Mason Template Generator

Quickly Create a George Mason University Web Site

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can use the Template Generator?

Any Mason-associated entity can use the generator to develop their sites. This includes schools, colleges, institutes, centers, and even the personal sites of Mason students and faculty.

Additionally, the resulting template can be modified as you see fit. Our only requirement is credit for the design must remain in the CSS file.

If you have any questions about usage, contact Josh Hughes at josh@deaghean.com.

Is the old Template Generator still available?

Yes, if you have to regenerate a site using the old template, Version 1 of the Template Generator is still available.

I have a site developed using the old generator. How do I upgrade it to the new version?

Unfortunately, there are several changes in the new generator that make it not backwards compatible.

To ease this process, a compatibility pack is available that will upgrade an existing template generator site to the new look.

  1. Screenshot of DreamweaverClick anywhere inside the tabs.
  2. On the bottom left of the Dreamweaver window, you should see a tag that says <div.tabs>.
  3. Right click on that tag, and go to Set Class > tabs-edit
  4. The menu should now be in a bulleted list format, allowing easy editing. Indented list items are the dropdowns. Be sure to have links for all the menu items; the menu will look a bit funny otherwise.
  5. When you're done editing, just reverse the process: right-click <div.tabs-edit> and go to Set Class > tabs

Alternatively:

Temporarily rename css/template.css to something else. The page will load without styles, and will allow you to edit the navigation the same way.

The site search employs the Mason search engine. The web address you enter must be the same address the search engine uses to index the site.

So there's a chance that http://deptname.gmu.edu might not work, but http://www.gmu.edu/departments/deptname will.