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GENERAL: FAQs & Troubleshooting

Table of Contents

FAQs
Troubleshooting
Related Articles


FAQs

Where do the display name, short description, and full description come from for programs?

The answer to this depends on whether you have a Contemporary or Standard Catalog. 


Contemporary

Program has 3 fields on the program record that are used for the catalog display. These are: 

  • catalogDisplayName (displayed at the top of the page; if no name is found here, it resolves to programLongName)

  • catalogShoreDescription (displayed if it exists)

  • catalogFullDescription (displayed if it exists)


All three of these are managed on the program record in Curriculum (added via Curriculum > Settings > Program Templates). Anything further needs to be added with the catalog page template. 


Standard

For program title on catalog pages, it will be one of the following in the order listed below (i.e. if the prior one doesn’t exist, it proceeds to the next). 

  • transcriptDescription

  • longName

  • Name

If none of the three options are found, it displays “Untitled Program”. 


Is there a way for a customer to query a list of all auto-generated links for a catalog?

We recommend using https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ or a similar site to generate a DIY sitemap. 


Do accent marks surface in the public-facing Catalog? 

Yes, diacritics – such as accent marks or a cedilla – appear in the public-facing Catalog.


If a customer changes a course or program in Curriculum, will those changes automatically appear in the Catalog? 

  • This question/answer only applies to those Catalog customers who are also leveraging our Curriculum Management app. 

  • That being said, the answer still depends on a few different variables. Namely: What filters/criteria were used to pull data into Catalog (e.g. “All” or “Courses Effective [Term]”), and is effective dating applicable? 

  • Depending on those variables, the answer could be:

    • If all Curriculum data is pulled into Catalog and there are no effective revisions, any change to a course or program that is approved will automatically reflect in the catalog.

    • If specific Curriculum entities are pulled into the catalog based on their effective date and a proposed change carries with it an effective date within the range of the catalog, it will be shown once approved.

    • If specific Curriculum entities are pulled into the catalog based on their effective date and a proposed change carries with it an effective date that is outside the range/dates of the catalog, then no – those changes will NOT appear in the Catalog.

Can we reuse the same Top Nav and Side Nav across catalogs every year?

  • If either navigation has Internal Links (aka links to custom pages), then they cannot be reused across catalogs.

  • When you configure a navigation, you have to choose the catalog scope – this is how Coursedog identifies which custom pages to use. If you try to use a navigation on a catalog that's different from the catalog set as the nav's Catalog Scope, site visitors will get 404 errors when visiting a custom page. You’ll need to clone the nav and reconfigure it with the correct catalog scope each year.

  • Schools can sometimes reuse the top nav since it normally only has external links, but it's always good to test it before publishing the new catalog.

Troubleshooting

Pre-Built Department Page Does Not Show Tabs/Cards

Problem Overview

Your pre-built department page only includes the overview – it is missing the “Courses” and “Programs” cards that live on your pre-built department page. 


Explanation

You can learn more about what’s happening here


Solution

Switching the links to external (e.g. https://universityname-catalog.coursedog.com/departments/DEPT/overview) should solve the problem. 

Pages Missing from Catalog PDF

Problem Overview

You’ve made custom pages, but none of them are showing up in your PDF. 


Explanation

Check each of the following, as they could all impact missing pages: 

  1. Have you published the latest changes? 

  2. When generating the catalog PDF, did you select “Include the entire catalog content in generated document” or at least ensure the custom pages were among the checked items? 

  3. Are the pages navigation items? Pages have to be included in a navigation for them to populate. 


Notes Not Displaying in Preview Catalog

Problem Overview

You can see notes in Curriculum, but they aren’t appearing in your preview Catalog.


Explanation

The preview has some limitations; notes should show up correctly in the actual page (if not, please reach out for further assistance). 


Course Titles Not Showing in Catalog

Problem Overview

Some course titles aren’t appearing in your public-facing catalog. 


