Drupal FAQ's

  • How to log in to your Drupal site
    • Go to the site in question, and add "/user" to the URL. It should look like this: https://yoursitename.santarosa.edu/user
    • Enter in your JC credentials
      • Your user name is not your email address. It looks like jdoe rather than jdoe@santarosa.edu.
      • Your password is the same one you use for Outlook, the IDP, Canvas, etc.
      • If you are having trouble with your password, go to this page.
      • If you are not able to log in, and you are sure that your credentials are correct, it is likely that you have not been added as a user to the site. Make sure you have permission to be a site user by contacting the site admin, and then they, or you, can request that the Web Team add you as a user.
  • How to add a basic page in Drupal
    • Log into your site
    • In the upper left administrative strip, click on "Content" and choose "Add content", then choose "Basic page".
    • Give your page a meaningful title - but not too long.
    • In the "Body" section, add your content. Play with the different icons in the toolbar to see what they do.
    • If you want your page to appear in the navigation for the site, go to "Menu settings" in the right sidebar and check "Provide a menu link"
    • If you want to keep working on your page, you can keep it in draft form by unchecking "Publish" at the bottom left of the page. Only people who are logged in will be able to see that page, and it will appear with a pink background rimmed by a dotted border.
    • When you are ready to publish your page, click "Publish".
  • How to make a link open up in a new tab
    • Add your link in the usual way:
      Log into your site and in editor mode, put in your link language (see the 3 minute video "Creating Links and Email Links" for instructions)
    • Once you have your link in, go into "source" in the second row of the editing tools
    • Hit control f (command f on a Mac) and type in a word or two from the link you just created. This will help you to find the right link on a page with a lot of content in it.
    • Your link will look like this:
      <a href="link-address"> More info about links</a>
    • You will add in the bold text to open in the new tab:
      <a href="link-address" target="_blank"More info about links</a>
    • Save the page
  • How do I put a form on my site?
    • If you are creating a basic form and not requesting sensitive information (like SIDs or SSNs) or requiring that documents be uploaded via the form, you can use the Drupal Forms in your site ("webforms" under the "Structure" tab). If you are new to webforms, the Web Team can help you get started.
    • If you will be collecting sensitive information (like Student ID's) or collecting uploaded documents, request a Formstack account.
  • Why can't I see the changes I made to my site?

    You may not see changes thanks to browser cacheing, which is the process of storing data in a cache (a temporary storage area). Your browser stores the content you've recently looked at to save you time and the network from additional traffic. Here's what you can do:

    • When logged into your site, in the top black administrative bar, 4th item from the left, you will see "Rebuild Cache". Click to clear your Drupal cache.
    • Sometimes, you don't need to see the change, you just need to know it's there. If you are still seeing the old content after clearing Drupal cache, look in:
      • A different browser you haven't used in a while
      • An incognito window (Chrome) or private window (Firefox)
      • You can ask someone else to look on their browser
    • Get in touch with the Web Team and we will clear cache on the server for you
  • I am completely new to this - how do I get started?
  • I consider myself an intermediate Drupal user. What tools are available to me?

    The "Kitchen Sink" in your site (under the "content" tab) has the code for lots of cool features and web components.

    There are many great training videos on this page

  • How can I make my site look better?

    Contact the Web Team - we are here to help