Create & Manage Content

Content Types & Restrictions

Once you have created a page, you can use the Write, Upload, or Interact tools to add content to the page. Each page can hold up to 10 content items.

1. Write
   • Text tool: Add text to a page.
   • List tool: Add a list to a page.
2. Upload
   • File tool: Upload a file to a page for visitors to view or download.
   • Multimedia tool: Upload a multimedia file, such as an audio or video file, to a page for visitors to view or download.
   • Pictures tool: Upload pictures to a page.
3. Interact
   • Vote tool: Allow visitors to vote on a question or topic.
   • Message Board tool: Allow visitors to discuss a topic or leave messages.
   • Debate tool: Allow visitors to choose a position on a topic and explain why they support that position.
   • Ask Me tool: Allow visitors to ask you questions.
   • Brainstorm tool: Allow visitors to share ideas about a topic.

You use the same tools to create content on personal pages and project pages. However, there are two main differences between how the content is managed:

1. Editing & Deleting
   • Project pages: Any project member can create project content, and edit or delete content they have created themselves. In addition, Coaches and teacher members can edit or delete content created by other members; students can only edit or delete content created by other students if this option is selected by the Coach in the project settings. Students cannot edit or delete content created by Coaches or teacher members.
   • Personal pages: Only the owner of a personal page can create, edit, and delete content on that personal page (other ThinkQuest Projects members can contribute to interactive items, but cannot create any content themselves). The only exception is that teachers can delete inappropriate content created by their students.
   
   
2. Visibility
   • Project Pages: Content on a project page can be made visible to "All ThinkQuest Members" or "Members Only" (visible only to members of the project). Coaches and teacher members can make project content visible to all members; students can only make project content visible to all members if this option is selected by the Coach in the project settings.
   • Personal Pages: Content on a personal page can be made visible to "All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only" (visible only to the owner of the page).
   • Click here to learn how to change the visibility of content.

Write: Text

Use the Text tool to add text to a page. For example, you could add a short essay, story, article, or poem as text. Each text item holds up to 2,000 characters.

The Text tool includes formatting options that allow you to change the color, size, and layout of your text. These options work similarly to word processing software.



To create text:

1. Select Write at the top of the page, and click Text.
2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Enter your text. You can use the tools above the text box to change the color, increase or decrease the font size, add bullets, change the alignment, and so on.
4. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
5. Click the Save button.

To edit text:

1. Navigate to the text you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the text.
3. Make edits.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete text:

1. Navigate to the text you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the text.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Write: List

Use the List tool to add a list to a page. For example, you could create a list of resources you used for a page. You could also use the List tool to write numbered instructions. A list can include an unlimited number of items, and each item can be linked to another web page.

To create a list:

1. Select Write at the top of the page, and click List.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Select a color and format for your list.
4. For each item in the list, enter a title, description (optional), and link (optional).
5. If you want to add more items, click the Add Item to Top or Add Item to Bottom buttons.
6. If you want to change the order of the items, click the arrow buttons.
7. If you want to remove an item, click the Remove Item button under the item.
8. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
9. When you are satisfied with your list, click the Save button.

To edit a list:

1. Navigate to the list you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the list.
3. Make edits.
   • If you want to add more items, click "Add a new item" at the bottom of the page.
   • If you want to change the order of the items, click the "Move" arrows.
   • If you want to remove an item, click the "Remove Item" link under the item.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete a list:

1. Navigate to the list you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the list.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Upload: File

Use the File tool to upload a file from your local computer to a page. Visitors to your page can then view and download the file.

There is a 10 megabyte limit per file. The following filetypes are permitted:

• Simple text files (.txt and .rtf)
• Office documents, such as Microsoft Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), and Powerpoint (.ppt) files, as well as AppleWorks files
• Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf)
• Image files, such as Bitmap (.bmp), Graphics Interchange Format (.gif), and Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpeg and .jpg) files
• Audio files, such as MP3, WAVE (.wav), MPEG, and MIDI files
• Video files, such as Quicktime Movies, MPEG, and Video For Windows (.avi) files
• HTML and Javascript files
• Compressed files, such as .zip files

The following filetypes are not permitted as they can contain harmful programs:

• .exe
• .bat
• .scr
• .com
• .sit

Note for Apple Mac users: Apple OS files do not require a file extension. However, it is good practice to add an extension to files that you upload to ThinkQuest Projects; otherwise, members who do not use Apple computers may have trouble viewing your files. For example, if a file is named myphoto, you should rename it to myphoto.jpg before uploading.

To upload a file:

1. Select Upload at the top of the page, and click File.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Enter a description of the file (optional).
4. Click the Browse button (or Choose File button on Apple computers) and browse to the file on your computer.

5. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
6. Click the Upload button.
7. A pop-up window will appear while your file is uploading. If your file does not finish uploading after several minutes, your internet connection may be too slow to upload the file properly.

