Virginia Department of Elections

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm totally lost! What kind of help is available?

Help is available!

First, check out the ELECT T4 Web Documentation in SharePoint. There is a section named: Content Management System (CMS). In that section, click on the link for User Training and Documentation, and download the T4 For Content Editors Training Manual for a basic guide to how to use the system.

In addition, many new users end up taking training classes directly from TerminalFour, the vendor for our CMS. You can review the videos of an earlier basic training class here and here.

You also have access to the T4 Knowledge Base on TerminalFour's web site.

What are Components?

Components are modular content blocks on a webpage. The T4 term for component entry templates is "Content Types." They can be simple, like just a title and paragraphs of text. Many are more complex, and may contain conditional logic, or repeater fields for items like accordion rows.

If you see a Content Type in these examples that you would like enabled for a specific section, it can be added to your section.

How come some Name elements in the templates are used in the actual web page, and some are not?

Whenever possible, the Name element is used as the Component title. However, the Name element is a required field. There are some Components where a header or title is optional. In those cases, the Header is a different (optional) element.

Do I have to stick to the designed components? Can I do something more interesting and creative?

The components have been designed to help users find the information they need, quickly.

The Content (Card) Component, and similar components, are designed to be used with a rich text editor for larger areas of text. This text can be formatted in different ways, images can be placed, and links can be created in this content.

Bear in mind that the design system has been created in order to keep the site visually organized and enhance the user experience. Straying too far away from the overall site design is not recommended.

If the existing components don't meet your needs, and you see a need tor a new component, contact Andrea Gaines or one of the T4 Administrators.

I notice there is some English in other language versions of the site. What's going on?

There are certain terms, like ELECT, COMET, etc. that we do not translate. We manage these settings at our translation platform, Smartling.