Solution

  • Check the following to see if you spot any issues: 

    • The effective date of the course (and all its revisions).

    • The effective date of the program.

    • The effective date of the catalog

  • If no issues are found, open a support ticket. 


General Search Troubleshooting (Contemporary Only)

Problem Overview

The search function on your public website isn’t behaving as expected. 

Explanation

  • The exact solution can depend on your problem (see “Course Subject Code Not Appearing in Dropdown” below).

  • In general it’s important to keep in mind that the search facet pulls from the page templates, and the catalog page template pulls from Curriculum. Consequently, a first step when troubleshooting any sidebar search issue is to confirm the same question id is in use across all three areas

  • Updates to the Catalog page template typically require a refresh of the sidebar search template.

Learn More

Configurable Course & Program Search


Course Subject Code Not Appearing in Dropdown (Contemporary Only)

Problem Overview

A Course Subject Code that’s attached to a department isn’t appearing in the Course Subject Code search on your Catalog’s public website. 


Solution

Make sure the missing the Course Subject Code is in your search facet data set. You can do that by:

  1. Navigate to Catalog > Settings > Sidebar Search Filters.

  2. Select the applicable search. 

  3. Click into “Course Subject Code” to open its settings. 

  4. Click the “Data Sets” toggle on the left (under “Question Settings” to open it. 

  5. Click into the dropdown under “new option” to find and select the missing code.

  6. Click “Add Option”.


Learn More

Configurable Course & Program Search


Course Subject Codes Not Appearing in Alphanumeric Order (Contemporary Only)

Problem Overview

Once a visitor to your public website selects a subject code from the dropdown, the options don’t show in alphanumeric order. 


Solution

You likely need to switch the sort order to code (shown below). 


Unable to Clear an Effective End Term from a Catalog

Problem Overview

Every time you attempt to clear an effective end term from a Catalog, it re-populates after you save. 


Solution

Try switching to the effective end date filter; erase the date; save. 


Text Not Appearing as Expected

Problem Overview | Explanation | Solution | Recommended Best Practice

Problem Overview

Catalog text is formatted in a way that doesn’t match your configuration. 


Explanation

if you copy text from a word formatting program (e.g. Microsoft Word) and paste it into a text block in the editor, it will retain the source formatting. You won’t necessarily see this in the editor, but it will display with those settings in the catalog.


Solution

Delete and re-add the hero-unit, ensuring you aren’t pasting formatted text from elsewhere. 


  • If you are copying and pasting text from elsewhere, paste it as plain (unformatted) text. 

  • On a PC, you can access this option by right-clicking in the relevant text block and selecting “Paste as plain text” (or hit ctrl+shift+v on your keyboard).

  • On a Mac, you can paste as plain text by hitting “Command-Option-Shift-V” on your keyboard. 


Text Indentation Not Appearing in Catalog

Problem Overview

A list is indented in a textarea field, but it isn’t indented in your public-facing catalog. 


Explanation

This can happen if you're indenting multiple lines (e.g. a list) but not using bullet points. 


Solution

Instead of indenting each line, use the bullet point option in the WYSIWYG editor. 


Uploaded File Not Appearing in Catalog

Problem Overview

A program file that was uploaded in Curriculum Management isn’t appearing in your Catalog. 


Explanation

This can happen for a couple different reasons but primarily occurs when a file was uploaded as “private”. 


Solution

When this happens, check to confirm that all of the below variables are true: 

  1. The corresponding “Files” field is on the Program Template in Catalog, with “visible” checked. 

  2. The files uploaded in Curriculum are marked as “public”. You can check this by:

    1. Navigate to Curriculum Management > Programs > (Open Program) > Edit Program.

    2. Locate the uploaded file on the Program record. 

    3. Click “View File”.

    4. Click “Yes” to make this public. 

    5. Click “Close”.

    6. Save changes. 

Learn More


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