Democratic Party of Door County

Public Policy for Public Good

Editor: Ron Maclean

Publishers’ Manual

“How-To-Build” Manual

for Posts, Events, Etc.

on DOORDEMS.ORG Website

Publishing of NEWS POSTS

How to Publish a Standard (News) Post

In its simplest form, a Standard Post is generated as follows:

  1. In Dashboard > Posts: click Add New.
  2. In Categories: box (right side), checkmark Latest News category and uncheck all other categories.
  3. In Post Title: box (left upper) replace “Add Title” with phrases or a line from the Post, condensed to suit, using title-case capitalization. If you chose the leading headline of the Post, then don’t repeat that headline in the Content section. 
  4. Optionally, edit Permalink, (under the title box) to suit, e.g., replace it with only the essential parts of the Post Title, all lower case, hyphens is lieu of spaces.
  5. In Source document: copy body text (content) of your post formatted as you see fit.
  6. In Content box (2nd box on left): 
    1. Select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown 
    2. Paste the body text.
    3. Add additional subheadings and other emphasis as needed. Promote subheadings to Heading 2 or 3.
    4. Optionally, position the insert bar where you want an image, click Add Media button which opens the Media window, follow Image Selection below, click inserted image, in the pop-up window click a button to wrap text around image as desired.
  7. [NOTE: a standard post has no ACF fields]
  8. In Excerpt box, enter  48 words or less (longer excerpts are truncated) that summarizes the Content.  [NOTE: the Excerpt is used only on HOME PAGE and Archive pages.]
  9. Optionally, in Featured Image box click Set featured image, follow Image Selection Procedure below.
  10. In Post Attributes box, Template type should be Theme.
  11. In Discussion box (right side), checkmark Allow comments
  12. In Author box:  select the name of who submitted the article
  13. In Publish box:  click Publish (or UPDATE) button.
  14. Click View post (above Post Title box), proofread your work.
  15. Select HOME PAGE from main menu, refresh HOME PAGE (right end of Safari search field) 
  16. Go to Latest News: proofread the excerpt.
  17. Then click the headline of the new News Post to review for style and general appearance.
  18. If changes are needed, make them with the Classic Editor – do NOT make textual changes using Elementor!

[NOTE: departures from a Standard Post are indicated by blue type]

  1. In Dashboard > Posts: click Add New.
  2. In Categories: box (right side), checkmark DoorDems Newsletter category and uncheck all other categories
  3. In Post Title box (left upper): replace “Add Title” with a phrase or line from the Newsletter, condensed to suit, using title-case capitalization. If you chose the leading headline of the then don’t repeat that headline in the Content section. 
  4. Optionally, edit Permalink, (under the title box) to suit, e.g., replace it with only the essential parts of the Newsletter Title, all lower case, hyphens is lieu of spaces.
  5. In Source document page 1: copy body text of entire left hand column of page 1.
  6. In Content box (2nd box on left): 
    1. select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown 
    2. Paste the copied text.
    3. Promote subheadings to Heading 2 or 3
  7. For the ACF fields:
    1. In the Newsletter Issue box, enter the month(s) spelled out or as 3 letter abbreviations (separate months with a hyphen) and the current year.
    2. In source document page 1: copy the entire right hand column
    3. In the Newsletter Sidebar box, 
      1. Select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown.
      2. Paste copied text
      3. Promote internal headlines to Heading 2 or 3. 
      4. Add formatting as needed (underlines, bolding, blank lines, etc.)
    4. Source document page 2: copy the entire page 2
    5. In the Newsletter page 2 box,
      1. repeat steps 1 thru 4 of instruction 7.3
  8. The Excerpt box is left blank; it is not used.
  9. [Note: Featured Image (right column) is not used in DoorDems Newsletter.]
  10. In Post Attributes box, Template type should be Elementor Canvas.
  11. In Discussion box (right side), checkmark Allow comments
  12. In Author box:  should be the name of the Newsletter Editor, Allin Walker.
  13. In Publish box:  change the Published On date to the date the Newsletter was issued by MailChimp and click OK, click Publish (or UPDATE) button.
  14. Optionally, edit Permalink, (under the title box)to suit, e.g., replace it with “dpdc-newsletter-mmm-mmm-yyyyy”, all lower case, hyphens is lieu of spaces.
  15. Click View post (above Post Title box), proofread your work. 
  16. Select HOME PAGE from main menu, refresh HOME PAGE (right end of Safari search field).
  17. Then click headline of the new Newsletter to review for style and general appearance.
  18. If changes are needed, make them with the Classic Editor – do NOT make textual changes using Elementor! 

[NOTE: departures from a Standard Post are indicated by blue type]

  1. In Dashboard > Posts: click Add New
  2. In Categories: box (right side), checkmark WisDems Newsletter category and uncheck all other categories
  3. In Post Title: box (left upper) replace “Add Title” with a phrase or line from Ben’s letter, condensed to suit, using title-case capitalization. If you chose the leading headline of the then don’t repeat that headline in the Content section. 
  4. Optionally, edit Permalink, (under the title box)to suit, e.g., replace it with only the essential parts of the Post Title, all lower case, hyphens is lieu of spaces.
  5. In Source document: copy copied text (content) of the Newsletter (from “Dear Fellow Wisconsin Democrats” up to “Paid for by …”) formatted as you see fit.
  6. In Content box (2nd box on left): 
      1. select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown 
      2. Paste the copied text.
      3. Delete most fundraising text & images.
      4. Remove superfluous carriage returns (eliminate excess white space)
      5. Promote bolded lines of apparent subtitles to Heading 3. (Leave Headings 1 and 2 as is)
  7. [NOTE: a WisDems newsletter has no ACF fields]
  8. An Excerpt is not necessary.
  9. Optionally, in Featured Image box (right column), click Set featured image, follow Image Selection above.
  10. In Post Attributes box, should be Theme. 
  11. In Discussion box (right side), checkmark Allow comments
  12. In Author box:  should be Ben  
  13. in Publish box:  change Published On date to match the date of the email. (Be sure to click OK), click PUBLISH (or UPDATE) button
  14. Click View post (above Post Title box) and proofread your work.
  15. Select HOME PAGE from main menu, refresh HOME PAGE (right end of Safari search field) 
  16. Go to Latest News panel (Wisdems) to proofread the excerpt.
  17. Then click the headline of the newsletter  to review for style and general appearance.
  18. If changes are needed, make them with the Classic Editor – do NOT make textual changes using Elementor!
  1. In the Media window:
  2. Optionally. click Upload files tab, click Select Files button, select folder where you saved the Image, Select (click) on Image, click Upload box, 
  3. Click the desired Image
  4. Optionally, in right panel, click Edit image to crop or resize Image,
    1. Note: preferred but not essential size is no more than 200KB. An image of landscape orientation is better suited for Featured Image, portrait is better for an image you Insert into post.
  5. Click Set featured image or Insert into post button. Note: WisDems Newsletter does not use images.

Publishing of EVENT POSTS

Introduction to Events

 

An EVENT is a special type of post. WordPress posts conform to traditional blog posts which are dated by when they are published or posted. That is, a Post is dated either “today” or in the past and are displayed in sequencing by their “posting” dates. Posts that have dates in the future are not displayed. In effect future posts sit in a cue until their date becomes current.  Events on the other hand are the opposite of Posts. Events are about “today” and the future. Events that have dates in the past are “hidden” and not displayed at all (except on Archive pages). WordPress does not have native Events. 

To have Events, we have to deceive a Post into behaving like an Event. We do this by using an ACF (Automatic Custom Fields) widget which can define custom meta data. We make two custom fields; “Day of the Week” and “Month & Date” which become the Date of the Event that is published in the post. We then use fictional posting dates for the sequencing effect. Conventionally, we set the posting date one year earlier than the Event date. Events are automatically in the correct sequence chronologically. An Event has a category of EVENT. As long as it had that category it remains visible. To hide the old event, we manually change the category to PAST EVENT. The present version of Elementor has no means for automating this last step

[NOTE: departures from a Standard Post are indicated by blue type]

  1. In Dashboard > Posts: click Add New.
  2. In Categories: box (right side), checkmark EVENT category and uncheck all other categories.
  3. In Post Title: box (left upper) replace “Add Title” with phrases or a line from the Event content, condensed to suit, using title-case capitalization. If you chose the leading headline of the Post, then don’t repeat that headline in the Content section. 
  4. Optionally, edit Permalink, (under the title box) to suit, e.g., replace it with only the essential parts of the Post Title, all lower case, hyphens is lieu of spaces.
  5. In Source document: copy body text (content) of your event formatted as you see fit, but first, select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown.
  6. In Content box (2nd box on left): 
      1. select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown 
      2. Paste the copied text.
      3. Add additional subheadings and other emphasis as needed. Promote subheadings to Heading 2 or 3.
      4. Optionally, position the insert bar where you want an image, click Add Media button which opens the Media window, follow Image Selection below, click inserted image, in the pop-up window click a button to wrap text around image as desired.
  7. In Event Date box, enter Day of the week spelled out, Month as 3 letter abbreviation  and Date as numeral.
  8. An Excerpt is required. [NOTE;  an automatic Excerpt is NOT generated for Event posts.]
  9. Optionally, in Featured Image box (right column), click Set featured image, follow Image Selection Procedure above.
  10. In Post Attributes box, the Theme Template is required.
  11. In Discussion box (right side), checkmark Allow comments
  12. In Author box:  select the name of who submitted the article. For record only – it is not published.
  13. In Publish box:  change the Published On date to one year earlier than the event date and click OK, change visibility to Public and click OK, click Publish (or Update) button.
  14. Click View post (above Post Title box), proofread your work.
  15. Select HOME PAGE from main menu, refresh HOME PAGE (right end of Safari search field). 
  16. Go to EVENTS panel to proofread the excerpt.
  17. Then click the headline of the new EVENT to proofread the content.
  18. If changes are needed, make them with the Classic Editor – do NOT make changes using Elementor!
  1. In Dashboard > Posts: find this post title, place cursor over it, click Quick Edit 
  2. In Categories: box, checkmark PAST EVENT and uncheck all other Categories: including EVENT.
  3. NOTE: it is okey for an event to remain visible a short time past it’s event date (but no more than 7 days past) so late arriving readers can see what they missed. 

