Using Dictator Tags
Dictator uses tags to give you the capability to refer to photos, file attachments, pages, and subpage listings.
The word tag is somewhat of an ambiguous term, so it is best to think of them like a name tag that you would put on your shirt at an event. This name tag provides a means by which others can identify you. Likewise, in Dictator, assigning a name tag to a photo gives you a way to identify and refer to that photo elsewhere.
Using Dictator tags is not a requirement for making basic edits to your site. In fact, all the needed tags may already be predefined in your site’s HTML templates. But knowing how to use Dictator tags is important to ensuring that you can always make your site do what you want. The concept is simple and tags are very easy (and fun) to use, so don’t be put off by their somewhat cryptic look.
Tags are always surrounded by curly brackets, like {this}. While many tags are predefined in Dictator, you are also able to create your own tags to refer specifically to individual photos, file attachments, or pages. When you type a tag into your page’s content, you are in essence asking Dictator to replace it with something else. Be that a photo, file attachment, list of pages, or otherwise.
Dictator Tag Format Details
Dictator tags are always surrounded by curly brackets, like {this}.
Dictator tags may contain only letters and numbers. No spaces or punctuation should be used.
Dictator tags are generally all lowercase.
Dictator tags may contain modifiers. These modifiers are split from the tag by either a dash “-” or a “:”. The format for a tag with modifiers looks like this {tag-modifier}, and multiple modifiers may be specified.
In some cases, the order of the modifiers is significant. As an example,
{subpages-date-name}tells Dictaor that you want a list of subpages below the current page with the datestamp and name, appearing in that order.
Where Dictator Tags Are Used
Dictator tags are primarily typed into your body copy or sidebar for a given page. If you are a web developer, we’d also like to note that any of the tags may also be used in the site’s HTML templates, which may reduce (or eliminate) the need to use them when making edits through Dictator.
There are several predefined built-in tags that Dictator lets you use to perform specific actions. See the Dictator Tag Reference below for more information.
Any page in your site can be given a tag from the settings menu. Once you assign a tag to a page, you may use it to refer to that page from anywhere else in your site. Typing the tag (without modifiers) causes it be be replaced with a link to that page.
You may assign a tag to any photo(s) attached to a given page. Typing that tag in your text causes it to be replaced with the photo automatically. These tags can only be used within the current page unless you’ve set it to share photos in the page’s settings.
You may assign a tag to any file attached to a given page. Typing that tag in your text causes it to be replaced with a link to the file attachment. These tags can only be used within the current page unless you’ve set it to share attachments in the page’s settings.
You may assign a tag to a channel. Typing the tag in your text causes it to be replaced with a listing of pages attached to the channel.
Files in the library can be referred to by tags consisting of the filename, i.e.
{logo.gif}would be replaced by that image.
