Feature differences between Cascade PAWS channels and Cascade websites
Most PAWS channels and most USask websites are created using Cascade. You will have access to many of the features you have for regular Cascade websites but not all.
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Features not available in PAWS
Some of the features notavailable in PAWS are:
Adding videos
Adding Jumbotrons
Sidebars or navigation menus
Forms
Article pages (you can’t add article pages but you can pull in an article feed that was created in a regular Cascade website)
Content considerations
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Avoid duplicating info that exists somewhere else
If the content already exists online link to it directly. Check related websites, including PAWS channels and the KnowledgeBase.
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Keep everything brief
Users will be very task oriented and this channel is a resource you want users to come to again and again so it is a better user experience if they can get to what they need without unnecessary text. For example, a welcome message is not needed.
Remember, many users will be on their phone with a much smaller viewport so less text that can be easily scanned is especially important.
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Do not add sensitive and personal content
Sensitive and personal content should not be added to PAWS channels created in Cascade. This channel won't be completely secure in the sense that although users sign into PAWS the content can be publicly accessed if a person knew how to.
Request IT Support if you need to learn about other options to add information to PAWS securely.
Including personal information in particular would be a violation of USask's Data Management Policy.
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Review content on a mobile device
Half your audience will be accessing this content on a mobile device. You will want to make sure everything looks as expected.
It is also a good way to see opportunities to improve headings or to cut sentences to make your page more scannable.
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Image use guidelines
Images can cause performance issues, so it is recommended you do not use images in your channel.
Linking to another PAWS channel: Use the channel’s gonameas the external link.
Linking to pages or files outside of PAWS: Insert link for external page or file.
Link targets: Do not add a specific target to links. Links in paws channels will open within paws or in a new window automatically depending on the type of link.
Content specific to it agents
Linking to specific environments: When linking to tools and apps that have dev, test, or training environment always use the production link. Let the Web Services team know what the URLs are for the other environment and we ensure that they are used where appropriate
.Link targets: Do not add a specific target to links. Links in paws channels will open within paws or in a new window automatically depending on the type of link
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Publishing and testing
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Publishing and unpublishing
You will have to select the Destination/s when publishing your file.
To publish to test environment - publish to _beaker.
To publish to live site - publish to _paws.
There may be a 15-30 min delay for changes to show up.
Make sure you do a hard refresh to view changes (Ctrl F5).
Or if you need to share content with someone who does not have access to Beaker you can use this URL: https://wcmschannelstest.usask.ca/channel-folder-name Replace channel-folder-name with the name of your channel’s folder in Cascade (this may or may not be the same as your goname)
Remember, many users will be on their phone with a much smaller viewport so less text that can be easily scanned is especially important.