To view or download a file:

1. Navigate to the file you want to download, and click the Download File button.
2. The file will open in the browser window or in another program (such as Adobe Acrobat Reader), or you may be given the option to save the file to your computer, depending on the filetype and the software you have installed on your computer.
3. Save the file to your computer, if you wish.

To delete a file:

1. Navigate to the file you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the file.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Note that there is no way to edit or replace an existing file. You must delete the file and then upload the new version of the file.

Upload: Multimedia

Use the Multimedia tool to upload a multimedia file, such as an audio or video file, to a page. Visitors to your page can then view and download the file.

The Multimedia tool works in the same way as the File tool. Please see the Upload: File section above for instructions.

Upload: Pictures

Use the Pictures tool to post pictures to a page. You can add up to three pictures at once; the layout will depend on the number of pictures.

Supported image filetypes include Bitmap (.bmp), Graphics Interchange Format (.gif), and Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpeg and .jpg). There is no size limit to pictures (images will automatically be compressed), but larger files will take longer to upload than smaller ones.

To upload pictures:

1. Select Upload at the top of the page, and click Pictures.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. For each picture, click the Browse button (or Choose File button on Apple computers) and browse to the picture file on your computer.
   Warning! Please only upload pictures that you own or have permission to use.
4. Enter a caption (optional) and link (optional) for each picture.
5. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
6. Click the Upload button.

7. A pop-up window will appear while your pictures are uploading. If your pictures do not finish uploading after several minutes, your internet connection may be too slow to upload the files properly.

To edit pictures:

1. Navigate to the picture or picture set you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the list.
3. Make edits.
   • If you want to delete a picture from a set, click the Delete button next to the picture.
   • If you want to replace a picture with a different one, delete the picture first, then click the Browse button to select a new picture.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete pictures:

1. Navigate to the picture or picture set you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the picture or picture set. (If you only want to delete some, but not all, pictures from a set, follow the edit instructions above.)
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Interact: Vote

Use the Vote tool to ask visitors to choose a position on a specific topic. For example, you could use the Vote tool to conduct a poll or survey.

To create a vote:

1. Select Interact at the top of the page, and click Vote.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Enter the purpose of the vote (optional).
4. Enter the voting choices (minimum of two and maximum of eight).
5. Select whether you want the vote to continue indefinitely or whether you want the vote to end on a certain date. If you select an end date, visitors will not be able to see vote results until that date.
6. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
7. Click the Save button.

To vote and view vote results:

1. Navigate to the vote.
2. Click the button next to the choice that you want to vote for.
3. After you vote, a bar graph indicates what percentage of voters selected each choice, and "Total Votes" indicates the total number of votes. (If the vote has an end date, the results will not be displayed until that date.)
4. Click the "See Who's Voted" link to see which members have voted.

To remove votes from results (if you are the owner of the vote):

1. Navigate to the vote.
2. Click the "See Who's Voted" link.
3. In the pop-up window, check the box(es) next to the member(s) whose vote(s) you want to remove, and click the Delete button.
   Warning! Deleted votes cannot be recovered.
4. Click the Delete button to confirm permanent removal of the votes from results.

To edit vote settings (title, purpose, choices, or timeline):

1. Navigate to the vote you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the vote.
3. Make edits.
   Warning! If you make edits to the voting choices, the vote will reset and all existing votes will be deleted.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete a vote:

1. Navigate to the vote you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the vote.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Interact: Message Board

Use the Message Board tool to add a forum where members can discuss a specific topic or leave comments.

To create a message board:

1. Select Interact at the top of the page, and click Message Board.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Enter a description (optional).
4. Select whether you want the message board to continue indefinitely or whether you want it to end on a certain date.
5. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
6. Click the Save button.

To post a message to a message board:

1. Navigate to the message board.
2. Click the Post a Message button.
3. In the pop-up window, enter a message and click the Save button.

To delete a message (if you are the owner of the message board):

1. Navigate to the message board.
2. Click the "Delete" link under the message you want to delete.
   Warning! Deleted messages cannot be recovered.
3. In the pop-up window, click the Delete button to confirm permanent deletion of the message.

To edit message board settings (title, description, or timeline):

1. Navigate to the message board you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the list.
3. Make edits.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete a message board:

1. Navigate to the message board you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the message board.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Interact: Debate

Use the Debate tool to ask visitors to choose a position on a specific topic and make arguments that support that position.

To create a debate:

1. Click the title of the page under My Pages.
2. Select Interact at the top of the page, and click Debate.

3. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
4. Enter the purpose of the debate (optional).
5. Enter the position choices (minimum of two, maximum of five).
6. Select whether you want the debate to continue indefinitely or whether you want it to end on a certain date.
7. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
8. Click the Save button.

To participate in a debate:

1. Navigate to the debate.
2. Click the button next to your chosen position.
3. In the pop-up window, enter a statement that supports your position and click the Save button.

