How to add documents, folders, images and other types of content to a site.

Adding content to a Plone site is a simple process. In order to add content, you must be logged in to the site and you can only add content in the parts of the site where you are allowed to (this is called having permission). As a site member, by default you will have permission to add content to your member folder, so this is a good place to practice.

To begin, make sure you are logged in to the site. Then, navigate to your member folder by clicking on "my folder" in the personal links bar in the upper right-hand corner of the page. (Note that on plone.org, member folders are turned off!)

Your folder will open in "contents view". This means you will see all of the items inside your folder. If you haven't added anything to your folder yet, the only item that will be in your folder is a document called "Member's home page" (where Member is your username).

Above the document list there is a drop-down list which allows you to add new types of content, including documents, events, files, folders, images, news items, etc.

All types of content will have a name, a title and a description. The name becomes part of the item's web address, and should be written in all lowercase letters with no spaces. The title will appear in the navigation structure and at the top of the page. The description should provide a brief summary of the object and will appear beneath the title.

There are many different types of content available in a Plone site. Probably the easiest way to learn about them is to play with them. In the meantime, here's a brief description of the ones you will use most commonly:

• A Document is simply a web page. You can write document content in HTML, plain text, or StructuredText.
• An Event is something to be added to the calendar, such as a meeting, an appointment, or a social event.
• A File is an external document type, such as a word document or a pdf file. You can add just about any type of file to a Plone site. When users navigate to your file object, they will be able to download the document you uploaded.
• A Folder is a place to store other objects. For instance, you might create a folder within your members folder where you keep images.
• A News Item is a special type of document that becomes visible on the "News" tab. This type of object should be used for announcements and things like that.