Create a Course List

Introduction to Course List pages

Course List pages are dynamic pages, which means they operate differently than the majority of Tridion pages. Instead of inserting every course into a page and then publishing it, you build and publish the page once, and then create and publish course components separately. Courses are associated with the page through Course List keywords. Below is a flowchart depicting the process:

To begin, we recommend creating an Course List component first. In that component, you'll create and select a specific Course List keyword. 

Next, you'll create a Course List page, and insert the Course List component into the page. This associates the Course List page with the keyword you selected in the Course List component. 

Then, you'll create the courses that you want to appear on the page. You will need to create each course individually using separate Course components. In each course component, under the metadata tab, you'll select the same Course List keyword that you selected in the Course List component. This is how the course is linked to the page, and how the system knows which page to display the courses on, once they are published.

When ready, publish the page and course components you've created. 

Tip: The setup described on this page shows how to associate courses with one specific page, but you can select multiple Course List keywords within the Course component. By doing so, you can reuse the same course component on multiple pages, as long as each Course List keyword has its own Course List page that has been created and published.

Create a Headline and Introduction for the Page

The first thing to build for an Course List page is a General Content component with the headline and introductory text, highlighted in red below. Below are the steps for creating this component:

1. In the 020 section, navigate to the folder where you want the components for the Course List page to reside.
2. Create a new component and complete the following fields:
   1. Name: enter a name for the component here
   2. Schema: select General Content
   3. Title: enter the headline for your Course List page here. 
   4. Content: enter the introductory text that will go at the top of your page. This is a rich-text field, so you can add other elements like images, links, etc.

Create the Course List component

Below are the fields that make up a Course List component, and tips for completing them:

1. Name: enter a name for your file
2. Schema: select Course List
   
3. Course List: select the Course List keyword. You can only select one keyword, because this is the keyword that you will use to associate individual courses with the page that this Course List component is inserted into.
   
   If your Course List keyword has already been created, then you can select it from the drop-down menu. If you need to create a new Course List keyword, click the green plus icon . This will open a pop-up window where you can create a new keyword. After saving and closing the new keyword, it will appear in the drop-down list for this field and you will be able to select it. 
4. Functions: check the box for each item that you want to display on your Course List page:
   1. Audience Filter: if selected, an Audience column will appear on the right side of the Course List page. When a user clicks on an entry in this column, they will see only the courses intended for that audience.
   2. Delivery Method Filter: if selected, a Delivery Method column will appear on the right side of the Course List page. Users can click an entry to see just the courses that are in a classroom, offered online, as a webinar, etc.
   3. Leadership Competency Filter: if selected, a Leadership Competency column will appear on the right side of the Course List page. Similar to the columns above, users can click on an entry to see only published courses that build that competency.
   4. Skill Topic Filter: if selected, a Skill Topic column will appear on the right side of the Course List page. Similar to the columns above, users can click on an entry to see only published courses that build that skill.
   5. Page Navigation: this generates the page navigation that appears at the bottom of a list of courses. Generally, we recommend enabling this feature. 
   6. Search: if selected, a search box will appear at the top of the right column on the Course List page. This allows users to search within the course list. 
5. Items per page: select the number of courses to appear on the page. The options are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, and 100.

If you have further questions about how these fields render on the page, please refer to the Course List component page, which includes component template examples.

Create the Course List page

1. In the 050 section, navigate to (or create) the structure group where the Course List page will reside.
2. Create a new page.
3. Fill in the Name, File Name, Page Display Name, Dublin Core Title, and Dublin Core Description fields.
4. For the Page Template field, uncheck "Inherit from Parent." Then, in the drop-down menu for the field, select Course List.
5. Click the Design tab.
6. Click the Add button:
   1. Navigate to the General Content component you created in step 1, select it, apply the Page Introduction component template, and insert it into the page.
   2. Navigate to the Course List component you created in step 2, select it and apply the Course List component templates.
7. Close the Insert Component Presentation pop-up window.
8. Save and Close your Course List page.

Publish the Course List Page

When you've completed all the steps above, then all you need to do next is publish your Course List page.

Navigate to the Course List page you built in step 3, right-click on it and select Publishing > Publish.

Select the site you wish to publish to and click Publish. This will send the Course List page to the publishing queue. 

We also recommend republishing the navigation at this point, so that it picks up the new page.

Create a folder for Course components

1. In the 020 section, navigate to the folder where your Course List component (created in step 2) resides.
2. In that folder, create a new sub-folder with the following settings:
   1. Name: we recommend something like "Courses"
   2. Linked Schema: Course
3. Save and Close the new folder.

Create Course components

In the folder that you created in step 5, now you will create Course components to populate your Course List page. Create one or more Course components using the following instructions:

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 above.) 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 a course 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.

For more information about how the fields in a Course component render on Course List pages, please refer to the Course component information page.

Publish Course components

When you've completed all the steps above, then all you need to do next is publish your Courses. 

In the 050 section, navigate to the Course components you built in step 6, right-click on one (or more) and select Publishing > Publish.

Select the site you wish to publish to and click Publish. This will send the Courses to the publishing queue.

Once your courses have published, they will appear on the Course List page you created and published in steps 3 and 4.