Editing a Story (edit.asp)

1. You will first need to search for a story to edit. You can search either for a particular Story ID number, which will only return one result. Or, you may chose to view all the stories in one section. You may also search the headline, by line, or story body for a phrase or word. These 3 fields work just like a search engine (yahoo, google, ect..). Finally, you may select the "View all records" box to be presented with the entire list of all stories.

In the example above, we know 3 things about the story we wish to change. The section is business, the author is John Doe, and the headline has the word computer in it. Since we chose the "AND" selection, all 3 criteria must be satisfied. Had we chose "OR", all stories that are by John Doe, all business stories, or all stories with the word "Comptuer" in the headline would have been displayed. It is important to understand how "AND" and "OR" differ in searching.

We now see the story we were searching for. To select this story, simply click the button in the Story ID column. We will now be taken to the next page where we can edit the story.

3. The information that currently exists in the database is now available to you in a form. You can edit all of the aspects of this story. You may chose to move the priority up, fix a mispelled name in the body, or update a picture. You may also wish to completely remove an image or story.

To make a change to a text field, simply edit the text directly in the box. Make all of your changes before submitting. The story expiration can be changed. The story expiration is the date this story will automatically be removed from the website. The format must be MM/DD/YYYY. You may remove an image by clicking the "remove an image" checkbox and submitting the form. To completely remove the story, check the box underneath the submit button.

Remember, if you seek a quick answer and do not wish to refer back to this guide, you can place your mouse over the word describing the field (i.e., cutline, headline, story, etc...) and a tip will be displayed in a popup box (see image above).

In the above example, I changed the by line from "By John Doe" to "By Jim Smith."

4. The next page (editToDB.asp) overwrites the old information in the database with the new information. It also overwrites the old asp page and inserts a new one, with the same name. The old link will still work with the new page. We are also provided iwth a test link. You may want to double check your changes. If you find a mistake and want to go back, you will need to refresh the edit page before the new information you inserted will be displayed.

In the above example, you will notice that the by line has been successfully changed. The rest of the information has remained the same.

5. After editing a page, it is a good idea to double check it for accuracy. You may use the test link to do so. In this example, you will notice the by line has been successfully changed.

For additional help, you may reach Jake Omaits via jomaits@ogdennews.com