Summary: This module shows how to edit the contents of a module. This includes the text, files, and metadata of a module.
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A module is the basic building block of a Connexions course. You can think of it as a folder that contains the text, image, and CNXML files that address a single topic or a specific aspect of a topic. The author of a module determines the size of the module. Each module should contain enough information to be able to stand alone, if necessary. To a student viewing a course, a module is simply a web page of information on a specific topic. Modules allow students to follow the information path in a course arranged by their instructor or to branch off and discover their own path. To an instructor putting a course together, having different topics in different modules allows for easy selection and arrangement of the information. When building a course, an instructor can include existing modules from other courses or other academic disciplines that are important to the presentation of the course subject.
An example of the contents of a new module are shown in Figure 1, which displays the "Files" tab of the "Manage Files" screen.
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The "Module Status" sidebar contains important status information about the module and several links to useful tasks for the module editor. This sidebar appears to the right of the module contents and contains the following items:
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Once you have created a new module in or added an existing module to your work area, you will need to edit the module to add content, files, and images. These operations are performed with the links and buttons on the "Manage Files" screen or the "Module Status" sidebar. The recommended sequence to perform these operations in is described in this module and appears in the following list:
Each of these operations of module editing will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
The "Edit" tab for the module displays the contents of the "index.cnxml"
file. This file contains the text that appears in the module, plus the
CNXML instructions to include any image, sound, or other media files
that appear in the module. The default content display and edit is with
the Edit-In-Place editor. Alternatively, you can display and edit the
content with the Full Source editor by clicking Switch to Editing
Full Source. From this tab you can perform the following actions
on the file:
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To import content into the "index.cnxml" file, use the following steps:
Import button. The valid formats are:
Microsoft Word,
OpenOffice Writer, XMLSpy/Authentic,
and Plain XML. Import. A screen displays with a text box
for the pathname of the file you want to import. Browse to display the name of the pathname in the text
box. Import. The content of the file you
specified is copied into the "index.cnxml" file in your module.
Import in the last
step, the contents of the "index.cnxml" file are overwritten
by the contents of the imported file.You can export the "index.cnxml" file so that you can edit it with a software package that is specifically designed to edit XML files. The "index.cnxml" file must be altered to allow the XML editor to read it. And once you have completed your edits, the file must be altered again to remove the changes for editor readability. The Connexions Export and Import functions automatically add and remove the changes for editor readability. Currently, the only XML editor format supported by Connexions is the format used by the Altova xmlspy® editor or the Altova authentic® editor.
To export the "index.cnxml" file to be edited with an XML editor, use the following steps:
Export button. The valid formats
are: XMLSpy/Authentic, and Plain XML.
Export. A dialog box displays asking if you
want to open the file or save it to a disk. To import the "index.cnxml" file back into Connexions, use the instructions for Import Content from Outside Connexions mentioned earlier in this module.
The Edit-In-Place editor is the default editor on the "Edit" tab. You can insert new text and media objects into a module or modify the existing contents of a module with this editor. You do not have to be familiar with the CMXML tags to use Edit-In-Place. It inserts the appropriate CNXML tags for you when you insert a new item in the file. In addition, it has a help text feature that describes the CNXML tags for the items you insert or edit with it.
To insert text and media objects into a new module that contains no content, use the following steps:
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Save to save the text you typed.
The blue editing box is replaced by a gray box that displays
your entry.To edit the content of a module, use the following steps:
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Save to save the entry or click
Cancel to clear the entry in the blue editing
box. You can add new content items to a module with Edit-In-Place. The types of items you can add are: paragraphs, enumerated lists, bulleted lists, equations, exercises, figures, code blocks, notes, and examples. Edit-In-Place places the opening and closing CNXML tags around the item and it generates a unique item ID for each item you add. To add new items, use the following steps:
Add Here button above or below the existing item
Add Here button.
