Administration Interface

The Administration Interface allows you to use all of the functionality available within Squiz Matrix. The functions that are available to a user will depend on the account type of the user. For example, a Backend User can only edit the content of pages and add new pages on a site. A System Administrator, however, has access to most system functions.

Accessing the Administration Interface

You can access the Administration Interface by appending _admin to the URL of an asset, like so:

http://www.example.com/site/_admin

The Administration Interface

The Administration Interface is broken up into three major sections. These are: the Asset Map on the left side of the screen, the editing/properties section on the right side, and the tool bar at the top. These sections are shown in the figure below.

The Administration Interface
The Administration Interface

The tool bar at the top of the screen contains the user's login details, the Quick Search tool and a number of tools that can be used for assistance when using the system. The options available to users, on the right side of the toolbar, will depend on the level of access the user has been granted. For example, in the figure above, the Root User is logged into the system; therefore, all the options are available. A Backend User, however, would only be able to see four of these options.

The Asset Map contains a list of all of the assets in the system. It also has a My Space tab, which allows you to access your Inbox as well as change your account details.

The editing/properties screen contains an info bar, a back to bar and displays the editing screens for an asset. The info bar displays information about the asset currently being viewed and allows you to print the screen. The back to bar lists the last five assets viewed in the system.

Tool Bar

The tool bar at the top of the screen contains the user's login details, the Quick Search tool and various tools to help you edit your Site.

Log in Details

When you log into the Administration Interface of Squiz Matrix, your full name will be displayed on the left side of the tool bar. This is shown in the figure below.

The Login details
The login details

If you have not entered your name into your account details, your username will be displayed instead. For more information on how to change your account details, refer to the My Space chapter in this manual.

Quick Search

The Quick Search tool allows you to search for an asset in the system. This tool allows users to search by keyword, asset ID or URL. The Quick Search tool is available on the right side of the tool bar, as shown in the figure below.

The Quick Search tool
The Quick Search tool

To make a search, enter one or more search terms within the Quick Search field and click the Search button button. Quick Search will search all standard asset fields (e.g. Page Name, Short Name), as well as the page content and metadata values of each asset in the system.

For keyword searching to work, indexing must be enabled on the Search Manager. For more information on how to do this, refer to the Search Manual.

The results of your search will be displayed in a pop-up, as shown in the figure below.

Search results
Quick Search results

The number of assets that have been found is listed at the top of the search results. You can navigate through each page of results using the arrows available. Clicking on a result will take you to the Details screen for that particular asset.

For each asset listed in the Quick Search results, three icons will be available to display additional information. These are as follows:

  • The Plus icon icon will indicate where the keyword query was matched on the asset. For example, in the image below, we can see that the keyword home was matched on both the Name and Short Name attributes of the result, as well as in its content.

    Keyword query matching on a search result
    Query matches on the Quick Search results

  • The Info icon icon will display additional information for the asset, including its Status, Asset Type and creation date.
  • The Binoculars icon icon will locate the asset in the Asset Map.

If you know the asset ID or URL of the asset you are searching for, entering it into the Quick Search field will take you to the Details screen of that asset.

If no results are found on either a keyword, asset ID or URL search, a pop-up will appear, indicating that the search failed, as shown in the figure below.

Failed URL search
  A failed Quick Search

System config icon System Configuration

This button only appears for System Administrators and the Root User. When you click this button, the System Configuration screen will appear in the editing screen. You can use the list in the info bar to navigate to the other screens available in this section. This is shown in the figure below. 

System Configuration menu
The System Configuration menu 

For more information on the System Configuration section and the screens that are available, refer to the System Configuration manual.

Tools icon Tools

This button appears for Backend Users, System Administrators and the Root User. When you click this button, the System Tools screen will appear. Various tools are available from this screen. These include a Global Search and Replace, a Mass Clone Tool and an Asset Sorting Tool.

For more information on the Tools that are available in the system, refer to the Tools manual.

HIPO herder icon HIPO Herder

This button appears for Backend Users, System Administrators and the Root User. When you click this button, the HIPO Herder screen will appear. The HIPO Herder allows you to view the HIPO jobs that are currently running or are stalled within the system.

For more information on the HIPO Herder, refer to the HIPO Herder chapter in this manual.

