisher role, click OK.

Administration

You can use options in the simple Administration screen (shown in Figure 13.14) as a way to set the default email and password for the administrator of the site.

Figure 13.14. Use the Administration screen as a way to configure the default email and password of the site administrator.

You can also remove administration for the site by clicking the Remove Administration button. Because we set ourselves as the site administrator when this screen first appeared, our email is carried over from Dreamweaver and added into the Contact Email Address text box in this screen. What we still want to do, however, is set an administrator password. To do that, follow these steps:

1.	Click the Set Administrator Password button. The Change Administrator Password dialog appears. Figure 13.13. Use options in the New Images role to set how images are inserted into the page in Contribute.
2.	Enter a password into the New Password text box and then re-enter the same password in the Confirm New Password text box.
3.	Click OK.

That's it, you've now password protected the administration screens for this site.

Publishing Services

Out of the box, Contribute relies on the Website Administrator to manually set folder permissions for the site on the server. Although this can easily be done using the operating system's file explorer, it becomes a hassle and generally inconvenient when setting permissions for hundreds of users. Fortunately, operating systems such as Windows set the default permission to allow everyone access to a particular folder when it's first created. This is the reason we are allowed to add users freely in the Contribute Administrator dialog. The downside to this freedom is that it doesn't prevent users from manually entering the folder on the server and moving, deleting, or adding new files. In the real world, allowing everyone access to the company's files on the web server would be unthinkable. Generally, the head of your IT department would lock down the folder to everyone in the organization except one or two people. In situations such as these, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for the IT administrator to manually set permissions to allow scores of potential users access to a website folder on the server; you'd be at your desk all day just configuring roles and adding users in Contribute, and then you would have to verbally communicate to the IT administrator the people that require access to the particular folder on the server.

To solve this dilemma, Macromedia has introduced Publishing Services. Part of the Web Publishing System suite, Publishing Services is an administration tool that ties into your company's folder and security administration interface (LDAP or Active Directory). Publishing Services provides a centralized interface, accessible from the screen shown in Figure 13.15, where you can add users to a role and then assign permissions to them for the site folder.

Figure 13.15. You can use Publishing Services as a centralized mechanism for setting folder permissions.

It's important to note that Publishing Services is a trial download separate from Contribute. If you'd like more information on Publishing Services, visit the following website: http://www.macromedia.com/software/webpublishingsystem/cps. In our examples, we'll keep it simple and just rely on the folder permissions that are already in place.

NOTE

You probably noticed the text label that appeared in the Contribute category in the Site Definition window for the Contribute Publishing Service. This text label would display the status of Contribute Publishing Service if there were one.

Web Server

You can use options in the Web Server screen (shown in Figure 13.16) to configure Contribute and Contribute users to work with your web server.

Figure 13.16. Use options in this screen to configure Contribute and Contribute users to work with your web server.

On the Web Addresses tab, options exist for setting alternate URLs that Contribute users could potentially access. Generally, you will see two values in this list: the URL listed by domain name and the URL listed by IP address. Although both values work for connecting to the web server, Contribute uses this list to allow or deny access to the web server if a user typed in what appears to be a valid address but is not listed.

The Index Files tab allows you to work with options for setting default pages in the web server. For the most part, the web server uses a traditional list of index files. If your default file is not listed (maybe it's called mypage.htm), you must manually add it here.

The Guard Page tab allows you to specify a guard page. Use the guard page as a way to prevent users from accessing the _mm folder (automatically added to the site when working with Contribute) directly from Dreamweaver or Contribute. By default, Contribute sets the guard page to the main page (the same file defined as the home page when working with site maps) in the directory. For our purposes, there shouldn't be anything we need to modify here.

Rollbacks

Rolling back web pages is the process of going back to a previous version of a web page after it has been published. For instance, assume that Cammy the Content Manager makes a few changes to a page in the website and then, using Contribute, publishes her finished work. By default, Contribute stores a copy of the previous version in a _baks folder within the _mm folder root. As an Administrator, you decide to review Cammy's work and happen to find glaring errors. Rather than bringing the site down to fix the mistakes, you can simply right-click the file in the Site Management window and choose the Rollback Page option. Dreamweaver, interfacing with Contribute, digs the old version out of the _baks folder and replaces the live version with the older, accurate version. You can enable the Rollbacks feature and the number of rollback steps in the screen shown in Figure 13.17.

Figure 13.17. Enable rollbacks and the number of times rolling back is allowed here.

This is a feature I always implement in my sites. It's like a built-in SourceSafe of sorts. To enable this feature, simply click the check box. Keep the roll back steps at 3.

CAUTION

Be mindful of the number of rollback steps you set. Each rollback version consumes storage space on the server. The more rollbacks you enable, the greater the storage space consumed. If you're limited on server storage space, think about keeping this number as low as possible.

NOTE

You probably noticed the text label that appeared in the Contribute category in the Site Definition window for Rollbacks. This text label displays the status of rollbacks when it's enabled or disabled for the Contribute-enabled site.

New Pages

Similar to the document-encoding screen in the Page Properties dialog in Dreamweaver, you can use the New Pages screen, shown in Figure 13.18, to set the document encoding that should be used for your web pages in Contribute.

Figure 13.18. Set the document encoding type and the default extension of the page when a new page or template is created in Contribute.

You can also set the default file extension to use when creating new pages from a blank page or template in a site. Again, we'll keep this screen as it is.

Compatibility

The Compatibility screen, shown in Figure 13.19, lets you provide editing and publishing access to older versions of Contribute.

Figure 13.19. Set a method of Contribute interoperability here. You can have newer versions and older versions of Contribute work together or not.

Selecting the Transition Mode option allows you to share features between previous and current releases of Contribute. Be aware, however, that only shared features are interoperable. Choose the Compatibility Mode option when you want to isolate all features exposed by newer versions of Contribute from older versions. Users who use an older version of Contribute will be required to install the most current version. Because we know everyone that will be using the same version of Contribute, keep the Compatibility Mode radio button selected.