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Announcements
Description: Announcements are used to inform site participants about items of interest or importance.
Step 1: Click [Site Info] in the site you would like to add the Announcements tool to.
Step 2: Click [Edit Tools].
Step 3: Place a check box next to the Announcements tool.
Step 4: Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click [Continue] and then [Finish].
Step 1: In the site menu bar, click [Announcements].
Step 2: Click [Add] to create a new announcement.
Step 3: In the form that appears, type the title and body of your announcement.
NOTE: Fields marked with an asterisk are required.
Step 4: Select a display option by clicking a radio button. Your choices are:
Display to public
Display to site
Display to selected groups (only available if group or sections have been created)
Click the check box next to the group to which you want to send the announcement.
Step 5: (Optional) To add an attachment, click [Add Attachments].
NOTE: If you did not want to add an attachment - you can skip to Step 6.
You can attach an existing item from the resources tool in any of your sites OR add an item from your computer.
NOTE: Folders from your resources tool(s) will be visible. You can navigate to a document within any of these folders and attach it to your announcement.
To attach a local file:
Click [Browse].
Select the file on your computer and click [Open].
The file appears under the heading Items to Attach.
You also have the option to remove the document, by clicking [Remove].
Click [Continue] to attach the document.
NOTE TO MAC USERS: When uploading or attaching a file, you must include the file’s extension. If there is no extension, anyone who attempts to display or download the file will get an error message.
NOTE: When adding a file make sure there are no special characters in the file name such as accent marks, hyphens, asterisks, or any other special characters.
To attach a file from Resources:
Scroll down to Select a Resource. Your folders and files in the site resources tool (if any) are displayed.
If desired, click the Show Other Sites link to see documents and drop box folders from all your sites.
Once you have found the item, click [Attach a copy], which is found under Actions to the right of the item name.
You also have the option to remove the document by clicking [Remove].
Click [Continue] to attach the document to the announcement.
To attach a URL:
Type the URL in the box provided – e.g. http://www.txstate.edu
Click [Add].
Click [Continue] to attach the URL to the announcement.
Step 6: (Optional) You can send an email to notify site participants about the new announcement. In the Email Notification field, select from the options shown below:
| Options | |
| None - No notification (default setting) | If you do not want the notification emailed |
| Low - Only participants who have opted in | If you want to send the notification only to participants who have chosen to receive low-priority mail notifications |
| High - All participants | If you want all participants to receive email notification |
Step 7: To post the announcement, click [Add Announcement].
To see how your announcement will look before posting it, click [Preview].
To exit area without posting the announcement, click [Cancel].
The dates of availability option allows you to display and remove announcements at a specified time and date.
If you would like your announcement to be shown to the class, make sure the show button is selected. If you would like to hide your announcement from student view click hide.
You may also choose to display your announcement for a specified period of time. To do so:
Step 1: Select the Specify Dates option.
Step 2: Check the checkbox next to beginning.
Step 3: Specify the date and time you want your announcement to be shown.
Step 4: Check the checkbox next to ending.
Step 5: Specify the date and time you want your announcement to be taken down.
Step 1: Select [Options].
Step 2: Select a display option by clicking a radio button. Your choices are:
Sortable table view (default view)
Sortable table view with announcement body
List view with announcement body
Step 3: You can also choose how many days in the past you want to show announcements, as well as the total number of announcements to display.
Step 4: Click [Update] or [Cancel].
Step 1: Click [Edit] under the announcement you wish to modify.
Step 2: Follow steps 3 – 7 for “Creating an Announcement.”
Step 3: To finish revising the announcement, click [Save Changes].
To see how your announcement will look, click [Preview].
To exit area without modifying announcement, click [Cancel].
Step 1: Click the checkbox(es) to the right of the announcement(s) you wish to delete under the header “Remove?”
Step 2: Click [Update] and an alert will ask if you are sure you want to delete the announcement(s).
Step 3: Click [Remove] to delete the announcement or [Cancel] to take no action.
If you would like to view announcements from your other sites in one particular site, use the Merge feature in Announcements.
NOTE: 0nly participants in merged sites can view the merged announcements. If a participant is not enrolled in any merged site, they will not view the announcement.
Step 1: In the Announcements tool of the particular site, click [Merge].
Step 2: Click the checkbox(es) of the site(s) you want to merge.
Step 3: Click [Save] to complete the merge or [Cancel] to take no action.
For questions, contact ETC Support at 245.5566. You can also email us at tracs@txstate.edu.
For the TRACS website home page, go to: http://tracs.txstate.edu/portal/login
If your login fails and you need help with your Net ID or password, contact ITAC at 245.4822.