Matrix CMS - Understanding the User Interface

The toolbar refers to the main product toolbar that is at the top of your screen when you are logged into Matrix CMS. It spans the entire width of the screen. The toolbar is mainly used by system administrators and can largely be ignored by content editors. 

The toolbar provides access to the following functions:

• View the name of your Content Management system.
• Search for content using the system-wide search.
• Access product documentation and other resources through the Help menu.
• Customize your user account through the My account menu.

Screen Header

The Screen Header sits directly below the toolbar, and it spans the entire width of the screen. The screen header contains a collection of common content editing actions.

From the screen header, you can access the following functions:

• View information about the current asset by clicking the asset name, which displays between the binoculars (search) icon and the eye (preview) icon. 
• Navigate through asset pages by selecting the page names that display between the eye (preview) icon and the asset status icon.
  • You can select the ellipsis to see additional screens.
• The asset status indicator that displays between the asset page names and the edit button.
  • The status indicator can be selected by system admins and content editors to change the status of the asset.
• The edit button for the asset, which allows you to edit the asset and puts a 10 minute lock on the asset.
  • The edit button will only display on assets to which you have system admin or content editor access.

Asset Tree

The Asset Tree displays within the left navigation pane of Matrix CMS. The asset tree is a list of all the assets that exist in Matrix CMS, such as websites, webpages, folders, files, etc.

For content editors, the basic structure of the asset tree is as follows:

• Trash
• Sites 
  • Websites
    • Global Configuration
    • Global Resources
    • PROD - website1.uillinois.edu
      • website1.uillinois.edu
        • Webpage One
        • Webpage Two
        • Etc.
      • Site Management
      • Site Configuration
    • PROD - website2.uillinois.edu
    • Etc.

Folders and files with "Configuration" or "Management" in the title are only accessible to system admins. Access for content editors is provisioned at the website or webpage level, and editors may have access to many sites and pages.

To open an asset in the Main Panel, locate it within the asset tree, right click the asset, and then select Details.

Main Panel

The main panel is the area that lets you view and edit the various screens of an asset. It takes up the majority of the screen when you are logged into Matrix CMS.