OutreachSystems

eCenter Direct's left-hand menu is controlled and configured via WebCATS. You can both activate/inactivate menu items as well as rename them from WebCATS, as discussed in this FAQ.

Activating and Understanding the Various Menu Items

The majority of eCenter's menu items only display if they are triggered via some sort of setup action you've taken in WebCATS. For example, the "Library of Documents" menu won't display until you've exposed a document on eCenter. Similarly, the "Training Events" menu won't display until at least one event has been posted to eCenter.

Next, we've listed each possible eCenter menu item and what it takes to trigger it:

• New Client Signup. When clicked, the "New Client Signup" menu option allows members of the community to sign up electronically for services at your program. In order for this menu item to display, at least one center record in your WebCATS database must have the Allow client sign-up at this center? option enabled. For more information on enabling and customizing the client sign-up function in eCenter, see the FAQ titled How do I enable new clients to sign up for services from eCenter Direct?.
• Training Events. When clicked, the "Training Events" menu option allows clients and non-clients of your program to register online for events your program is hosting. In order for this menu item to display, at least one conference record in your WebCATS database must have the Post this conference on eCenter? option activated. For more information on posting training events to eCenter, see the FAQ titled How do I publish a conference or other training event on eCenter Direct?.
• Library of Documents. When clicked, the "Library of Documents" menu option allows eCenter visitors to view documents that you've posted to eCenter such as brochures or commonly-used forms. These documents can be public for anyone visitor to see or private to a particular client, as discussed in the FAQ titled How do I post documents to eCenter Direct?. In order for this menu item to display, you must expose at least one document on eCenter. Even then, you may not always see this menu item depending upon the viewing restrictions you've placed on the document (e.g. is it available for viewing by anyone visiting eCenter, or by logged-in users only, or only those users that attended a particular training event, and so on).
• Network of Centers. When clicked, the "Network of Centers" menu option displays a listing of all the centers in your network. In order for this menu item to display, you must assign a status of "Public" to at least one center record in WebCATS, as discussed in the FAQ titled How do I customize the "Network of Centers" listing on eCenter Direct?.
• Useful Links. The "Useful Links" menu option is not clickable itself, but rather, is a container for any custom menu options you would like to create that link to various other pages on the Web. These pages can be internal or external to your Web page. To create a custom link, and thereby activate the "Useful Links" menu option, select Manage|eCenter Configuration|Useful Links and click the New button.
• Your Training Events. The "Your Training Events" menu option only appears for logged-in eCenter users that are members of a conference attendee list in WebCATS. When clicked, this menu item displays all prior and upcoming conferences/events that the user has registered for, attended, or been marked as a prospective attendee.
• Ongoing Surveys. The "Ongoing Surveys" menu option only appears for logged-in eCenter users that have been designated to respond to a survey. Any surveys assigned to the user that you've also designated as allowing multiple responses will display here. For more information on posting surveys to eCenter, see the FAQ titled How do I create, post, and advertise surveys?.
• Your Uncompleted Surveys. The "Your Uncompleted Surveys" menu option is very similar to the "Ongoing Surveys" menu option in that it only appears for logged-in eCenter users that have been designated to respond to a survey. The only difference is that surveys that do not allow multiple responses and are only meant to be completed once are displayed under this menu option.

Customizing the Titles of the Various Menu Items

Although OutreachSystems provides out-of-the-box text for eCenter's various menu options, you can customize this menu text to suit your preferences. In addition to customizing the actual title of a menu option, you can also add HTML formatting such as color, bolding, and italicizing to the menu. For example, perhaps you prefer the "Network of Centers" menu to be titled "Contact Us!" and bolded in bright purple, as shown next.

eCenter menu customization is performed from within WebCATS, from one (or both) of two places:

• eCenter global configuration. Available to WebCATS administrators only from Manage|eCenter Configuration, any menu title changes made from eCenter's global configurations cascade down to the entire database.
• Center record(s). Each public center within your network can override the globally configured menu titles on a center-by-center basis from their center record. This allows individual centers to create their own menus on eCenter. Center-specific menu configurations become visible to logged-in eCenter users that belong to the center--or to any user when doing something pertaining to that center such as signing up for services from that center or viewing that center's online events.

Note: If your program consists of a single center, then you will likely want to perform all menu edits at the global level.

The steps for customizing an eCenter menu title are outlined next.

1. First decide if you are customizing the menu on a global level (Manage|eCenter Configuration) or on a per-center level (from the center record). Reminder: Only WebCATS administrators have access to eCenter's global customizations.
2. Open the eCenter Interface tab.
3. You'll notice that there are several categories of interface text. Expand the one titled "Menu" and then expand again to find that one specific menu item to edit.



4. Upon expanding a single menu item, you are presented with an Edit button, as shown next. Click this button to open the text in edit mode.



5. Make your edits as appropriate and click the OK button to save.

Note: eCenter's menu titles support HTML so you can include color, bolding, and italicizing in your.

6. Notice that WebCATS now stores a current and default version of the menu title, shown in the next graphic. This allows you to revert back to the default version at any time. If you're editing eCenter's global configurations, the default version is the out-of-the-box menu title provided with WebCATS. If you're editing center-specific eCenter configurations, the default version is whatever is currently set at the global level.



7. Go into eCenter to double-check your edits and make sure they look as intended. You can use the eCenter hyperlink (located on the Centers tab in the Status field if configuring per-center; located on the General tab if configuring globally) for easy access.

Note: If you're editing text from eCenter's global configurations, the URL listed in the eCenter URL field located on the General tab takes you to the main introduction page for the entire eCenter account. If you're editing text on a per-center basis, use the "[Public Center Link]" hyperlink located on the Center Detail tab to jump right into a "deep" link to your center's pages. This URL can also be used to refer clients directly to your center's version of eCenter.

For more information on customizing eCenter Direct, view our other popular resources on this topic:

• FAQ: How do I customize the text on eCenter?
• FAQ: How do I post documents to eCenter Direct?

Want more? Browse our extensive list of WebCATS FAQs.