Build General Content Type

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How to Use the General Content Type

The general content type is used for basic content, text, bulleted lists, tables, and occasionally images. This is often the most commonly used content type on a webpage. It is versatile and can be used for headers, body content, and more. In this module, you will learn how to add a new general content type to a page.

Learning objectives

  • Understand what the text content type is
  • Learn how to add and edit text
  • Discover formatting options

Instructions

From the T4 Site Structure, navigate to the page you are updating. 

Add a new general content type

  1. Click the Add Content button.
  2. Select General Content from the list of content types.
  3. Use the following content elements:
    • Name: Add descriptive name of content type to be used within T4 Site Structure.
    • Heading: Inputs "h2" heading. If the field is left blank, the page name will be used automatically. 
    • Hide heading: Select to hide the h2 heading. 
    • Main body: Add text and images using the formatting tools, similar to a word processing program. 
    • Columns: Select whether content should appear in one column (default if no option is selected) or two columns.
    • Theme: Select whether content should have a background color other than white (optional).
  4. Click the Save Changes button to save content as a draft, or press the arrow and select Save and Approve to save and publish updates.

Best practices

  • Use clear, concise language and ensure your text is legible on all devices
  • Use headings to organize content into a clear, logical outline
  • Start with Header 1 for the main title of the page, followed by Header 2 for sections, Header 3 for subsections, and so on
  • Avoid skipping levels (e.g., don’t jump from Header 1 to Header 3 without Header 2)

Common issues and troubleshooting

  • The PXL Tool (automatic image resizer) doesn’t work on images added in the general content type

Additional resources

By now, you should be comfortable using the text content type to add and format text effectively.

Explore the possibilities: Content type examples

Browse through the examples below to see how the type can be used in different scenarios and design choices.

General content type: Editor's view

Screenshot of a Studio Site General Content Type in Site Structure.

Examples of the content type

General content can contain H3 headings like this to highlight the main sections of a page

General content can contain main paragraph text like this, too. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam sem ante, efficitur vitae quam nec, tempor vulputate nisl. Donec sollicitudin nulla id ex consequat, pretium tempus ipsum tristique. 

This content type can also include smaller H4 headings to break up information within the main sections of a page

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec tincidunt erat et lorem elementum varius. Vestibulum blandit vel justo quis sagittis. Duis ultricies orci ut vestibulum placerat. 

Additionally, you can add a table to a General Content type like this one:

Table heading 1 Cell Heading Example for Text Content  #s
Example image for table 125x150 Cell content text or 125x150 images can go in each cell. Sometimes tables like this are used to highlight or feature core faculty or staff, with an image in one cell next to another cell with a short bio. Numbers can go in cells as well. You can even link text within a table if you like. 15

Proin cursus, magna at facilisis lobortis, sem orci vehicula enim, a bibendum odio turpis vitae ante. Mauris quis nisl sem. Donec eleifend enim sed nisl tincidunt, id tristique enim faucibus. 

Additionally, general content can also include bulleted and numbered lists

Cras et magna nec orci luctus commodo eu vel tortor. Morbi sit amet ante libero. Mauris dictum purus justo, vitae varius nulla ornare vel. Sed et dignissim enim.

  • Nam dapibus pretium est, sed placerat ex porttitor non
  • Sed eu sem ut purus tristique dignissim
  • Phasellus metus purus, sagittis sed vehicula at, sagittis lobortis odio
    1. Etiam finibus vehicula magna, eget maximus ex vestibulum molestie.
    2. Ut justo ipsum, sollicitudin eget elit et, rhoncus efficitur odio.
    3. Sed viverra quam id nisi luctus consectetur.
  • Quisque hendrerit accumsan tellus et pulvinar. Pellentesque pharetra eu lectus ut posuere.
  • Cras accumsan bibendum tellus sit amet auctor. Ut ultricies ultricies nisl at tincidunt.
  • Donec nec nibh tincidunt, dictum elit at, finibus ex. Donec commodo cursus commodo.

Video: Edit general content via direct edit mode

Common uses of the general content type

Learn more about the most common uses of the general content type:

"From the program director" message

Add a new 'From the program director' message

Follow the steps on adding a new general content type described above, then:

  1. Add the section heading "From the program director" as an H3 heading at the top of the Main body field in the general content type.
  2. Add the text from the program director's welcome message. 
  3. Add a 318x318 photo of the program director (already resized and uploaded to the T4 Media Library):
    • Click to the left of the "From the program director" heading text. 
    • Click the image icon on the main toolbar.
    • Navigate to the program folder in the T4 Media Library that contains the photo that you need.
    • Click on the 318x318 photo of the program director.
    • Double-click the photo and type "right" in the Float field.
  4. Click Save Changes button to save content as a draft. Preview your updates and ensure the content displays appropriately, follows MCCMS Styles and Standards, and is free of errors. If everything displays correctly in the preview, approve the updates to be published.

