Introduction
With these videos you will learn how to maintain and edit the content of your TYPO3 website. We use TYPO3 version 9 LTS. The instructions can also be used for TYPO3 version 10.4. The operation is practically identical for both versions.
For older TYPO3 versions, the video course is available at the following links:
Version 8.7Version 7.6,Version 6.2 and Version 6.0 and 4.7
Please note: a "standard" installation is used as far as possible in the videos. However, as TYPO3 can be configured very flexibly, it is possible that not all or other input fields than those shown in the videos are available in your TYPO3 website.
Important basic terms from the TYPO3 world
The most important basic terms (text instructions)
First, we'll explain the basics of TYPO3. What is TYPO3 and what terms should you know when working with TYPO3?
TYPO3 is a so-called CMS. CMS in turn stands for content management system and this in turn is software for maintaining the content of a website.
This means that you can use TYPO3 like any other program, such as an e-mail program or a word processor. Of course, you then have to log in with your access data. You can then maintain the content of your website, write texts and upload images without having to worry about the programming or the technology behind it.
TYPO3 is a so-called Open Source CMS. Open source means open source, i.e. the TYPO3 programming code is publicly available and can be used and modified by anyone. The special thing about open source: there are no license fees for use.
TYPO3 is free, you can simply download and install it. Costs may be incurred if you commission someone to implement a website with TYPO3 or to maintain the system.
TYPO3 basics
The backend is the administration interface of TYPO3. This is the area where you log in with your access data. This is where you can maintain the content of the website. You can write texts, upload images, create pages and much more.
The frontend, on the other hand, is the actual website that can be accessed by the public. When a visitor types your domain into their web browser, they land on the frontend of the website.
Roles in TYPO3: Everyone who works with TYPO3 has a certain role. In general, there are backend users, i.e. people who have access to the administration interface. These backend users are each assigned to a group. This would be the administrator, for example, who manages and configures the entire system. They can create other users or user groups, assign them rights and much more. This is the highest instance when it comes to maintaining the TYPO3 system.
Another role is the integrator (often the same person as the administrator). The integrator implements a website with TYPO3. A fresh TYPO3 installation is initially an empty system without content. Without pages, without design, i.e. without a frontend. The integrator is the person who creates a functioning, dynamic website from this empty TYPO3. He can, for example, install extensions, which are small modules that extend the functional scope of TYPO3.
The editor is also a backend user, but with limited rights. They cannot configure the system or install extensions. The editor is responsible for managing the content of the site. He (or she) writes texts, creates pages, uploads images or videos and integrates them into the pages. The work of an editor is the topic of this video series.
Then there is the developer, a programmer who works on the TYPO3 system and improves it. They also create extensions for TYPO3, which are additional modules that extend the range of functions.
When working with TYPO3, the editor also works with media files. These are images,videos, audio or PDF files. In TYPO3, media can be imported in many formats directly, without conversion. For images, the file formats JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, AI (Adobe Illustrator) and even the old BMP format are supported.
Videos can also be used directly in various formats. MP4 is the most common format, but there are also OGG and WEBM. Videos from YouTube or Vimeo can also be integrated directly into a page. This saves storage space on your own server and offers the visitor the best result on the respective end device (cell phone, computer, tablet).
Audio files can be integrated using the MP3 format. MP3 is widely used and delivers small files with good quality. A small player, i.e. a playback area, is then displayed on the website with which the audio file can be listened to directly on the website. Podcasts are an application example.
Login to the TYPO3 backend (text instructions)
To access the TYPO3 backend, add a slash and the word 'typo3' to the domain name (e.g. www.name-der-domain.de) in the address line of the browser (i.e. www. name-der-domain.de/typo3). After accessing the address, you will now be taken to the TYPO3 login screen. On the login screen, the logo, colors and background image may differ and can be customized.
Here you log in with your user name and password, which are case-sensitive. After logging in, you will be taken to the TYPO3 backend view.
If an error message appears when logging in, you should first check the access data and contact the site administrator if necessary.
Overview of the backend (text instructions)
In this video, we take a look at the different areas in the backend. We will talk about the individual areas in more detail in the course of this video course, but for now let's get a rough overview.
