1. Start up a web browser. You may find it helpful to open two browser windows at once, in overlapping positions, so that you can easily switch back and forth between a display of these instructions and the window where you're actually doing the work.
   

2. Take your web browser to the login page, at https://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/login/.

3. If this is your first visit to the Sitemason login page, you'll need to click on "Sign up", and fill out a form.
   

4. After you sign up, you'll be able to log in with your VUnetID and VUnet password. Those are the same ID and password that you use for Vanderbilt email or Blackboard. They probably are not the same ID and password that you use to log into Atlas (our department's main computer).

5. Click on the part that says "Add New Web Site" (see illustration).
   

6. Type in some name that will remind you which web page this is (see illustration). This is not the name that will be visible to the public, so type whatever you like. If you only have one or two web pages, probably "front page" will suffice.
   

7. After a moment the web page will reload itself, and it will include a box containing the phrase you just typed. Now click on that phrase.

   
   

8. Next you have to choose a configuration. The illustration shows just part of the page, which is fairly long. Scroll down near the bottom, and click on "Choose" for the "Mathematics Graduate Student Configuration".
        (Do NOT choose the "Mathematics Department Configuration." That's the configuration for our department's front page, not for an individual person's front page.)
   

9. You have now created the web page, and you are taken to the main editing menu for that page. The menu has several tabs.

   

   • Setup and Information - You can skip this. It's just introductory explanation.
   • Choose Template - We did this in a previous step.
   • Organize Navigation - This provides additional options you can explore on your own later, but isn't necessary.
   • Header and Footer - This is where the real editing will go on, for your main web page. We'll work on this soon, after we Set Fonts and Colors.
   • Customize Behavior - You don't need anything here. Just ignore this tab.
   • Set Fonts and Colors - We'll do this now.
   
   
10. You need to Set Fonts and Colors to the required standard used by everyone in the Math Department.
    Click on the Set Fonts and Colors tab. Select "Blue Slate."
    

11. When you're done, click on "Save Changes and Go Back" up near the top of the editor page.
    This takes you back to your main Sitemason page. You'll need to click on the title of your page again to return to the work area.
    

12. Now we come to the Header and Footer page. Click on the Header and Footer tab.
    
    
    Fill in as many boxes as you wish, and leave the rest blank. They will not show up as unfilled boxes in the finished display; they simply will not show up at all in the finished display. For instance, if you don't want to publish your cell phone number, leave that box blank. If you're not certain about what to type, don't worry about it -- we can always change things later. Here are some further explanations:
    • A photograph or other picture on your web page is optional, but it does improve the appearance of the page, and most people who are looking at your web page would like to see your face. You can insert the picture in one of two ways: (1) If the picture already exists somewhere on the web, you can copy its location into the "Picture URL" box. Or (2) this is easier: If the picture already exists somewhere on the personal computer that you're working from, you can easily upload it. Just click on the "Browse" button, and you'll be taken to the files on your hard disk. Browse through them in the usual fashion, to find the file you're looking for. If you don't have a suitable picture at hand today, you can just leave that part blank and go on with other parts of the Sitemason form; you can add the picture some other day. Pam Jones in room 1324 has a digital camera for taking department photos, and can take one for you.
    • In the title field, enter "Graduate Student". If you're also a TA, "enter Graduate Student, Teaching Assistant".
    • You can type more than one line in the "Mailing Address" box. Here is the mailing address needed for delivery here at the Math Department. (This comes to the main office and is then distributed by staff to your individual box.)

      Your Name
      Mathematics Department
      1326 Stevenson Center
      Vanderbilt University
      Nashville, TN 37240

    
    

13. The bottom half of the "Header and Footer" editor is the links section. You may leave any of these boxes empty, if they won't fit you in one way or another -- e.g., you might leave "Publications" blank if you don't yet have any. Here are some examples of how to use the links boxes:
    • Remember: If you don't enter anything, nothing at all will show up on your Web site for that field - not even the field name.
    • If you already have a Personal Web page, you can link it to your Vanderbilt Web page by entering the URL in that field.
    • If you already have Web pages for any of the items listed (For example, Research) you can enter the URL to link to that page. In most cases, you'll probably need to make new pages for your Research, Publications, etc. before you can put their links in here. You can make these sub-pages in a couple of ways:
      • You can make them using Sitemason. These will be stored as sub-pages in your Sitemason account. Basic instructions for creating sub-pages in Sitemason and linking them to your main page are contained in "Creating Sub-pages in Sitemason."
      • If you're familiar with html and want to create html subpages, you can host these on an account on the department's Atlas server.
    • If you have some miscellaneous link that doesn't fit any of the pre-named fields that are already built into the template, you can type its description into the "Extra Link Label" box, and then type its address into the "Extra Link URL" box. NOTE: You can only make one of these customized links.
    
    

14. When you're done, click on "Save Changes and Go Back" up near the top of the editor page.
    

    

15. Now click on the "PREVIEW" button to see what the web page looks like. If you want to make more changes, re-enter the editor by clicking on the title phrase as before. On the other hand, if it looks suitable, you can click on "Logout". (You can always log in again later to make more changes.)
    

16. After you create the page, you still have to make it viewable to others.

Actually, your new web page already is viewable, by anyone who has the URL. But the Sitemason software assigns such bizarre URLs that no one is likely to guess yours.

Copy the URL from either of the places where it appears -- on the Site Manager page or on the preview page -- see illustrations. (To avoid typographical errors, don't retype it, use copy-and-paste.) Email it to Lori Rafter, at lori.rafter@vanderbilt.edu. She will link your new web page to your name in our Department Web directory (http://www.math.vanderbilt.edu/people.html).

Using some technical tricks (reverse proxy serving), the URL that will be displayed in a user's browser when they click on your name in our directory and see your Web page will not be the same as the URL you sent, but a standardized display URL that reads: http://www.math.vanderbilt.edu/people/ followed by your last name or, if more than one person in the department have the same last name, your first initial and your last name. Once this link is in operation, you can provide this new URL to others as the address to access your personal Web page directly. However, the new standardized URL may not be available immediately. It may take a week - or longer at the beginning of the Fall semester when many new faculty and graduate student Web pages are being implemented. Please make sure that the new URL is showing when your page displays before you furnish it to anyone.

Send questions or comments to Pam Jones, pamela.l.jones@vanderbilt.edu