Creating an FAQ
From SubjectsPlus
FAQs is a tab in your SubjectsPlus Control Panel.
You can use the FAQ Module to:
- Create a FAQ associated with one or more of your subjects
- Have this Subject-Specific FAQ linked off your SubjectsPlus page
- Make your own collection of FAQs (a subset of all FAQs, i.e., Technology FAQs or Faculty & Staff FAQs)
- Link to an individual FAQ
Create New FAQ
- Click the "Add FAQ" link. You will be presented with boxes to enter your question, your answer, and some searchable keywords if you so desire.
Figure 2. Add New FAQ box
Note that the answer box gives you the option to add some formatting to your answer: Bold, Italics, Numbered List, Bulleted List, and hyperlink. To make a link, type the text you want to appear on the page, highlight this text, and then click the first globe icon. This will pop up a box where you can enter your URL. Click “okay” and your text should be hyperlinked to the URL you entered.
Figure 3. Hyperlink pop-up window.
When your Question and Answer are perfect, click “Add New FAQ.” Your FAQ will be entered into the database, and you will see a page listing possible “Associated Pages” and possible “Associated Subjects.” Tick any Collection which the FAQ should appear on, and any subjects with which the FAQ should be associated.
Figure 4. Associating Subjects
Hit update "FAQ Associations" at the bottom and you’re done. It is also possible to create a New FAQ Collection while you’re on this screen. Click the link of this name, and complete the information in the popover screen.
Figure 5. Create New Collection popover screen
The Name is the name for this collection, and the “Intro Text” is what will show up at the top of the page displaying all the FAQs assembled this way. It’s possible you won’t want any intro text—in this case, leave it blank.
Browse/Edit/Delete/Add Associations to Existing FAQs From the main page of the FAQ tab, you can click the icons to the left of each Question and either edit the question/answer, delete it, or modify the subjects associated with it.
Figure 6. Edit icons
Search for Existing FAQ The list of FAQs is going to get long; you can search for the FAQ you want by using the search box in the subheader.
Figure 7. Search box
Using the Public Interface
The FAQs are all viewed through a single page. You can view the base page, which displays the Very FAQs, and search/browse options in the sidebar; a collection of FAQs, with a descriptive introduction (if set); a specific FAQ (for instance, that you wish to link to from somewhere else, say Talk Back, or an email, or one of your Subject Guides).
Base Page: http://www.yourlibrary.edu/sp/subjects/faq.php
By default, this page will show the Very FAQs, which are meant to be the most frequently asked questions. In the sidebar, you’ll see the option to search, a dropdown of all the subjects that have an associated FAQ, and then the collections. You can point directly (say, in an email to someone) to any subject like so:
http://www.yourlibrary.edu/sp/subjects/faq.php?subject_id=2
ditto for any collection:
http://www.yourlibrary.edu/sp/subjects/faq.php?coll_id=2
If you want to link to a specific FAQ, that’s possible, but you’ll need to look up the ID from the Control Panel. (It’s in the second column under "ID".) You’ll then point to a page like so:
