When I started to write this little tutorial I made a decision to only cover the basic choices that most users will use. What choices you have when you create new content is dependent on the site and what modules are installed. It also depends on what user level you have.
Drupal is security sensitive so every action can be set on node and user level if needed. This means that some of the options below can be blocked for you.
Choosing what content to create
To create content in Drupal you go to Create content in the menu and select the type of content you want to create.
The basic options are Book page, Page, Story, Blog entry and Forum topic. The first and the last two options will only show if those modules are enabled on the site. Other types of content can be image, project, product etc.
- Book page is for content that can go over several pages. You can organize the pages in an hierarchical structure the same way you would with chapters in a book. You might be able to use other content types than Book page in a Book. It all depends on the configuration of the site.
- Page is for static information. Most often content regarding the site and its use.
- Story is content that can change often and that you want the readers/customers to be able to comment on.
There are two fields that will be common for almost all types of content: Title and Body. The title is one line and you can not customize it. The web master can change how it is displayed by changing the template. In a separate post I will show more about how to work in the body field.
Editing the body
I have created a separate post for editing the content, but I wanted to mention it here. Most web sites based on Drupal comes with a WYSIWYG editor that lets you work as if you had Word open. Personally I prefer to use FCK-editor for editing content, but there are a couple of others for Drupal. The picture below shows the filtered toolbar for FCKeditor. To install it on a Drupal web site is a little difficult as you need to change values in configuration files.
As you can see this is very similar to toolbars in other text editors and it is very simple to use.
Input format
This is a choice for you to consider if it is accessible. The web master might have created other options as well. If you have only text and a few links, use Filtered HTML. If you need to display images, video or other multimedia, use Full HTML. Full HTML might not be available for you because of security. Talk to the web master if you really need it. Otherwise, contribute to the security of the site and use Filtered HTML.
Menu settings / Book outline
Menu and books are both used for organizing content on the site. Books are basically organizing larger amounts of content the way you read a book and you can go forth and back between the "chapters". Menues are less flexible and you go to one or the other. They are great for one page content that fit on one page.
How these are used depends on the site and how they are configured. Most sites will only allow editors or administrators to add content to menues or books.
Publishing options
This menu let you decide whether to publish the content you just created or not. You can also choose to place it on the front page or make it "sticky" on the top of the page. Very handy if you want to make an intro to your site and then have other content below it.
If you choose not to publish what you wrote, and you decide to go back and work on it, please go to content, find your master piece and click on edit. That way you can continue where you left off. I normally save what I am working on every 5 minutes and then go back in and edit it.
Comment settings
You can decide if you want people to comment on your content or not, if you are allowed to decide this.
File attachments
This migth be available to you if you have the right to upload images or other files. The web master/owner of the site might have decided to say no unless you are an editor/staff/administrator of the site.
