How Do I Work with Microcontent: Automatic Lists?

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Purpose

Automatic Lists allows you to create dynamic content lists that update automatically as new content is added to your website. This eliminates the need to manually update lists whenever new content is published. Visitors can easily see fresh content without navigating through the entire website.

When to Use Automatic List

This list is ideal for situations where you want to display frequently changing information on your website. Here are some examples:

  • Upcoming Events: Create a list that automatically populates with upcoming events from your event calendar.
  • Latest News Articles: Showcase your newest news articles in a dynamic list.

  • Featured Content: Automatically curate a list of featured content based on specific criteria.

Elements of Automatic List (Microcontent)

  • Title: title of list
  • Description: Brief description of list, displays atop the section. Limited to 120 characters.
  • List contents: choose from basic page (display as linked title or teaser), How Do I (display as linked title or teaser), News (display as linked title or auto listing teaser), Documents (document listing linked title or document listing linked teaser), News (featured)
  • Items per block: limited to between 2 and 6
  • Show only fields:
    • news type: press release or standard
    • topics: can choose from topic list (ie: Animal Feeding Operations, Hunting, Fishing, etc) limited to choosing only one from the topic list
  • Samples of automatic lists include:
    • Upcoming Events
    • Recent Board Meeting Minutes
    • Featured News
    • A subset of Documents within a Document Type

To create an automatic list, you'll create the content type, and choose from available options.

Automatic List sample
Variant: Automatic List, by Title, 6, by Topic

This variant displays "How Do I" content, with linked titles, and displays 6 items. The "How Do I" content is also constrained to any item tagged as "Training".

Variant: Automatic List, by Teaser, 4, Alphabetical by Topic

This variant of an automatic list is constrained to How Do I content, and shows a teaser view. In this version there are four total items and they are also alphabetized, as well as constrained to any items tagged as "Training."

Log in to your site

Everyone who writes things on this website has a special title. These titles give them certain abilities, like who can edit, review and publish what. You can ask for a different title or take one away from someone using the user manager.

Login using login.iowa.gov

Navigate to /admin/content/micro

This Admin view displays all micro-content on the site and allows authors to sort & filter the list. Authors can edit micro-content types from this view.

Microcontent filter

Microcontent is constrained to items that are typically "placed" elsewhere. For example: microcontent such as accordions, promos, link collections and visual link collections, and statistics are created and then may be utilized throughout the site.

Create a "Automatic List" content type

The Automatic List may be created by choosing "Add Content" and then seeking "Automatic List"

The available types of automatic lists include: Basic Pages, How Do I, News, Events, Contacts, and Locations.

When choosing, you may also specify how you want to "display" the content.

Save changes, and the automatic list is now available for placement.

Place an Automatic List in a Landing Page

Go to /admin/content and find your desired Landing Page, and navigate to that landing page.

Choose the "Layout" tab of your landing page. "Add a Section" and choose if you want a white, light, or dark background. Enter an optional administrative label.

Within that new section, "Add block" and choose "Automatic List" from the available options.

Add Automatic List, and a popup window will appear.

You may create a new Automatic list "on the fly." Alternatively, go to the Automatic List library tab and click the checkbox for the Automatic List you want.

Click Select, then when the window closes, click "Insert Block" on the side bar.

Save changes for your landing page. That automatic list will now display, on your landing page.

Place the microcontent into a Basic Page or a Landing Page

Now that there is microcontent that has its place inside the /admin/content/microcontent menu, you may take that content and place it throughout the site.

As an example, common placements include:

Microcontent Placement
Type of MicrocontentLanding PageBasic Page
PromoCan be placedCan be placed
Video PromoCan be placedN/A
AccordionN/ACan be placed
Link Collection ListCan be placedCan be placed
Visual Link CollectionCan be placedN/A
StatisticCan be placedCan be placed
Automatic ListCan be placedCan be placed
ContactN/ACan be placed
DocumentN/ACan be placed

Confirm your knowledge

If you need visual guidance that shows the step-by-step process of creating things for your website make sure to go to our Video Training Page!

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