Resource Collections
Users logged in as Admin, Editor, Marketeer, Project Creator, or a Reader with Editor Permissions can create new and modify existing Resource Collections by selecting a Project Thumbnail in the backend and choosing Resource Collections from its sidebar.
What are Resource Collections?
Resource Collections are manually curated groupings of Resources that can be configured to appear in the Resources Content Block on a Project’s landing page and which can be placed as annotations on Texts in the Reader. Resource Collections are also alloted a library page of their own within the project.
https://{domain-name}/projects/{project-slug}/resource-collection/{collection-slug}
Interface Overview
Like many backend views, the Resource Collection interface is composed of a header, sidebar, editing pane, and in primary views a search bar.
Header
The header for the Resource Collections view is the same as for all other Project-level Sidebar items, denoting the title and subtitle of the Project along with buttons to Preview or Delete it.
When individual Resource Collections records are accessed, the header adjusts to the context, changing the functionality of those buttons: Preview opens the Resource Collection’s library page, instead of the Project homepage, and Delete removes the specific Resource Collection from the system, versus deleting the entire Project.
Sidebar
The Sidebar’s Resource Collection menu opens a view where new Resource Collections can be added to the Project and existing Resource Collections can be searched through and sorted in a paginated list. When an individual Resource Collection record is accessed, the Sidebar will display new options specific to that Resource Collection, described fully in Settings and Fields below.
Editing Pane
The Resource Collections’ editing pane is made up of a search bar followed by a button to create a new Resource Collections, labeled Add a New Collection, which is followed by a list of the Project’s existing Resource Collections.
Each Resource Collection listing includes their title, the number of Resources in the Collection, and the date the Resource Collection was created.
Search
The search bar returns results for Collection titles, not individual Resources within them. It accepts keyword searches only and no search operators. Results are displayed below in the Resource Collection list. Within the search bar are two buttons: Reset and Options. The Reset button clears the search bar and resets the returned listings. The Options button brings up a sorting dropdown to order the search results alphabetically.
Creating Resource Collections
The Add a New Collection button changes the view, bringing up the New Collection page, where Resources Collections are created. This creation page contains three fields: Title, Description, and Cover Image. The only field required to create the Collection is Title, and all fields on this page can be modified after the Collection is created.
The Settings and Fields section below describes these and all the other fields pertaining to Resource Collections.
Settings and Fields
Each Resource Collection has its own discrete settings that are configurable and which can be accessed when you select a Collection from the Editing Pane. Doing so transforms the view, alters the functionality in the header (see Interface), and makes available a Resource-specific sidebar with the following options.
Properties
The Properties sidebar allows you to modify the Collection’s Title, Description, Slug and Cover Image.
Title
This is the display name of the Resource Collection. It appears under the Resource Collection thumbnail in the left margin of the Reader when the Resource Collection is placed as a Text annotation, in the Resource Collection modal window in the Reader, in the Resource Collection library and detail pages, and in the Resources Content Block.
The value in this field is also baked into the metadata that Manifold shares with other systems, crawlers, and social media platforms.
This field does not accept Markdown formatting.
Description
This is a Markdown-enabled field meant to capture an account of the Resource Collection. The description is rendered on the Resource Collection’s library page and in a Manifold Reader modal when the Collection is placed as annotation on a Text.
The value in this field is also baked into the metadata that Manifold shares with other systems, crawlers, and social media platforms. If no description is entered, Manifold will instead share the copy from the Default Page Description (see Properties).
Slug
A Resource Collection slug appears as the final component of the the URL for its library page:
https://{domain-name}/projects/{project-slug}/resource-collection/{collection-slug}
If left blank, the system will automatically create a slug for each new Resource Collection based on its title.
Cover Image
Resource Collections are alloted a larger visual identity in the Resources Content Block than individual Resources. In that space, Resource Collections appear as rectangular thumbnails with a landscape orientation over individual Resources that display with square thumbnails.
When this field is left blank, Manifold will supply a generic graphic for Resource Collections.
Custom images can be dropped onto this field or selected using your device’s file system by clicking the Upload a File link.
Manifold shares Collection cover images with other systems, crawlers, and social media platforms.
| Dimensions | 9:4 ratio |
|---|---|
| Format | GIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG |
Resources
This view provides a means to search or manually paginate through a listing of all the Project’s Resources. Each listing includes the Resource’s title, kind, creation date, and a toggle that, when activated, brings the Resource into the Collection.
The search bar accepts keyword searches only and no search operators. Search results display beneath in the list. Within the search bar are two buttons: Reset and Options. The Reset button clears the search bar and resets all of the filters. The Options button brings up two search filters and a sorting field to order the results.
The search filters, Select a tag and Select a type, are dropdown fields that surface lists of tags or Resource types (e.g., Image, Video) that are associated with existing Resources in the Project. Only one listing from each dropdown filter can be selected at a time. These filters can be used in conjunction with a keyword search or without, thereby filtering all Project Resources by tag and/or type.
The Order Results dropdown has options to sort matching results alphabetically by title or by the order in which Resources were added to the Project.