System maintenance icon System Maintenance

This button appears for System Administrators and the Root User. When you click this button, the System Maintenance screen will appear. Various reports are available from this screen. These include a Most User Asset Types Report and a Total Assets Report.

For more information on the reports that are available, refer to the Reports manual.

Asset tree icon Asset Tree

This button appears for Backend Users, System Administrations and the Root User. When you click on this button the Asset Types screen will appear, as shown in the figure below.

Asset Types screen
The Asset Types screen

This screen displays a family tree of all the asset types that are available in Squiz Matrix. For example, the Asset is the parent of the Bodycopy asset. At the same time, the Bodycopy asset is the parent of the Simple Edit Layout,Multiple Page Page, and Paint Layout Bodycopy assets.

This family tree is useful when selecting asset types on listing assets such as an Asset Listing or What's New Page. For example, when creating a list of all the files on your site, you can select the File asset type and use the inherit option. This option means that the listing asset will also list the child types of the File asset type. From the Asset Types tree, you can see that these children include all the file assets, such as MS Word Documents, Text Files and Images.

For more information about the Asset Listing and the What's New page, refer to the Asset Listing manual.

Login as icon Login As

This button appears for System Administrators and the Root User. Clicking this button allows you to log in to another user's account. This can be useful when providing technical support for your users.

For more information on the Login As function, refer to the Users and Permissions manual.

Logout icon Logout

This button will log you out of Squiz Matrix. Click this button when you have finished working within the system.

Editing Screen

The editing screen appears on the right hand side of the Administration Interface. It allows you to edit the assets that are in your Squiz Matrix system.

Info Bar

The info bar at the top of the editing screen is shown in the figure below.

Info bar
The info bar

The info bar is broken up into three sections. These include the asset information section, the asset menu, and the print button.

Asset Information

The asset information section lists the information related to the current asset being viewed in the editing screen. The first section displays the type of asset you are currently viewing. For example, in the figure above, the user is currently viewing a Standard Page asset.

The second section displays the name of the asset, its asset ID and its version number. For example, in the figure above, the user is currently viewing the Home page. This page has an asset id of 297 and its version number is v. 0.10.32. To find the asset in the Asset Map, click on the Binoculars icon icon. For further information about the asset, hover your mouse over the Info iconicon. The More Info pop-up will appear, as shown in the figure below.

The more info popup
The More Info pop-up

This information lists:

  • The current Status of the asset
  • The asset type
  • When the asset was created and who created it
  • When the asset was last updated and who updated it. Updated means the last time the Commit button was pressed.
  • When the asset was last published and who published it. Published means the last time the Status was changed to Live.
  • When the Status of the asset was last changed and who changed it.

The final section displays the editing screen you are currently viewing for the asset.

Asset Menu

The asset menu
The asset menu

This asset menu lists all the screens that are available for the asset that you are currently viewing. An example of the asset menu is shown in the figure to the right. This menu is the same menu that appears when you right click on the name of the asset. It allows you to navigate to other screens without having to use the Asset Map. For example, if you are on the Details screen of an asset and you want to edit its content, you can select Edit Contents from this list instead of using the Asset Map.

For more information on how to access this menu in the Asset Map, refer to the Using the Asset Map chapter in this manual.

Print Button

The  Print icon  button allows you to print the current information that is shown in the editing screen. When you click this button, a new window will appear showing you a preview of the page. The browser's Print settings window will then be displayed allowing you to print the page.

 Back To Bar

The back to bar at the top of the editing screen is shown in the figure below.

The back to bar
The back to bar

This section shows the last five assets you viewed in the editing screen. To view any of these assets, click on the name of the asset. For example, to view the About Us page, click on About Us. This page will then appear in the editing screen.

Once you select an asset in the back to bar, the list displayed in the bar reverts to its contents when you were working on that asset previously. For example, if you had previously navigated to the following assets:

Page1 → Page2 → Page3 → Page4 → Page5 → Page6 → Page7 → Page8 → Page9 → Page10

The back to bar will displays the following five assets:

Page1 → Page2 → Page3 → Page4 → Page5 → Page6Page7Page8 Page9Page10

If you then selected 'Page6', the back to bar would then display the following five assets:

Page1 → Page2Page3Page4Page5Page6 → Page7 → Page8 →Page9 → Page10 

Acquire Lock(s) and Release Lock(s)

At the top of the editing section, a button called Acquire Lock(s) will appear, as shown in the figure below.

