PEOI has several procedures that give access to course content text files,
and operate in a similar way. They all allow to insert, import or edit
a text file. But each has its own feature. All the features are not
combined into a single procedures to avoid making it too bulky, slow
and confusing to use.
The five major procedures and their features are:
1- "Insert into course page"
allows to paste any plain text into
an existing text file, at a selected location, and with or without
a frame; the inserted plain text is converted into the HTML with
all the appropriate tags; this procedure is most convenient for
inserting a paragraph, a table, an example or other short segments
into an existing files; note that this procedure will handle
only text in plain text format: not rtf, pdf or other formats.
2- "Import rtf"
allows to upload an existing rtf file, to save it on
PEOI's server (if needed), and to convert the entire file to HTML
retaining most of the formatting present in the original rtf file;
3- "Import pdf",
as its name implies, does the same as the procedure
above but only for pdf files;
4- "Import html"
likewise handles only html imports; (remember that
the imported text does not contain essential PEOI's anchor tags
which this procedure will place in the text; thus, if you have
developed content in HTML, it is recommended to use this procedure
rather than pasting the content directly with "Edit HTML text");
5- "Edit HTML text"
allows writing into or changing anything in a text file
in a TEXTAREA; working with new content in a TEXTAREA
requires to type in all the necessary tags and anchors; it is
most convenient to use when making changes to the text while leaving
HTML tags untouched; thus, it is the procedure to use for translation.
Note that the first four procedures also have the same TEXTAREA.
At present, PEOI has not developed a procedure to insert documents in doc format,
but doc formatted files can be easily converted to rtf in most word processors.
The text of the following files is handled by the above procedures
- text of chapters, sections or subsections
- appendixes
- review questions
- assignments
- concepts summary
- bibliographies and reading lists
- comments
- contents
- about authors
All these files are HTML files without any special parameter, but all PEOI's essential tags, links and controls. (Note that on PEOI's server, all HTML files are looked upon and function as XML files.) Some of the files contain important scripts written in Javascript and used for linking to other files or tests. Obviously, it is crucial that these scripts not be damaged when updating the text of the file. When an entire new paragraph is inserted in TEXTAREA, the writer should not forget to place <P> at the beginning and </P> at the end. It is recommended that a text to be entered be first edited in a word processor, then copied and pasted into PEOI's text files. The material pasted must in a format "Text with line breaks". (In Word 2003 select "Text", then click on "Insert line breaks".) It is recommended to paste one paragraph at a time, and save each time. After making all needed changes, clicking on "Save change(s)" button completes the work.
Because of potential harm from unwarranted modifications, all updated files are first saved in a temporary directory to make sure that scripts are not damaged, and to give PEOI's editing staff a chance to read through these modified files. When the changes made by an author involve reporting new findings or are more than just style or grammar, they require peer review which takes more than the usual one day delay, as previously described.
Translating
The procedure to use for translation of chapter text files is "Edit HTML text". The procedure to use for translation of test questions is "Edit questions". When starting a translation, the translator must verify that the language shown in the "Language" box is the language into which the course will be translate (while the text in the TEXTAREA and "Preview box" will be English, of course). Then the course and chapter must be selected. If the planned course is not available for translation, it must be moved. The "Move course" procedure is used to set up a course for translation. When writing in the TEXTAREA, care must be used to replace the text in English by the corresponding text in the language of translation leaving the HTML tags intact.
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