Edit an existing 'From the program director' welcome message

  1. Select the general content type that contains the program director's welcome message.
  2. Make needed adjustments to the text.
  3. If you need to update the photo:
    • Click on the existing photo and press "delete" on your keyboard. 
    • Click to the left of the "From the program director" heading text. 
    • Click the image icon on the main toolbar.
    • Navigate to the program folder in the T4 Media Library that contains the photo that you need.
    • Click on the 318x318 photo of the program director.
    • Double-click the photo and type "right" in the Float field.
  4. Click Save Changes button to save content as a draft. Preview your updates and ensure the content displays appropriately, follows MCCMS Styles and Standards, and is free of errors. If everything displays correctly in the preview, approve the updates to be published.

"Elective" or "Rotations" tables on Curriculum pages

Add or edit an "elective" or "rotation" table on a Curriculum page

  1. Follow the instructions on the Formatting Text page to add a table to your General Content type, typically you'll need two or three columns for these tables and as many rows as needed to add the desired electives or rotations.
  2. Insert the headings of each column in the top row of the Table.
    • For a "Rotations" table, you'd likely include one column titled "Rotation" and one column titled "Length." 
    • Likewise, for an "Electives" table, you'd likely include one column titled "Elective" and one column titled "Length."
  3. Add the content into the table cells. In a table, use numerals to indicate the length of each elective or rotation (ie. "4 weeks" not "four weeks"). Do not use abbreviations in the table, even if commonly used in the field (ie. use "Physical medicine/rehabilitation" not "PMR")
  4. Click Save Changes button to save content as a draft. Preview your updates and ensure the content displays appropriately, follows MCCMS Styles and Standards, and is free of errors. If everything displays correctly in the preview, approve the updates to be published.

Example

Rotation Length
Allergy 2-4 weeks
Anesthesia 2 weeks
Cardiology 4 weeks
Emergency medicine 4 weeks
Endocrinology 4 weeks
ENT 2 weeks
Gastroenterology 4 weeks
Global health 1-8 weeks
Hematology/oncology 4 weeks
Hospice and palliative care 2-4 weeks

How to create a profile table/grid and use the portrait cache

Profile tables/grids are mostly created in a general content type, but they could also be added in an accordion or tab. 

Complete the following before you create the profile table.

  1. Obtain the faculty or trainee images through the Portrait Cache.
  2. On this page, scroll up to the accordion section named Add a table for data/text-only information and follow those instructions to build the table.

Creating a profile table

  1. In the table, click on the first cell where the image should be placed.
  2. In the Main body, go to the toolbar and click on the image icon (a square located at the end).
  3. Navigate to the T4 Media Library where the 125x150 image is housed. 
  4. Click on the image and the image will insert into the table cell.
  5. Click on the table cell to the right.
  6. Add the text for the person (check to make sure your image matches the correct content).
  7. Click on Save changes to save content as a draft. Preview your updates and ensure the content displays appropriately, follow MCCMS Styles and Standards and is free of errors. If everything displays correctly in the preview, approve the updates to be published.

Important: Do not manually adjust tables to have specific height and width as this can impact how the table displays dynamic across digital devices. The table will adjust to the content entered.

Additional resources that may be helpful:

How to create a profile table/grid and use the FTP server

This provides instructions on how to create a profile table/grid and incorporates the use of the FTP server - a quick way to add headshots from Mayo's Quarterly to the table.

Creating a new profile table

  1. Copy this code and paste it into Source code (Tools > Source code).
  2. Click in the left column table cell to ensure you're in the correct table cell for adding the photo.
  3. Go to the menu and select Insert. Then select the image icon, known as Insert file link or image. 
  4. The media library will open automatically. Go to the Academics folder (Categorised > MCCMS > Content Assets > Academics).
  5. In the Academics folder, find the default-profile-placeholder-image.jpg. Go to the right and click on the blue Actions menu.
  6. Scroll down and select Select with layout.
  7. Select alternative layout will appear. Find and select image/profile-from-ftp.
  8. A transparent default placeholder image will populate the table cell. 
  9. Double-left-click the transparent default placeholder image. Set media attributes will appear.
    • Click in the Imageid field and paste the person ID number.
    • Click in the Alt text field and the person's name and credentials.
    • The width is set at 125 by default; leave it as-is.
  10. Click Save.
  11. Repeat steps 2-10 until you're done adding trainees.
  12. Click Save changes.
  13. Do a Preview to ensure everything appears properly.

Important: Do not manually adjust tables to have specific height and width as this can impact how the table displays dynamic across digital devices. The table will adjust to the content entered.

Ready to enhance your content further?

Check out the next module.

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