If you are a FirstMagic Owner, you have the root containers of your website [or sites] on your Desktop.
FirstMagic "owner" do not refer to the owner of the site, but to a set of credentials - it is a Privilege Group named "Owner", that, among other things, allows a member to edit FirstMagic websites. If you belong to this group, you will be able to edit any FirstMagic site you have on your desktop.
To get started with your site, click the root container. It will open up the Website Root.
THE SITE ROOT
This container is public. Everything inside is potentially visible to the entire world.
In other words, don´t place materials here you would not want to see in a newspaper. It is possible to password-protect stuff, but nothing is protected by default.
Never re-name [or delete] anything in your Website Root: it may cause your site to stop working. It is also unnecessary - all objects have a Subject Field, and what you write there will override the Name - it becomes the visible title on the web.
Webmail
If you have forms on your website, any responses will arrive here. Everything from the Contact Form to blog comments - any form you choose to publish - is addressed to this container.
Menu
This is your website´s Top Menu. Documents, Calendars, Blogs, Gallery Layouts, Tile Layouts, Tab Layouts and PodCast Layouts you create here is published as Menu Items. FirstClass containers and FirstMagic Listing Layouts becomes drop-down sub-menus. The Search Widget will integrate itself into the Menu, but all other Widgets you create here will float above it and align themselves with the Website Logo.
The Menu is not always active: you can turn it on/off in Setup / Preferences. This will also turn any Widgets inside it on/off.
Home Page
This is the website´s actual index file: it serves the same function as index.html would in a static website. The Homepage Website Mode also uses it for publishing - you can use it as any other document, and it works the same way the regular webpage template does.
Portal
The Main Publishing Container of the site. Depending on which Website Mode you use, it will work in different ways:
- Homepage Mode -> Default: The Portal is not linked up anywhere, and will behave like a blog. You can make a link to it in the Home Page document, or make a FirstClass Bookmark for it in the Menu or Sidebar - or not use it at all, by placing your content in the Menu or Sidebar instead.
- Homepage Mode -> Login: Project Layouts in the Portal that you are subscribed to replaces the Home Page if logged in.
- Homepage Mode -> Splash Screen: The Portal will behave like a blog, using the Home Page document as an introduction page.
- Blog Mode: The Portal is the Website´s homepage, and will be rendered as a blog: only FirstClass documents, Conference messages, webpages, podcasts and videos will be rendered.
- Blog Mode -> Condensed: Like above, exept that only the first paragraph of each document will be rendered, with links to Read More.
- Tiles: Everything in the Portal container is rendered in a grid, each object as a tile with a preview of what´s inside it.
- A note on the Portal container v.s. FirstMagic Pro: If the site is Pro Licensed, the Portal will also work as a root directory for independent sub-websites. Sub-websites work the same way as Project Layouts when the site is in Homepage -> Login Mode [they can be subscribed to Personal Homepages], exept that they retain their functionality as independent sites also.
Sidebar
This is your website´s Sidebar - fill it with webpages, podcasts, videos, widgets, calendars, uploaded files, FirstClass containers and FirstMagic Listing Layouts.
- All document types will be rendered here in their entirety: web pages will output their contents, and podcasts and videos are playable without having to navigate to them.
- FirstClass containers and FirstMagic Layouts will be rendered as menus, listing links to everything inside.
- Calendars will appear with previews of the current month and the current date.
- Uploaded files will appear as icons with short descriptions [using their subject fields].
- Widgets have their own Sidebar modes, and will fit in nicely with other content types.
The Sidebar is not always active: you can turn it on/off in Setup - in the SkinDesigner panel. If it is inactive, the content area fills the entire width of the page.
SiteFooter
The Website Footer: fill it with Widgets, FirstClass documents and webpages. Widgets will arrange themselves below the Content Area of the page, while FirstClass documents and FirstMagic webpages becomes links in the Footer - flowing in after the Home/Top/Sitemap links there.
SITE ROOT TOOLBAR ITEMS [Hidden in FCWS]
Setup The configuration form for your website: it controls all aspects of it´s visual appearance and functionality. If you use FCWS, you can access this as a Preferences Panel by logging into the website with a web browser.
Library Contains configuration files, HTML includes, images and other objects used by the system. It is visible in the FirstClass Client Toolbar, and if you use FCWS, you can upload files to it with your browser by logging into the Preferences Panel on the website itself.
robots.txt Instructions to Search Engines and other spiders on how to treat your website. It is preconfigured to invite indexing of publishing containers, but leave system files and other internal stuff alone [indexing system files in Google would pollute your search presence with lots of meaningless data]. Do not edit this file unless you are familiar with what it can do: it can affect your Google presence in a serious way. |
Important notice:
Never change the name of any root container object, and
never change a FirstMagic object´s Icon. Doing so will cause
problems for your website. It is also unecessary - the icon is never
visible on the web, and if you fill in the subject field
of any object, it will override the name when
viewed on the web.
