In Modern Campus CMS, components snippets and assets are used to build your pages. Each one serves its own purpose.

 Components

Galleries, Call to Action, Touts and More

Represented on the menu bar as an atom. When placed on a page, a component appears as a form in which you will be prompted to complete. When published, Modern Campus provides the necessary source code to format and display your design element as defined.

Components available

For a comprehensive overview, visit Modern Campus CMS online training for using components.

 Snippets

Grids, Contact Information, and More

Represented on the upper menu bar as a puzzle piece, snippets are small inner page “templates.” When placed within the editable region they appear as a table but display as they should when published. They are a starting point for building your page and are unique to the page in which they are placed.

Content snippets available

Layout grid snippets available

  • 1-Column Layout Grid (this grid is useful if you desire a divider line or shaded background for content spanning a single column)
  • 2-Column Layout Grid (25-75)
  • 2-Column Layout Grid (33-66)
  • 2-Column Layout Grid (50-50)
  • 2-Column Layout Grid (66-33)
  • 2-Column Layout Grid (75-25)
  • 3-Column Layout Grid (33-33-33)
  • 4-Column Layout Grid (25-25-25-25)

Each grid option allows for:

A divider line above each column. 
A shaded background within each column. 
A border around the content area in each column. 

Here is an example of the Layout Grid (2 columns, 25-75):

Image Placeholder

About our design system

Our design system follows an atomic design methodology. Essentially, we combine smaller elements together to form larger elements. Larger elements are placed on the page to form full page layouts.

An example of this:
A featured image element may be used as a featured image (standalone) component: 


Image Placeholder

Or it may be used as part of the featured content with image component:

Image Placeholder

Some elements, such as these don’t require a grid. They extend the full width of the editable region when placed on the page.


Things to note

  • Although built as a table, these will display as intended when the page is published. Enter your data within the table and a "table transformation" will occur using code behind the scenes.
  • When a snippet is placed on a page, it will become editable and independent of any other snippets. In other words, the snippet is unique to that page. If you edit and publish, it will update that single instance.
  • You may view the snippets available to you within your Gadgets dashboard (located on the right side of the page (represented by the gear).
For a comprehensive overview, visit Modern Campus CMS online training for using snippets.

  Assets

Forms, Feeds and More

Represented on the upper menu bar as a box with rotating arrows. Assets are reusable content. They provide a single source of content that may be shared across multiple pages. When this single source of content is edited, the edits are applied to all the instances of shared content. Prebuilt assets available
  • Expanded date, description
  • Collapsed date, description
  • Collapsed date, no description
  • Expanded date, no description
  • Campus Maps

Things to note

  • Editable regions on the page can accept them.
  • Can be placed on as many pages as needed.
  • When updated and published, it will be updated in all instances across the site.
  • You may view the assets available to you within your Gadgets dashboard (located on the right side of the page (represented by the gear).
  • You have the option to “Lock to Site” your asset. This means the asset can only be used within the site in which it was built.
For a comprehensive overview about building assets, visit Modern Campus CMS online training on assets.

Building your own forms

A commonly used asset is the form. This is a simple form for collecting basic information. The form submissions are housed and accessible through the Modern Campus CMS system.

Review this step-by-step guide to building a form on your MSU site.

Modern Campus also provides a detailed description on building your form

If you need a more sophisticated solution, there are more options available to content editors — Dynamic Forms and MachForms.


Dynamic Forms by NextGen Web Solutions

  • MSU has an institutional license to use.
  • An end user may save their form and go back to complete at a later time.
  • Uploads are permitted.
  • May route the form to numerous approvers.
  • Can digitally sign.
  • These forms are intelligent.

Learn more about Dynamic Forms online.

To inquire about getting an account, contact Nicole Zhou, Systems Analyst, Management Information Systems.


MachForms (Dosaforms)

  • Requires an initial set-up fee of $150 and a server. Must submit a Sensitive University Data Export Request System (SUDERS) request through Information Services for server set-up.
  • Provides a downloadable spreadsheet of form submissions.
  • These forms are intelligent.
  • An end user may save their form and go back to complete at a later time.
  • Can digitally sign.
Learn more about MachForms.

To make a request, or to inquire about the process, contact Information Security