CASCADE USER GUIDE
Welcome! This handy reference is your guide to The College of Agriculture’s (CoA) choice of Content Management System (CMS) named Cascade. Use this always up-to-date guide to help you learn, access and use Cascade more efficiently to create and edit web content as a content manager and/or content creator.
Use the Contact Us information for any additional Cascade support requests.
Welcome!
This handy reference is your web guide to all things Cascade. Cascade is a Hannon Hill software solution and is a major CMS used at colleges and universities around the world. The College and Indiana State Extension use Cascade to maintain and manage content for the following site domains:
- The College's main and department sites are found at: ag.purdue.edu
- Indiana State Extension sites are found at: extension.purdue.edu
Use this always up-to-date guide to help you learn, access, and use Cascade more efficiently to create and edit web content as a content manager and/or content creator.
Note: This guide cross-references Cascade’s official help site, which is an extremely useful resource for any Cascade user.Latest Site Insight
Latest Site Insight
Enhance your Cascade site and keep informed about its features by subscribing to the Site Insight newsletter. Receive valuable tips straight to your inbox. Click the subscription link at the top of the page and join today!
Latest EditionPick a Subject to Learn More
The Basics:
- Start Here: How do I create a Cascade account?
- How do I create a Cascade site to include lab and grant sites?
- How do I create a Cascade page?
- How do I create page-based navigation?
- How do I create a Cascade event?
- How do I create a Cascade news post?
- How do I work with Tags?
- Search the guide
- Cascade keyboard shortcuts
Managing Content:
- How do I work with images in Cascade?
- How do I edit social media meta tags (title, description, images)?
- Unpublishing vs. Deleting Content - Which is best?
- How do I restore something I deleted from the trash / recycle bin?
- How do I work with long-term drafts?
- What is a Document Library?
- What is Google Looker Studio?
Site maintenance is at the core of The Web Stewardship Best Practices Agreement. Learn how you can keep your site content fresh the easy way.
- How do I find broken links on my site?
- How do I fix broken links using Siteimprove?
- How do I easily replace assets on my site (replace images, documents, etc.)?
- How do I archive past-due events?
Weekly site maintenance actions you can perform:
- A weekly broken link report is available for all sites. Learn how to access these reports for your sites to help you identify and fix these access issues. This report runs each Saturday.
- Purdue has purchased a product called Siteimprove to automate site compliance testing. Siteimprove is a comprehensive tool that tests for accessibility and broken links. It works from within Cascade, requires no installation, works on Mac and PC, and there is no charge to use it. Please email AGCOMM via this link for Siteimprove information and access.
Siteimprove reports run weekly and can be accessed once you establish a Siteimprove account:
Learn more about Siteimprove reports here. - Review our ADA guide to verify your digital documents (web pages, PDFs, word docs, Qualtrics forms, etc.) are compliant.
- If you have content that you are still working on and it’s not ready to be published, please keep that content in an unpublished folder and change its properties by unchecking the Include when publishing box. Read more about how to keep your content unpublished.
- We have many ADA training resources available including guides on Adobe PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, and a video series. Purdue offers additional accessibility guidance.
- Review our ADA guide to verify your digital documents (web pages, pdfs, word docs, Qualtrics forms, etc.) are compliant.
digital MEDIA RESOURCES:
- Purdue Brand Requirements (see photo/video resources)
- AGCOMM Photo Repository PhotoShelter (Libris) request access via an AGCOMM request
- Adobe Stock Photos via Purdue University’s Educational License Agreement with Adobe
Photo Tools:
Resize/Edit your Images (crop or change the dimensions (length & width))
- How to resize an image for the web - in pixels and kilobytes (kaydee.net)
- Simple Image Resizer, resize online images without losing quality
- Bulk Image Resizer | Bulk Resize Images Online - RedKetchup
- Pixlr.com's freemium photo editor, animation, and design tools
Compress your Images (reduce file size to below 1MB)
GRAPHIC RESOURCES and tools:
Purdue RESOURCES:
COLLEGE OF AG resources:
These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) cover topics beyond Cascade CMS's current offerings, including various web-related subjects.
Q: Can I embed Qualtrics forms on my Cascade pages?
A: Yes. Learn how here.
Q: How can I view Adobe PDF and other digital documents in my browser?
A: Modern operating systems and web browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Apple Safari have built-in capabilities, so users don't need to rely on third-party tools or browser plugins.
Q: Is there a support guide for the CoA Directory tool?
A: AGIT manages this tool and offers training information at this site.
Q: How can I request a Purdue.ag/name-me short/vanity URL?
A: Click here to submit your Purdue.ag short-url request.
cascade support chatbot
Our new Chatbot feature uses artificial intelligence to answer your Cascade User Guide support questions.
For example, you can ask anything you want to know about Cascade, such as “How do I add a new Cascade page” or "How do I edit images".
Note: Kindly refresh the Chatbot whenever you intend to shift topics. The Chatbot retains the ongoing conversation context and endeavors to respond accordingly. To ensure accurate and contextually relevant answers, it is recommended to refresh the Chatbot conversation whenever you change topics.
New Cascade Solutions
Discover the essentials of Cascade blocks—the versatile content pieces in Cascade CMS that ensure easy maintenance and consistency across multiple pages. Learn how to utilize static and dynamic blocks, manage site navigation, and more with our comprehensive Cascade Block Guide.
learn more