Contents
About These Templates
How to Apply Templates to a New Content Topic How to Enable HTML Templates
Which Template Page to Use
How to Apply an HTML Template to a New Document Choosing Styles Within a Template
Setting Style Attributes for Headings With Icons Working with Images
Adding More Images to a Topic
When You Need to Change the Side Images are Aligned to
When You Need to Add Images to a Topic Without Any Images
Working With Tables
Adding and Removing Rows and Tables Creating New Tables
More Help with the HTML Editor Modifying the Styles
How to Get More Templates How to Delete Templates
HTML Templates Guide | April 2014
About These Templates
These templates are deployed with your Integrated Learning Platform, and are also available for download from Desire2Learn’s Community site.
We designed these templates to help you create visually satisfying course topics using premade topic types, such as Introduction, Welcome, Conclusion and more.
The templates should be easy to use without needing third-party file editors.
How to Apply Templates to a New Content Topic
How to Enable HTML Templates
It’s good practise to set a folder where your course will draw its templates from. This saves time from browsing to the same folder repeatedly.
1. Click Settings in the Content tool.
2. Select the Enable HTML Templates check box.
3. Click Change Path, then Shared Files, and select the template folder you want to use. You can preview the files by clicking the filename link instead of the radio button.
4. Click Select Path.
5. Click Save.
Which Template Page to Use
The template set comes with a number of purpose-built topic types. It’s up to you to decide which suits your needs, but here are some guidelines for them:
The image center, left and right files help you layout images in your files as per the file name. All images within that file will position images to the left, right or in the center.
The math topic already has an equation placed in it, and from that starting point your can edit the equation within the HTML Editor, or create additional equations.
The Templates Styles file has examples of all the different styles that are available across the template set.
How to Apply an HTML Template to a New Document
All existing HTML files in the folder (and sub-folders) are available as templates when you create new HTML documents.
1. In a module, click Create a File from the New button.
2. Select a Document Template from the drop-down list if you have a defined template directory, or click Browse for a Template if you do not have a defined template directory. You can search for templates located in other folders or on your computer.
3. Add content to your content file.
Note: Choosing a different template for subsequent topics won’t affect any pages you already created.
Choosing Styles Within a Template
Each template contains predefined styles. Select the one you want from the style selector in the HTML Editor.
Setting Style Attributes for Headings With Icons
Within each template there are some header styles that use different icons. To choose from among these, you need to change the style’s attributes:
Click the drop-down menu in the first icon group in the HTML Editor:
Click Insert Attributes, and type the style you want into the Class field.
The available headings are:
Icon Name Type this in Class field
Assessment Heading assessment
Icon Name Type this in Class field Information Heading information
Process Heading process
Reading Heading reading
Discussion Heading discussion
Working with Images
Several of the template files come with image placeholders. Inserting your own images is simple.
1. Begin by selecting Edit HTML from the context drop-down beside the topic’s title.
2. Once you can edit the topic, click the image.
3. Click the Insert Image icon.
4. Select the source for your image.
5. Click the Choose Destination button to save it to the folder you want.
Adding More Images to a Topic
If you need an additional image in a topic, and want it to align the same way as the first image (left, right, or center), you can click to select it (and the caption too). Click the Copy icon to copy it, then paste it where you want it to go. After you paste it, click the copy and you can replace it with a different image using the Insert Image icon.
When You Need to Change the Side Images are Aligned to
If you have an image on the left, but want another image on the right side, you can create a temporary topic using the Template Styles file and copy the image (and the caption too) with the alignment you want and paste it into the original topic.
When You Need to Add Images to a Topic Without Any Images
Create a temporary topic using the Template Styles file and copy the image (and the caption too) with the alignment you want and paste it into the original topic.
Working With Tables
Adding and Removing Rows and Tables
The templates come with tables, but you’ll probably need to add, or remove rows and columns.
Click the context menu for the Insert Table button and select the action you want to perform from the menu.
Creating New Tables
The easiest way to create a new table is to copy and paste the one that already exists in some templates.
Note: If the template file you’re working with doesn’t have a table in it, create a temporary topic using the Template Styles file. This file has all the styles available and is a handy way of copying anything missing from the template you’re working on.
If you use the Insert Table button to create a new table it won’t have the coloured header rows and columns that the original table had.
More Help with the HTML Editor
If you need additional information on how the HTML Editor functions, check Desire2Learn’s Resource Center: HTML Editor help.
Modifying the Styles
For advanced users, you can modify the CSS file or HTML files in the template directory to update the appearance, content or structure of your sample documents. For example, update <h1> to change the document title style.
To edit the CSS file, we recommend an application such as Notepad++, Kompozer, or DreamWeaver.
How to Get More Templates
Templates are available the private Desire2Learn Community in the Learning Object Repository (LOR). (You must be logged in.)
Use the Community Discussions tool to ask questions, make suggestions, or share other resources with others regarding the HTML templates. May I suggest the “Learning Tools” discussion topic since that is where the Content tool is discussed. Login required to engage in the Discussion Forums.
How to Delete Templates
If your template files are stored in your organization’s shared files area, we recommend you do not delete any of the template files.
If your template files are stored within your course’s file structure, you can delete them as you would with any other course files.
Known Issues
The template folder can't have more than one space in its name: e.g., a folder with two spaces "html template v1.0", the CSS style won’t render in the HTML editor.
Printing a topic from Learning Environment prints an extra blank page.
