Noticias Guidelines and Tips
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Fonts / Styles
Content
Images
Attachments
It is important that information distributed by City employees
be accurate and professional. The guidelines below are intended
to assist employees who use Noticias. These guidelines ensure that approvers
are approving content in a consistent manner, City-wide. Noticias approvers are responsible for ensuring that Website
standards, policies & procedures.
Since Noticias is a Domino application, the how-tos referenced
below will look familiar for Lotus Notes users. You may refer
to the Lotus Notes Help Menu for additional how-tos.
Fonts / Styles
Avoid excessive font styles and colors for the following reasons:
- It may cause problems with how the page is rendered in the browser .
- It may cause problems associated with readability and accessibility - it may violate our accessibility policy .
- It may cause the page to download more slowly
- Simple, consistent use of fonts is considered professional.
- Color is more effective when it is used sparingly.
- Everytime you use a new style in Noticias, it overrides the City's already established stylesheet. The centralized stylesheet controls the color and size of fonts and headers, how bullets and numbered lists are rendered, colors of visited and active links, etc.
Don't Underline text
Underlined text
implies a hyperlink.
Copying and Pasting from Word Means Text Must be Fixed in Order to Not Override the stylesheet
Because Noticias uses a "Rich Text
Field",
it means that when content is copied from a Word document to Noticias,
all formatting is maintained.
How Do I Remove Word Formatting?
Highlight
the text > go to "Text" > "Text Properties" > change
font to "Default
User Interface ", the size to "10", the color to black, and the style
to "Plain" (no
bold, italic, underline, etc.)
Content
Your content is the most important aspect of your message. It
is important that you communicate in a manner that is clear,
concise, & professional. See also: How Users Read on the Web 
Use Hyperlinks Often
Documents do not "stand alone" on the web. You should always link from the Noticias
entry to your department web page, another department's pages, or an external
organization for more information. See also: External
Link Policy
How Do I Create a Hyperlink?
Highlight the text you want
to hyperlink with your mouse (i.e. Water Conservation) > "Create" > "Hotspot" > "Link
Hotspot" > under
the first tab in the "Hotspot Resource Link" you will see "Type", "URL" > Right
below, in the "Value" field, type the url (website address) and you must
include the protocol (i.e. http://www.cabq.gov/waterconservation)
Example: Water Conservation
How do I Create an Email Link (mailto link)?
Highlight the email address you want to hyperlink with your mouse (e.g. webmaster@cabq.gov)) > "Create" > "Hotspot" > "Link Hotspot" > under the first tab in the "Hotspot Resource Link" you will see "Type", "URL" > Right below, in the "Value" field, type the mailto link as follows: mailto:name@domain.com (such as mailto:webmaster@cabq.gov)
Example: webmaster@cabq.gov
Write Descriptive Content in Complete Sentences
Don't make
the user click through to a page with a one sentence description,
or a page of half statements or bullets. Ask yourself: Does the
user have all the information necessary that encourages them to
attend this event? Can I provide more details to entice them? If the event is a meeting,
can I provide an agenda or other documentation? Can I provide a map or directions?
Create Simple and Descriptive Headers
Headers should be
short, concise and descriptive. Headlines which are excessively
long can create problems with how the browser displays the information.
Headers should be meaningful, not "clever."
Weak: "Attention City Employees"
Better: "New Sick Leave Policy for City Employees"
See also : How to Write
Headline, Page Titles & Subject Names
Check
Spelling, Grammar & Accuracy
Correct spelling, grammar, is important for a professional public relations
image.
Choose Your Audience Appropriately
The audience "City Employees" should only be used for news and events
that specifically pertain to City Employees. Likewise, the audience "Public" should
only be used for news and events that specifically pertain to the public.
Images
The web is a dynamic, interactive, visual medium. Images should always be a consideration for every Noticias entry. In order to publish images to the web, you need the following: A digital camera or still camera and scanner; and image editing software in order to edit your image and make it "web ready." (You may already have a graphic designer in your department who has knowledge of how to create web-ready images.) See also: Images Standard
How do I Add an Image?
"File" > "Import" > Select your image from where it is stored
on your computer > click "Import" button.
How do I Wrap Text Around an Image?
Right click on
your image > "Picture Properties" > Properties
box will appear on your screen > in the "Text Wrap" option under
the first tab, choose "Wrap,
float image left" from the pull down menu
Note: This action allows text to wrap around the image, instead of having the image on one line, and the text on the next line. It makes for more professional layout.
How do I Add Alternative Text for Images? (This is required
per the Accessibility Standard)
Right click on your image > "Picture
Properties" > Properties
box will appear on your screen > "Alternative Text" under the
first tab, write descriptive text of what the image is portraying
Attachments
How do I Attach a PDF? (i.e. meeting agenda or flyer)
"File" > "Attach" > Find the .pdf document on your computer > Click
the "Create" button