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GENERAL: FAQs & Troubleshooting

Tiffany Winters
Modified on: Tue, Jun 11, 2024 at 11:35 AM

Table of Contents

FAQs
Troubleshooting
Related Articles


FAQs

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.


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.


Is there a way to hide the text link in the top left corner of the public site?


<style>


/* Hides link/school name at top  */
#__layout > div > div.relative.bg-theme-navbar-background > div > div > nav > div > a{

display: none;


}

</style>


How do I link to a custom page using a CTA button on the homepage?

Overview 

  • You need to add a custom page to a topbar or sidebar navigation in order for the custom page to appear on your website. 

  • Once added to navigation, you’ll have a url “Slug” that you can use to link to this custom page from elsewhere. 


How to Do It

Step 1: Create and publish the custom page. 

Step 2: 

  • Make sure you’ve assigned the topbar and sidebar navigations to the applicable catalog at Catalog > Settings > (Click Catalog) > Catalog Navbar Navigation and Catalog Sidebar Navigation.


Step 3: 

  • Copy/paste the “Full URL” (/custom in the above example) into the CTA widget for whichever button you would like to direct to the custom page. 

  • You do this within the homepage builder (Catalog > Pages > Pre-Built Pages > Home Page).

  • Publish the homepage. 

  • Learn how to do this in the Homepage Builder. 

Additional Note

Once you’ve followed the above steps, the Custom Page will appear in your navigation AND as the CTA button and link. 

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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. 

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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). 

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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. 


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Text Not Appearing as Expected

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. 

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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. 

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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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Duplicate Requests Created

Problem Overview

A user only intended to create a single request/proposal but multiple requests are appearing. 


Explanation

The cause and solution for this is the same in every Coursedog product. Go here for details. 

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404 Errors When Using Navigation

Problem Overview | Solution Overview | Solution One: Scope > Catalog Mismatch
Solution Two: Navigation Links Not Connected | Solution Three: Mismatched Query
Solution Four: Repeated Slugs

Problem Overview

You’re getting 404 errors when you use the navigation.

 

Solution Overview

This could be caused by a few different things: 

  1. You have a Scope > Catalog mismatch.

  2. You haven’t connected pages to the navigation links in the nav-builder.

  3. You've used (not updated) "courses," "programs," or "departments" as your base slug (our pre-built pages use these slugs, so you're mismatching the query when you continue to use these slugs).

  4. You’ve repeated your slugs. 
     

Solution One: Scope > Catalog Mismatch

  1. Check your scopes in the navigation tab and ensure that it is in proper alignment with the appropriate catalog.

  2. Ensure that in the "Catalogs" tab of the website settings, that you've also selected the appropriate top and sidebar navigation.


Ensure that:

  1. Navigation links are connected with pages

  2. Slugs have been added

  3. All warnings have been addressed so the navigation isn't red and indicating a broken link anywhere (shown below).

 

Solution Three: Mismatched Query

Change the slug to anything other than those specific terms – it can be similar, it just needs to be unique. For example, you are free to use "program" instead of "programs":

 

Solution Four: Repeated Slugs

Double-check all of your navigation links and ensure that there aren't any duplicate slugs that are placed in the same position in the navigational hierarchy. 

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Unable to See Your Catalog

Problem Overview

You’re unable to see your catalog when you click “view public catalogs” even though you’ve built it and configured your navigations correctly.

 

Solution Overview

This is an issue that has to do with URL settings. When you build a new catalog(s), Coursedog supplies and links a relevant URL(s) to your staging environment. If your catalogs are not attached to the appropriate URL in the URL tab within settings, it will not be viewable. Ensure that your catalog is attached to the appropriate URL (shown below) at the following path: Catalog > Settings > URLs. 

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Internal Links Lead to 404 Errors

Problem Overview

All of your internal links lead to 404 errors in production even though they worked in staging.

 

Solution Overview

All hyperlinks should be built and structured as internal relative links— meaning they don't have the base url (eg. https://staging.coursedog.com) attached to them; rather, they're just the slugs (e.g. /programs/business/ba/accounting). Ensure that all hyperlinks are structured as relative links before the clone to production, otherwise, when SSL is set up and the base URL becomes https://catalog.<institution_name>.edu, your internal links will not work:

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Columns Don’t Align

Problem Overview

The columns in your tables don’t align when there are multiple tables on the same custom page.

 

Solution Overview

The alignment of tables is dynamically determined based on the content, which also allows for a responsive design, as the table will change shape to accommodate smaller screen sizes. The downside is there is no current way to enforce alignment of table columns.

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Changes to Settings Aren’t Taking Effect

Problem Overview

You’ve changed settings, but they aren’t taking effect.

 

Solution Overview

  • There are catalog-specific website settings. If a user is trying to change global catalog settings, and they see the changes are not taking effect, the first thing they should check is if they have catalog-specific settings set up, because those will override all global website settings. 

  • Additionally, please allow some time for settings to take effect. 

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Requirements Take Too Long to Load

Problem Overview

The loading time for requirements seems to take awhile. 

 

Solution Overview

A small lag is to be expected, as the data for the requisites is loaded dynamically when the user opens the requirements accordion. A load time of a few seconds is to be expected. If there are load times in the range of multiple minutes, however, that may call for investigation. 

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Icon that Appears in Google Search Results is Coursedog’s, Not Yours

Problem Overview

The icon that appears in Google search results next to your catalog name is Coursedog’s logo rather than your own. 


Explanation

  • This is a Google issue.

  • Most search engines will show your favicon in search results, but Google has very specific requirements.

  • You can make sure you’re meeting those requirements by checking out Google’s favicon guidelines and cross-referencing those with your own settings, but note that Google’s own guidelines state: “A favicon isn't guaranteed in Google Search results, even if all guidelines are met”. 

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