The acquire lock button
The Acquire Lock(s) button

Before you can edit the contents of an asset, you need to click the Acquire Lock(s) button. This will stop other people from editing the asset at the same time as you. If you do not have permission to edit this asset or someone else is editing the asset then the Acquire Lock(s) button will not appear on the screen, as shown in the figure below.

No acquire lock button displayed
No Acquire Lock(s) button displayed

To edit the fields on the screen, click on the Acquire Lock(s) button.

Tip: The keyboard shortcut for Acquire Lock(s) is Alt + A in Windows or Ctrl + A on a Mac.

The fields on the screen will now be able to be edited and the Acquire Lock(s) button will change into Release Lock(s). This is shown in the figure below.

The release locks button
The Release Lock(s) button 

You will continue to have the lock on the asset while you are editing its content. When you are no longer editing the asset, by default, the lock will expire after 10 minutes. This means that you will no longer have the lock on an asset and someone else will be able to make changes to it. You can also choose to manually release the lock by clicking the Release Lock(s) button. This is useful if you know somebody else needs to edit the asset. 

Tip: The keyboard shortcut for Release Lock(s) is Alt + R in Windows or Ctrl + R on a Mac.

At times, both the Acquire Lock(s) and Release Lock(s) buttons will be shown, as shown in the figure below. 

The acquire locks and release locks buttons displayed
The Acquire Lock(s) and Release Lock(s) buttons both displayed

This means that you have some of the locks on the asset but you need further locks to edit this screen. You will need to click on the Acquire Lock(s) button before you edit this screen.

Show Lock Details

When you click this link, a list of the currently held locks will be displayed. This list details the lock type, the user who holds the lock and when the lock expires. An example of the lock details list is shown in the figure below. 

Lock details
The Lock Details

If you do not have access to edit the asset, a warning message will be displayed when you click the Show Lock Details link. This is shown in the figure below. 

Lock details without access info
The Lock Details without access information

Commit

By default, a Commit button will be displayed in the bottom right corner of the editing section. This button will only appear once you have clicked on acquired the locks on the asset.

The commit button
The Commit button

When you are editing an asset, you will need to save your changes by clicking the Commit button. If you leave the screen or perform another task without committing your changes, a warning message will appear. This warning is shown in the figure below. 

Commit warning message
 The Commit warning message

If you want to save your changes, click the Cancel button, otherwise, click OK to continue.

Tip: The keyboard shortcut for Commit is Alt + S in Internet Explorer on Windows, Alt + Shift + S in Firefox on Windows or Ctrl + S on a Mac. 

A System Administrator can change the position of the Commit button so that it is anchored at the bottom of the screen, as shown in the figure below. This means that the Commit button will be visible on the page as you scroll down the screen. You will not have to scroll down to the bottom of the screen to click Commit. The standard keyboard shortcuts are also available if the Commit button is anchored at the bottom of the screen.

The commit button anchored to the bottom of the screen
 The Commit button anchored to the bottom of the screen

Asset Finder Field

The asset finder field allows you to select an asset to use from the Asset Map. An example of an asset finder field is shown in the figure below. This asset finder field allows you to select which asset to use as the Thumbnail.

The Asset Finder field
The Asset Finder field

The Asset Map in the Administration Interface
 The Asset Map in the Administration Interface 

To select an asset in this field, click the Change button – the Asset Map on the left hand side of the screen will turn purple. Right click on the appropriate asset and select Use Me. The Name and Asset ID of this asset will appear in the field. Alternatively, you can enter the asset id of the asset you want to use into the second field and click Commit.

Asset Map and My Space

The Asset Map is located on the left hand side of the screen, as shown in the figure to the right. It shows a list of all of the available assets in your system. You can also add, move, link, clone and delete assets using the Asset Map

The Asset Map also contains a My Space tab. This tab allows you to view your Squiz Matrix Inbox and change your account details.

For more information on the Asset Map and My Space, refer to the Using the Asset Map and My Space chapters in this manual.

PreviousNext