The default is "Paragraph". These items are described in the
help text, which can be accessed by selecting "Other Elements"
from the drop-down list. Add Here. An empty blue editing box
displays for the item you selected. You can display help text
for the item you selected by clicking Help editing xxx
in the upper right corner of the blue box, where xxx is the
CNXML tag for the item you selected. Save to save the entry or click
Cancel to clear the entry in the blue editing box. You can edit the content and CNXML tags in the "index.cnxml" file within Connexions with the Full Source editor. This method of editing is recommended for quick changes only. This is a simple text editor and it does not have the advanced functions (for example, spell checking and text searching) that are available with commercially available text editors. To edit the file with the Full Source editor, use the following steps:
Switch to Editing Full Source on the "Edit"
tab. The contents of the "index.cnxml" file are displayed in the
Full Source editor mode.
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Save to save to save your changes.
As you edit the "index.cnxml" file, click Save at any
point to save your changes. The page reloads and validates your CNXML
markups every time you save your changes. If there are no CNXML tag
errors, your markup is valid and "Saved" appears in an information box
at the top of the tab. If there are errors in your CNXML markup, they
are listed above the file content.
Any "index.cnxml" file that you publish in the Connexions repository
must be a valid CNXML document. This means that the file must be
well formed and contain no CNXML errors. If it does contain errors,
a description of each error
appears when you click Save. Your changes are not
saved until the errors are corrected.
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A description of the errors appears in the information box that appears above the content.
Another method of editing the "index.cnxml" file is with an external text editor that is not specifically designed to be an XML editor. Note that when you view the module on the "Files" tab a small pencil icon appears to the right of the "index.cnxml" filename. Click on this icon to launch an editing session of the "index.cnxml" file in an external text editor. This editing method does the downloading and uploading of the "index.cnxml" file for you, but it is only a text editor. You must manually enter all the CNXML tags. If you are not familiar with CNXML, this method is slow and awkward. It also requires that you or your system administrator set up the external editor as the default editor for files of type .cnxml before you can use it. In addition, you or your system administrator must install the Zope ExternalEditor client in a Windows environment and the Zope EditManager in a Macintosh environment.
In addition to the "index.cnxml" file, a module can contain other files, such as images, files, and CNXML documents that are associated with the module. You can add these files from the "Files" tab. The image and file must exist before you add them to the module. You can create the CNXML document during the addition process. When you add these items, you create an instance of the item in Connexions.
Before you add an associated file to a module, please note the following guidelines for files and filenames:
To add an image to a module, use the following steps:
Add New
Item. A drop-down list of valid item types appears. Add
New Item. The "Edit Image" tab displays. Browse. The "File Upload" dialog box displays.
Open. The image filename appears in the
text box next to Browse. Save to upload the image file into
Connexions. A confirmation message and a preview of the image
display.To add a file to a module, use the following steps:
Add New
Item. A drop-down list of valid item types appears. Add
New Item. The "Edit File" tab displays. Browse. The "File Upload" dialog box displays.
Open. The filename appears in the text box
next to Browse. Save to upload the file into Connexions.
A confirmation message and information about the file display.
To add a CNXML document to a module, use the following steps:
Add New
Item. A drop-down list of valid item types appears. Add New Item. The "Edit CNXML File" tab displays. Save. A confirmation message and information
about the CNXML file display.You can rename, cut, copy, or remove any item that you add to a module. These operations are done at the module level in the same way as they are done at the work area level. See Removing Items from a Work Area, Renaming Items in a Work Area, and Cutting or Copying Items in a Work Area, for a description of how to do these operations in work areas.
To enable users to search the Connexions Content Commons for a module, Connexions must have some information on the module. It is very important that you insert metadata into the module.
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To insert metadata, use the following steps:
Save. A message that the metadata was updated
displays and the name of the module replaces "New Module" in the screen
title.As creator of a module, by default you hold all three roles: author, maintainer, and copyright holder. You can grant one or more roles to other Connexions account holders who you want to be associated with the module. The table on the bottom the "Roles" tab displays the names of the users and their current roles. A checked box in the "Author", "Maintainer", or "Copyright Holder" column indicates that person was granted that role or roles.
