Fieldtool Help Desk

Contents

• Getting started
• Desk
• Menu Focus
• Find & Recover
• My Website Pages
• Open a page in the editor
• Use the paper editor
• Add or change an image
• Captions, size, and position
• Feature boxes
• Links and splitboxes
• Portfolio and gallery work
• Check before publishing
• Testing checklist
• Report a problem

Getting started

After logging in, begin at the Desk. From there you can add notes, open collections, manage bookmarks, check art entries, and reach author or website-page records through Find & Recover.

Desk

The Desk is the main working page. Use it for quick notes, diary entries, editorial fragments, code reminders, and ideas you want to catch before they disappear.

Toolbar items and pinned items are for material you return to often. Pinned items stay visible so important work does not slip out of sight.

Menu Focus

Menu Focus lets you simplify the Fieldtool workspace when the Desk feels too full. It controls which optional working areas appear in the top menu and on the Desk surface.

1. Open Settings.
2. Find the Menu Focus section.
3. Tick the areas you want to keep visible.
4. Untick areas you do not need every day.
5. Save settings and return to the Desk.

This does not delete, archive, unpublish, or block anything. It only hides menu links and some Desk overview panels so the working room feels calmer.

• Collections controls the Collections menu link and Desk overview box.
• Bookmarks controls the Bookmarks menu link, Desk overview box, and Recent Bookmarks area.
• Art controls the Art menu link, Art side-menu section, Art overview box, and Art at a glance area.
• Author Desk controls the Author Desk top-menu link and author-page recovery links.
• Archive controls the Archive top-menu link and Fieldtool Storage Archive recovery link.

Desk, Settings, and Log out stay visible so you can always return and change your choices. Hidden areas can be switched back on at any time from Settings.

Find & Recover

Find & Recover separates three kinds of saved or controlled material:

• My Website Pages: page ownership and control records for author or contributor website pages.
• My Publication Archive: published Author Desk items selected for public or master archive listing.
• Fieldtool Storage Archive: stored-away Desk, Art, Bookmark, and working material.

My Website Pages

My Website Pages lists the live or draft website pages attached to your author account. It is an ownership and control area, not a place for casually deleting public pages.

• Set as primary chooses the main public author page.
• Archive ownership record puts the control record aside without deleting the live page.
• Restore as draft brings an archived ownership record back into use.
• Tidy page records checks whether page records are clean and complete.
• Open Page Editor opens the page editor through Fieldtool’s protected handoff route.

The editor handoff is protected. It should open only a page/style pair attached to the logged-in author. Do not manually alter page numbers in the address bar.

Open a page in the editor

1. Open Author Desk.
2. Open My Website Pages.
3. Find the page you want to work on.
4. Use the page’s Open Page Editor button.
5. The page editor opens through a protected Fieldtool handoff.
6. Use Open Page Editor, Preview in Page Editor, and View Public Page to move between editing, preview, and the reader-facing page.

Use the paper editor

The paper icon opens the restored text-and-layout editor for an individual content item. This is the best place to work when you need the text, image controls, feature-box tools, splitbox tools, and return links close together.

1. Open the page in edit mode.
2. Click the paper icon beside the item you want to edit.
3. Edit the heading and main text in the large text area.
4. Click Update the Text.
5. Stay on the paper editor page and check the success message.
6. Use Preview in Page Editor or View Public Page to view the result.

The large text box saves directly inside the Fieldtool paper editor, so you can remain close to the image, feature-box, splitbox, and page-checking tools.

Add or change an image

1. Open the page in edit mode.
2. Click the paper icon for the item that should hold the image.
3. Use Change the Image to choose or upload the image path.
4. Use Use to attach the selected image to the content item.
5. Check the page in Preview in Page Editor.

Use clear JPG images where possible. Keep filenames tidy and avoid spaces or unusual symbols.

Captions, image size, and position

The paper editor and display-mode controls can manage image placement, percentage size, and caption text.

• Image position: left, right, centre, or other available placement option.
• Image size: use the percentage setting to make the image smaller or larger.
• Caption: add or edit the current image text.
• Caption colour: use the caption colour setting where available.

After changing image position or size, refresh the display page and check the text flow around the image.

Feature boxes

Feature boxes are special content blocks that can sit above or below a text item. They are useful for callouts, side notes, archive links, headings, notices, or grouped material.

1. Open the page in edit mode.
2. Use the feature-box arrow above or below the item.
3. Add the feature-box content.
4. Return to the edit page and check its position.
5. Open Preview in Page Editor to confirm it looks right.

Links and splitboxes

Links can be attached to a content item and placed at the top, bottom, left, or right where the editor allows it. Splitboxes are used when a page needs a small linked block or a cross-link to another page.

• Use Manage Links to add or update ordinary links.
• Check that external links open the intended destination.
• For The Linnet’s Wings page links, confirm the target page is public.
• If a link unexpectedly lands on the home page, the target page may still be switched off.

Portfolio and gallery work

Portfolio and gallery pages belong to the older Fieldtool/MCP tradition, but they are being renewed carefully. Use the current page editor for ordinary page text and image placement. Use gallery or portfolio tools only when the route has been checked and confirmed for the current website.

Some older gallery, image, and portfolio screens are still signposts rather than finished tools. When in doubt, use the restored page editor first and leave deeper gallery repair to the protected admin work.

Check before publishing

1. Read the heading carefully.
2. Check the first paragraph and final paragraph.
3. Check image position, image size, and caption.
4. Open every visible link.
5. Check feature boxes and splitboxes.
6. Use Preview in Page Editor first, then View Public Page.
7. Confirm the page is meant to be public before switching it on.

Suggested testing checklist

1. Log in and log out.
2. Create a Desk entry.
3. Create a collection.
4. Add and edit a bookmark.
5. Open Art.
6. Open Find & Recover.
7. Use Settings > Menu Focus to hide and restore one optional menu area.
8. Open My Website Pages.
9. Open a page through the protected editor handoff.
10. Edit text through the paper editor.
11. Change or place an image.
12. Add or check a feature box.
13. Open Preview in Page Editor and View Public Page.
14. Report anything confusing or broken.

How to report a problem

Use this simple format:

• Page: where you were
• Device: laptop, phone, tablet, and browser if known
• What I tried to do: the action you took
• What happened instead: what went wrong
• Was it repeatable? yes or no
• Extra notes or screenshot: anything useful

Small technical note for future maintainers

If Fieldtool is moved between domains or folders, use helper functions such as fieldtool_url('bookmarks.php') rather than hard-coded full URLs. That keeps the app easier to move, test, and mirror.