SOAR

• The graphic for websites in the Links section has been updated. Thank you for all your words of encouragement to change this graphic :)
• The Pack/Troop selection of the Pack/Troop Filter is now always preselected to remove confusion. It is not well understood that you cannot remove Pack/Troop events from view by using the Filter feature. This is disabled to prevent accidental use and thereafter missing communication about the most important events – those for the whole Pack/Troop.
• The Menus function at Admin/Content/Manage/Menus now has links to the individual Custom Pages for easy access.
  

Given the expansion of capabilities with Site Themes, you will find a new menu item under Administration called Site Theme. This is where you will access all Site Theme administration vs. where it was previously found in the Control Panel section.

The first section (Theme Selection) contains a single button, Select Theme, which can be used to browse the available themes, read the detailed description of each theme, and selection of a Site Theme for your website. Changing a Site Theme will not detrimentally affect the content (Announcements, Events, etc..) on your website – only the look and feel of the website. You should feel free to switch to the various themes to test them out.

One of the drawbacks of website formatting is the limitation on the font families (i.e Arial, Times New Roman, etc.) that you can use. There are only 9-12 fonts that are guaranteed to be available on all your member’s computers. Most of the fonts do not vary greatly in their look or feel either. For this reason most websites look well…. boring !

One of the new technologies we are introducing with this release has the ability to use a wide range of fonts, each with distinct “personalities”, without requiring any special software on your member’s computers. Through the use of this technology you will have access to (in select Site Themes) and additional 32 font families.

This feature is for the Standard and Advanced packages.

While it was previously possible to add graphics to your content through the Rich Text Editor - it was certainly not easy. The new Graphics Library feature provides you an easy method to upload and then select graphics to use in Announcements, Events, Custom Pages of your website.

You will find two new upload buttons at Admin/Content.

Site Graphics

• Can be used to upload original graphics, without downsizing.
• Maximum file size of 150KB to ensure fast page loading.
• Essential for those that create their own animated GIF images which should not be modified.
  

This feature is for the Standard and Advanced packages.

You’ve been asking for it and it is finally here ! You now have the option to use the Rich Text Editor for Announcements. This means you can change the fonts/colors of announcements as well as add feature rich content with tables and graphics.

You can access this feature at Admin/Control Panel/Default Editor.

This feature is for the Standard and Advanced packages.

We tested a number of Rich Text Editors (5 to be exact) to see if it a different editor would provide improved functionality. In the end we found that the TinyMCE editor (tinymce.moxiecode.com) that we currently use for our Rich Text Editor is still the best choice. Based on that we set off to fix a number of identified issues with the current Rich Text Editor.

We have upgraded your sites to the latest version of TinyMCE and fixed almost all the formatting issues you may have experienced with the old editor – viewing of content not exactly matching what you see in the editor, line height issues with larger fonts, etc..

Now that you know how to add graphics/images to content on your SOAR website, there are some more settings you may want to use to further control the behavior of displayed images.

Go back to the Rich Text Editor for a page. Click the Insert Image button.

The following options are available for your use:

Image URL

You can also type in the web address (URL) of an image already on the Internet. We recommend that you upload any images you want to use directly into your SOAR website though. This way you are guaranteed the image is available for your use. If you link to images on the Internet, they may disappear at some point without your knowledge.

Now that you have found and uploaded graphics/images to your SOAR website, it is time to add one of them to the content of one your your website pages.

For demonstration purposes we are going to add a graphic/image to your About Us page. The procedure below can be used anytime you see the Rich Text Editor.

Step by Step instructions

• Login to your SOAR website using an account that has Add Account/Leader or Administrative rights.
• On the Menu on the left, click on the About Us item.
  • Note: You may have changed the name of this page, find the page that is Public and describes your unit.

The easiest way to use graphics/images on your SOAR website is through the Rich Text Editor.

Do the following to turn on the Rich Text Editor for your SOAR website

Step by Step instructions

• Login to your SOAR website using an account that has Add Account/Leader or Administrative rights.
• On the Administrative menu on the left, click on the Control Panel menu item.
• Click on the Default Editor button.
• Click the checkbox for Rich Text
• If you want to use the Rich Text Editor for Announcements, also click the chekbox for "Use Rich Text Editor" in the Annoncements section.
  

Now that you have a collection of graphics/images on your local computer, you need to get those images/graphics up on your SOAR website so you can use them.

For an image/graphic to be used on your SOAR website, it must be already on the Internet someplace. What better place to store them than directly inside your SOAR website.

SOAR provides two upload tools for you use to move graphics/images from your local computer onto your SOAR website.

Site Graphics

• This should be the primary tool you use for uploading graphics/images, unless you are uploading photos from a digital camera.