Slideshows

We've introduced two new page types that create slideshows using the images you've associated with the page.

1. The page type "Image Slideshow" creates a slideshow that plays automatically. See the Image Slideshow in action.
2. The page type "Image Slideshow Manual" creates a slideshow that can be advanced manually by clicking the forward or backward arrows. See the Image Slideshow Manual.

Enhancements to Reason Forms

Reason's form-building tool has several new features:

• Autofilling of fields. If you use one of the Autofill options, the form will automatically fill in personal information for the person submitting the form. The special field names that can be autofilled are:
  • "Your Full Name"
  • "Your Name"
  • "Your First Name"
  • "Your Last Name"
  • "Your Department"
  • "Your Email"
  • "Your Home Phone"
  • "Your Work Phone"
  • "Your Title".
  NOTE: The Autofill option requires that the user be logged in.
• Displaying submitted data on the Thank You page. Your site visitors see a Thank You page after submitting a form. To have that page display a copy of the data they submitted, simply say "Yes" to the field called "Show Submitted Data." Reason will automatically place this information below your Thank You text.
  • We recommend using this feature for any form where the submitter may wish to print a copy for their records.
• Saving form data to a database. Previously, all Reason forms emailed the form results to one or more recipients specified by the person creating the form. Now you can also elect to have your form data save to a database--which you can view online or export to a spreadsheet.

Random Blurbs & Images

A new page type, "Random Blurb And Sidebar Image," can help keep your home page--or any page--looking fresh. The page will pick one blurb and three images at random from those you've associated with the page. See it in action on the Dean of the College site (refresh to see the blurb and images change).

Site Statistics

Have you ever wondered how many people visit your site, or which pages they view most? That information is at your fingertips. When editing your site, go to your Site Tools menu and click on Statistics.

Image and Asset Sorting

As a Reason user, you already know that you can associate images and/or assets (documents) with your pages to have these items appear in the right sidebar (or other location, if we've helped you create a special page type). But have you noticed that you can now sort those items into the order you prefer?

To use the sort feature, first associate images or assets with the page as you normally do in Reason. Then simply use the up or down arrows to change the order.

Profiles

The new Profiles feature allows users to create an online profile by filling out a questionnaire and uploading a photo--with no Reason access required. Behind the scenes, you control which group(s) of Carleton people are permitted to fill it out. See Profiles in action on the Class of '82 Reunion Biobook.

Audio/Video and Podcasting

Reason offers an easy way to publish audio, video, and flash media. Each site with media automatically also gets a podcast.

A podcast is a simple way for people to subscribe to your media content. Once they have subscribed, new media files you add to your site are automatically downloaded to their media player software (like iTunes) and they can then listen to or watch these files at their leisure.

Examples on Carleton sites:

• CareerCasts on the Career Center site.
• Convocation audio/video on the News site.
• Video from the Katrina Symposium

Blogs

Reason blogs allow you not only to post news/features on your site in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest), but also invite others to comment on the posts. You can control who's allowed to post and/or comment:

• The whole world
• Only Carleton people
• A subset of Carleton people (faculty/staff, alumni, students, etc.)
• Only the specific person(s) you choose

See some Reason blogs in action here:

• Knights Athletic Blog
• Shout Student Web Magazine
• Economics in Cambridge

And More Coming Soon...

Upcoming enhancements to Reason include:

• New content editing features. You'll enjoy new and improved features for placing photos, creating links, highlighting text, and more.
• New publications module. Whether you need to publish news stories, blogs, issued newsletters or any combination of the above, the new publications module will give you more options and flexibility than ever before.
• Events calendar/NNB integration. Events added to the campus events calendar will automatically be submitted to the NNB.