Immediately after logging in, we land on this page here. At the top left we see the TYPO3 version used, at the time of recording version 9.5.8. In the main window we see an overview of TYPO3 with explanations of the individual modules.
An important note: the view always adapts to the user's rights. It may be that your TYPO3 backend looks a little different from what we see here. The rights for the users can be configured in great detail. The view also depends on the extensions that are installed in TYPO3. Extensions are modules or plugins that extend the functionality of TYPO3, some of which also have their own menu items in the left-hand column.
In this example, we see the News menu item, which comes from a TYPO3 extension called News, which can be used to manage the latest news. This entry is not available in a standard TYPO3 installation, as it is an additional function.
The page you usually land on after logging in (this is also adjustable) can be called up at any time by clicking on the question mark at the top and then selecting "About TYPO3".
The website has four areas: a bar at the top, with a button on the far left that can be used to hide the menu on the left. By default, the menu with icons and description is active. But if you are working on a tablet and have little space available or on a notebook with a small screen, it is helpful to simply collapse the menu to have more space.
This button next to it is used to switch the page tree on and off. It can be temporarily hidden to create more space on the desktop.
At the top left you will find the name of the website, which is now TYPO3 9 LTS sample project. If you are not working with our sample template, you will see something else here. . We also see the version number here, in the example TYPO3 9.5.8.
There are some icons at the top right, where you can set bookmarks, for example. You can use bookmarks to save pages or content that you often need to edit and access them directly later.
You can clear the so-called front-end cache via the lightning bolt symbol. There is a separate video on this in this course. Another button in our sample template is the so-called action, which can be set up by the administrator. These are special commands to create a new news article, as shown here. Normally, this would require several clicks in the backend. With an action, this can be achieved with one click.
In the bar at the top you can see the current user name and the so-called avatar. This is a neutral image by default, but you can also replace it with a photo. If you click on the user name, a menu appears. You can log out of the backend or call up the user settings. There is a separate video for the settings.
At the top right there is a search function for the backend, here you can search for pages or content, more on this in a separate video.
The menu area is located on the left-hand side. Here there are so-called modules in which you can work in TYPO3. For example, if you go to the page module (where you can edit pages and content), the display changes and the page tree appears. If you select a page by clicking on it, you will see the contents of the page and you can edit them.
The File list menu item allows you to manage, upload, delete and move files or create folders. There is also a separate video for this.
The page properties
Every page that is created within the TYPO3 website has certain "properties". For example, the title of the page can be changed here, as can the layout or whether a page is only published at a certain time.
Using a "standard page", you will get to know the most important properties of a page.
The page properties - Social Media
In the "Social Media" section of the page properties, you can enter information for Facebook and Twitter to optimize the title, description and image used. This has an effect when visitors share the page via these platforms.
In the background, so-called meta tags for Open Graph (Facebook) or TwitterCards are created, which are evaluated by the platforms.
URL segments and redirects
TYPO3 9 can now generate readable, search engine-friendly URLs out of the box, i.e. without additional extensions. As a rule, editors do not have to worry about this at all. If required, however, these so-called URL segments can be edited and adapted.
Another new feature is a backend module for configuring redirects. This is useful if, for example, the URL of a page changes, but you want to redirect visitors who call up the outdated URL to the new URL.
Create, move and copy directories
From the outset, you should make sure that files are organized in a sensible folder structure. Otherwise you could quickly lose track of things.
In the "File list" module, you can easily organize folders in different hierarchies, and folders can also be moved or copied along with their contents.
Working with the Rich Text Editor (RTE)
The so-called Rich Text Editor is the most important tool for publishing texts on a website. This RTE behaves in a very similar way to normal word processing programs. Texts can be formatted, links to other pages can be set and much more.
In this video we show some of the basic functions of the editor.
Content element "Insert data records"
Content elements that are to be used multiple times on a website do not have to be created multiple times. With the "Insert data records" content element, these content elements can be reused as links as often as required.
Huge advantage: if you change the original element, all links are automatically updated.
What are backend users and backend user groups?
As an editor, you usually work with limited rights to the TYPO3 system. This means that you see far fewer modules and have fewer options than the administrator, for example.
These access rights are controlled via so-called backend user groups. In this video, we take a look at what this is and how different authorizations can affect you.
The video is for information purposes only, as an editor you cannot normally change the configuration yourself.
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