Course components

Create This Page Sample PageCourse components are dynamic components, which operate differently than most other Tridion components. Dynamic components, instead of being inserted into a page, are created and published separately. Since course components are not inserted into a page, you set which page(s) the courses will appear on by associating each course component with specific course list components (for a more thorough explanation, see the Introduction on the "Create a Course List page"). Below is more information on Course components, how they render on Course List pages, and how to publish them.

The Component
Component Template
Publishing

The Basics of a Course Component

For each course you need to publish, you will have to create a separate course component. Below are the fields to complete, along with tips for completing them. To see where each of these fields render on the published page, please see the Component Template tab above.
1. Name: enter a name for your component.
2. Schema: select Course
3. Course Offering: this is where you will enter the information for each session of this course that is offered. For example, if you have one session scheduled for a Monday and another session scheduled for Friday, you would enter the information for each session in separate Course Offering sections. To add additional Course Offering sections, click the green plus icon directly underneath the phrase "Course Offering." If you add too many Course Offering sections, delete the extra ones by clicking the trashcan icon .
  1. Start Date: Click the calendar icon and enter the date and time that this session will start.
  2. End Date: Click the calendar icon and enter the date and time that this session will end.
  3. Location: the only thing you can enter in this field are Location components, which must be used on a published Location page in order to work.
  4. Notes: enter additional information about the session here.
  5. Instructors: select the instructor(s) here. To add an instructor, click a name shown under "Available Options" and then click the Add button. To create a new instructor that is not already listed under "Available Options," click the green plus sign . In the tab that opens, enter the instructor's name in the Value field, Save and Close the tab, and then the name should appear under "Available Options." You can select and Add it at that point. Tip: You can select and Add multiple names at once by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys as you click names.
  6. CourseName: this field does not display anywhere.
  7. Registration Deadline: Click the calendar icon and enter the date and time for the registration deadline. Note: while this field isn't listed as required, this field must be completed in order for the "Next Offering" details to display on the Course List page.
4. Title: enter the name of the course here.
5. ShortDescription: enter a short 1 - 3 sentence description of the course here. This is meant to entice users to click on the course to learn more.
6. LongDescription: enter the full description of the course here. This is a rich-text field that accepts images, tables, links, and other formatting.
7. Delivery Method: select the course delivery format(s) here, such as in the classroom, webinar, online, etc. To add a delivery method, click an entry shown under "Available Options" and then click the Add button. To create a new delivery method that is not already listed under "Available Options," click the green plus sign . In the tab that opens, enter the delivery method in the Value field, Save and Close the tab, and then the method should appear under "Available Options." You can select and Add it at that point. Tip: You can select and Add multiple items at once by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys as you click names.
8. Competencies: select the competencies here that a user will gain by taking the class, such as "Collaboration and teamwork," "Develops strategic perspective," etc. To add a comptency, click an entry shown under "Available Options" and then click the Add button. To create a competency that is not already listed under "Available Options," click the green plus sign . In the tab that opens, enter the competency in the Value field, Save and Close the tab, and then the competency should appear under "Available Options." You can select and Add it at that point. Tip: You can select and Add multiple items at once by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys as you click names.
9. Audience: select the audience(s) for this course here. To add an audience, click an entry shown under "Available Options" and then click the Add button. To create a new audience that is not already listed under "Available Options," click the green plus sign . In the tab that opens, enter the audience in the Value field, Save and Close the tab, and then the audience should appear under "Available Options." You can select and Add it at that point. Tip: You can select and Add multiple items at once by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys as you click names.
10. Skill: select the skill(s) here that a user will gain by taking this course, such as "Communication," "Decision making," etc. To add a skill, click an entry shown under "Available Options" and then click the Add button. To create a new skill that is not already listed under "Available Options," click the green plus sign . In the tab that opens, enter the skill in the Value field, Save and Close the tab, and then the skill should appear under "Available Options." You can select and Add it at that point. Tip: You can select and Add multiple items at once by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys as you click names.
11. Cost: enter the cost of the course here.
12. Course Length: enter the amount of time the course will take, such as "4 hours" or "1 week."
13. Course Code: if you assign unique IDs to your courses, like MMB12345, you can enter those codes here.
14. for migration only type: this field is not used, please leave it blank.
15. Course List: to locate this field, click the Metadata tab at the top of the component. Course List keywords are how the system determines which pages to display the course on, once the course is published. To associate this course with a specific page, select the same Course List keyword that was used in the Course List component that was inserted in the page where this course should appear. (For a more thorough explanation, see the Introduction on the "Create an Course List page.") In this field, you can select, or create new, Course List keywords by clicking the browse folder icon . You can also select more than one Course List keyword to an article by clicking the green plus icon .
16. Dublin Core metadata fields: underneath the Course List field are a number of Dublin Core metadata fields. You do not need to complete these fields - they are not used anywhere on the website.
Component Templates

Since course components are not inserted into pages, they don't have component templates. However, below are examples of how course component content is rendered on both the page that contains a list of courses (aka Course List pages) and the detailed view for a single course (aka Course pages).

Course List page displays

Below is a rendering of where each field from an Course component displays on the Course List page. Some fields will repeat for each article, but for the sake of simplicity we have not highlighted each recurrence below. The course component fields used on an Course List page include the Title (#4), Course Start and End Dates (#3.a & 3.b), Registration Deadline (#3.g), Short Description (#5), Delivery Method (#7), Competencies (#8), Audience (#9), and Skills (#10).

Course page displays

Each Course component also generates a separate view, which we'll call the Course page, where a web user can read the full text of the course. Below is a rendering of where each field displays on the Course page. The course component fields used on an Course page include the Title (#4), Course Start and End Dates (#3.a & 3.b), Location (#3.c), Notes (#3.d), Instructors (#3.e), Registration Deadline (#3.g), Long Description (#6), Delivery Method (#7), Competencies (#8), Audience (#9), Skill (#10), Cost (#11), Course Length (#12), and Course Code (#13).
Publishing Courses

Unlike most other Tridion components, Course components are not inserted directly into a page. They are published individually instead, rather than as part of a page.

To publish an Course component, navigate to 050 [Your Publication] Website > Building Blocks > Website Content > [Your Website] > [the sub-folder where your article components reside]

Then, right-click on one or all of the Course components you wish to publish and select Publishing > Publish.

Follow the normal process for publishing content to the Staging and Live websites. Once the articles have successfully published, refresh the Course List pages where they should appear and verify that they are there.

Troubleshooting

If they do not appear on the page as expected, here are a few suggestions for troubleshooting:
- In the courses that were published: has the correct course List keyword been selected, as instructed under "The Component" tab, step 15?
- Check that you are viewing the version of your website (Staging or Live) where the course was published.
- Check that the correct Course List component has been inserted in the page.
- Check that the correct keyword has been selected in the Course List component.
- Check the Course List page to make sure that the Course List page template has been applied.