What is a compendium page?

The 'Compendium page' content type is part of the Compendium navigation structure.

The compendium arranges topics and sub-topics into columns. Compendium pages create the second and third columns of the compendium.

See a compendium page

Use a compendium page when you:

  • want to add or update links in the second and third columns of the compendium.

Don't use a compendium page:

  • if there isn't a compendium on your site
  • for pages that aren't included in the compendium.
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How to create a compendium page

Compendium pages can be created, edited and deleted by:

  • site coordinators.

The compendium needs to be added to your website before you can use the compendium page content type.

A compendium can have up to three columns (including up to four levels of the site structure).

Column 1

These are menu links which point to a location within the compendium. The ITS web team will create the top level of your compendium for you. On non-central sites you may be able to change the column-1 items yourself.

You will then need to use a combination of the menu and compendium pages to add second and third columns to the compendium.

Columns 2 and 3

In column 2 you can either:

  • link directly to a specific content page, or
  • create a link that opens the third column of the compendium to show further links. 

To link directly to a specific content page, edit the main menu.

To create a link that opens the third column of the compendium to show further links, you will need to create a compendium page:

  1. Hover over the Drupal 'Content' menu, then go to 'Add content' > 'Compendium page'.
  2. Enter a title – this will create the link in the second column.
  3. Under 'Link type', select whether you want to create a 'Link' (a single link direct to a specific content page) or a 'Link group' (which enables you to add an additional level of links in an expandable list).  
  4. Click the 'Add new link' button.
  5. Click 'Search', find the page you want to link to and select 'Insert link'. You can also manually enter the title and URL if needed (for example to link to a panel page).
  6. Use the 'Add another link' button to add more links or link groups to the third column of the compendium.
  7. Click the 'Save' button to add your links to the compendium.
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How to edit a compendium page

Follow these instructions to add, edit or remove a link in column 3.

Once you log in to your website:

  1. Click 'Content' on the black Drupal menu.
  2. Select 'Compendium page' from the 'Type' drop-down menu and then click the 'Apply' button.
  3. Locate the page in the list of results. You're looking for the compendium page with the same name as the column 2 link. You can also search by this name at step 2. Click 'edit' to make changes.
  4. Once you've made your changes, click 'Save'. If your site has a workflow process, you may need to change the moderation state to 'Published' or 'Ready to publish'.

Unfortunately, there is no way to preview changes to a compendium page.

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Best practice

  • Use relative paths for internal pages.
  • Use the 'Search' button when adding links to find the relative path for internal pages.
  • Use absolute paths for external pages.
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Related functionality

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Fields

Fill in all required fields and as many optional fields as possible to provide the best user experience.

Field name

Required field?

Notes

Title

Yes

Heading that displays in the second column of the compendium.

Description

No

Short summary that displays under the heading in the second column of the compendium. Keep to 1-2 short sentences at most.

Link type

Yes

Drop-down menu that lets you choose between a 'Link' or 'Link group'.

Link > Title

Yes

Name of the link – displays in the third column of the compendium.

Link > URL

Yes

URL of the link. Use the 'Search' button to find internal links.

Link > Description

No

Short description that displays under a link in the third column of the compendium.

Link group > Title

Yes

Name of the link group – displays in the third column of the compendium.

Link group > Description

No

Short description of the link group – displays under the title in the third column of the compendium.

Link group > Links > Title

Yes

Name of the link – displays in the third column of the compendium in an expandable list under the compendium page title.

Link group > Links > URL

Yes

URL of the link. Use the 'Search' button to find internal links.

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