Working with Files and Images
On this page:
Adding Files or Images to a Page
To add images or documents to a page, you can use the ' Insert Asset' button from the edit page screen.
Upon pressing this button, a dialog will come up, with a few tabs. The 'Select Asset' tab will show all the images and documents in the current folder. You can also browse to other folders on the website. Once you choose a photo, the code to show it on the webpage will be inserted into the page.
Uploading New Files From Your Computer
If the file you want to insert into your page is on your computer, you will need to upload it before placing the image or a link to the file on your webpage. To do this, select the 'Upload' tab in the 'Insert Asset' dialog, and drag one or more files onto the target. The file will be uploaded, and a link to the file or files will be placed into the page you are editing.
When you are editing a page, look for an assets buttons, with a paperclip icon. That's where you can select an existing image, or upload one inline. If your buttons are set to small in your profile (the default), only the icon will show.
When you press that button, a modal window shows up, which displays all the images that exist in the current folder. Note that you are on the 'Assets' tab; so only one source of images is displayed. Choosing the 'Upload' tab will bring up the same drag and drop uploader previously described.
If you drag more than one file into the uploader, each file will be uploaded, and a markdown formatted document link or image code will be inserted into the page as part of a bulleted list.
Pay attention to file size. Larger images take longer to load, especially on slow cellular connections. Use a service like ImageOptim or an image resizing tool to shrink your images to an appropriate size before uploading. Rarely, if ever, should an image on a website be larger than 300kb. Images should be at maximum 1200-1500 pixels in width - generally much smaller. If your photo is busy, consider cropping the image to highlight only the most important portions.
- Online tools
Alternative Text on Images
If you have text selected when you press the ' Insert Asset' button, that text will become the Alternative text that screen readers will use to describe the image. Otherwise, you will have to add a text description of the image afterwards.
Not all visitors to our website are the same. Some see differently, or not at all. If you rely on things like the contrast between different colors to convey different information on a chart, how will a coloblind person be able to interpret it? Similarly, if you publish an image of a flyer for an upcoming event, with the alternative text 'poster' or 'flyer', that is doing a disservice to those using a screen-reader to access the content.
Good alternative text should be descriptive and describe the image within the context of the content—all within one sentence. Ask yourself: How would I describe this image to someone over the telephone?
For charts and graphs, the web office may be able to assist in making patterned charts accessible to the colorblind.
Feature Cards
A feature card is an element that consists of an image, a link and a title. If you have those three elements, however, there is an alternative way to present them: use a Feature Card, a CMS Short Code that makes one tile out of all those elements:
FEATURE-CARDS can optionally have a hover effect to show when the button receives focus. To add a feature card, use the button. The following modal dialog, with fields for each option, is then displayed.
Using the Assets manager
Files and images stored on your website can be found in the 'Assets' section of the CMS. To view / add documents to your site, go to the Assets section of the CMS, then choose the appropriate folder. Files are kept in a folder that has the same name as the URL stub. For example: Documents uploaded from the /uhh/vcaa/
folder will be in the uhh > vcaa folder.
Clicking on a file from the assets page will display a code to link to the file, or to diplay the image, in markdown syntax. You can also rename a file or move it to a new location by clicking the 'Rename' button.
Please note that all web content must be accessible. This includes images and documents that you link from a web page. See Accessibility of Web Content and contact the web office for more information.
Folders and Permissions
The Assets manager is folder based. When the Assets page loads, it defaults to the root folder of the website, which may not be a place where you are permitted to upload files.
Consider an individual with access to studentaffairs/womenscenter/
. When they first visit the assets page, the upload area will have a grey background, and a warning message will appear above the folder list.
To find any existing files, or to upload new ones, this individual would first need to go to the studentaffairs
folder, then to the womenscenter
subfolder. Upon navigating to a folder where a user can upload, they can upload, rename, delete and move files.
Files outside a user’s permitted folders can be linked or used in a page, but cannot be modified by that user.
Advanced file management
There are some powerful tools built into the asset manager. It is possible to find unused files and download an archive of selected files using the 'Actions on Selected button.