 | | | | |  | | Update: Improved Link Interface | | | by iCMS on
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We received lots of enthusiastic reactions to our Text and Image editor update sneak preview. So many of you were eager to get started with the new features, that we decided to split this release into several smaller updates, in order to get them to you sooner.
Today we are releasing the improved Link Interface. We've done a complete overhaul of its design and functionality, giving you more control over how you create links on your website.
Besides the Text and Image editor, you'll find the updated Link Interface in the Page Image Slideshow, Section Tab options, Form action, Members Login, Galleries and Navigation Items options.
Jump in right away by logging in to your account or read on to find out what is new.
Improved Workflow
The first thing you'll notice when you open the pull-down menu, is that the list of pages from your site that appears inside the pull-down menu, are much better organized. The pages now
appear grouped and indented if they are in folders.
You'll see an anchor icon appear next to any page that contains one or more anchor links. Clicking on the triangle next to the icon, will lists all anchors on that page. Linking to any place, on any page on your site, was never this easy!
When you are linking images, a new { Image Lightbox } option will appear in the Link Interface. Selecting this option will create a link that opens the full-size image in a lightbox-style window. This new functionality will replace the Zoom application.
Typing the name or URL of any page into the Link text box, will instantly update the pull-down menu and filter the pages shown to match your search criteria.
Passing your mouse cursor over a page name in the pull-down menu a new tooltip will appear, that will show the name and the URL of that page. This comes in extremely handy when you have multiple pages with the same or similar names.
Different Link Types
To add an external link, all you have to do is click inside the text box of the Link Selection Interface, and start typing. The set button [ICON] becomes green as soon as you've entered a valid link to help you reduce the chance of entering invalid web addresses.
Linking to an email is as simple as typing a valid email address into the text area. You can even link to a phone by just typing tel: followed by the phone number. Linking to an external secure (https) page requires that the URL starts with https://.
Whether you select a page to link to from the pull-down menu, or enter it manually, a valid link is automatically indicated by an icon that appears in front of the link address, specifying the type of link. iCMS has different icons for internal pages, normal (http) and secure (https) external links, email addresses, and phone numbers.
Advanced Options
When advanced options is enabled for the Text and Image editor, the Link interface shows several additional options.
New or Same Window
By default, all internal links open in the current browser window, while all external links open in a new tab or window. With the advanced options enabled, you can change this behavior any way you want and have full control over where you want your links to open.
Open in Lightbox
New is that the pull-down menu now includes a Lightbox option. Instead of sending your website visitors to a different site, you can opt to show content you are linking to inside a lightbox, layered on top of your site. Note: this is different from the { image lightbox } mentioned earlier.
More Search Engine Control
When search engines index the web, they look for links on pages that they already know, to find new content. This is how your new articles get automatically found by Google and other search engines.
Sometimes you don't want a certain page to be indexed by search engines. One way to achieve this is by creating a so-called "nofollow" link any time you link to that particular page. The new No Follow option in our Link interface lets will automatically create a link that instructs search engines not to follow or index the page you are linking to.
This is just a quick overview of the most significant changes and updates of the Link interface. Let us know in the comments below what you think of the update.
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| | | | | | | Sharing Your Page Updates Is Easier Than Ever | | | by iCMS on
| You may have noticed over the past couple of days that we made changes to the design and functionality of the Page Published status messages that appear in the bottom-right corner of your browser window after you publish a page on your site.
The new status messages now include 1-click social share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. In addition, they also let you share your freshly published page by email.
We have also made all other status message that appear when you add, edit or remove different kinds of content on a page more insightful.
Besides providing feedback on what action has been successfully completed, they now also contain a reminder of what to do next, like publishing the page. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | More control of your website with HTML snippets! | | | by iCMS on
|  | | Every page on every website contains a lot of information that is not seen by website visitors, but that is there to let search engines help users find your site or is used by statistics and other services. This information is stored in what are called meta tags in a part of the page's content that is called the Head.
With iCMS, you have always been able to edit the most important of these meta tags right from your Admin interface. The Site Options and Page Options panel let you enter Site and Page Titles, and enter Descriptions and Keywords that are vital for Search Engine Optimization.
Today, we are happy to announce that we have released a new feature, which gives you total control over this important part of your site. With the Header HTML snippet, you can now insert any meta tags into the Head of your site.
You can easily and quickly confirm site-ownership for valuable SEO services like Google Webmaster tools, Bing or Yahoo. It also lets you add the necessary codes to enable Facebook Insights statistics for your website or adjust the appearance of your site on mobile devices.
There are many other useful meta tags that you can add to your site. You can find a list of the most common meta tags on HTMLForDesigners.com. |
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