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To grant one or more module roles to a user, use the following steps:
Search. Search. The Connexions accounts are searched
and any users that match the search string are displayed. Add People. A "Roles Pending Approval" table displays
under the "Roles" table. Update Roles. When granting or updating another user's roles, the change does not take affect until the other user has accepted the role change. Once the user has approved the change, their new roles are reflected in the "Roles" table. See approving role requests for information about approving requests.
Connexions makes it easy to collaborate on educational materials. One way to do this is to share authorship or maintenance of a module or course. If another author has granted you a role in their module or course so that you can collaborate with them, the "Pending" sidebar will appear in the upper right corner of your Connexions pages.
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Click the Role Request link to display the "Collaboration Requests" screen. From this screen you can:
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If another Connexions author grants you a role on their module or course
as an author, maintainer, and/or copyright holder, an entry appears under
the 'Requests Awaiting Your Approval' section of the "Collaboration Requests"
screen. To accept the request select the checkbox in the table for the
request you wish to accept and click Accept.
To reject the request, select the checkbox in the table for the request
you wish to reject, and click Reject.
If you have requested that someone be added to one of your modules or courses as an author, maintainer, and/or copyright holder, an entry appears under the "Requests You Have Made" section of the "Collaboration Requests" screen until the other author acts on it. You can cancel pending requests from here.
Any requests you have made that were accepted or rejected are listed in the "Requests You Have Made -- Completed" section of the "Collaboration Requests" screen. When you no longer need to keep the record, you can delete it.
To add or edit links that are associated with a module, click on the "Links" tab on the editing interface. The "Edit Links" screen displays.
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From the "Links" tab you can:
These links are viewable in the "links" tab that displays with each module. The links appear under their specified category type, for example, the supplemental links are listed under the "Supplemental" heading.To add a new link to a module, use the following steps:
Add to add the link.If the module already contains links, they will appear in the top half of the screen. To edit an existing link, use the following steps:
Update Links to make your changes.
To delete an existing link, select the checkbox in the "Delete" column
in the list of existing links. Then click Update Links
to delete the link.
After editing the module, you should preview the module to verify that it appears as you want it to appear. You can view modules from the "Preview" tab in the following ways:
To view a module on-line, use the following steps:
The print version of a module is formatted differently than the on-line version. This difference is necessary because of the differences in the on-line and printed media. To view a print version of the module, use the following steps:
OK. The print version
of the module displays. When editing an existing module, you can view a summary of the differences between the last published version of the module and the version you are currently editing. Click the Changes link to view the change summary. This option is useful when you checked out a module some time ago and do not remember what changes you made to it.
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The "Change To" summary lists changes to the module, including role assignments and the names of any files that were changed, files that were added, and files that were removed. Click on a file name to display a brief description of the changes.
Occasionally it may be convenient to view the markup source for a module. To view the source of the module, click the Source link under the "View" heading in the "Module Status" sidebar. The most recent markup source that has been saved displays.
The situation may arise in which you wish to return a module that you are editing back to its original state: the state in which it was before you began editing it. To do this, click the Discard link under the "Actions" heading in the "Module Status" sidebar. The module will revert back to the state it was in when you checked it out.
To make your module or your changes to an existing module viewable by anyone on the Internet, you must publish the module in Connexions. To publish a module, use the following steps:
Publish. Your work on the module is
entered into the Connexions Content Commons. Once in the Content
Commons, anyone with Internet access can view the module.![]() |
A new module would not necessarily have editing changes, so in the "Description of Changes" text box you might enter a comment like, "Created a new module".
Save button in an editing session. When you save your changes,
only you and the people who have access to your workgoup can see your changes. When you
publish a module, the entire world can view your work on the Internet.