The News Input Screen Explained

1. The blue line at the top of the screen denotes whether you are adding a new news item or editing an existing one.
2. The Date is the news date displayed on the Public area screen.
3. The Title is the news heading.
4. Body is the news article itself.
   Note that on the Public area home page the user only sees the first characters of this. They click on the news heading to open the news item and see the rest. To set the maximum number of characters displayed under an article, go to the Admin area: Settings -> Public Area -> Articles -> Article preview format -> Article character limit.
5. Tags are search words. If you define a keyword here and a user then searches using that keyword, this news is displayed. Use a comma to separate each keyword.
   Some external search engines may also use this for search engine optimization.
6. Checking the Private Read option allows you to force users to log on to see the news item. Checking Private Write allows you to control who can edit the news item. Checking both gives you control over who can read it, whether they have to log on, and who can update it.
   
   Designating that a news item is private brings up a list for you to choose Access for selected roles only. This allows you to assign which groups of users (users in which roles) can actually read the news item. Choose None if you just wish to make the news private (so they have to log on) but still want everyone to be able to read it. Otherwise, choose the role(s) that can see or update this item.
7. Checking the Schedule option allows you to dictate a date and time for when a news item is published and when it drops off the news list.
   When you check Yes to the Schedule option it brings up a date and time, and allows you to determine whether the news item is to be published or not published at that time. An And option allows you to specify a second date/time and status to schedule.
8. Use the Published option to specify whether users can read the article or not.
   You would often use this in conjunction with scheduling. For example, you may set a news item so it is not (Published option not checked) and schedule it to be published on a specific date and time.
9. The Save and Cancel buttons are standard. Save means save the news item, Cancel means exit and don't save.
   If the Published checkbox is selected, the Publish button appears instead of Save. After clicking the Publish button, the news become visible in the Public area. Save and continue editing allows you to save the document but remain on the edit page to make more changes.

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This functionality works in version 3.5 and above