To delete a debate contribution (if you are the owner of the debate):

1. Navigate to the debate.
2. Click the "Delete" link under the contribution you want to delete.
   Warning! Deleted contributions cannot be recovered.
3. In the pop-up window, click the Delete button to confirm permanent deletion.

To edit debate settings (title, purpose, positions, or timeline):

1. Navigate to the debate you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the debate.
3. Make edits.
   Warning! Use caution when editing the text of a position to ensure that visitors who have already chosen that position are still accurately represented.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete a debate:

1. Navigate to the debate you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the debate.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Interact: Ask Me

Use the Ask Me tool to post a message board where you can answer visitors' questions. For example, if you are an expert on a particular topic, you could invite visitors to ask you questions about that topic.

To create an Ask Me:

1. Select Interact at the top of the page, and click Ask Me.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Enter the purpose of the Ask Me (optional).
4. Select whether you want the Ask Me to continue indefinitely or whether you want it to end on a certain date.
5. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
6. Click the Save button.

To ask a question on an Ask Me:

1. Navigate to the Ask Me.
2. Click the Ask a Question button.
3. In the pop-up window, enter a question and click the Save button.

To answer a question on an Ask Me (if you are the owner of the Ask Me):

1. Navigate to the Ask Me.
2. Click the "Answer" link under the question that you want to answer.
3. In the pop-up window, enter the answer and click the Save button.

To edit an answer on an Ask Me (if you are the owner of the Ask Me):

1. Navigate to the Ask Me.
2. Click the "Edit Answer" link under the answer you want to edit.
3. In the pop-up window, make edits and click the Save button.

To delete a question from an Ask Me:

1. Navigate to the Ask Me.
2. Click the "Delete" link under the question that you want to delete.
   Warning! If you delete a question, the answer will be deleted too. Deleted questions and answers cannot be recovered.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

To edit Ask Me settings (title, purpose, timeline):

1. Navigate to the Ask Me you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the Ask Me.
3. Make edits.
   
4. Click the Save button.

To delete an Ask Me:

1. Navigate to the Ask Me you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the Ask Me.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Interact: Brainstorm

Use the Brainstorm tool to post a message board where visitors can share their ideas about a topic.

To create a brainstorm:

1. Select Interact at the top of the page, and click Brainstorm.

2. Enter a title, and select a color for the title.
3. Enter the purpose of the brainstorm (optional).
4. Select whether you want the brainstorm to continue indefinitely or whether you want it to end on a certain date.
5. Select a visibility option ("All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only").
6. Click the Save button.

To post an idea in a brainstorm:

1. Navigate to the brainstorm.
2. Click the Share an Idea button.
3. In the pop-up window, enter an idea and click the Save button.

To delete an idea from a brainstorm (if you are the owner of the brainstorm):

1. Navigate to the brainstorm.
2. Click the "Delete" link under the idea you want to delete.
   Warning! Deleted ideas cannot be recovered.
3. In the pop-up window, click the Delete button to confirm permanent deletion of the idea from the brainstorm.

To edit brainstorm settings (title, purpose, or timeline):

1. Navigate to the brainstorm you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button under the list.
3. Make edits.
4. Click the Save button.

To delete a brainstorm:

1. Navigate to the brainstorm you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button under the brainstorm.
   Warning! Deleted content cannot be recovered under any circumstances.
3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm permanent deletion.

Move or Copy Content

You can move content up or down on the same page. You can also move or copy content between your personal pages and pages of projects of which you are a member. Note that you cannot move or copy content to a page that is already full or a project whose timeline has ended.

To move content up or down on the same page:

1. Navigate to the content you want to move.
2. Click the arrow buttons under the content to move it up or down on the page.

To move or copy content to another page:

1. Navigate to the content you want to move or copy.
2. Click the Move button under the content.
3. On the left side of the pop-up window, click "Personal Pages" or the name of the project to which you want to move or copy the content.
4. If you want to copy the content, check the "Move a copy" box at the top of the pop-up window. (If you only want to move the content, disregard this step.)
5. On the right side of the pop-up window, click the name of the page to which you want to move or copy the content.

Change the Visibility of Content

Content can be set so that it is visible to "All ThinkQuest Members" or "Me Only / Members Only." On personal pages, "Me Only" content is visible only to you. On project pages, "Members Only" content is visible only to members of the project.

"All ThinkQuest Members" content is identified by an open eye icon. "Me Only / Members Only" content is identified by a closed eye icon.

By default, content is saved as "All ThinkQuest Members." To make a content item visible to "Me Only / Members Only," click the open eye icon underneath it to switch to a closed eye icon. To revert the content to "All ThinkQuest Members," click the closed eye icon to switch to an open eye icon.

To see what a page look like to visitors:

• Project pages: Click the Member tab in the upper right corner to see what the page looks like to project members. Click the Visitor tab to see what the page looks like to visitors who are not project members.
• Personal pages: Click the Layout tab in the upper right corner to see the editable version of the page that is only visible to you. Click the Preview tab to see what the page looks like to visitors.