Primary Method

  1. In Dashboard > Posts: click Add New Post.
  2. In Categories: box (right side), checkmark BOARD EVENT category and uncheck all other categories.
  3. In Post Title: box (left upper) replace “Add Title” with “Exec. Board – “ plus meeting day in the form of “mmm-dd”
  4. edit Permalink, (under the title box) to suit, e.g., replace it with the Post Title, all lower case, hyphens is lieu of spaces.
  5. In This Document: copy either Content for Zoom optional or ZOOM only meeting. (see below).
  6. In Content box (2nd box on left): 
    1. select Pre-formatted from the paragraph style dropdown 
    2. Paste the copied text.
    3. Fixed Content is added automatically.
  7. In Event Date box, enter Day of the week spelled out (Tuesday), Month as 3 letter abbreviation  and Date as numeral.
  8. In Excerpt box, enter the Default Excerpt (see below) that corresponds to the meeting date..
  9. In Featured Image box, use DPDC Logo 300×221, dated Jun 29, 2023
  10. In Post Attributes box, the Theme Template is required.
  11. In Discussion box (right side), checkmark Allow comments
  12. In Author box:  select the name of the submitter. For record only – not published.
  13. In Publish box:  change the Published On date to one year earlier than the actual event date and click OK, set visibility to Public and click OK, click Publish (or Update) button.
  14. Click View post (above Post Title box), proofread your work.
  15. Select HOME PAGE from main menu, refresh HOME PAGE (right end of Safari search field) 
  16. Go to the EVENTS panel to proofread the excerpt.
  17. Then click the headline of the new Newsletter to review for style and general appearance..
  18. If changes are needed, make them with the Classic Editor – do NOT make changes using Elementor!

Shortcut Method

  1. In Dashboard > Posts > All Posts, filter list to Past Events
  2. Find a past Exec. Board post for the current season that is not customized.
  3. Highlight the post, click Edit (classic editor)
  4. Complete steps 2 thru 8 and 13 thru 16

Content for ZOOM optional meeting(Apr-Nov):

This month’s meeting is held in the office at 217 N 4th Ave, Office 119, Sturgeon Bay. Optional ZOOM access is available. All DPDC members are welcome to attend. Those attending via ZOOM should send an email in advance to 

Content for ZOOM only meeting (Jan-Mar): 

This month’s meeting is held via ZOOM (the office is closed). All DPDC members are welcome. To attend, send an email in advance requesting to [email protected] requesting ZOOM access.

Default Excerpt for Apr-Nov:

All DPDC members are welcome, in person or via ZOOM (by request)

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.   217 N 4th Ave, Office 119, Sturgeon Bay

[email protected]

Default Excerpt for Jan-Mar:

Meeting held via ZOOM only.  7:00 pm to 8:00 

All DPDC members are welcome to request a invitation. 

[email protected]

Fixed Content:

The Exec. Board regularly meets on the second Tuesday of each month (except when some other activity takes priority, such Election Day). Meetings begin promptly at 7:00 PM and usually last for about one hour. The meeting agenda typically includes reports from the Chair, Treasurer, and heads of each committee.

In January, February and March, the meeting is held via ZOOM (the office is closed).

In other months, the meeting is held at the DPDC office at 217 N 4th Ave, Office 119, Sturgeon Bay.

Technically. NEWS SHORTS are not Posts. They are a special breed and  have no category of their own.

 

  1. In HOME PAGE > News Shorts: observe to determine which entry has the oldest date. NOTE: when HOME PAGE opens, Slides are shown in numerical order, Slide #1 first. There are four Slides.
  2. In Dashboard > Templates > Saved Templates, click NEWS SHORTS Panel
  3. Click Edit with Elementor. NOTE: this is an exception to the general rule which says to not use the Elemenator Editor.
  4. In Navigator (floating column, usually on the right), open the first Container and everything within it until the numbered Slide containers are shown.
  5. Open the Slide container that corresponds to the eldest News Short
  6. Open containers until Image shows. Open the Image.
  7. In Edit Image (on the left) > Content > Image, place cursor over the Image, click Chose Image.
  8. Upload a suitable image from the Media page.
  9. In Navigator, open the next container, click T Heading.
  10. In Edit Heading > Content > Heading > Title, replace the old Title with a new one.
  11. In Navigator, open the next container, 
  12. in middle row of News Short, click Edit icon for Date field 
  13. In Edit Heading > Content > Heading > Title, replace the old date with a new one.
  14. in middle row of News Short, click Edit icon for Author field (BY:)
  15. In Edit Heading > Content > Heading > Title, replace the old Author with your name.
  16. In bottom row of the News Short, click Edit icon
  17. In Edit Text Editor, replace old contents with new text.
  18. Click Update (lower left)
  19. In HOME PAGE, refresh HOME PAGE, proofread your entries.